2nd Test: Australia lead Windies by 127 runs on Day 4

Port-of-Spain: Fast bowler Kemar Roach claimed 3 for 27 here on Wednesday as the West Indies rebounded from conceding a first innings lead of 54 to reduce Australia to 73 for 3 on a rain-ruined fourth day of the second Test at the Queen's Park Oval.

Australia go into the final day ahead by 127 runs but their progress was stalled by Roach and heavy rain that limited play to just over two hours on the day. The home team, were overnight 252 for 9, but quickly folded for 257 after four deliveries in the morning session. Australia had totaled 311 in their first innings.

Carlton Baugh was trapped leg before wicket for 21 by left-arm spinner Michael Beer, who claimed 2 for 56. Fellow spinner Nathan Lyon took 5 for 68. But Roach, who took five wickets in the first innings, hit back strongly with the scalps of opener David Warner (17) and Shane Watson (0) in his first over.

Warner had begun aggressively by slamming three fours but Roach struck with his second delivery after replacing Fidel Edwards. The left-handed Warner edged a tentative prod to first slip where Darren Bravo pouched a low catch. Three balls later, the West Indies were celebrating again as Watson's off stump was sent cart-wheeling by Roach's inswinger at 26 for 2.

It could have been even better for the Caribbean side but Ed Cowan survived a chance to first slip Darren Sammy off Edwards before he had scored. Cowan was undefeated on 14 when persistent rain sent the players off 45 minutes before the scheduled lunch break at 40 for 2. But Roach snared the left-hander soon after resumption, plumb leg before by a full-length delivery. Cowan struck two fours in 20.

Veteran Ricky Ponting also had a slice of luck when Adrian Barath at short leg could not cling on to a sharp, low catch off Shane Shillingford. Ponting emerged to play some majestic strokes in reaching 32 not out. He and skipper Michael Clarke added 16 unbroken before the skies again opened up 45 minutes after lunch and sent the players scurrying off and caused play to be abandoned for the day.

IPL 5: Clinical KKR cruise to easy win over Punjab

Gautam Gambhir scored an unbeaten 66 while Jacques Kallis remained not out on 30 as clinical Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in an IPL 5 match at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday. A disciplined bowling and fielding performance helped Kolkata restrict Punjab to just 124 for 7 and then skipper Gambhir led from the front to make sure Kolkata reached the target with 3.3 overs to spare.

Gambhir's match-winning innings included seven fours and one six. Brendon McCullum looked dangerous early on but failed to capitalise on the good start as he fell cheaply to Chawla scoring 15. Chawla also picked up his second wicket four overs later when Manvinder Bisla (11) dragged a delivery on to his stumps.

Soon, Kallis joined the captain in the middle to finish off things and did it in style with a huge six. He stayed unbeaten by scoring 30 off 23 balls. The duo shared an unbeaten 53-run stand as KKR cruised to an easy win.

Earlier, Punjab won the toss and elected to bat, but the home team lost Paul Valthaty in the third over, as Brett Lee made early inroads for Kolkata. Shaun Marsh (33) then joined Adam Gilchrist in the middle, but the latter was forced to leave the field due to a hamstring pull when he was on 28.

After six overs, Punjab were well placed at 45 for 1 with Marsh and Mandeep Singh (6) in the middle. After Gilchrist's exit Punjab struggled to score freely and Mandeep was the second man to fall as he gave away his wicket to Laxmipathy Balaji who had him caught at the third man. Soon he was joined by Marsh in the middle when Lee struck to get him caught behind. Though, Marsh's dismissal in the 14th over, however, turned out to be a little controversial.

Punjab then lost David Hussey (10) immediately in the next over for a poor judgement of a run and to leave the team reeling at 87 for 4 in the 15th over. Punjab failed to get a substantial partnership after that as Dimitri Mascarenhas (9) and Paras Dogra (6) departed in quick succession. Gilchirst returned in the 19th over to try and add some late runs, but by then the Kolkata bowlers had already done the damage. The Punjab skipper clubbed a six in the final over to take his team to 124 and remained unbeaten on 40.

For Kolkata, wily West Indian offspinner Sunil Narine (2 for 24) and Brett Lee (2 for 26) starred with the ball. Laxmipathy Balaji and Rajat Bhatia also picked up a wicket each for the visitors.

2nd Test: Lyon takes five to put Australia on top

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad: Off-spinner Nathan Lyon took five cheap wickets late on Tuesday to trigger a West Indies collapse and give Australia the edge on the third day of the second Test at the Queen's Park Oval.

The hosts, replying to Australia's first-innings total of 311, were cruising at 230 for 4 before Lyon's intervention left them limping to close at 252 for 9, still behind by 59 with two days remaining. Lyon finished with 5 for 68 off 29 overs.

The hosts, overnight 49 for 3, were led by veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul's typically composed 94, while fellow Guyanese left-hander Narsingh Deonarine stroked 55. The pair added 130 for the fifth wicket either side of a lengthy rain delay before Lyon changed the course of the day in the final hour and a quarter. Lyon claimed both and ripped through the tail end in registering his second five-wicket Test haul.

The day had a bizarre start, with the match officials taking the players off the field under sunny skies just as play was about to commence due to a power outage to the TV production. There was a 20-minute delay to the start as the ICC umpires and match referee chose to wait until technology for the Decision Review System (DRS) was up and running.

Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo began brightly for the West Indies once play got under way. Chanderpaul had an early let-off, on 8 when his edged drive off Lyon deflected off wicket-keeper Matthew Wade's leg before being dropped at slip by Michael Clarke. But the two left-handers quickly stretched their stand to 62 with an array of eye-catching strokes.

Bravo, in his first Test on his home turf, struck five fours off 94 balls before the part-time swing of Michael Hussey gained the breakthrough. The left-hander played inside the line of an inswinger and was lbw at 100-4. But Australia's momentum was quickly quelled as Chanderpaul found another confident ally in Deonarine. The pair took the hosts to lunch at 132 for 4 and continued to blossom after the break. Chanderpaul reached his 50 off 140 deliveries, and celebrated by lashing pacer James Pattinson for three boundaries in one over. Deonarine, who began slowly, also found his range using his feet to attack the spinners.

Heavy rain stalled the West Indies' progress at 188 for 4 and caused a delay of nearly two hours. But the Chanderpaul-Deonarine association continued confidently even with the arrival of the second new ball. Deonarine got to his half-century, off 132 balls, with a gorgeous cover drive for his sixth four.

But the match was turned on its head once Lyon came back to remove Deonarine with the first ball of a new spell. Deonarine, stumped by wicket-keeper Matthew Wade, struck seven fours and a six off 139 deliveries in just under three hours.

Chanderpaul, in sight of a 26th Test ton, departed one run later, lbw as he played a tentative prod. Chanderpaul's innings spanned 217 balls and 297 minutes and was spiced with 10 fours and a six.

Lyon then ripped through the lower order to leave Australia buoyant. Captain Darren Sammy holed out to long-on, Shane Shillingford prodded a bat-pad catch to short leg and Kemar Roach tickled a leg-side catch to Wade. Carlton Baugh hit an unbeaten 17 and last man Fidel Edwards also survived to close on 0 not out.

IPL 5: Gayle, de Villiers end Bangalore drought with win versus Pune

Bangalore: AB de Villiers and Saurabh Tiwary took the required 21 runs off the last over bowled by Ashish Nehra to take Royal Challengers Bangalore to a thrilling six-wicket win against Pune Warriors India at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday.

Chasing 183 to win, Bangalore got off to a poor start, with Tillakaratne Dilshan (4) and Mayank Agarwal (9) getting out cheaply to Ashok Dinda and Marlon Samuels respectively. Virat Kohli too failed with the bat and when he got out for 16 with only 72 runs on the board in the 12th over, the match seemed to getting out of Bangalore’s grasp. But opener Chris Gayle had other ideas. The burly West Indian hit Rahul Sharma for five consecutive sixes in the 13th over to bring his team back into the contest. Ashish Nehra provided another twist in the tale, bowling Gayle for 81 with an inch-perfect yorker in the 16th over. At that time, the hosts still needed 56 off 26 balls to win.

de Villiers (33 off 14 balls) and Tiwary (36 off 23 balls) had a big job on their hands after Gayle’s departure and they kept Bangalore in the hunt with some lusty blows. Thanks to their big hitting, the equation came down to 28 off 12 balls. In such a crunch situation, fast bowler Dinda bowled the penultimate over and took the match almost beyond Bangalore’s reach by conceding just seven runs. Former India pacer Nehra, however, could not do what Dinda did in the 19th over. de Villiers hit 4,6,6 to bring down the equation to 3 off one ball and Tiwary lofted it over the long-on boundary for a six to bring an end to Bangalore’s run of three successive defeats.

Earlier, electing to bat first, Pune got off to a rollicking start, with Robin Uthappa and Jesse Ryder taking the Bangalore bowlers to the cleaners. Both added 63 runs in seven overs before Ryder holed out to Agarwal off the bowling of Harshal Patel. Ryder took 22 balls for his 34 and hit four fours and one six.

Captain Sourav Ganguly’s poor run with the bat continued as he limped to six off eight balls before giving Agarwal his second catch of the night. Despite Ganguly’s struggles, Uthappa kept up his onslaught at the other end and that largely accounted for the 45-run partnership between the two. Soon after Ganguly’s departure, Uthappa followed suit but he had done his job by that time. He consumed just 45 balls for his 69 and hit nine boundaries and two towering sixes.

Thereafter, Marlon Samuels and last match’s hero Steven Smith took up the scoring reins. Both added a quickfire 47 off 23 balls to ensure the Pune team posed a mammoth total. Samuels made a 20-ball 34 with the help of one four and two sixes, while Smith made 16 off 14 balls. After their departures in quick succession, Angelo Mathews (10) and Mithun Manhas (6 not out) chipped in to take Pune to 182 for 6. Vinay Kumar picked up two wickets to be the best bowler for Bangalore, while Patel and captain Daniel Vettori took one wicket apiece.

Despite the win, Bangalore remain in 8th with their second win in five matches, while Pune also remain third in the table with their second defeat in five matches.

IPL 5: Nerveless Hodge seals RR a thriller

Rajasthan Royals’ previous four matches against Deccan Chargers had ended in victory, and a rather one-sided rivalry was extended in Jaipur where the home team pulled off a remarkable chase of 197 with five wickets and two balls remaining. Set their stiffest target of the season, Rajasthan were given a strong start from Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane but three wickets to Amit Mishra left them struggling for air. That’s when Brad Hodge proved his versatility; he smashed Dale Steyn for four consecutive fours en route to a nerveless 21-ball 48, and the IPL debutant Dishant Yagnik carved Steyn for successive fours to clinch a thriller. The win kept Rajasthan atop the IPL 5 table, and their reputation as the team to beat in 2012.

When Hodge walked to the middle at the fall of Owais Shah in the 14th over, Rajasthan needed 75 from 40 balls with seven wickets in hand. It was a daunting task, considering after Hodge there were no reputed batsman to follow. But the Australian swung the momentum back with four consecutive fours off Steyn – through point, past square leg, to third man and between the covers.

Then Johan Botha – dropped by Bharat Chipli at point on three – dumped Christian for a big six in the 18th over. Anand Rajan removed Botha with a slower ball, but Hodge smacked a straight four and a sliced six over extra cover to leave the target at 11 off six balls. Hodge carved the first ball from Steyn out to sweeper cover and sprinted two, flicked the second for a single and then Yagnik slapped a short ball to the point boundary to bring the Rajasthan dug-out to its feet. The winning shot came the very next delivery, as Yagnik punched into the covers and the boundary patroller made a mess of it.

This capped a thrilling chase, which had been ignited by Dravid who sped to 42 from 24 balls before being bowled by Christian. Steyn’s first over produced three boundaries, Rajan went for two streaky boundaries, and Dravid smoked Christian for a six before losing his leg stump. Rahane – fresh from a maiden Twenty20 century – contributed a more sedate 17 off 11 balls to the 62-run opening stand. Rajasthan opted for the strategic time-out after six overs, and the asking rate slowly climbed as Christian kept a check on runs and Steyn returned to test Rahane and Ashok Menaria. Rahane – who crossed 300 runs in IPL 5 - broke free with a six off Mishra to take the score to 90 for 1 after ten, meaning Rajasthan needed 108 at the half-way mark. However, attempting to pick up the asking rate against Mishra, Deccan stumbled. Menaria pulled a short ball to midwicket, Rahane skipped out and found the long-off fielder, and Shah – the man on whom the responsibility for a late surge rested – swiped to deep midwicket. Rajasthan still had Hodge, though.

Playing their first match since April 9 – a gap of eight days – Deccan would have backed themselves to win this after piling up 196 for 2. On a lightning-quick outfield, Deccan took at least one boundary off each of the first nine overs and, after a brief hiccup following the exit of their openers, produced a late surge that yielded 53 in the final four overs.

Shikhar Dhawan (52) and Kumar Sangakkara (44) put on 94 in 10. 4 overs, a stand that was snapped by Hodge’s part-time spin. Dhawan fell soon after, but after the strategy break JP Duminy and Christian provided the acceleration. They each hit sixes to get going, and even when the boundaries weren’t located the pair hustled between the wickets – they pinched five doubles – to ensure the platform set by the openers wasn’t wasted. Amit Singh’s third over cost 17, Pankaj Singh was looted for 18 in the penultimate over, and Duminy hit his fourth and fifth sixes in the final over to speed to a half-century in 24 balls. His splendid innings grabbed the initiative away from Rajasthan and resulted in Deccan posting a big total. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t enough.

2nd Test: WI lose three to give Aus dominance

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad: Australia took three final-session wickets to restrict West Indies to 49-3 by stumps Monday on the second day of the second Test, building a 262-run lead despite Kemar Roach's five-wicket haul for the hosts. Roach took 5-105 from 27 overs as West Indies dismissed Australia for 311 after having resumed at Queen's Park Oval on 208-5. Kraigg Brathwaite (0), Adrian Barath (7) and Kieran Powell (19) were all out to lbw decisions, ensuring West Indies face a battle to stay in the series. Australia leads 1-0 with one more Test left to play.

There was a wicket apiece for Australian quicks Ben Hilfenhaus, James Pattinson and left-arm spinner Michael Beer. Australia's total was boosted by Michael Hussey's 73 in a seventh-wicket stand of 89 with James Pattinson, who made 32. Roach led the hosts' attack while offspinners Shane Shillingford's 3-92 and Narsingh Deonarine's 2-32 also contributed.

The day had begun brightly for West Indies with Roach removing wicketkeeper Matthew Wade for 11 with the second ball of the second over. Wade drove at a good length delivery and edged low to second slip for Darren Bravo to hold the catch and make it 208-6. Roach and Fidel Edwards, armed with the second new ball, were unlucky not to claim another breakthrough in the first hour with Hussey and Pattinson both being beaten on several occasions. But the pair of left-handers gradually emerged to share an important stand. Hussey, overnight 26, brought up his 50 off 137 balls with a push through extra cover off Darren Sammy's medium pace.

The 21-year-old Pattinson shrugged off two nasty blows to his right arm from Roach and Edwards to hit three confident boundaries. The duo took lunch at 267-6, with rain arriving to stall play for nearly two hours. Upon resumption, Hussey and Pattinson continued to build the innings before West Indies hit back by claiming the last four wickets for 14 runs. Spin finally earned the crucial breakthrough for the hosts, with part-timer Deonarine removing Hussey to a driven catch to extra cover. Hussey struck four fours and a six off 208 balls in four hours.

Next over, Pattinson's 119-ball marathon was ended when he skied the ball into the off side off the leading edge off Shillingford. The fast bowler hit five fours in two and a half hours. Roach returned to wrap up the tail, bowling Ben Hilfenhaus (5) and trapping last man Michael Beer (2) lbw in successive overs on the stroke of tea. The 23-year-old Roach, in his 16th Test, claimed his third five-wicket haul.

West Indies, however, was quickly in trouble when batting. The Caribbean side had not scored when Brathwaite was trapped shuffling across the crease to Hilfenhaus. Australia further seized the initiative when Barath was out to Beer, who ended with 1-22 after taking the new ball with Hilfenhaus. Powell counter-attacked before he fell to Pattinson's first delivery to leave the total on 38-3. Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the team's most reliable pair, survived to the close. Bravo struck two straight boundaries off Beer while Chanderpaul was content to be the anchor as the partnership reached 11. Pattinson, although wayward at times, took 1-6 while Hilfenhaus grabbed 1-12.

IPL 5: Bowlers hand Delhi Daredevils easy win

The last time Delhi Daredevils visited the Wankhede Stadium, they were bowled out for 147 as Mumbai Indians picked up an easy victory. This time around, the Virender Sehwag-led side handed out a seven-wicket defeat to Mumbai Indians, one that took them to top of the IPL 5 table. Mumbai's chance to reach No. 1 on the standings was dashed spectacularly, and they looked out of depth as they were bowled out for 92 – the season's lowest total – and conceded the win inside 15 overs.

This was a victory fashioned by Delhi's bowlers on a lively surface, with each of the five men employed picking up at least one wicket. Delhi lost two wickets owing to the pacy nature of the pitch but, with the help of handy knocks from Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene, the target was crossed with 5.1 overs to spare.

Mumbai had sought to reinforce their top-order batting with another overseas player in Davy Jacobs, but it failed to prevent another sloppy performance. Delhi's new-ball pair handcuffed the top order, with Irfan Pathan starting off with a maiden and Shahbaz Nadeem's left-arm spin extracting the openers early. Nadeem struck with his fifth ball, when Jacobs was bowled for a 10-ball 0 slogging across the line, and on his seventh Richard Levi was also bowled playing a loose shot.

At 7 for 2 after four overs, Rohit Sharma tried to break free with a series of edged boundaries that helped Mumbai to 23 for 2 – the lowest Powerplay score of IPL 5. Ambati Rayudu failed to cash in on a drop on 0, however, run out for 4 on the first ball bowled by Ajit Agarkar. In walked Kieron Pollard, but he lasted just three balls; without even sizing up Umesh Yadav, the West Indian played a crude slog to his first ball bowled and gave Ross Taylor an easy catch in the deep.

It got worse. Sehwag put two men back on the leg side and Rohit promptly top-edged a short ball from Agarkar out to Taylor, who held his second catch. Yadav got Dinesh Karthik next, pulling a short delivery tamely to mid-on. Mumbai were hurting, with the scoreboard showing five batsmen with single-digit scores – including Jacobs' blob – next to their names.

Harbhajan Singh opted for belligerence and smacked Agarkar for six, four and four in three balls to get Mumbai's total past 50. A couple of edged boundaries gave the home crowd something to cheer about, but the strategy break did Mumbai no good. Clint McKay – on IPL debut - fell five balls after the re-start, lofting Morne Morkel to long-off, and in the next over Yadav went straight through RP Singh making his first appearance of the season. Morkel got Harbhajan next, nicking a wide delivery outside off stump for 33, and Agarkar wrapped up the innings in the 20th over.

A target of 93 was never going to be too big a challenge, especially as Mumbai were without Lasith Malinga. However, even Delhi's batsmen weren't fluent on a surface that had some bounce in it for the quick men. Sehwag sliced his first delivery over two fielders in the point region for a flat six but once Mumbai's three-pronged pace attack pulled back its lengths, the freebies dried up. The extra lift did for Naman Ojha, who lobbed to short midwicket, and Kevin Pietersen was also cramped on the pull to give RP two wickets in his unbroken four-over spell.

Sehwag should have been out on 16, but Levi spilled a catch at third man. Delhi's captain took his team to within 19 runs of victory before trying to hit a six, and Jayawardene's patient 17 sealed victory.

Irfan Pathan blitz helps Delhi beat Kolkata

Kolkata: Irfan Pathan's batting blitz got Delhi Daredevils off to a winning start in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as Virender Sehwag's team beat Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets in a rain-curtailed game here at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.

The match was reduced to a 12-over affair after two-and-a-half hours of play was lost due to wet conditions following a spell of rain. However, the capacity crowd didn't go home disappointed and was treated with a close contest in the end as Delhi scored the winning runs in the last over of their chase

Chasing 98 to win, Sehwag (20) and Aaron Finch (30) raced to a 49-run start, laying a solid foundation for Pathan (42 not out off 20 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (3 not out) to score the remaining runs after the openers left in quick succession. Pathan hit three sixes and two fours in his match-winning knock.

After electing to bowl first, Delhi bowlers Morne Morkel (3 for 18), Umesh Yadav (2 for 9) and Roelof van der Merwe (2 for 28) didn't disappoint their skipper as the visitors restricted the hosts to 97 for 9. Allrounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla (26 off 17 balls) was the top-scorer for Kolkata.

Earlier, Morkel rocked Kolkata's top order with back-to-back wickets. He first bowled Jacques Kallis (4) and Manoj Tiwary (0) in successive deliveries and then followed it up with the wicket of Kolkata's skipper Gautam Gambhir, who played a short ball by the tall South African pacer onto his stumps. And the home side was in a real spot of bother when Yusuf Pathan was caught behind off Yadav.

But young Bengal batsman Debabrata Das (18) took the attack to the opposition with two lusty sixes, though his innings was cut short when he got run out after a terrible mix-up with Rajat Bhatia. A Shukla cameo late in the innings took Kolkata to a decent total; however, it was not enough in the end.

In reply, Delhi raced to 48 for no loss in six overs, with Finch and Sehwag swatting the ball hard. But the wickets of Finch, who was clean-bowled by Kallis, and Sehwag, who was caught brilliantly at the long-on fence by Iqbal Abdulla off Bhatia, in quick succession put the match in balance until Pathan's blitz blew away the opposition.

2nd Test: Sri Lanka trail England by 181 runs

Colombo: Kevin Pietersen struck 151 for his 20th Test hundred to help England to a 185-run lead over Sri Lanka on the third day of the second Test here at the P Sara Oval on Thursday. Pietersen (151) hit six sixes and 16 fours in 165 balls for his ninth score of 150 or more before being out lbw to spinner Rangana Herath. However, England were firmly in control after they were bowled out for 460 in reply to Sri Lanka's 275.

Sri Lanka were 4 for no loss at stumps with night-watchman Dhammika Prasad and Lahiru Thirimanne safely negotiating the one sole over. Pietersen shared a partnership of 94 with Ian Bell (18) for the fourth wicket. Alastair Cook (94), Jonathan Trott (64) and captain Andrew Strauss (61) also batted well for England. Herath recorded his 10th five-wicket haul, finishing with 6 for 133.

Resuming Thursday on 154-1, England's overnight pair of Cook and Trott extended their partnership to 91 to build on the solid start of 122 by the openers. Dilshan then had Cook caught at slip by captain Mahela Jayawardene.

Cook hit nine boundaries in 278 balls.

Trott was out soon after lunch, caught at slip again by Jayawardene off Herath.

After Trott's dismissal, Pietersen and Bell continued scoring quick runs, rotating the strike and hitting any loose balls.

