KCL T20: Stage set for Delhi and KP

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KCL T20: Stage set for Delhi and KP

Stage is set for the first semifinal of the Karbonn Champions League T20 between Delhi Daredevils and Highveld Lions in Kingsmead, Durban.

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Read: R Mohan's column
The Daredevils, the only IPL team in the semis, were already assured of their last-four spot after rivals Auckland Aces lost by 16 runs in their last group league game to Perth Scorchers earlier on Tuesday.
Heavy rain prevented a single ball being bowled, meaning a second abandonment for the Daredevils and no opportunity for England's Kevin Pietersen to build on his lacklustre innings of 12 and 9 in their two other matches.

The controversial South Africa-born 32-year-old batsman would have been desperate for time at the crease before joining the England squad for a tour of India next month.
Teams:
Delhi: David Warner, Kevin Pietersen, Mahela Jayawardena, Ross Taylor, Unmukt Chand, Venugopal Rao, Virender Sehwag, Aavishkar Salvi, Ajit Agarkar, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav, Andre Russell, Irfan Pathan, Pawan Negi, Naman Ojha

Highveld Lions: Alviro Petersen, Gulam Bodi, Jean Symes, Neil McKenzie, Aaron Phangiso, Dirk Nannes, Ethan O'Reilly, Pumelela Matshikwe, Sohail Tanvir, Chris Morris, Dwaine Pretorius, Temba Bavuma, Zander de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Thami Tsolekile

Bould admits to Gunners frustration

Shaun Botterill / Getty Images

Bould admits to Gunners frustration

Arsenal assistant manager Steve Bould sympathised with disgruntled fans after Wednesday night's 2-0 Champions League defeat by Schalke at the Emirates Stadium.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay capitalised on slack defending to score in the final 15 minutes in the Gunners' first home defeat in the group stage for nine years.
Angry supporters left in their droves once Afellay had put the result beyond doubt and the few that remained booed at the final whistle.
With manager Arsene Wenger serving the final game of a three-match touchline ban, it was left to his number two Bould to reflect on a highly disappointing evening.
"We've lost at home and of course they're frustrated. We are as well," Bould said.
"We don't like losing football games, but we have to pick ourselves up and start again.
"We haven't played anything like we can - that was the big disappointment.
"We haven't performed and we lacked confidence, for whatever reason.
"It's a tough competition and Schalke are a good side who beat Dortmund at the weekend.
"They're doing really well and a 0-0 would have delighted us. We looked like we were going to get away with it for a long time.
"We looked jaded - I don't why that is. Since coming off the international break we haven't performed.
"We were very sharp against West Ham but since returning from the internationals we've been jaded."
Arsenal were restricted to just one shot at goal in the entire match and had to wait until stoppage time for that, with substitute Serge Gnabry producing a late attempt.
But their failings in their own area were more damaging with both goals - just reward for Schalke's second-half dominance - exposing a fragile defence.
"The lack of chances isn't worrying, but it's not what we want or are accustomed to," Bould said.
"We normally create chances and now we're not, so we need to correct that.
"Their first goal was a poor goal - a great finish, but it wasn't great for us.
"Scoring first will be a major plus for us. We've gone behind in the last five games. To keep coming back is tough. An early first goal would really help."
Schalke now top Group B, one point above Arsenal with three matches left to play, and Bould promised an improvement against the German club on November 6.
"There are nine points left to play for. Wherever we get those points from it doesn't matter, but I'm sure we'll perform a damn sight better than tonight [Wednesday]," he said.
Bould revealed Theo Walcott will miss Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash with QPR due to his bruised lung.
However, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is back from a hip problem while Jack Wilshere should be available for selection.
Schalke manager Huub Stevens took no satisfaction from masterminding Arsenal's first group defeat in Europe since Inter Milan prevailed 3-0 in 2003.
"For me it's not important how Arsenal are playing, but how Schalke are playing," he said.
"Records are not important for me. For me it's important that the team is playing well.
"In the first half we didn't play well. In the second half we played a good game. We deserved to win 2-0."

