BANGALORE: Sunrisers Hyderabad may have spent a long time discussing how to tackle Royal Challengers Bangalore's explosive opener Chris Gayle ahead of the opening tie in Hyderabad. Their plans paid off in Hyderabad on Sunday night.

WASHINGTON: Here's the tall and short of the story: India is a midget when it comes to world basketball (ranked No. 58, below Mali and Cape Verde); but it is a giant when it comes to size of market and running a business.

JAIPUR: Expressing disappointment at his team's loss against Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir said it was the batsmen who should be blamed as they failed to achieve a modest target.

CHENNAI: Come November, Viswanathan Anand will be defending his world title against Magnus Carlsen at home. Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa had pitched in for it and the world chess federation (FIDE) awarded the game to Chennai without a bidding process.

HYDERABAD: In a game which went down to the wire, and into the Super Over, the first in the sixth edition of the league, Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by five runs in the T20 league at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal.

FRANKFURT: It's been a while since the soiled jerseys and worn-out boots have made way for the dapper suits with spit-polished shoes but there's no taking Karl-Heinz Rummenigge away from football, or, to be more specific, Bayern Munich.

PUNE: Pune Warriors found their losing streak too hard to break as they crashed to their 11th consecutive defeat in the franchise-based T20 league, an eight-wicket pummeling by Kings XI Punjab at the Gahunje stadium on Sunday.

BOISE: World No. 1 and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic's victory over Sam Querrey of the United States on Sunday advanced Serbia into the semi-finals of the Davis Cup.

NEW DELHI: The way things stand for Delhi at the moment, Mahela Jayawardene will gleefully take a hobbling Kevin Pietersen into his side for their second T20 league fixture against Rajasthan at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Saturday. Plagued by injuries to their top players including Pietersen, the outfit, which reached the playoffs last season, is suffering from starting troubles.

HYDERABAD: Dale Steyn, world's premier fast bowler, took three wickets off fours balls in his final over, the 19th of the innings, to snuff out Pune's challenge on Friday. His effort helped Hyderabad open their league campaign with an exciting 22-run win. Pune needed a modest 127 for victory but were thwarted by a spirited effort by the host bowlers, led by Steyn and leg-spinner Amit Mishra. Both ended up with three wickets each.