Chennai Super KIngs v Warriors - 2010 CLT20 Galary
B. Dortmund home wins 5-0 over Kaiserslautern
Borussia Dortmund's charge up the Bundesliga continued with a dominant 5-0 home victory over Kaiserslautern.Lucas Barrios opened the scoring in the 31st minute and Kevin Grosskreutz doubled the advantage just seven minutes later.
Mats Hummels made it 3-0 in the 65th minute and Robert Lewandowski and Barrios second completed the rout.
The victory gives Jurgen Klopp's team 12 points and second place in the table, three points behind surprise leaders Mainz. Kaiserslautern dropped to ninth place on seven points.
The game started at an extremely high tempo but with few chances until Shinji Kawaga's header in the 19th minute which Kaiserslautern goalkeeper Tobias Sippel was able to gather.
The visitors' first opportunity came two minutes later but Srdjan Lakic's flat shot went just wide.
Dortmund grabbed the lead in the 31st minute after a superb through ball by Nuri Sahin which Barrios ran onto before firing the ball through the legs of Sippel.
The home side doubled their lead seven minutes later on the counter attack with Sahin passing into the path of Grosskreutz, who turned before firing a shot in off the right-hand post.
Dortmund dominated the start of the second half with Sven Bender shooting just over the bar from 17 yards in the 48th minute.
Sippel just managed to block Kawaga's shot seven minutes later and Lukasz Piszczek blasted over the crossbar.
The hosts finally finished off the game in the 65th minute with a header from Hummels from Sahin's free-kick for his third assist of the night.
Lewandowski joined the scoring party 14 minutes from the end, looping Jakub Blaszczykowski's pass over Sippel to make it 4-0.
And Barrios struck again with two minutes to play to round off a comprehensive win.
Hodgson sorry for Reds shocker
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has apologised to fans for their Carling Cup exit at the hands of npower League Two Northampton.
"I don't think we came anywhere near what I hoped to see apart from in the last 15 minutes of extra-time when we made a superb effort after going 2-1 down," he said.
"When it goes to penalties and you are at home and in front of the Kop your hope is that at least the players will have the composure and confidence to win the penalty shoot-out but we didn't.
"All I can do is congratulate Northampton and apologise to everyone; the fans came expecting to see us win and I expected us to win but it wasn't to be.
"These players have to accept responsibility. I accept responsibility for changing a lot of players in the team, I did it because I honestly thought the players I put on the field were good enough to win the game and they weren't.
"The obvious conclusion to that was I shouldn't have changed that many players but we should have been strong enough to get a result.
"We must all take our responsibility. I am just bitterly disappointed that the team I had so much faith in did not repay that faith this evening with the exception of one or two performances."
"We wanted to do well in the Carling Cup and we haven't done," he added.
"We were given a kind draw against a team three leagues below us, were expected to win and when you don't you can expect to be criticised from the top downwards.
"It is a major setback for the club. The Carling Cup is a competition we are capable of doing well in and we were playing lower league opponents.
"Whatever happens, if it doesn't result in a victory it is a very negative thing and a setback for the club, one of many we are facing at the moment."
"It is certainly up there as one of the best nights of my career," he said.
"I won a play-off final at Wembley as a player for Northampton and it ranks right up there with that occasion.
"To be a manger and win at Anfield after only one year in the job I'm absolutely delighted, it is a particular highlight.
"Full credit to the players, they are a young team, with the attitude and desire they showed I can't praise them highly enough."
"I don't think we came anywhere near what I hoped to see apart from in the last 15 minutes of extra-time when we made a superb effort after going 2-1 down," he said.
"When it goes to penalties and you are at home and in front of the Kop your hope is that at least the players will have the composure and confidence to win the penalty shoot-out but we didn't.
"All I can do is congratulate Northampton and apologise to everyone; the fans came expecting to see us win and I expected us to win but it wasn't to be.
"These players have to accept responsibility. I accept responsibility for changing a lot of players in the team, I did it because I honestly thought the players I put on the field were good enough to win the game and they weren't.
"The obvious conclusion to that was I shouldn't have changed that many players but we should have been strong enough to get a result.
"We must all take our responsibility. I am just bitterly disappointed that the team I had so much faith in did not repay that faith this evening with the exception of one or two performances."
"We wanted to do well in the Carling Cup and we haven't done," he added.
"We were given a kind draw against a team three leagues below us, were expected to win and when you don't you can expect to be criticised from the top downwards.
