Ravi Bopara scored 84 as Kings XI Punjab defeated the Bangalore Royal Challengers by seven wickets on Friday to claim their first Indian Premier League victory this season.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen was out for a duck as Bangalore made 168-9 in their 20 overs at Kingsmead and Punjab reached 173-3 with an over to spare in perfect conditions. Despite failing to score for the second match in succession, Pietersen remained optimistic about Bangalore’s chances in the tournament.
“It’s a long competition, if you win the next nine games then you’re OK,” Pietersen said. “We just need to get winning, it’s a habit and as soon as you start winning everything starts to become OK. It’s not nice losing, but we’ve got to try and turn it around now come Sunday.”
England batsman Bopara struck five sixes and four fours during a 59-ball spell at the crease and skipper Yuvraj Singh (30 not out) and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (26) offered good support.
Punjab, losers of two rain-affected games since the IPL extravaganza began last weekend, had 52 runs on the board before losing their first wicket and reached 80-1 by the 10-over “strategy break.”
Pietersen deployed seven bowlers, including himself, South Africa’s Jacques Kallis and India’s Anil Kumble, but they could not stem the Punjab run flow before a large crowd in the Indian Ocean city.
Kings scored 19 runs off the 16th over to swing the game decisively in their favor and when the Royals finally got rid of Bopara, caught by New Zealand’s Jesse Ryder off the bowling of Kallis, it was far too late. Only veteran Kumble (1-19) impressed with the ball for a Bangalore team suffering their third loss in four games as one-wicket Kallis conceded 51 runs in four overs.
Kallis fared much better with the bat, top scoring for the Royals with a 62 that included two sixes and five fours. New Zealand’s Ross Taylor contributed 35 and compatriot Ryder got among the runs with a brisk 32 after two ducks. Little known South African Yusuf Abdulla (4-31) and Irfan Pathan (3-35) took the bowling honors for Punjab, who were watched by co-owner and Bollywood star Preity Zinta.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS