La Liga midweek results

Sevilla - Mallorca 2 - 0
Racing - Barcelona 1 - 4

• Barca have starrted to defend their title in the best way they can with messi's brace yesterday night.
• sevilla have put their legs front with a good start to this seasons campaign

Champions Trophykicks off

Sri Lanka 319 for 8 (Dilshan 106, Jayawardene 77, Sangakkara 54) beat South Africa 206 for 7 (Smith 58, Mendis 3-30) by 55 runs (D/L)

• Led by a blazing century from Tillakaratne Dilshan and a brace of cameos, the world's No. 5 team started their Champions Trophy campaign in fine style by beating the top-ranked side.


• Graeme Smith's decision to field was based on the amount of dew around, but bar Dale Steyn none of the bowlers made an impression in the afternoon.


• Dilshan's 92-ball 106, coupled with significant inputs from captains former and present, lifted them to a daunting total that was well beyond South Africa.

The Treble

• FC Barcelona were crowned European champions for a third time – and the second in four seasons – as a vibrant display of pass and move, capped by goals in either half from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi, defeated Manchester United FC in Rome.
• United, bidding to become the first team to successfully defend the trophy in the UEFA Champions League era, began an open contest at breakneck speed as Cristiano Ronaldo threatened three times.
• After ten minutes, however, Eto'o put the Spanish champions ahead and they never looked back.
• Xavi Hernández struck a post early in the second period and, though the clinching second goal did not arrive until the 70th minute – via, unusually, the head of Messi – Josep Guardiola's side were worthy winners.
• The 38-year-old becomes the sixth man to lift the European Champion Clubs' Cup as player and coach; United are the sixth club to lose the final as holders.

Delhi wins a thriller

Delhi Daredevils 173 for 7 (Karthik 44*, de Villiers 44, Ojha 2-26) beat Deccan Chargers 161 (Gilchrist 64, Symonds 41, Bhatia 4-15, Sangwan 3-18) by 12 runs

• Bhatia, arguably the best allrounder in India's domestic cricket, announced himself on the world stage tonight.
• Everything about Bhatia, his pace, his demeanour, his run-up, suggest an innocuous medium-pacer, but he was canny and deadly at the death, taking four wickets for four runs as Deccan Chargers choked to lose once again to Delhi Daredevils.
• Chasing 174 Deccan needed 25 in three overs, with six wickets in hand, but lost them all for just 12 runs.

Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open

Singles - Second Round
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d J Melzer (AUT) 63 61
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) d [WC] O Hernandez (ESP) 63 63 [5] J Del Potro (ARG) d T Berdych (CZE) 62 41 ret. (left leg)
[6] A Roddick (USA) d [Q] T Haas (GER) 16 76(9) 64 [8] G Simon (FRA) d [Q] F Fognini (ITA) 63 62
[10] N Davydenko (RUS) d F Serra (FRA) 75 63
[11] S Wawrinka (SUI) d J Chardy (FRA) 64 75
[WC] J Monaco (ARG) d [12] D Ferrer (ESP) 64 64
P Kohlschreiber (GER) d [13] M Cilic (CRO) 61 67(5) 76(2)
[14] J Blake (USA) d I Karlovic (CRO) 67(4) 64 76(4)
A Seppi (ITA) d S Querrey (USA) 63 46 64

Doubles - Second Round
S Aspelin (SWE) / W Moodie (RSA) d [1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 67(4) 61 11-9
F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d [3] OHernandez(ESP) / A Montanes (ESP) 63 62
S Huss (AUS) / R Hutchins (GBR) d [4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) 64 75
J Del Potro (ARG) / M Fish (USA) d [6] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 63 64
M Granollers (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) d [7] M Mirnyi (BLR) / A Ram (ISR) 57 62 14-12

Doubles - First Round
A Fisher (AUS) / T Parrott (USA) d S Bolelli (ITA) / A Seppi (ITA) 46 63 14-12
N Djokovic (SRB) / D Vemic (SRB) d J Coetzee (RSA) / J Kerr (AUS) 76(4) 63