"It is a major setback for the club. The Carling Cup is a competition we are capable of doing well in and we were playing lower league opponents.
"Whatever happens, if it doesn't result in a victory it is a very negative thing and a setback for the club, one of many we are facing at the moment."
"It is certainly up there as one of the best nights of my career," he said.
"I won a play-off final at Wembley as a player for Northampton and it ranks right up there with that occasion.
"To be a manger and win at Anfield after only one year in the job I'm absolutely delighted, it is a particular highlight.
"Full credit to the players, they are a young team, with the attitude and desire they showed I can't praise them highly enough."
Strauss warning after wining Pakistan series
Andrew Strauss finished the NatWest Series with a word of warning that lessons must be learned from the crises of the past three weeks.
Strauss was indebted to Eoin Morgan's unbeaten 107 - at the Rose Bowl, where the Irishman made a match-winning 103 not out against Australia three months ago - as England beat Pakistan by 121 runs to close out a 3-2 win.
"It's been a very tough series at the end of a long summer," said Strauss.
"We've been to some pretty unpleasant places as a team over the last few days, and we've had to show a lot of unity and togetherness.
"We came out today determined to finish the series on a high, and you could see how much it meant to us when the final wicket went down."
"This summer has clearly demonstrated that when there's a sniff of something in the air, it devalues the game - and no-one wants to play cricket in those circumstances," he added.
"Players from both sides have been put under a lot of stress and pressure.
"We don't want to be doing that, and we shouldn't be doing that."
"The ICC have to take a firm lead, leave no stone unturned - and they need to make sure that every game of cricket from now on is not tarnished.
"That's a big challenge for them, no doubt.
"But it's easy to say 'the series is over, let's let this calm down and cricket will return to normal'.
"If that happens then we'll be having to contend with this at some stage in the future."
"It's been a crazy series and one that we hope will never be repeated again," said Strauss.
"We're delighted to have come out and won it.
"I think we've had to dig pretty deep at times (this summer), never more so than this series - which is one of the hardest I've ever had to play in."
Strauss, who was named Player of the Series after scoring 317 runs, believes the controversy could steel his side for this winter's Ashes.
"We can't wait. This summer has prepared us well for that," he said.
"We've had to deal with a lot - and we'll have to do that in Australia."
Strauss' opposite number Shahid Afridi was naturally disappointed with tonight's landslide defeat, but admitted he is relieved too his team's three-month tour is over at last.
"I was thinking about some happy ending - but it's not happened," he said.
"Every day there has been some controversies on this tour, but I'm very happy in this situation that the team was very united and we played as a team.
"Maybe it will give us a good result in the future. Our unity is the one positive thing I am taking from the UK."
"We are clean - the people who are not clean and who are guilty and take the pressures.
"Our team today was very united and played positive and hard cricket."
Strauss was indebted to Eoin Morgan's unbeaten 107 - at the Rose Bowl, where the Irishman made a match-winning 103 not out against Australia three months ago - as England beat Pakistan by 121 runs to close out a 3-2 win.
"It's been a very tough series at the end of a long summer," said Strauss.
"We've been to some pretty unpleasant places as a team over the last few days, and we've had to show a lot of unity and togetherness.
"We came out today determined to finish the series on a high, and you could see how much it meant to us when the final wicket went down."
"This summer has clearly demonstrated that when there's a sniff of something in the air, it devalues the game - and no-one wants to play cricket in those circumstances," he added.
"Players from both sides have been put under a lot of stress and pressure.
"We don't want to be doing that, and we shouldn't be doing that."
"The ICC have to take a firm lead, leave no stone unturned - and they need to make sure that every game of cricket from now on is not tarnished.
"That's a big challenge for them, no doubt.
"But it's easy to say 'the series is over, let's let this calm down and cricket will return to normal'.
"If that happens then we'll be having to contend with this at some stage in the future."
"It's been a crazy series and one that we hope will never be repeated again," said Strauss.
"We're delighted to have come out and won it.
"I think we've had to dig pretty deep at times (this summer), never more so than this series - which is one of the hardest I've ever had to play in."
Strauss, who was named Player of the Series after scoring 317 runs, believes the controversy could steel his side for this winter's Ashes.
"We can't wait. This summer has prepared us well for that," he said.
"We've had to deal with a lot - and we'll have to do that in Australia."
Strauss' opposite number Shahid Afridi was naturally disappointed with tonight's landslide defeat, but admitted he is relieved too his team's three-month tour is over at last.
"I was thinking about some happy ending - but it's not happened," he said.
"Every day there has been some controversies on this tour, but I'm very happy in this situation that the team was very united and we played as a team.
"Maybe it will give us a good result in the future. Our unity is the one positive thing I am taking from the UK."
"We are clean - the people who are not clean and who are guilty and take the pressures.
"Our team today was very united and played positive and hard cricket."
'Chennai kings conform berth to be in semis'
CSK captain MS Dhoni on Wednesday said being the IPL Champions, his side was expected to qualify for the semifinals of the ACLT20. "It is an important tournament and being the IPL champions, we are expected to do well. I am glad that we have done decently well in the last four games we have played," Dhoni said after Chennai defeated Warriors by 10 runs in the last Group-A match and qualified for the semifinals.
Chennai will now take on fellow IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first semifinal in Durban on Saturday and Dhoni said his side will have to tighten up some loose ends before the crucial encounter.
"There have been ups and downs. We have got quite a few weak links but at the end of the day, we have done well."
"We did not want them to get off to a great start and the important point was the middle overs. The next game will be in Durban and our fast bowlers will have to pull their socks up because I don't think the spinners will get much turn or purchase there," he said.
"But there is plenty to improve before the next game but as far as this game is concerned, the combination really worked for us," Dhoni added.
Dhoni's counterpart Davey Jacobs said batting did them in Wednesday's match but he was happy to have qualified for the last-four stage in spite of the defeat.
"I think we bowled great tonight and did a good job in the field too but our batting was not up to the mark. But we are happy to qualify for the semis. Now we have to prepare hard for the semis," he said.
Man-of-the-match Mike Hussey, who scored a match-winning 50 apart from taking two crucial catches on Wednesday, credited Chennai bowlers for the victory.
"It was a great game. Both teams fought really hard. We were exactly not sure what a good score would be. Initially I was thinking about 160-170 but as it turned out, 136 was enough in the end.
"Our bowlers did a great job, particularly the spinners," Hussey said.
Manchester United wants to bring back Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United reported today that they were exploring the possibility of bringing Real Madrid’s star winger, Cristiano Ronaldo, back to Old Trafford.The Portuguese superstar left the English Premier League giants to try his luck in Spain last summer for a world-record fee of £80m.
According to Goal.com, sources at Madrid believe that the United boss is keen to bring back a player he helped nurture into becoming one of the finest footballers in the world, if even for the enormous fee of 100 million euros. But such an action seems unlikely, especially since United has been saddled with huge debts under the ownership of the Glazer family.
Madrid is also unlikely to want to sell the former FIFA World Player of the Year and, with the buy-out clause in Ronaldo’s contract with Madrid standing at one billion Euros, it would be impossible for the Red Devils to strong-arm Los Blancos into allowing the 25-year-old to return to Manchester.
Despite the facts, it seems like the Portugal international has been struggling for form so far this season, and some pundits have attributed it to him not being happy at the Bernebau.
Since Jose Mourinho took over as Madrid coach in the summer, Ronaldo has only found the back of the net once, and has not quite hit his top form yet. Should he continue to struggle to hit the heights of his best play, the rumours linking him with an exit from Madrid will likely continue.
Should he return to United, Ronaldo will be rejoining a club with whom he won almost every trophy available, including the UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup, FA Community Shield and several EPL titles. He also had a strong scoring record, having netted 118 times in 292 appearances.
Shoaib Akhtar declared fit for the final at Rose Bowl
In what could be termed good news for the controversy ridden Pakistani side, Shoaib Akhtar has been declared fit for the last match of the NatWest Series against England. Shoaib Akhtar rose to the occasion on Pakistan’s last match against England, as the team squared the series, 2-2 following what could be termed as a breathtaking match.Pakistan, have therefore fought 2-0 down to force a winner takes all clash under the floodlights in Southampton for the last ODI of the series. Shoaib Akhtar has been bowling excellent line and length and even though the 35 year old might have gained a few pounds and lost some of his pace, he did take some very important wickets in the last ODI to ensure a thrilling win for Pakistan.
Despite injury scares, Akhtar completed his bowling spell and did not look his best especially during the last over’s of his bowling spell, yet he still managed to curtail the English side with some excellent bowling. The experienced bowler has been involved in many controversies during his multiple stints playing for Pakistan however, he seems to have matured over the years and his experience is now evident in the way he has been bowling.
Mondays match at Lords however was overshadowed by the controversial statements made by the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, who alleged that the English team had taken large amount of money to give away the match at oval casting doubts over his team’s performance. Senior officials in Pakistan and the ICC have distanced themselves from the statement of the chairman of the PCB.