What injuries? asks Mourinho

Dortmund, Oct 24
- A string of injuries should not affect Real Madrid in Wednesday's Champions League Group D game at Borussia Dortmund as the Spaniards seek only their second win on German soil, said coach Jose Mourinho.

Real will be without full backs Marcelo, Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao, who all came back injured from international duty last week, while holding midfielder Sami Khedira has only just returned to training.

"It will be a very difficult game," Mourinho told reporters on Tuesday.

"As for absences, we have no absences - we have a team that can play well with the players who are here."

Real are top of the group with six points from two games with Dortmund second on four points.

"Historically we have not achieved much and that has to do with how tough our opponents are," said Mourinho referring to Real's record of one victory in 23 games in Germany.

"German teams are always tough teams with ambition."

Mourinho deployed midfielder Michael Essien at left back for Saturday's 2-0 La Liga win at home to Celta Vigo and said that experiment had gone well.

"I opted for Michael Essien because I had to find a solution," added the Portuguese. "It turned out to be the right decision."

The Spaniards are eager to seal qualification to the next stage early to offset a rocky La Liga start that has seen them drop eight points behind leaders Barcelona.

"In the Champions League we have six points and that is very important," said Mourinho. "We are well prepared, we are obviously motivated and I am very optimistic going into the game.

"It is a difficult match in a difficult group. I don't want to say I will win three games and then I've made it - we do not want to hibernate in the Europa League but in the Champions League." 

Real among big guns left reeling

London, Oct 25.
Real Madrid, Manchester City, Arsenal and AC Milan suffered painful Champions League defeats on Wednesday which complicated their chances of progressing from an increasingly intriguing group stage.

German sides shone the brightest as Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund downed nine-times European Cup winners Real 2-1 at home while local rivals Schalke 04 pulled off a 2-0 win at Arsenal after Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's second-half opener.

His ex-side Milan, seven-times winners, continued their poor form with a 1-0 loss at a Malaga outfit who have suffered similar financial constraints to the Italians but who are coping much better and top Group C with maximum points.

English champions Manchester City, who failed to get out of the group phase last term, are risking the same ignominious exit this time after losing 3-1 at Ajax Amsterdam.

Big-spending City are bottom of Group D on one point from three of the six pool matches.

"I think that they played better than us, they played better football, probably it is my fault because probably I prepared badly this game," City boss Roberto Mancini told Sky Sports amid media criticism over switching defensive systems.

"I think that it is very difficult (to qualify)."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored again as Paris St Germain won 2-0 at Dinamo Zagreb to stay second in Group A behind Porto, who beat Dynamo Kiev 3-2 after Jackson Martinez's double, but fellow French side Montpellier fell 2-1 at home to Olympiakos Piraeus.

Montpellier are bottom of Group B on one point with the Greeks on three and Arsenal on six, a point behind conquerors and new leaders Schalke, who will reach the last 16 if they beat the fitful Londoners in Gelsenkirchen in the next game on November 6.

INCREASING PRESSURE

Schalke, who warmed up for the match with a Bundesliga derby win in Dortmund, are the first non-English side to win a European game at Arsenal in nine years.

Huntelaar's thumping 76th minute finish and Ibrahim Afellay's tap-in 10 minutes later amid more loose defending marked a well-deserved win against a side who had just one shot on target and lost at Norwich City at the weekend.

Alexander Kerzhakov scored a 72nd-minute spot kick as Zenit St Petersburg edged out winless Anderlecht 1-0 to somewhat fortunately earn their first points this season and move one behind beleaguered Milan.

Rossoneri coach Massimiliano Allegri, whose club sold the likes of Ibrahimovic to balance the books without replacing them, is under increasing pressure following Joaquin's 64th-minute winner for Malaga having also missed a penalty.

In Dortmund's Westfalen Stadium, Jose Mourinho's Real was largely outclassed as the Germans went top of Group D.

Poland striker Robert Lewandowski fired the hosts into a deserved 36th-minute lead after a poor pass from defender Pepe but Real hit back two minutes later with a cute lob by Cristiano Ronaldo from the edge of the box.