Total Football wins

• Barca won their 25th cup yesterday against Athletic Club by 4-1
• Moments after the start Athletic took the lead by 1-0
• The only team in the world to play passing football at its best
• With the likes of Messi, Bojan, Xavi and Eto'o at the front they were attacking the Athletic defence
• But it was a magic and a stupendous goal from Yaya Toure in the 30th min to level the scores
• The caravan took off from there, after the half time one after the other went inside the net, Athletic defence were mere spectators in the front of Messi's magic
  
• The team deserved the victory and coach credited the team for the merit's he got
• The coach was flying in the air after the victory when the players were celebrating with him
• The new Era with Pep has began with a Copa Del Rey
• A treble is at the sight, No doubts that this team is going to make it this season
• It was a treat to watch Barca Players going upto the stands of Athletic fans and waved Athletics flags to appreciate them for their support
• At the stroke of 00:06 Puyol Lifted a major trophy for Barca after two years
• Barca is more than a club
  

Indian Premier League Standings

Todays Fixtures

Kings XI vs Royals 4.00 p.m IST


Delhi vs Knight Riders 8.00 p.m IST

Orange Cap - MatthewHayden

Purple Cap - Yusuf Abdullah

Indian Premier League

Chennai Super Kings 178 for 3 (Hayden 43, Dhoni 58*) beat Deccan Chargers 100 (Smith 49, Jakati 4-22) by 78 runs

• CSK soared to the top of the points table in dramatic fashion, recording their third consecutive win in a comprehensive defeat of Deccan Chargers at Buffalo Park
• The game had everything: excellent swing that had Deccan reeling at 1 for 3, left-arm spin from Shadab Jakati that gave him his second consecutive four-wicket haul and ripped the heart out of Deccan's batting, and two whirlwind innings, one by Dwayne Smith that could only stave off the inevitable and another by MS Dhoni, at the start of the match, to set up the win
• Much of that, and a dropped catch and a missed run-out, took place in a frenetic opening ten overs of Deccan's chase that had more twists, turns and frenetic passages of play than an entire Twenty20 match

Indian Premier League

Kings XI Punjab 154 for 4 (Jayawardene 52*, Katich 34) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 153 for 3 (Hodge 70*) by six wickets

• Four dropped catches undid Hodge's impressive half-century and took Kings XI back into the top four of the IPL table after they chased down 154 to beat the KKR by six wickets
• The match went to the final ball but Punjab clearly outperformed Kolkata through the chase. Jayawardene, who scored an unbeaten 41-ball 52, and Irfan Pathan held their nerve to ensure the match didn't need the Super Over

Royal Challengers Bangalore 150 for 1 (Kallis 69*, Uthappa 66*) beat Mumbai Indians 149 for 4 (Jayasuriya 52, Bravo 50*, du Preez 3-32) by nine wickets

• What a difference a week makes. Last Sunday, Royal Challengers Bangalore were at the bottom of the table, had slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat, and were looking ahead to surviving without two key batsmen, Dravid and Pietersen
• Now, after a thoroughly dominant performance against Mumbai Indians they are jostling for a share of the top spot
• The reversal of fortunes was illustrated by the two men who blunted the powerful Mumbai bowling, Kallis and Uthappa, who shrugged off their forgettable starts to the tournament with superbly paced half-centuries

A1 GP - Team Ireland wins Title

Ireland had started the weekend two points behind defending champions Switzerland but utterly dominated the weekend to eventually take the title by a comfortable 17-point margin.
RESULTS: Sprint race

1 Ireland Adam Carroll
2 India Narain Karthikeyan
3 Mexico Salvador Durán
4 USA J.R. Hildebrand
5 Portugal Filipe Albuquerque
6 Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
7 Australia John Martin
8 Switzerland Neel Jani
9 France Nicolas Prost
10 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi
11 Germany Michael Ammermüller
12 Indonesia Satrio Hermanto
13 Great Britain Dan Clarke
14 China Cheng Cong Fu
15 South Africa Alan van der Merwe
16 Malaysia Aaron Lim
17 Lebanon Daniel Morad
18 New Zealand Earl Bamber
19 Monaco Clivio Piccione - Brazil Felipe Guimarães

