Kolkata Knight Riders wins maiden IPL 5 Title

Kolkata Knight Riders Celebrating.

Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed the defending champions to grab their maiden IPL title in a nail biting finish on Sunday night.Riding high on Manvinder Bisla's 89 off 48 balls. The visitors acheived 191 runs target with five wickets and two balls to go.Earlier, while chasing 191 runs total, Kolkata Knight Riders suffered a big blow in the last ball of the first over when they lost their skipper Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir was bowled out by Ben Hilfenhaus at the score of two runs. After Gambhir's early departure, Manvinder Bisla took control of the chase and slammed 'quick' fifty off just 27 balls to resurrect KKR's chase. Bisla slammed three sixes and five boundaries to reach this milestone.Experienced Jacques Kallis and Bisla knitted precious partnership for KKR in sttering the team to a comfortable position in chase. Both of them built huge 136 runs partnership to steer out Kolkata to a commanding position in the game before Bisla was caught out after scoring 89 runs off just 48 balls. Bisla slammed five sixes and eight boundaries in his stupendous knock.However on the other hand Kallis was holding the fort; he went on to hit fifty in forty balls.KKR still in need of 39 runs when Bravo striked to scalp Laxmi Ratan Shukla at the score of three runs. He was soon followed by Pathan at the score of one run.With Kallis and Hasan on crease, Kolkata needed twenty runs in last two overs. The visitors suffered another blow in the penultimate over when Kallis was caught out at the score of 69 runs with KKR still 16 runs short of the target. But Shakib al Hasan and Manoj Tiwary steered Kolkata to their maiden IPL title.First it was Murali Vijay and then Suresh Raina and Michael Hussey who lead Chennai's attack against the visiting side in the 'grand finale' of the circketing extravagenza on Sunday night here. Murali Vijay (42 off 32), Raina (73 off 38) and David Hussey (54 off 43) powered Chennai Super Kings to 190 runs total against Kolkata Knight Riders.After electing to bat first, Chennai Super Kings started off strongly in their quest for third consecutive IPL title. Murali Vijay and Michael Hussey slammed KKR bowlers to collect quick runs across the ground. Chennai's first fifty came in just thirty five balls.Murali and Hussey added eighty seven runs for the first wicket before Vijay was dismmissed after a fantastic catch by Shakib Al Hasan. With one six and four boundaries, Vijay added 42 runs off 32 deliveries.Despite Murali Vijay's departure,  Michael Hussey continued to rain runs from the another end.  Hussey took 38 deliveries to slam fifty runs.Suresh Raina, who came in to bat at number two after Murali's departure, took control of the situation and continued the momentum to slam quick fifty of just 27 balls.Hussey was dismissed by Kallis after stupendous 54 off 43 balls in the eighteenth over.While attempting a big shot, Suresh Raina was caught out in the last over at boundary line. He was dismissed by Hasan after a superb 73 off just 38 balls.Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained unbeaten at the score of fourteen runs. 

Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao to win Copa Del Rey Final

Messi  Celebrating after winning Copa Del Ray Title.

