Captains Bidd-ing was concluded yesterday at the Lakshman Kadirgarmar Institute under a highly competitive note with 10 franchisees savouring the leader of the respective teams.
National team Vice Captain and Kandy Sports Club fame Fazil Marija fetched the second highest price of Rs. 3 million in the bidding by the Gladiators.
Rohitha, the other Rugby playing sibling of President Rajapaksa, was snapped up by Sabaragamuwa Stallions franchisee. At the bidding MP Namal Rajapaksa and founder of Carlton 7s was also present.
Players’ auction is slated in the first week of June. The Carlton Rugby 7s will kick off late June under a new format.
It comprises an all locals contest and an international one with the latter involving four foreign players per franchise.
Local Leg 1 and 2 will be played in Nuwara Eliya and Nawalapitiya whilst the International competition will be worked off at Galle and Colombo.

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Chasing 133, Rahul Dravid got RR rolling with two gorgeous strokes through mid-wicket off Dale Steyn. Ishant Sharma got SRH the first breakthrough as Dravid (12) was caught by Karan Sharma of a leading edge. Shane Watson hit two boundaries off Ishant Sharma in the fourth over and then Ajinkya Rahane hit a six off Ishant Sharma before Watson smashed two boundaries. RR made 44 from their Power Play.

Watson (24) was sent back by Karan Sharma as Darren Sammy pulled off a stunning catch at the mid-wicket boundary. Sammy then knocked back Dishant Yagnik’s (0) off-stump. The collapse continued as Rahane (18) was deceived in flight, reached out and chipped one straight back to Amit Mishra. Stuart Binny (2) was bowled by Sammy in the tenth over. At the halfway stage, RR were 57 for five, still requiring 76 runs.

Brad Hodge plundered 18 runs off Karan Sharma in the 14th over as he hit two sixes and a boundary. Needing 34 needed from 30 balls, Steyn trapped Sanju Viswanadh (10) leg before. Faulkner (11*) struck a couple boundaries to reduce the equation to 15 from the last two overs. Thisara Perera bowled a tight 19th over, conceding only five runs, to leave RR to score 10 off the last over. Hodge (54*) sealed the match with two massive sixes as RR reached the target with four balls remaining.

Earlier, SRH won the toss and elected to bat. RR struck first blood as Parthiv Patel (1) miscued Vikramjeet Malik to Viswanadh in the very first over. Malik struck again as Hanuma Vihari (1) hit one straight to Kevon Cooper at mid-on to leave SRH two down in the third over. Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White consolidated, adding 52 runs.

White (31) slammed a boundary off Siddharth Trivedi before perishing the next ball caught by Cooper. After a few quiet overs, Sammy got a move on as he slammed a six off Watson. Dhawan (33) trying to improvise, only managed to scoop Faulkner to Trivedi at short fine-leg. In the 17th over, Sammy launched Cooper for a six, before Perera followed suit and put him into the crowd. Sammy (29) then pulled Watson for a six before he was run out, courtesy a brilliant throw from the deep. Perera (11) then departed edging one off Watson to the wicket-keeper. SRH eventually finished at 132 for seven.

Man-of-the-match: Brad Hodge

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photo credit : © BCCI

Chennai Super Kings breezed into the final of the IPL 2013 for the fourth straight time with a thumping 48-run win over Mumbai Indians in the first qualifier here today.

Riding on pyrotechnics of Mike Hussey (86) and Suresh Raina (82), CSK posted a massive 192 for one and then did well to bowl out Mumbai Indians for 144 in 18.4 overs.

Mumbai Indians’ last nine wickets fell for 57 runs.

Mumbai will however get another chance to qualify for the final when they meet winner of the the second qualifier between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals.

For the record, CSK has made it to the fifth final in six editions of the cash-rich league. The only time they failed to make it to the title round was the second edition held in South Africa where they lost in the semi-finals.

En route their win, Hussey (732 runs) and Dwayne Bravo (28 wickets) also retained the ‘Orange’ and ‘Purple’ Cap respectively.

Dwayne Smith’s big-hitting prowess is well documented and while chasing a target of 193, one needed to be aggressive from the word ‘go’. He hit a blazing 28-ball 68 but after his fall, Mumbai lost wickets in heap.

Smith took full advantage of the field restriction as he played the lofted shot to good effect. Whether it was rookie Mohit Sharma or South African Chris Morris, Smith deposited all of them in the stands as MI started scoring at a rate of more than 10 per over.

Aditya Tare’s dismissal couldn’t deter Smith as rival skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni saw his bowlers being clobbered. Smith reached 50 off 21 balls and then Ravichandran Ashwin was brought into the attack.

Smith hit him for a straight six into the sight-screen and followed it with a boundary. Such was Smith’s dominance that in a partnership of 75 runs with Dinesh Karthik, the latter contributed only nine.

Both CSK and MI scored 22 points each from 16 matches, but the former topped the table because of better run-rate. They come into the contest after conceding defeats in their respective previous games – RCB beat CSK by four runs and KXIP beat MI by 50 runs.

CSK are perhaps the most consistent team this season, and they hold the record of entering the Playoff in the IPL tournament held till date. However, they have bad record against MI, and they were defeated in their two meetings earlier this season.

The teams have met 13 times in the past and MI have defeated CSK on eight occasions. They beat the Chennai franchise in both the meetings earlier this season.

Sunrisers were in a spot of bother losing five wickets in quick succession in the middle overs but they came out triumphant in the end to finish fourth in the IPL standings with 20 points.

Sunrisers’ victory left Royal Challengers Bangalore out of the playoffs stage as the Virat Kohli-led side could manage only 18 points in the league.

Chasing 131-run target to qualify for the playoffs, Sunrisers lost wickets at regular intervals after a solid start to their run chase.

Darren Sammy smacked two huge sixes in the penultimate over to end the run chase jitter for the hosts as they chased down the target 1.1 overs to go.

Spinner Iqbal Abdulla struck again in the sixteenth over to dismiss Hanuma Vihari (6) and reduced the hosts to 108/4 in 15.3 overs.

Hyderabad lost Cameron White soon after Abdulla magic as a confusion with Vihari left the skipper stranded in the pitch to be run out for just 2 runs.

Hyderabad lost Parthiv Patel (47) and Shikhar Dhawan (42) after a solid start.

“I’m thankful to PSG for giving me the opportunity to continue but I feel now is the right time to finish my career, playing at the highest level,” the former England captain said in a statement.

Beckham, whose forays into fashion and marriage to a pop star wife have made him a riveting international celebrity, has two more matches left at PSG against Brest on Saturday and at Lorient on May 26. He has been giving his salary to a children’s charity.

Beckham started his career with Manchester United and also played for Real Madrid and the Los Angeles Galaxy, winning titles with all those clubs.

With United between 1992 and 2003, Beckham won six Premier League titles, the Champions League, two FA Cups and the Intercontinental Cup.

Beckham left United in 2003 shortly after manager Alex Ferguson accidentally struck Beckham’s eye with a football boot. Ferguson announced his retirement from Manchester United last week.

Beckham spent four years in Madrid – winning the 2007 Spanish title before making the surprise move to Major League Soccer, where he won the title twice. Read: David Beckham career highlights

There were highs and lows in Beckham’s international career. He was blamed for England’s elimination from the 1998 World Cup for his petulant red card against Argentina, but scored the winning goal against the same team at the World Cup four years later.

Beckham responded to jeering at the 2000 European Championship with an obscene hand gesture to England fans, but was lauded by the same supporters little more than a year later when his last-minute free kick against Greece secured a place at the 2002 World Cup.

England dropped Beckham in August 2006 in an effort to renew the team with younger players after a quarterfinal exit at that year’s World Cup. England coach Steve McClaren recalled him the following year after a poor run of form, and he returned for the remainder of England’s unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the 2008 European Championship.

Captain MS Dhoni blasted 58 not out to lift CSK to a competitive 168-4. Delhi never looked like posing a threat and ultimately finished at 135/9 to lose by 33 runs. Skipper David Warner once again played a lone hand for the Daredevils but he had scant support from his teammates.

Earlier, CSK appeared to be losing their way after a positive start before Dhoni, yet again, took charge after promoting himself to No. 4. Already assured of a playoffs spot, CSK are eyeing a top-two finish that will allow them a second shot at the final, and it was to lift their net run rate that the hosts uncharacteristically opted to bat first.

Dhoni’s fifty came off 30 deliveries with two fours and four sixes. Only, this time it wasn’t brutal hitting that the Indian captain is so very capable of, but a calculated assault that took the wind out of Daredevils’s attack.

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photo credit :BCCI

Chasing 179, Dwayne Smith hit a couple of streaky boundaries off Dale Steyn in third over. Ishant Sharma drew first blood for SRH in the fourth over uprooting Smith’s (21) middle stump. MI made 39 from the Power Play as Dinesh Karthik and Sachin Tendulkar went about consolidating the innings. At the halfway stage, MI were 73 for one, still requiring 106 runs.