Defender Marcel Schmelzer then put Dortmund back in front with a first-time shot in the 64th minute after a weak punch by Real keeper Iker Casillas, who otherwise kept his team in the game in easily the competition's toughest group.

"We could not use our chances up front," Mourinho said.

"We could have scored a goal but it was Dortmund who scored during what was our weakest phase in the game."

Juergen Klopp's side now have seven points from three matches, one above second-placed Real and four above Ajax with City languishing at the bottom needing a win at home to the Dutch side in two weeks to begin a miracle comeback.

City, in only their second Champions League campaign, took the lead in Amsterdam through Samir Nasri on 22 minutes after a well-worked move but they let their grip on the game go as Siem de Jong fired in just before the break.

Niklas Moisander then netted with an easy header from a corner to further expose City's defence and the zonal marking system as Ajax went 2-1 ahead early in the second period and Christian Eriksen's deflected effort had home fans in dreamland.

There were few shocks in Tuesday's group games with the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United winning despite scares. 

Ribery has no regrets about return to Lille

Paris, Oct 23. Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery has said he bears no grudges towards Lille as the Frenchman prepares for a return to the club that rejected him as a teenager.

Ribery will line up with his Bayern team-mates on Tuesday for their Champions League group game in northern France, 13 years after Lille dumped the then 16-year-old winger.

Lille said Ribery was released for 'bad behaviour' following an alleged school fight, but the player insists it was because he was considered too small to succeed in professional football.

Ribery has been at odds with the Ligue 1 team's academy director, Jean-Michel Vandamme, since.

"Regarding my behaviour as well as soccer (at Lille), there was just one problem at school, where we were (messing about) and I (accidentally) broke a girl's elbow," Ribery told a news conference on Monday.

"This is when I got dumped. But they already wanted to fire me well before because I was too little."

After leaving Lille in 1999, he joined amateur club Boulogne-sur-Mer, in his hometown in northern France, where his career took off.

After winning two Bundesliga titles and two German Cups, reaching two Champions League finals with Bayern, and playing for France at the 2006 World Cup, Ribery says he is glad to be back in Lille and has no regrets.

"I enjoy being here," he said.

"I have got good memories. I do not feel bad because I play for one of the greatest clubs in the world."

But he claimed that Vandamme still harbours feelings of jealousy towards him.

"Even now, when I read some comments by Vandamme, I read many untrue things," Ribery said.

"I can see he is jealous."

Vandamme, who is still at Lille, told the French newspaper France Soir last year that Ribery was released because of his behaviour.

"We dumped him after 250 warnings and 300 reprimands," he said.

"We could not tolerate his behaviour...He fought a girl at school and broke her arm. It was hard because we were seeing his talent even if we never thought he would have such a career."

Despite the row, Ribery said he was happy to see how Lille, who won the French title in 2011, have developed in the past decade.

Bayern are third in Group F on three points after losing 3-1 to Belarussian side BATE Borisov earlier this month, while Lille are bottom without a point.
source: http://newscw24.blogspot.com/

Shakhtar stun Chelsea

London, Oct 24.Shakhtar Donetsk led the way for the Champions League underdogs as they beat holders Chelsea 2-1 while former European champions Barcelona and Manchester United came from behind to maintain perfect starts on Tuesday.

Danish debutants FC Nordsjaelland were within nine minutes of a memorable win over Juventus before having to settle for a 1-1 draw while last season's beaten finalists Bayern Munich bounced back from a shock defeat by BATE Borisov on Matchday Two to beat Lille 1-0 in France.

A year to the day since Chelsea captain John Terry racially insulted Anton Ferdinand of Queens Park Rangers, for which he is now serving a four-match domestic ban, he is eligible to play in Europe but could not stop Shakhtar scoring after three minutes.

He failed to clear a pass to Alex Teixeira who took advantage of poor defending to angle a shot past Chelsea's Petr Cech who then made several fine saves to keep the score down.

Fernandinho doubled the home side's lead after halftime before Oscar became the third Brazilian to score in the match with a late consolation for the well-beaten visitors.

"We are not afraid of playing against teams like Chelsea," said Shakhtar's Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu.