Barcelona have collected a record 26th Copa Del Rey Title,defeating Athletic Bilbao 3-0 at the Vicente Calderon as Pep Guardiola's illustrious era came to a close.The Blaugrana were ahead after three minutes thanks to Pedro's opportunistic finish following a corner. Lionel Messi, and a second from Pedro, put Guardiola's side three up inside the opening half hour to all but confirm the 14th trophy of a phenomenal tenure. In a repeat of the 2009 final the opening goal came inside three minutes as Barcelona started at a breathtaking tempo.Messi gave Athletic a early warning as he was able to run at the opposition defence before putting his shot narrowly wide, before Adriano crossed for Pedro whose shot was deflected behind for a corner. The Catalans opted to swing the delivery in, and it reaped rewards when the ball fell to Pedro who reacted first to open the scoring.The Basques looked to retain possession in the hope of building a sustained period of pressure on Jose Pinto's goal, but despite the keepers nervous clearances Athletic never truly threatened.Barca continued to exploit the openness of Athletic's defence as Messi cut inside from the right before bending a goal-bound effort toward the top corner. But for Gorka Iraizoz's flying save, Marcelo Bielsa's side would have fallen further behind.The Argentine, however, was not to be denied a second time. Messi latched onto Andres Iniesta's perfectly weighted through ball, taking it into his path with the outside of his left foot before lifting it into the roof of the net with his right.And Barca extended their lead when Pedro curled a precise finish into the far corner, following Xavi's delicate lay off five minutes later.The third goal appeared to awaken Athletic Bilbao as they threatened immediately after the restart with Markel Susaeta forcing Pinto into a smart save.However, Bielsa's side could have conceded a fourth when Messi managed to evade the attentions of Fernando Amorebieta latching onto a long ball, the wily Argentine attempted a lob from inside the area but it lacked the sufficient height to beat Iraizoz.Fernando Llorente, who had cut a lonesome figure in the attacking third for Athletic, was finally offered some support as the Basques found their passing rhythm. Iker Munian slid a pass through to Athletic's talismanic striker who turned expertly beyond Gerard Pique before, with a clear sight of goal, falling to ground only to see his claims for a penalty waved away by the referee.Bielsa made two changes at the break in the hope of overturning the three goal deficit in the second half, the Argentine coach introducing Inigo Perez and Ander Herrera.The changes had an immediate impact on the game as the Basque began to prevent Barca from dominating possession and territory, and were even afforded the first chance of the second half. Substitute Herrera slid an inviting through ball to Ibai Gomez but his attempted lob over an onrushing Pinto dropped beyond the target.As the second half progressed the Catalans appeared to be content with their three goal lead as Athletic's chances were limited to set pieces.With the contest seemingly over Guardiola's side appeared to be content with their three-goal lead as Athletic failed to create an opening. In fact Barca continued to look the more likely as they broke away, with Pedro denied a hat-trick thanks to a last-ditch tackle.Messi then embarked on a typically magical run, evading the challenges of four Athletic defenders, only to be denied a second goal by Iraizoz's outstretched boot.Despite the substitution, Athletic were gifted a golden chance to register a goal when Jon Aurtenetxe was left unmarked at the far post only to direct his header wide of the target from point blank range.Xavi, one of the players to symbolise Barca as a club, was then given a resounding exit by Guardiola as the Catalan's looked to stroll to a comfortable finish.The win, a 14th trophy for Guardiola in four years, cemented his place as the most successful Barcelona coach as he brings his legacy to a close, leaving the reigns to Tito Vilanova.

Krakow Zoo's Elephant to Predict Euro 2012

Krakow Zoo's Elephant Citta To predict Euro 2012 Tournament As He also Predicted Chelsea To win Final Of Uefa Champions League.The South African 2010 World Cup had Paul the Octopus to predict the scores, But this Time Meet Citta.The 33 year-old Citta, Krakow Zoo’s largest inhabitant, will now be applying her wisdom in predicting the results of the forthcoming Euro 2012 football tournament, which begins in Poland and Ukraine on 8 June.“Elephants have great intuition and I am confident that Citta will correctly indicate the favourite,” said zoo director Jozef Skotnicki during a press conference on Monday.Citta beat off competition from two other Krakow Zoo residents, a parrot and a donkey, by correctly predicting that Chelsea would win the European Champions League final in Munich last weekend.As Euro 2012 draws near, Citta will be offered fruit emblazoned with the flags of competing teams, and her instinctive choices will have bookmakers on tenterhooks.

Community Shield: Chelsea Vs Man City : Uefa Super Cup:Chelsea Vs Athletico Madrid:

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Dehli Daredevils to reach Final of IPL

Knight Riders' bowlers put in a tidy performance to help their side beat Daredevils by 18 runs and seal their spot in the IPL final.