Tendulkar (38*) stepped out and smashed Karan Sharma for a boundary and a six in the 12th over before he left the field retired hurt. Dinesh Karthik (30) was sent back the next ball caught by Cameron White off Karan Sharma. The leg-spinner then had Ambati Rayudu (2) stumped to leave MI three down in the 14th over.

Rohit Sharma hit Ishant Sharma into the crowd before Kieron Pollard smashed a boundary to leave MI needing 66 from 30 balls. In the 17th over, Thisara Perera was taken apart for 29 runs as Rohit Sharma (20*) slammed a six before Pollard hit a boundary and three successive sixes. The carnage continued as Pollard deposited Amit Mishra for three massive sixes to bring up his fifty in just 20 deliveries – the third fastest effort in the IPL to get to the 50-run mark. With seven runs needed from the last over, Pollard smashed two sixes to see MI home with three balls remaining.

Earlier SRH won the toss and elected to bat. SRH got off to a rollicking start with Parthiv Patel smashing four boundaries off Mitchell Johnson’s first over. Shikhar Dhawan continued the assault with a six off Dhawal Kulkarni. Patel (26) who was dropped by Kulkarni on 25 was pouched in the deep a few balls later.

Dhawan slammed consecutive boundaries off Malinga to bring up his fifty. Johnson had Dhawan (59) caught behind in the 13th over to give MI their second wicket. Captain White hit consecutive boundaries off Kulkarni in the 14th, before smashing Pragyan Ojha for a six the next over. White, put down by Rayudu on 27, deposited Johnson into the crowd as SRH piled on the runs. Hanuma Vihari (41) was caught by Johnson off Malinga. White (43*) smashed the final delivery off Kulkarni for a six as SRH posted 178 for three.

Man-of-the-Match: Kieron Pollard

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photo credit : © BCCI

Chasing a moderate 142, RR started slowly before Jason Holder struck in the fourth over getting two wickets. First he had Ajinkya Rahane (9) caught by Murali Vijay at mid-on, before knocking out James Faulkner’s (1) off-stump. Sanju Vishvanadh (0) promoted up the order then departed caught behind off Mohit Sharma to leave RR reeling at 19 for three.

Chris Morris got CSK their fourth wicket having Rahul Dravid (28) caught behind. At the halfway stage, RR were 49 for four, still needing 93 runs.

Binny set the ball rolling for RR, hitting Ravichandran Ashwin for a six in his very first over. Watson joined in smashing two sixes as Ashwin’s first over was taken apart for 23 runs. Binny followed that up with two boundaries off Morris before Watson followed it with a six off Holder in the 13th over. Dwayne Bravo was taken apart for 22 runs in the 14th as Watson and Binny put him over the fence thrice. Watson continued the assault with four more boundaries off Morris’s 15th to bring up his half-century. Watson and Binny (41*) added 93 runs in just 45 balls. Watson (70) fell, bowled by Bravo with RR on the doorstep of victory, needing just four more runs. RR reached the target with 17 balls remaining.

Earlier RR won the toss and opted to field first on a pitch that had a scattering of grass on it. CSK started cautiously scoring just seven runs off the first two overs before Vijay and Michael Hussey hit a boundary each off Vikramjeet Malik in the third over. Vijay then smashed consecutive boundaries off Watson in the sixth over. Rahane put down a difficult chance of Vijay when on 26. At the halfway stage, CSK were 75 for no loss.

Binny gave RR their first breakthrough uprooting Hussey’s (40) leg-stump and sending it cart-wheeling. Kevon Cooper then struck twice in the 13th over, first having Suresh Raina (1) caught by Vishwanadh in the deep before having MS Dhoni (2) edging to Watson at slip. The bowlers brought RR back into the game strangling the flow of runs. Vijay (55), trying to run off a bye, was run out by Dishant Yagnik. Bravo (23*) slammed three consecutive boundaries off Cooper in the penultimate over. CSK eventually scampered to 141 for four from their 20 overs.

Man-of-the-Match: Shane Watson

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photo credit : © BCCI

“There is quite a big overlap there, and because we announced our tournament last year and have set that window aside, we have asked the Caribbean Premier League tournament to move their tournament up,” Jayasekara said. “Those discussions haven’t started yet, but we are hopeful we can work something out.”

The scheduling clash was brought into focus this week after former Sri Lankan offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan signed with the CPL. Muralitharan said he has not yet decided which tournament he will prioritise. In addition to being one of the SLPL’s biggest draws, Muralitharan was also the icon player for his Uthura Rudra’s franchise in the inaugural tournament last year. However, as one of only six international signings, he is a major asset to the CPL as well.

courtesy : http://www.espncricinfo.com