Chris Gayle hits another century to destroy Punjab in IPL 4

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Chris Gayle smashed his second century of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season to set up an 85-run win for Royal ChallengersBangalore against Kings XI Punjab on Friday.

The left-hander cracked 107 in 49 balls with 10 fours and nine sixes to power Daniel Vettori's side to 205 for six after being asked to bat first by Adam Gilchrist.

Former West Indies captain Gayle, a late inclusion for Bangalore as a replacement for injured fast bowler Dirk Nannes, added 111 for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (27) before he got out to leg-spinner Piyush Chawla in the 15th over.

South African AB de Villiers remained unbeaten on 27 off just 14 balls with two boundaries and an identical number of sixes to take Bangalore past the 200-run mark.

The 31-year-old Gayle, who hit an unbeaten 102 off 55 balls in his first match in the current season of the IPL after opting out of West Indies home series against Pakistan, also picked up three wickets for 21 runs with the ball.

Gilchrist was run out off the first ball for a duck as Punjab's hopes of a successful run chase were nipped in the bud.

Young pace bowler Sreenath Aravind took four wickets for Bangalore, who picked up their fifth win in the competition, as Punjab crawled to 120 for nine wickets in their 20 overs.

(Writing by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai, editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story, email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Gayle hits another century to destroy Punjab

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Chris Gayle smashed his second century of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season to set up an 85-run win for Royal ChallengersBangalore against Kings XI Punjab on Friday.

The left-hander cracked 107 in 49 balls with 10 fours and nine sixes to power Daniel Vettori's side to 205 for six after being asked to bat first by Adam Gilchrist.

Former West Indies captain Gayle, a late inclusion for Bangalore as a replacement for injured fast bowler Dirk Nannes, added 111 for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (27) before he got out to leg-spinner Piyush Chawla in the 15th over.

South African AB de Villiers remained unbeaten on 27 off just 14 balls with two boundaries and an identical number of sixes to take Bangalore past the 200-run mark.

The 31-year-old Gayle, who hit an unbeaten 102 off 55 balls in his first match in the current season of the IPL after opting out of West Indies home series against Pakistan, also picked up three wickets for 21 runs with the ball.

Gilchrist was run out off the first ball for a duck as Punjab's hopes of a successful run chase were nipped in the bud.

Young pace bowler Sreenath Aravind took four wickets for Bangalore, who picked up their fifth win in the competition, as Punjab crawled to 120 for nine wickets in their 20 overs.

(Writing by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai, editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story, email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Shane Warne -- wine, women and wickets

Australia's Shane Warne was that rare breed of sportsman who managed to balance a rollercoaster life off the field with world-beating performances on it.

The supremely talented "Spin King", who has announced his retirement from all cricket at the age of 41, became known for a colourful private life including a recent affair with British actress Liz Hurley.

But the bleach-blond, who took 708 Test wickets in a career that made him the scourge of batsmen worldwide, will ultimately be remembered as one of Australia's best sportsmen -- in the eyes of many second only to legendary batsman Don Bradman.

Warne will retire after the current Indian Premier League season with the Rajasthan Royals, ending a career in which he resurrected the art of leg-spin and became the first bowler to take 700 Test wickets.

At the same time, the cigarette-puffing, beer-swilling "Warney" survived drug and bookmaking scandals and pursued an energetic love life which is widely thought to have cost him the Australian captaincy.

"A big thank you to everyone that has helped me - supported me through all the ups and downs - hope you have enjoyed watching me play," he said on his frequently updated Twitter page.

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh said he knew there was something special about the chubby young bowler from suburban Melbourne when he first saw him bowl on an Australian youth tour to Zimbabwe in 1991.

"I could hear the ball fizzing down the wicket," he said of the unlikely prodigy sporting spiky blond hair.

"It's something I've never heard before or since from another bowler, it was just the revolutions and energy he was putting on the ball."

Warne posted inauspicious figures of 1-150 in his 1992 Test debut but knuckled down under his mentor Terry Jenner and 18 months later caught the cricketing world's attention with the "ball of the century" against England.

The delivery, Warne's first in an Ashes Test, turned prodigiously to bamboozle England's Mike Gatting and herald the arrival of a cricketing superstar.

But controversy accompanied the stellar performances. The first negative headlines came when it emerged in 1998 that Warne and batsman Mark Waugh had been fined three years earlier for supplying information to an Indian bookmaker.

He was stripped of the vice-captaincy in 2000 after it emerged he had bombarded an English nurse with lewd text messages after meeting her in a nightclub.

A series of infidelities culminated in his break-up from his wife of 10 years Simone, with whom he has three children.

He produced a man-of-the-match performance when Australia won the World Cup in 1999, but missed the 2003 tournament after he tested positive for a banned diuretic, a drug scandal that almost cut short his career.

He insisted his mother had given him the pill to help him lose weight but doping authorities said it could have been used to mask the use of steroid and he was banned for a year in February 2003.

Warne returned to Test cricket in March 2004 but never again played international one-day matches, instead preferring to concentrate on the longer form of the game.

He beat several career-threatening injuries, and while his deliveries lost some of the turn produced in his early career he concentrated on deceiving batsmen with flight and pace.

He also became a master of mind games, targeting batsmen ahead of a series and warning he was working on a new mystery ball with which to bowl out his "bunnies" in the opposition line-up.

His performance in the 2005 Ashes is regarded by some pundits as the best in his career when he overcame his disintegrating marriage and a tabloid frenzy to take 40 wickets.

Chanderpaul blasts West Indies cricket management

Kingston, May 6 (IANS) Former West Indies cricket captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul has blasted the team management for interfering with his batting during matches.

Chanderpaul said the present regime is against those who were favoured by previous coaches John Dyson and Bennett King, under whom the West Indies squad had better results.

Chanderpaul, who was asked to retire by the management, was not selected for the ODI series against Pakistan, but now is waiting for a Test recall after he demanded an explanation from West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) chief executive Ernest Hilaire.

'I think, given the opportunity, I might have got bigger scores. Every time I settled in and started to get runs, messages would come telling what to do and what not to do, how to bat and how not to bat,' Chanderpaul was quoted as saying by radio channel Line and Length.

'I've been doing it for 17 years. When John Dyson was coach he never said anything to me. When Bennett King was coach he said, 'You go and do your job, we don't have to tell you what to do.' I had no problem then,' he said.

Chanderpaul said that he was subjected to unreasonable questioning after the game.

'Now we have people here, who are telling me how to bat. And when the game is over, I have to answer questions. I have to answer those questions and when I do, and it's not suitable, then I have to agree with whatever answers they want before the meeting is over. That is what I've been going through. When you're batting there are messages coming to you telling you how to bat, it happens until you get out, you know,' he said.

Chanderpaul said the management is unhappy after he refused to retire.

'They called me into a meeting and asked me to retire. I said I'm not retiring and when I left the meeting they were all pretty upset about it. You are telling me I haven't done anything the last 12 months and I've been ranked among the top ten batsmen around the world. Just because I have been batting all over the place, I haven't had an opportunity to do anything much,' he said.

Sehwag's blistering century takes Daredevils home against Chargers

Hyderabad, May 5 (PTI): Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag single-handedly demolished Deccan Chargers bowlers with a blistering century to guide his team to a four-wicket victory in an IPL match here on Thursday.

Chasing a stiff target of 176, Sehwag took the Chargers attack to the cleaners scoring 119 from only 56 balls with the help of 13 fours and six sixes as his teammates had little contribution in the winning cause.

With eight points, Daredevils stay in the hunt for play-offs as it was curtains for Chargers who looked favourites till Sehwag struck like a tornado. It was one of the most scintillating innings that one would have ever witnessed as Sehwag took it upon himself to accomplish what looked like mission impossible after Daredevils were reduced to 25 for three.

Fortune favours the brave and Sehwag got a couple respite due to sloppy fielding from the home team that saw couple of catches being dropped. There couldn't have been a better birthday gift for his younger son than a blazing century. Finally, when he was out in the 17th over, even the Chargers players came up to congratulate him.

Dale Styen in right earnest removing Aaron Finch (0) off the very second delivery while Ishant Sharma quickly removed Naman Ojha (7) and Venugopal Rao (3) to reduce Daredevils to 25 for three. But little did one know that what was in store after that.

Sehwag was unusually quiet during the first seven overs. It was inexperienced Ishan Malhotra who became an easy prey. The moment he was brought into the attack, Sehwag whipped him over fine-leg for a six followed it up with another over mid-wicket. Then he hit consecutive boundaries through deep mid-wicket and straight past the bowler. 23 runs came off the eighth over.

The next over from Daniel Christian saw Sehwag hit couple of more boundaries. When Amit Mishra was introduced, he launched into him to hit over long for a six. It brought up his 50 from 27 balls.

The very next delivery from Mishra saw Sehwag trying to hit over mid-wicket but the ball flew at a catchable height to Ankit Sharma at sweeper-cover who bungled big time. There was no end to Mishra's misery as in the next over Sehwag hit one straight to long-off, which Ravi Teja not only spilled but also let it cross the boundary ropes as it brought up Delhi's 100.

From overs 8-12, Daredevils scored 75 runs in five overs as Sehwag butchered the bowlers. With no option left, Sangakkara brought on his best bowler Steyn who was slashed through point and then guided through the fine-leg region for two boundaries.

He slog swept Mishra for a six to get into the 90s. When Bharat Chipli came in he took a couple to complete his well-deserved century in 48 balls. He then hit Chipli for two more sixes and a boundary as Daredevils closed in on a win.

Earlier, Duminy finally came good with a slice of luck as his smashing 55 helped Deccan Chargers post a challenging 175 for five against Delhi Daredevils in what was a must-win game for both. It was Duminy's power-hitting that saw Chargers score a whopping 108 runs in the last 10 overs after scoring 67 in the first 10.

Off-spinner Yogesh Nagar 'dismissed' both Duminy and Daniel Christian (27, 22 balls, 2x4) in the 15th over.

Tragically, on both occasions he overstepped. While Christian got a boundary off the free-hit, Duminy's aerial shot yielded maximum results.

That over from Nagar cost Daredevils 20 runs and gave the Chargers necessary impetus. While Irfan Pathan (0/18 from 3 overs) and Aavishkar Salvi (1/26 from 4 overs) bowled well, it was Nagar (0/20 from 1 over), Venugopal Rao (0/12 from1 over) and James Hopes (1/29 from 3 overs) who gave away as many as 61 runs in the five overs they bowled between them.

Morne Morkel had a disappointing outing going for 37 from his four overs while Agarkar who got two wickets gave away 29 runs in his four-over spell. The duo added 71 runs in only 5.3 overs courtesy Duminy who hit as many as four sixes during his 31-ball knock. When he was finally run-out in the 18th over trying to go for a second run, Chargers had reached 158.

Shikhar Dhawan started off in brilliant fashion with a cover drive off the very first delivery of the match bowled byMorne Morkel. Dhawan who had been a slow starter in the previous matches looked in fine nick as he found the gaps with consummate ease. His opening partner Dwarka Ravi Teja (2) was quickly removed by Salvi.

Dhawan (29, 18 balls, 5x4) was joined by skipper Kumar Sangakkara (44, 36 balls, who launched into Morkel hitting him for three successive boundaries in the sixth over of the innings. The first one was a slog that went over slips. It was followed with a fantastic bowler's back drive and then another lofted drive over mid-off.

Dhawan was out trying to loft Agarkar over mid-on only to offer a simple catch to Salvi. When Venugopal Rao came in, Sangakkara hit a beautiful cover drive followed with a slog sweep. James Hopes finally got the Chargers skipper caught by his counterpart in the cover region.

IPL scoreboard: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab

Bangalore, May 7 (IANS) Scoreboard of the Indian Premier League match betweenRoyal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kings XI Punjab at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here Friday.

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Chris Gayle c Harris b Chawla 107

T. Dilshan c Praveen b McLaren 16

Virat Kohli b Chawla 27

AB de Villiers not out 27

Saurabh Tiwary c&b Harris 13

Asad Pathan lbw b Harris 0

Md. Kaif b Harris 3

A Mithun not out 6

Extras (lb-5, w-1): 6

Total (six wickets; 20 overs): 205

Fall of wickets: 1-43 (Dilshan, 4.5 overs), 2-154 (Gayle, 14.4), 3-155 (Kohli, 14.6), 4-186 (Tiwary, 17.5), 5-186 (Pathan 17.6), 6-198 (Kaif, 19.2)

Bowling:

Praveen Kumar 4-0-37-0

Ryan Harris 4-1-38-3

Ryan McLearn 4-0-40-1

Gayle ballistics refresh Bangalore's title bid

Back from a week-long break, the refreshed Royal Challengers blew Kings XI Punjab away with a strong all-rounder performance at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, led by Chris Gayle who followed up a belligerent 107 off just 49 balls with 3-21 in four overs.

Set a tall target of 206, Punjab lost Adam Gilchrist, run out, first ball of the chase and struggled to 120-9 with Sreenath Arvind taking 4-14.

Bangalore have leapt to fourth place with 11 points while the Gilchrist-led Punjab are languishing in ninth place.

After being inserted by Punjab, Gayle struck 10 fours and nine sixes to complete a fifty in 28 balls and his second hundred of this IPL off another 18 balls.

He was out when he smashed a long-hop from Piyush Chawla flat and low to deep midwicket.

He added 111 runs for the second wicket with Virat Kohli, whose contribution to the partnership was only 27.

Though Ryan McLaren got an initial breakthrough when he got other opener Tilakaratne Dilshan caught by Praveen Kumar for 16 in the fifth over, Gayle began an unabated attack on Punjab.

Harris was the most successful bowler for Kings XI, bagging three wickets for 38 runs.