Kolkata Knight Riders brazed into the final  Indian Premier League after scoring a thumping 18-run win over Delhi Daredevils in the first Qualifier on Tuesday.It was an interesting clash between the two IPL heavyweights but Kolkata emerged winner as they bowled with more discipline with each and every bowler taking at least one wicket.Kolkata Knight Riders recovered from regular blows to post a fighting 162 for four after electing to bat and then stopped Delhi to 144 for eight at Subrata Roy Sahara stadium.It is for the first time that KKR have made it to the summit clash in five editions of the league so far.Yusuf Pathan, who was going through a lean patch so far, struck form just at the right time for Kolkata as his uneaten 40 and a crucial 56-run stand with Laxmi Shukla (24 off 11) in just four overs helped his side cross 150-run mark.The top three KKR batsmen -- Gautam Gambhir (32), Brendon McCullum (31) and Jacques Kallis (30) batted well but could not convert the starts into big knocks.Delhi too paid the price of not having big partnerships as they lost wickets intermittently. Pressure gradually grew and the lower-order batsmen failed to soak in that.Mahela Jayawardene top scored for them with his 40 and for Kolkata Jacques Kallis (2/24) and Sunil Narine (2/24) shared four wickets between them.Delhi still have a chance to make the final as they will play in second Qualifier on May 25 against the winner of the Eliminator, which will be plyed between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.For Delhi it was a forgettable start to the chase with both the openers -- Virender Sehwag (7) and David Warner (10) were dismissed within 13 balls.Warner was bamboozled by a turning ball from Shakib Al Hasan which hit his pads before landing in gloves of McCullum. However umpire Billy Doctrove held the appeal.Sehwag was out next ball when he chased a widish Balaji delivery and just managed an edge into the gloves of McCullum.Jayawardene (40) and Ojha (29) added 59 for the third wicket to not let Kolkata build on the momentum. The Sri Lankan hit some majectic shots and Ojha too was impressive with his shots.Rajat Bhatia broke the partnership by having Ojha caught at point and Iqbal Abdulla had Jayawardene stumped as the match again shifted in Kolkata's over.Delhi surprisingly kept Ross Taylor behind in the line-up and sent Venugopal Rao ahead of him. Delhi needed 54 off the last five overs and Venugopal did not help their cause by taking 22 balls for his 13.Taylor struck a towering six off Sunil Narine and now everything depended on him as Delhi required 33 from 12 balls.However, the Kiwi fell while going for a big shot off Kallis. Negi and Mokel were out in the last over, in which they required 26 runs and it was all over for Delhi in this contest.

Drogba Set To Leave Chelsea

Didier Drogba The Striker Of Chelsea Is Set to leave Chelsea After Long Spell Of 8 Years.The 34-year-old, who scored a late equaliser and the decisive penalty in the shoot-out win over Bayern Munich on Saturday, is reported to have told team-mates his decision during Sunday's trophy parade.Members of the triumphant Blues squad chanted for Drogba to stay in front of his adoring fans but the Ivory Coast international appears to have decided his eight-year spell at Stamford Bridge is up."We will not be together next season," Drogba told France Football magazine."As I have decided to leave, I wanted to tell them (my team-mates) straight to their faces."Except that I could not do it. They made me break down."Even though it's been three years since I said I wanted to leave, I found it hard to admit that it was finished with me and the club."But I don't envisage sitting on the bench watching others play at a time when the club is looking at putting together a new team."So there we go, I am readying myself for a great leap into the unknown. It will be another adventure."Drogba has been linked with a lucrative move to Chinese side Shanghai Shenhuan, where his former Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka is now a player-coach.

England Victorious Over West-Indies In the 1st Test.

In The 1st test of England vs West-Indies the match looked like West-indian will seal the victory even though West-Indies Gave The Target Of 191 but due to the fall of Quick Wickets England were no way In But Bell and Cook Guided Them To Win.Alastair Cook and Ian Bell made composed fifties to guide England to a comfortable five-wicket win over West Indies in the first test at Lord’s on Monday.The hosts had crumbled to 57 for four chasing 191 for victory on a chilly morning but Cook and Bell steadied the ship with a fifth-wicket partnership of 132.Cook was out for 79 just before the end but Bell steered England home, clipping Marlon Samuels for four through mid-wicket to seal victory and finish on 63 not out.Cook was out for 79 just before the end. “There’s always a bit of pressure when you’re chasing a score but we always had faith the wicket was going to stay very flat,” England captain Andrew Strauss told a news conference.“It was an outstanding performance from Cook and Bell, they played in a very professional way and showed their class.“We had to work very hard for this victory and it certainly wasn’t a formality to wrap it up today.”After resuming on 10 for two, Jonathan Trott became Kemar Roach’s third victim of the innings when he nicked a rapid seaming delivery to Darren Sammy at slip before Kevin Pietersen edged a catch to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin trying to pull a short ball from Shannon Gabriel.That left West Indies scenting an unlikely victory against the world’s top-ranked team.The touring side have won only one of their last 18 tests in England and trailed the hosts by 155 runs on first innings but a battling 345 second time round kept them in the match.Cook and Bell displayed exemplary calmness in a tense atmosphere, however, rotating the strike neatly and hitting bad balls to the boundary to steer England to 131 for four at lunch.Cook got to his fifty just before the interval with a late cut for four off spinner Samuels, the left-hander reaching the milestone off 78 balls having hit eight boundaries.Bell passed fifty for the second time in the match midway through the afternoon session and the pair strolled through the final overs picking up runs at will before Cook was caught at gully by Kirk Edwards off Sammy with just two runs needed.“We are quite pleased with the way we played, we took the game to the fifth day,” Sammy said. “There were good performances by some of our players when nobody gave us a chance.“We kept coming back and that shows a good team spirit.”The second test in the three-match series starts at Trent Bridge on Friday.