RESULTS: Feature race

1 Ireland Adam Carroll
2 Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
3 Switzerland Neel Jani
4 Monaco Clivio Piccione
5 Portugal Filipe Albuquerque
6 Mexico Salvador Durán
7 Great Britain Dan Clarke
8 Australia John Martin
9 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi
10 France Nicolas Prost
11 South Africa Alan van der Merwe
12 Lebanon Daniel Morad
13 Indonesia Satrio Hermanto
14 USA J.R. Hildebrand
15 Malaysia Aaron Lim
16 Germany Michael Ammermüller
17 New Zealand Earl Bamber
18 China Cheng Cong Fu
19 India Narain Karthikeyan - Brazil Felipe Guimarães

Nadal Reigns

Djokovic took the world number one to a first-set tie-break but Nadal won 7-6 (7-2) before claiming the second set 6-2.
Singles - Final
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [3] N Djokovic (SRB) 76(2) 62

Doubles - Final
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 76(5) 63

Weekend Results

Italy Serie A
Catania 0-2 ( Inzaghi 27:00, Kaka 51:00 ) AC Milan
Palermo ( Migliaccio 29:00, Miccoli 37:00, Tedesco 52:00, Cavani 57:00, Succi 88:00 Scored ) 5-1 ( Jeda 47:00 ) Cagliari
Roma 0-0 Chievo
Juventus ( Nedved 54:00, 66.00 ) 2-2 ( Konan 11:00, Castillo 90:00(4:00) ) Lecce
Fiorentina ( Vargas 57:00 ) 1-0 Torino


Barclays Premier League
Liverpool ( Benayoun 21:33, Kuyt 27:27, Lucas 86:46 ) 3-0 Newcastle
Sunderland 0-2 ( Pienaar 47:31, Fellaini 70:29 ) Everton

Spanish Primera Liga
Racing Santander 0-2 ( Juanma Ortiz 2:29, 12.06 ) Almeria
Deportivo La Coruna ( Lassad 6:57 ) 1-0 Valladolid
Osasuna ( Pandiani 25:07 ) 1-2 ( Martin 80:56, Morris 90:00(4:32) ) Recreativo Huelva Sporting Gijon ( Bilic 59:51 ) 1-1 ( Iraola A. 90 ) Athletic Bilbao
Mallorca ( Jurado 8:03, Aduriz 67:50 ) 2-1 ( Navarro 46:04 ) Getafe
Espanyol ( Román Martínez 65,Pareja 82:19,Nene 90:00(5:51) Scored ) 3-0 Valencia
Real Betis 0-2 ( Forlan 13:48, 88.36 ) Atletico Madrid

Series ends 3-2

Pakistan 254 for 3 (Akmal 116*, Misbah 76*) beat Australia 250 for 4 (Watson 116*, Ferguson 41*) by seven wickets

• A scintillating century from Kamran Akmal helped guide Pakistan to book-ending victories in the five-match ODI series against Australia.
• Akmal's knock off 115 balls, his fifth ODI century, meant he top scored in both of Pakistan's successful run-chases this series and begged the question as to why he had not batted in the top four throughout.

History in Bernabeu

• Right from the word go, Blaugranes were attacking the Meringues
• A simple mistake in the defence made Higuain to head one inside the net and made the score sheet 1-0
• Nothing worried Barca, even 1-0 lead or live score board ticking Barca 81 to madrid's 80
  
• Henry came up with a magic, breezing past the madrid defence and scored the equalizer
• Moments later xavi's free kick was headed by Captain Puyol
• Madrid started feeling the pressure their winter signing Diarra was sloppy just outside the box were messi found the ball and sprinted like the lightning bolt and netted it
• 1-3 at half time, everyone expected Madrid to put up some fight
• It happened with a free kick from Robben headed by the Sergio Ramos, score was 2-3
• Henry again produced a magic, after passing two defenders, casillas started charging in then Henry finished it off from the edge of the box
  
• Then came the real Barca goal quick passing inside the box and Messi finished it off in style
• Pique added misery to Madrid when he struck one to make it 2-6
• 2-6 is the best ever outing between both the teams in an away match

Weekend - Results

Barclays Premier League

Middlesbrough 0-2 ( Giggs 24:02, Park 50:28 ) Man Utd
Portsmouth 0-3 ( Bendtner 12:53, 40.06 scored, Vela 55:28 ) Arsenal
Wigan 0-0 Bolton
Man City ( Caicedo 26:01, Robinho 33:15, Elano 45:00(1:37) Scored ) 3-1 ( Diouf 65:02 Saved, Andrews 65:30 ) Blackburn
Stoke 0-1 ( Tristan 32:09 ) West Ham
Chelsea ( Anelka 0:51, Malouda 9:43, Drogba 52:50 ) 3-1 ( Nevland 3:46 ) Fulham
Tottenham ( Jenas 42:30 ) 1-0 West Brom

Italy Serie A

Bologna ( Moras 86:00 ) 1-2 ( Brienza 40:00, Barreto 46:00 ) Reggina
Inter Milan ( Ibrahimovic 58:00, Muntari 70:00 ) 2-0 Lazio

Spanish Primera Liga

Real Madrid ( Higuain 13:25, Sergio Ramos 55:17 ) 2-6 ( Henry 17:04, 57.38, Puyol 19:26, Messi 34:56, 74.18, Pique 82:14 ) Barcelona
Numancia ( Moreno 0:31, Del Pino 61:26, Aranda 78:24 Saved ) 2-0 Malaga
Villarreal 0-2 (Luis Fabiano 57:02, Kanoute 84:06 ) Sevilla

Internazionali BNL d'Italia open

Singles - Semi-finals
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [12] F Gonzalez (CHI) 63 63
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) d [2] R Federer (SUI) 46 63 63

Doubles - Semi-finals
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d [5] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM) 61 36 10-7
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) 64 67(6) 10-8

Indian Premier League

Rajasthan Royals 142 for 7 (Raut 36*, Carseldine 39) beat Deccan Chargers (Suman 41*) 141 for 5 by by three wickets

• Royals prevailed in a see-saw chase which included three wickets in two overs and 51 runs in seven.
• Disciplined spells of bowling were followed by some nerveless batting, though misfields and dropped catches from Deccan contributed to the close finish

Chennai Super Kings 163 (Badrinath 45, Nehra 3-27, Nannes 3-27) beat Delhi Daredevils (Karthik 52, Warner 51, Jakati 4-24) by 18 runs

• A superb bowling performance by left-arm spinner Jakati gave Super Kings their third win of the tournament and with it some momentum
• Chennai's total of 163 - built around a 66-run partnership between Raina and S Badrinath - seemed too little after they whimpered to a finish, but led by Jakati and Muralitharan they hit back at the clutch, disturbing a threatening stand and keeping Delhi to 145 as the IPL bandwagon landed in Johannesburg
• Karthik and Warner nearly brought a victory for Delhi but they failed to finish it off

Weekeng Fixtures

Barclays Premier League

Saturday 2nd May 2009
Middlesbrough vs Man Utd The Riverside Stadium 12:45
Wigan vs Bolton The JJB Stadium 15:00
Stoke vs West Ham Britannia Stadium 15:00
Man City vs Blackburn City of Manchester Stadium 15:00
Portsmouth vs Arsenal Fratton Park 15:00
Chelsea vs Fulham Stamford Bridge 15:00
Tottenham vs West Brom White Hart Lane 15:00

Sunday 3rd May 2009
Liverpool vs Newcastle Anfield 13:30
Sunderland vs Everton Stadium of Light 16:00

Monday 4th May 2009
Aston Villa vs Hull Villa Park 20:00

La Liga

Saturday 2nd May 2009
Numancia vs Malaga Nuevo Los Pajaritos 19:00
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Santiago Bernabeu 19:00
Villarreal vs Sevilla El Madrigal 21:00

