NEWS ALERT

NEWS UPDATE : Asian Cricket Third Sri Lanka-Pakistan ODI abandoned due to rain COLOMBO: The third One-day International between Sri Lanka and Pakistan was abandoned due to rain here at the R Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday. The umpires made this decision after consulting ... Australia want to master all forms of game: Clarke SYDNEY: Australia's limited-overs tour of England and Ireland represents the start of a two-year campaign to make them the top nation in all three forms of the game, captain Michael Clarke said ... Bopara glad to be back for England SOUTHAMPTON, England: Ravi Bopara is eager to make up for lost times as he tries to revive his ... South Africa name unchanged squad for England series JOHANNESBURG: South Africa have kept faith with a winning formula by naming an unchanged squad for the three-Test series in England starting next month, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on ...


Thursday, April 14, 2011

Chennai stunned by Punjab in IPL

Updated at: 2004 PST,  Wednesday, April 13, 2011
MOHALI: Unheralded Paul Valthaty smashed an unbeaten 120 off 63 balls as Kings XI Punjab shocked defending champions Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday. Valthaty, 27, clobbered 19 fours and two sixes in a stunning counter-attack to help Punjab overhaul an imposing 189-run target with five balls to spare for their first win in two matches.A surprise promotion to the opening slot, Valthaty single-handedly fashioned the highest successful run-chase in the ongoing Twenty20 tournament.Dinesh Karthik brought off the winning runs with a six, much to the delight of Adam Gilchrist's team, reeling under a heavy defeat to Pune in their opening match.Opener Murali Vijay earlier struck a fine 74 off 43 balls to help Chennai overcome the loss of two wickets off the first two balls of the innings.Vijay also shared a 122-run partnership for the third wicket with Subramaniam Badrinath who remained not out on 66 with eight fours, after Punjab won the toss and elected to field.Fast bowler Praveen Kumar gave Punjab the perfect start when he had in-form opening batsman Anirudha Srikkanth trapped leg before and Suresh Raina caught at midwicket the next ball.But Vijay and Badrinath brought the innings back on the track with a mix of aggression and caution and set the stage for a late assualt by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.Dhoni smashed four fours and two sixes to score 43 runs off 20 balls as his wife Sakshi cheered from the stands.