Montpellier Wins French League Title

Montpellier Won It's First French League Title After a Win Over  Auxerre  On a Final Day By 2-1.Second-placed Paris Saint-Germain did all they could by winning 2-1 at Lorient, and the delays at Auxerre meant that Rene Girard’s side had to endure a nervous wait before their title success was confirmed.Montpellier finished the season three points clear of PSG in the final standings, which gave the southern club 14th in Ligue 1 last season their first major honour since the 1990 French Cup.“I think it’s deserved,” said Montpellier coach Girard amid scenes of jubilation on the pitch at Auxerre following the final whistle.“It was a huge fight right until the end. Looking at the number of points, you have to say that the three teams at the top (Montpellier, PSG and Lille) have had extraordinary seasons.”There was no hint of the drama to come when Auxerre broke the deadlock in the 20th minute at Stade Abbe Deschamps, with Olivier Kapo heading home from a corner.A defeat was the only means by which Montpellier could have been denied the title but they equalised in the 32nd minute when John Utaka converted a low right-wing cross from Souleymane Camara.The Auxerre fans’ protest at their relegation which saw them throw tennis balls and toilet rolls onto the pitch began at the start of the second period and forced the players to return to the changing rooms.When play resumed, Montpellier were 19 minutes behind the Lorient-PSG game, and with PSG winning, the leaders were left living on their nerves.Goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren repelled a powerful drive from Delvin N’Dinga before flares thrown by Auxerre’s fans obliged the players to leave the pitch again and led to a second delay lasting around 20 minutes.With PSG’s players watching on television from Lorient, riot police began to clear the protesting fans from the stand behind the Montpellier goal and play was able to resume.There were still 16 minutes to play, but Utaka calmed the visiting fans’ nerves in the 76th minute when he swivelled to slam home his second goal and take the title to Stade de la Mosson for the very first time.Montpellier’s Olivier Giroud finished as the top scorer in Ligue 1, ending the season level with PSG’s Nene on 21 goals but prevailing by virtue of having scored fewer penalties.PSG needed to win to stand any chance of winning the title, but they fell behind in the 28th minute at Lorient when Kevin Monnet-Paquet ghosted in behind Zoumana Camara to score with a back-post header.Carlo Ancelotti’s men equalised in the 61st minute through record signing Javier Pastore and claimed victory through Thiago Motta with 15 minutes left, but although PSG had done their job, it was not enough to deny Montpellier their day in the sun.“I’m disappointed that we haven’t won the title but the team has done some good work this season, even though we’ve had difficulties in certain matches,” said Ancelotti.“Montpellier had a great season, as did PSG, and it’s good to be in the Champions League because it’s a strong league.”Elsewhere, Bordeaux won 3-2 at Saint-Etienne to pip their opponents to fifth place and a berth in the Europa League, with Rennes consigned to sixth despite a 5-0 thrashing of Dijon that sent the promoted side into Ligue 2.Caen were also relegated after going down 3-1 at  Valenciennesm.Eden Hazard bade farewell to outgoing champions Lille by netting a first-half hat-trick in a 4-1 win at home to Nancy in his final game for the club.Fourth-placed Lyon signed off by losing 4-3 at home to Nice, while Marseille fell 1-0 at Sochaux and finished the season in 10th place.Lorient ended the season a point above the drop zone, with Ajaccio winning 2-0 at Toulouse to preserve their place in the elite and Brest escaping the drop courtesy of a 1-0 success at ninth-placed Evian.