Sunday 3rd May 2009
Deportivo La Coruna vs Valladolid Riazor 16:00
Mallorca vs Getafe ONO Estadi 16:00
Sporting Gijon vs Athletic Bilbao El Molinon 16:00
Racing Santander vs Almeria El Sardinero 16:00
Osasuna vs Recreativo Huelva Reyno de Navarra 16:00
Espanyol vs Valencia Olimpic Lluis Companys 18:00
Real Betis vs Atletico Madrid Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera 20:00


Serie A

Saturday 2nd May 2009
Bologna vs Reggina Renato Dall'Ara 17:00
Inter Milan vs Lazio Stadio Giuseppe Meazza 19:30

Sunday 3rd May 2009
Catania vs AC Milan Angelo Massimino 14:00
Udinese vs Atalanta Stadio Friuli 14:00
Siena vs Napoli Artemio Franchi 14:00
Fiorentina vs Torino Artemio Franchi 14:00
Palermo vs Cagliari Renzo Barbera 14:00
Juventus vs Lecce Stadio Olimpico 14:00
Roma vs Chievo Stadio Olimpico 14:00
Genoa vs Sampdoria Luigi Ferraris 19:30

Mumbai & Bangalore secure wins

Mumbai Indians 148 for 6 (Duminy 52*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 139 for 6 (Hodge 73, Zaheer 3-31) by nine runs

• KKR made a good attempt at causing possibly the biggest surprise of the season so far but fell short despite smart bowling for most of Mumbai's innings and a first fifty for them by Brad Hodge, who kept together a chase that threatened to fall away early on.

Royal Challengers Bangalore 145 for 9 (van der Merwe 35, Abdulla 4-36, Yuvraj 3-22) beat Kings XI Punjab 137 for 7 (Yuvraj 50, Praveen 2-27, Kumble 2-25) by eight runs

• Having given up 14 runs in the 17th over, Praveen Kumar displayed admirable composure to bowl a four-run, double-wicket final over and seal an amazing eight-run win for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
• Two teams that met in Durban at contrasting positions in the IPL traded blows for 40 overs of a pulse-setting Twenty20 and, when it came to the crunch, Bangalore threw the biggest blow, derailing Kings XI Punjab from 70 for no loss to 137.

Australia seals series

Australia 200 for 2 (Clarke 100*, Watson 85*) beat Pakistan 197 (Ahmed Shehzad 43, Shahid Afridi 40, Bollinger 5-35) by eight wickets

• Stand-in Aussie captain Clarke produced a superb century to seal the 5-match series with a game to spare after an 8-wicket win in Abu Dhabi.
• An unbeaten 100, his 4th in odi and first as captain, was arguably his finest and was the key to Australia's comfortable pursuit of Pakistan's 197.

Internazionali BNL d'Italia Open

Singles - Quarter-finals
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [6] F Verdasco (ESP) 63 63
[2] R Federer (SUI) d [Q] M Zverev (GER) 76(3) 62
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) [5] d J Del Potro (ARG) 63 64
[12] F Gonzalez (CHI) d [Q] J Monaco (ARG) 26 63 64
Doubles - Quarter-finals
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d [7] M Mirnyi (BLR) / A Ram (ISR) 46 64 11-9
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [8] J Coetzee (RSA) / J Kerr (AUS) 64 64
[4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) d [6] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 63 64
[5] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM) d [3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) 75 63

Indian Premier League Standings

Indian Premier League

Delhi Daredevils 150 for 4 (Dilshan 52*, Karthik 41, Shoaib 2-20) beat Deccan Chargers 148 for 9 (Smith 48, Nannes 2-16) by six wickets

• Tournament favourites Daredevils turned in a thoroughly professional performance in the clash of the heavyweights at SuperSport Park, beating Deccan by six wickets.
  
• Dilshan proved his worth yet again with an unbeaten fifty to steer his team to 149; he was supported by Karthik, who finally delivered with the bat after a disappointing season last year.
• This was Deccan's first defeat in the tournament and they now share points with Delhi at the top of the table, though with a better net run rate.