Pietersen looked especially at ease against the Sri Lankan spinners, who only a week ago guided their team to a 75-run win in the first Test. He reverse-swept Dilshan for two runs to reach his century and leapt and punched the air in celebration. Pietersen was also warned twice by the onfield umpires for switching his stance as Tillakaratne Dilshan ran up to bowl. Match referee Javagal Srinath has announced that if he or any member of his team repeat the offense again during the innings, Sri Lanka will be awarded five penalty runs. England are able to push for the series-equalling victory they need to retain No. 1 spot in the Test rankings. Sri Lanka lead 1-0 in the two-Test series

MI beat defending champions CSK in IPL opener

Chennai: An allround display by Mumbai Indians (MI) saw them post a comprehensive eight-wicket win over the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the opening match of Indian Premier League's (IPL) season five here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.

Chasing a modest 113 to win, Mumbai achieved the target with 3.1 overs to spare, riding on Richard Levi's fifty on IPL debut and his 69-run opening stand with Sachin Tendulkar, who retired hurt with a hand injury after scoring 16. Doug Bollinger and Dwayne Bravo were the two wicket-takers for Chennai.

Levi and Rohit Sharma (0) fell in quick succession to give Chennai some hope in the middle. However, Ambati Rayudu (18 not out) and James Franklin (25 not out) made sure there were no major hiccups towards the end of Mumbai's chase.

CSK – who were unbeaten at home in the last season – were never in the game after Mumbai reduced them to 85 for 5 following skipper Harbhajan Singh's decision to bowl first. Despite a 26-ball 36 by Suresh Raina, Chennai could never recover and were eventually bowled out for a meagre 112 in 19.5 overs. Lasith Malinga, Pragyan Ojha and the West Indian allrounder Kieron Pollard finished with two wickets apiece.

IPL 5 opening ceremony ends with Perry magic

Chennai: The opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League season five concluded with a magical performance from American singer Katy Perry at the YMCA Ground here on Tuesday evening. Bollywood and Hollywood joined hands together to entertain a packed venue. Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra were the main attractions.

Big B opened the event reciting a poem written by the renowned lyricist Prasoon Joshi. He also led all the captains in signing a pledge of playing the game with integrity and dignity. Kareena and Priyanka drew the biggest cheer for their dance performances but the renowned dancer Prabhudeva was not far behind, sending the audience into a frenzy with his moves. Colonial Cousins and 1st Project were other notable performers on the night.

Meanwhile, BCCI president N Srinivasan announced that the proceedings from the play-offs will be distributed among former India and domestic cricketers as a reward for their services. "I would like to say that from the proceeds of the play-off games of the IPL, the BCCI will give a one-time benefit to those who have graced Indian cricket - international as well as those who have played domestic cricket for a long time," Srinivasan said.

"Over 185 players will benefit from this (scheme). This is a small thank you to those who have done yeoman service to Indian cricket."

He also said that the BCCI had utilised the money earned from the T20 tournament up to the hilt for improvement purposes. "The BCCI has made good use of the success of IPL. The BCCI has distributed funds to all associations so that infrastructure, training facilities and academies are developed so that young cricketers have ample opportunities to become good players and knock on the national selection doors."

The nine-team tournament kicks off on Wednesday with defending champions Chennai Super Kings taking on Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here.

Jayawardene rescues Sri Lanka in England Test

COLOMBO  - Skipper Mahela Jayawardene cracked his second century in consecutive matches to pull Sri Lanka out of trouble in the second and final Test against England in Colombo on Tuesday.

Jayawardene followed his match-winning 180 in the first Test in Galle with a classy 105 after seamer James Anderson had reduced the hosts to 30 for three within the first hour at P. Sara Oval.

Thilan Samaraweera (54) added 124 for the fourth wicket with his captain as Sri Lanka recovered to post 238 for six by stumps on the opening day in a remarkable re-run of the Galle Test.

Sri Lanka had slumped to 15-3 in the first four overs of the match at Galle, before Jayawardene and Samaraweera rescued the hosts by putting on a half-century partnership.

A sell-out crowd of 5,000, mostly travelling English fans, applauded warmly when Jayawardene reached his 31st Test century with a single off left-arm spinner Samit Patel after tea.

The 34-year-old struck 11 fours and a six in his eighth hundred against England before he was trapped leg-before by off-spinner Graeme Swann with a sharp, turning delivery.

England, whose 75-run defeat at Galle followed a 3-0 rout by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates earlier in the year, need a win to level the series and retain their number one ranking.

Andrew Strauss' men will slip to second spot behind South Africa if they lose or draw the match.

Jayawardene lost Samaraweera just before tea, leg-before to seamer Tim Bresnan, but there was no respite for the England bowlers who toiled gamely under the hot sun.

Angelo Mathews, returning to the side after missing the first Test with a calf injury, was unbeaten on 41 after adding 62 runs for the fifth wicket with his skipper.

Prasanna Jayawardene was caught behind off Steven Finn for seven, but Suraj Randiv saw out the day on five.

Anderson struck in his third over when he forced Tillakaratne Dilshan to edge a catch to wicket-keeper Matt Prior after the previous two balls had been driven for boundaries.

Kumar Sangakkara was dismissed first ball for the second match in a row when he was snapped up by Strauss in the slips, the England captain taking the catch at second attempt.

Jayawardene once again prevented a hat-trick, as he had done in Galle, and went on to master the England attack on a dry wicket that is expected to crumble in the later stages of the match.

Lahiru Thirimanne padded up to a straight ball from Anderson and was given out leg-before by umpire Bruce Oxenford, a decision upheld by the third umpire after the batsman asked for a review.

The tourists went in with a three-man seam attack, bringing in Bresnan and Finn to partner Anderson with the new ball. Spinner Monty Panesar was dropped, while Stuart Broad has flown home with a calf injury.

Sri Lanka made two changes from the side that won in Galle, as a fit-again Mathews and Dhammika Prasad returned in place of Dinesh Chandimal and Chanaka Welegedara.

IPL 5 set for a gala opening

Chennai: A galaxy of stars, including Amitabh Bachchan and American pop star Katy Perry, will set the ball rolling for the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a glittering opening ceremony that promises to enthral the audience here on Tuesday. High-octane Twenty20 cricket will get underway on April 4, promising excitement and entertainment for the audience in the next 54 days when nine teams featuring international stars and unheralded players will be competing.

Having proved its success in the past four editions with growing popularity, the Indian cricket board's money-spinning event will formally be launched with the IPL Opening Nite. The dazzling show will be graced by Bachchan and other Bollywood stars, including Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor and Salman Khan.

The gala ceremony at the YMCA College of Physical Education would also feature all the nine team captains taking the MCC Spirit of Cricket pledge. Although very little information has been shared on the opening ceremony, whose tickets start from Rs. 1,500, the evening is expected to provide a sumptuous feast of dance and music for the fans with Perry set to perform for the first time in India during the show, which will also have India's dancing sensation Prabhudeva.

The tournament proper will kick off on April 4 with the holders Chennai Super Kings taking on the last year Champions League Twenty20 winners Mumbai Indians in the inaugural match at the MA Chidambaram stadium. Mumbai captain Sachin Tendulkar will play for the first time before home fans after achieving the feat of 100 international centuries in the Asia Cup.

A total of 76 matches will be played at 12 venues across the country in the run-up to the finals on May 27 here. The league stage will comprise 72 ties with each team playing the other eight in a home-and-away format. The play-offs would be hosted by Bangalore and Chennai, the finalists from the previous edition.

The edition has been reduced to a nine-team affair after last-year entrants Kochi Tuskers Kerala were terminated by the BCCI in September last for a breach of terms of agreement. Expectedly, not many are daring to hazard a guess on the favourites to win the coveted trophy, though the MS Dhoni-led Chennai and Mumbai are in the forefront.