Focus is to win more away games: Kohli
Bangalore: Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli said that his team is focusing on winning more away games in order to increase their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage in this edition of Indian Premier League. “It is the away games we are focusing on more than how many to play here. We are quite familiar with what we need to do in Bangalore, but last year our drawback was we did not win away games and we could not qualify,” he told reporters here on the eve of the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, the team needs to play good cricket in the remaining games, Kohli said. Moreover, the team will take the Indian leg of the IPL fresh even if they would have won all the five games at UAE, he said. “We take this as fresh start in the IPL regardless even if we had won five games out of five – still take this as fresh start,” he said. Replying to a query, Kohli said losing should hurt but not annoy, otherwise the team drifts away and the focus goes awry. “Losing should hurt but it should not annoy you – to drift away from what you have to do on the field,” he said. (PTI)
Time running out for Dhoni: Fleming
New Delhi: Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming feels that MS Dhoni is good enough to continue as a captain for three years but the New Zealander is not sure “whether he can continue playing all three formats” for that long a time. “I haven’t spoken to him on this issue. He is in fine shape and if he is fit, he can continue to lead for atleast good three to four years. Having said that, I don’t know how long he will be playing all three formats. It’s pretty hard as India have such a tight schedule,” Fleming told PTI during an interaction here on Saturday. Fleming has been the coach of Chennai Super Kings for six seasons now and shares a great rapport with Dhoni. “What I try to provide MS is with two months of enjoyment, so that he can come into Chennai side having taken a break from the Indian team. He loves his game and looks pretty comfortable man winning games for Chennai consistently,” Fleming said. (PTI)
BCCI hopes for controversy-free IPL
Mumbai: The BCCI stopped short of confirming if paceman Morne Morkel was approached by a suspicious element in the UAE leg of the IPL and remained confident that the current edition of the T20 league will not be hit by any off-field controversy. There were reports that after being approached by a suspicious person, Kolkata Knight Riders’ South African pacer Morkel had alerted the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of the IPL. Asked about the incident at the IPL Governing Council meeting here on Saturday, BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said they are awaiting a detailed report. “The anti-corruption unit will take care of the matter and their periodicals will come. It is always part and parcel of the governing council discussion. We are awaiting their detailed report, if there is anything. They are independent to work, ICC and BCCI anti-corruption unit,” Patel said. (PTI)
It’s Melzer or Monaco first up for Nadal
MADRID: Rafael Nadal will start the defence of his Madrid Open title by playing the winner of the first round match between Jurgen Melzer and Juan Monaco. Nadal needs to reach the quarterfinals to ensure he keeps his world number one ranking. If he does not, Novak Djokovic could take his place by winning the tournament. Friday’s draw also put Nadal on the same side of the bracket as fourth-seeded Roger Federer and seventh-seeded Andy Murray. The second-seeded Djokovic opens against either Martin Cilic or Joao Sousa, with fifth-seeded David Ferrer and third-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka potentially in his path to the final. Meanwhile, in the women’s division, Serena Williams will start her title defence as the top-seeded woman, getting a bye before playing the winner of China’s Peng Shuai and Japan’s Kurumi Nara. (AP)