Chennai Super Kings 164 for 5 (Raina 98, Badrinath 29) beat Rajasthan Royals 126 for 9 (Jadeja 37, Balaji 4-21) by 38 runs

• In a demonstration of power-hitting with which he carried Super Kings in the first IPL, Suresh Raina again showed his ability to dominate and, when the need arose, get out of a jam.
• Chennai were in early trouble after being put in to bat but the early loss of the openers to Warne's introduction of spin didn't deter Raina, who dispatched the Royals attack to all parts of SuperSport Park.
• His one-man show was complemented by a disciplined and enthusiastic fielding display - including a wicket and two catches to the man of the moment - and Chennai wrapped up victory by 38 runs.

UEFA cup Semifinals

Dynamo Kyiv ( Chygrynskiy (o.g.) 22 ) 1 - 1 ( Fernandinho 68 ) Shakhtar

FC Shakhtar Donetsk recovered from going behind, not to mention some early nerves, to earn a 1-1 draw against FC Dynamo Kyiv that leaves them with the narrowest of away-goals advantages in this UEFA Cup semi-final tie.


Bremen 0 - 1 ( Trochowski 28 ) Hamburg

Hamburger SV took a significant step towards their first appearance in a European final since winning the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1983 with a 1-0 win over Werder Bremen in the first leg of their UEFA Cup semi-final at the Weserstadion.

Internazionali BNL d'Italia open

Singles - Third Round
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d R Soderling (SWE) 61 60
[2] R Federer (SUI) d [16] R Stepanek (CZE) 64 61
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) d [13] T Robredo (ESP) 61 61
[5] J Del Potro (ARG) d [10] S Wawrinka (SUI) 62 67(5) 63
[6] F Verdasco (ESP) d R Gasquet (FRA) 75 64
[Q] M Zverev (GER) d [8] G Simon (FRA) 64 61
[12] F Gonzalez (CHI) d J Melzer (AUT) 36 63 75
[Q] J Monaco (ARG) d [15] M Cilic (CRO) 64 64

Doubles - Second Round
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d J Knowle (AUT) / J Melzer (AUT) 64 63
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d J Blake (USA) / M Fish (USA) 63 46 10-6
[3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) d I Karlovic (CRO) / D Vemic (SRB) 61 61
[4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) d S Bolelli (ITA) / A Seppi (ITA) 76(5) 26 10-3
[5] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM) d M Melo (BRA) / A Sa (BRA) 62 64
[6] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d J Benneteau (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) 75 63
[7] M Mirnyi (BLR) / A Ram (ISR) d [WC] D Bracciali (ITA) / P Starace (ITA) 75 63
[8] J Coetzee (RSA) / J Kerr (AUS) d [WC] F Cipolla (ITA) / F Fognini (ITA) 61 75

Indian Premier League

Royal Challengers Bangalore 143 for 5 (Goswami 43, Hodge 3-29) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 139 for 6 (van Wyk 44*, Kumble 2-16) by five wickets

• In a contest of two desperate teams, Royal Challengers were simply more desperate, winning their second game of the season in six tries.
• Their desperation manifested itself positively, when they included three spinners in the side, opened the bowling with Pietersen and restricted Kolkata to a below-par total.
  
• And it showed up negatively, as they collapsed after a solid start - the first time both their openers got off the mark this season - and contrived to need 10 off the last over, having been 69 for 0 at one point.

Kings XI Punjab 119 for 8 (Sangakkara 45*, Malinga 2-12) beat Mumbai Indians 116 for 7 (Duminy 59, Abdulla 2-19) by three runs

• Talk about pulling one from out of the hat. Defending a small total Kings XI's three-pronged pace attack bowled canny spells to rock Mumbais' chase, and despite a composed half-century from Duminy, Punjab hung on to complete a nerve-wracking three-run victory.
• Mumbai hardly set a wrong foot forward from the time they lost the toss, striking early through spin and keeping their hands on the jugular through Malinga's late strikes, but failed to chase 120.
  
• Sangakkara had kept the innings alive with an important unbeaten 45 with scant support and it proved decisive in the end.
  
• Having struck early in the piece the task of bowling the last over, and defend 12 runs, came to Abdulla. And what an over it turned out to be.

Internazionali BNL d'Italia open

Singles - Second Round
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d A Seppi (ITA) 62 63
[2] R Federer (SUI) d I Karlovic (CRO) 64 64
[Q] J Monaco (ARG) d [4] A Murray (GBR) 16 63 75
[6] F Verdasco (ESP) d M Fish (USA) 64 57 63
J Melzer (AUT) d [7] N Davydenko (RUS) 75 76(5)
[10] S Wawrinka (SUI) d [Q] M Youzhny (RUS) 63 76(5)
[12] F Gonzalez (CHI) d J Tipsarevic (SRB) 64 64
[13] T Robredo (ESP) d P Kohlschreiber (GER) 62 76(5)
[15] M Cilic (CRO) d C Rochus (BEL) 60 57 62
R Soderling (SWE) d [Q] V Crivoi (ROU) 61 67(2) 61
[Q] M Zverev (GER) d P Mathieu (FRA) 36 76(5) 60
[16] R Stepanek (CZE) d F Lopez (ESP) 62 61
[8] G Simon (FRA) d [WC] F Fognini (ITA) 67(6) 62 63
R Gasquet (FRA) d E Gulbis (LAT) 62 16 64
[5] J Del Potro (ARG) d V Troicki (SRB) 63 61 63

Singles - First Round
R Gasquet (FRA) d [9] J Tsonga (FRA) 76(2) 64
P Mathieu (FRA) d [11] D Ferrer (ESP) 63 26 62
[16] R Stepanek (CZE) d F Serra (FRA) 76(1) 46 75

Doubles- First Round
[WC] D Bracciali (ITA) / P Starace (ITA) d A Montanes (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) 62 76(8)
[Alt] I Karlovic (CRO) / D Vemic (SRB) d F Cermak (CZE) / S Huss (AUS) 76(6) 57 10-8
J Blake (USA) / M Fish (USA) d S Aspelin (SWE) / W Moodie (RSA) 76(4) 61
M Melo (BRA) / A Sa (BRA) d R Lindstedt (SWE) / R Soderling (SWE) 75 62
[Alt] S Bolelli (ITA) / A Seppi (ITA) d F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) w/o

UEFA Champions League SemiFinal - 1st Leg

Barcelona 0 - 0 Chelsea

For the second season running FC Barcelona were frustrated by English opposition in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals as a determined defensive effort from Chelsea FC earned a goalless draw in Catalonia

Man. United ( O'Shea 17 ) 1 - 0 Arsenal

John O'Shea's first-half goal gave Sir Alex Ferguson the result he had asked for as Manchester United FC beat Arsenal FC 1-0 in the opening leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Team Standings

(MP W L NR RR P)

Hyderabad 4 4 0 0 +1.326 8

Delhi 3 3 0 0 +0.684 6

Mumbai 4 2 1 1 +1.650 5

Punjab 4 2 2 0 +0.271 4

Chennai 5 1 3 1 +0.702 3

Kolkata 5 1 3 1 -2.014 3

Rajasthan 4 1 2 1 -1.700 3

Bangalore 5 1 4 0 -0.566 2

A Dream innings by a pair of Age (36+40) together

Mumbai Indians 187 for 6 (Tendulkar 68, Jayasuriya 52) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 95 for 9 (Malinga 3-11, Nayar 3-13) by 92 runs

• Its a dream pair for anyone in cricket, watching Sachin and Jayasuriya opening an innings
• Everything went by the way of Mumbai Indians, they won the toss and chose to bat
• After a steady start for the first two overs,then the little master went after the KKR bowling sending the balls outside the park
• Jaysuriya joined the riot when dada came into bowling
• It was 111/0 at the strategy break, then some good fielding and good bowling got them 4 quick wickets
• At last Mumbai set a target of 188
• Gaye and Mccullum went early, but dada and hodge gave a little fight until the break
• After the strategy break Mumbai finished the things off
• Sachin was adjudged Man of The Match

Deccan wins 4th in a row

Deccan Chargers 169 for 4 (Gilchrist 44, Gibbs 69*) beat Chennai Super Kings 165 for 6 (Hayden 49, Oram 41*, Ojha 2-11) by six wickets

• A tenacious display from Chargers' bowlers followed by a murderous assault from their opening batsmen secured their fourth consecutive win of the tournament and firmly established the Hyderabad side as the team to beat this season.