The ECB has decided that it will pay for the English players to file charges for defamation against Ijaz Butt following his statement and have threatened to take legal action against the chairman if he does not make a public apology for alleging that English players accepted a bribe to lose the match at Oval.
Meanwhile Pakistan would be seeking to win the final match in order to win the series and end the tour of England on a positive note and the news of Shoaib Akhtar’s fitness is good news for all the fans of Pakistan cricket. Shoaib needs to find the same rhythm that he has shown throughout the series and it could most certainly mark the difference for a win or a loss for Pakistan. An in form Shoaib would surely mean trouble for the English side.
Rafael Nadal receives a warm reception in Thailand
Thailand has given a grand welcome to the world number one Rafael Nadal upon his arrival on Wednesday for participation in a championship in Bangkok.
The 24-year-old Rafa will play in the Thailand Open tennis tournament that will start from Monday. After recently capturing his United States Open title in New York, Rafa was warmly welcomed with garlands at the airport and was led through a multitude of reporters and journalists by police and tennis officials.
The world number one tennis ace had been a late withdrawal from the championship the last two seasons; however he is injury-free for this year’s tournament.
The Manacor-born tennis star is regarded as one of the greatest-ever tennis player on the tour. He has so far captured a total of nine Grand Slam trophies in his professional career. The Spaniard completed his career Grand Slam recently by winning his very first U.S Open title at the Flushing Meadows. He entered the city of New York, as seeded number one to win the crown. The left-hander got the better of Denis Istomin, Teymuraz Gabashvili, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez as well as Mikhail Youzhny without even missing a single set to make his way into the final of the year’s last major event. In the title battle, the 1.85 meters tall Rafa did well to get the better of his Serbian tennis opponent, Novak Djokovic who is ranked number two in the world by the Association of tennis professionals (ATP). The Spaniard sealed victory after a total of four sets in New York. The final match score was 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
Rafa’s win also clinched the season-end number one ranking for 2010, making Rafael just the third tennis contender after Ivan Lendl back in 1989 and the Swiss tennis maestro Roger Federer back in 2009, to recapture the season-end top-ranking after having lost it. Nadal has played extremely well throughout this season after coming back from his injury in May, and has successfully won a total of three Grand Slam titles, the French Open, Wimbledon and the United States Open tennis tournament. The Spaniard is therefore, expected to do well at the Thailand Open as well.
After some days at beach resort, Rafa will also meet Abhisit Vejjajiva, who is the Prime Minister of Thailand and is also expected to visit Parliament next week before turning to the game of tennis.
The 24-year-old Rafa will play in the Thailand Open tennis tournament that will start from Monday. After recently capturing his United States Open title in New York, Rafa was warmly welcomed with garlands at the airport and was led through a multitude of reporters and journalists by police and tennis officials.
The world number one tennis ace had been a late withdrawal from the championship the last two seasons; however he is injury-free for this year’s tournament.
The Manacor-born tennis star is regarded as one of the greatest-ever tennis player on the tour. He has so far captured a total of nine Grand Slam trophies in his professional career. The Spaniard completed his career Grand Slam recently by winning his very first U.S Open title at the Flushing Meadows. He entered the city of New York, as seeded number one to win the crown. The left-hander got the better of Denis Istomin, Teymuraz Gabashvili, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez as well as Mikhail Youzhny without even missing a single set to make his way into the final of the year’s last major event. In the title battle, the 1.85 meters tall Rafa did well to get the better of his Serbian tennis opponent, Novak Djokovic who is ranked number two in the world by the Association of tennis professionals (ATP). The Spaniard sealed victory after a total of four sets in New York. The final match score was 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
Rafa’s win also clinched the season-end number one ranking for 2010, making Rafael just the third tennis contender after Ivan Lendl back in 1989 and the Swiss tennis maestro Roger Federer back in 2009, to recapture the season-end top-ranking after having lost it. Nadal has played extremely well throughout this season after coming back from his injury in May, and has successfully won a total of three Grand Slam titles, the French Open, Wimbledon and the United States Open tennis tournament. The Spaniard is therefore, expected to do well at the Thailand Open as well.
After some days at beach resort, Rafa will also meet Abhisit Vejjajiva, who is the Prime Minister of Thailand and is also expected to visit Parliament next week before turning to the game of tennis.
CLT20:Royal challengers banglore v/s Highveld lions galary
royal clash the lions and ener into the semi finals in clt20
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