"I think we deserved this victory - we created many more opportunities and the score could have been 4-1.

"Cech had an extraordinary game tonight. Maybe Chelsea started a bit too relaxed."

Roberto Di Matteo, whose Chelsea side lost their first Champions League game since he became manager in March, said: "Shakhtar have a good track record at home, particularly against the English teams.

"It's very difficult when you concede a fast goal. It's a shame we got back into the game a bit late. I believed we could score a goal at least but they punished us after we lost the ball in midfield. We have to do better as a team in those situations."

The result left the Ukrainian side at the top of Group E with seven points, three more than Chelsea. Juventus have three and Nordsjaelland one.

FIRST POINT

Juve have now drawn their last nine European matches, and salvaged a point when Mirko Vucinic equalised nine minutes from time. Nordsjaelland, ahead through a 50th minute Mikkel Beckmann goal, at least hung on for their first point in the competition.

"That was a fantastic achievement but I think we can get even better," Nordsjaelland coach Kasper Hjulmand told TV 3Plus.

Unlike Chelsea, who failed to come back after falling behind, Barcelona, European champions three times in the last seven seasons, did just that.

But they needed a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time from Jordi Alba to beat Celtic 2-1 after the 1967 European champions had taken the lead at the Nou Camp through Javier Mascherano's own goal after 18 minutes before Andres Iniesta's brilliantly-worked equaliser just before halftime.

Alba told Spanish TV he was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

"It was a move involving the whole team and I just had the good fortune to be in the right place," he said.

"I don't know what the Celtic players eat, but they are very powerful in the air, in defence as well as attack," he added.

Barca lead Group G with nine points from three wins, ahead of Celtic on four while Spartak Moscow have moved on to three points after their first win of the campaign, 2-1 at home to Benfica thanks to Jardel's own goal.

UNITED FIGHTBACK

Manchester United avoided an upset at Old Trafford, coming from behind to beat Braga 3-2 after being 2-0 down inside the first 20 minutes as Alan found the key to unlocking United's defence with two crisp finishes.

United fought back with two headers from Javier Hernandez either side of a Jonny Evans goal which he scrambled in with his left foot after missing his kick with his right one.

United manager Alex Ferguson told ITV that conceding early goals was a fault they needed to correct.

"It has been the story of our season at home, starting badly and losing goals," he said.

"We have had to rescue games and it is the front players doing that. We played some terrific football tonight, but it is a concern losing the goals."

It was United's third successive win and they top Group H with nine points, followed by CFR Cluj on four after they drew 1-1 at Galatasaray. Braga have three and the Turkish side one.

In a lively match in Istanbul, Cluj had Matias Aguirregaray sent off after 28 minutes and Felipe Melo missed a penalty for Galatasaray seven minutes later.

Dany Nounkeu put through his own net to give Cluj the lead after 19 minutes before Burak Yilmaz equalised for the home side 13 minutes from time.

Valencia ended BATE Borisov's perfect start in Group F with Roberto Soldado's hat-trick securing a 3-0 win in Belarus. With Bayern winning 1-0 at Lille with a Thomas Mueller penalty, Valencia, BATE and Bayern all have six points with Lille on none.
source: http://newscw24.blogspot.com/

Pybus quitting, Jurgensen thrust in

Bangladesh's bowling coach Shane Jurgensen was made acting coach on Wednesday for the home series against West Indies as Richard Pybus has refused to return to resume his role with the national team.

Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hassan Papon told journalists that the decision was taken at Wednesday's meeting of the Board of Directors.

Pybus, who had been in the job for some four months, has not returned to Bangladesh from South Africa since the Tiger's failure in the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. He gave BCB a condition to go on leave when Bangladesh would not be playing any series.

Papon said the BCB in an e-mail had asked Pybus to return to Bangladesh as soon as possible. "But in the return e-mail, Pybus said it will not be possible for him to work due to family reasons," he said.

This prompted the board to thrust Jurgensen in as the interim coach for the upcoming series in November.

The BCB President said a final decision regarding Pybus will be taken at the board's Nov 1 meeting.