Indian Premier League

Delhi Daredevils 150 for 4 (Dilshan 67*) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 149 for 7 (Pietersen 37, Nehra 2-34) by six wickets

• It looked like Delhis' batsmen had been a tad complacent while chasing a modest target, which Bangalores' bowlers defended tenaciously, but an unbeaten half-century from Dilshan completed their third consecutive win in the tournament
  
• The six-wicket victory took Delhi level with Deccan on top of the points table, with six each

Kings XI Punjab 139 for 6 (Sangakkara 60, Irfan 39) beat Rajasthan Royals (Jadeja 37, Abdulla 3-21, Irfan 2-26) by 27 runs

• Two pairs of left-handers played key roles as Kings XI steamrolled Royals in Cape Town
• Punjab struggled after early losses and it was left to Sangakkara to weigh in with his first half-century of the tournament and the star of the day, Irfan, to provide the momentum for a fightback.
• Then, defending a total of 139, Punjab were indebted to double-wicket overs from Irfan and Abdulla at the start

Constructors Standings

1 Brawn-Mercedes 50
2 RBR-Renault 27.5
3 Toyota 26.5
4 McLaren-Mercedes 13
5 Renault 5
6 BMW Sauber 4
7 STR-Ferrari 4
8 Williams-Toyota 3.5
9 Ferrari 3
10 Force India-Mercedes 0

Drivers Standings

1 Jenson Button British Brawn-Mercedes 31
2 Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Brawn-Mercedes 19
3 Sebastian Vettel German RBR-Renault 18
4 Jarno Trulli Italian Toyota 14.5
5 Timo Glock German Toyota 12
6 Mark Webber Australian RBR-Renault 9.5
7 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 9
8 Fernando Alonso Spanish Renault 5
9 Nick Heidfeld German BMW Sauber 4
10 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish McLaren-Mercedes 4
11 Nico Rosberg German Williams-Toyota 3.5
12 Kimi Räikkönen Finnish Ferrari 3
13 Sebastien Buemi Swiss STR-Ferrari 3
14 Sebastien Bourdais French STR-Ferrari 1
15 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 0
16 Adrian Sutil German Force India-Mercedes 0
17 Nelsinho Piquet Brazilian Renault 0
18 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Force India-Mercedes 0
19 Kazuki Nakajima Japanese Williams-Toyota 0
20 Robert Kubica Polish BMW Sauber 0

Baharain GP - Results

1 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes
2 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault
3 Jarno Trulli Toyota
4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
5 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes
6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
7 Timo Glock Toyota
8 Fernando Alonso Renault
9 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota
10 Nelsinho Piquet Renault
11 Mark Webber RBR-Renault
12 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes
13 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari
14 Felipe Massa Ferrari
15 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes
16 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
17 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
18 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber
19 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber
Ret Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota

RAFA rules the Tennis world

• Rafa romped to an unprecedented 5th straight Barcelona Open title by beating Ferrer 6-2 7-5
• Nadal has now won 24 successive matches in Barcelona and has a 25-1 record in the event
• His only loss came to countryman Corretja in the second round in 2003, when he made his tournament debut aged 16
• In a repeat of the all-Spanish 2008 final Nadal sealed victory in one hour 45 minutes, racing through the first set before both players struggled with their serve at the start of the second
• There was a run of four games against the serve before Nadal found his rhythm again and, breaking Ferrer again in the 11th game before serving for the title
• To win again here in Barcelona, in my home club and at such an important tournament is incredible- Nadal said