Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Shaun Marsh’s unbeaten 74 set up an emphatic nine-wicket win for the Kings XI Punjab (file photo) © Getty Images

The troubles don’t seem to abate for the Bangalore Royal Challengers; off-field controversies plagued the bottom-placed side going into the match against Kings XI Punjab, and a nine-wicket mauling in Mohali leaves the second-most expensive franchise in the IPL all but out of the semi-finals.On a hard deck suited for strokeplay, Bangalore’s batsmen once again failed to fire, and after they were restricted to 143, the chase was a mere formality. Shaun Marsh, though, didn’t show any mercy on a hapless opposition, and his unbeaten 74 completed an emphatic nine-wicket win, pushing his team to second place .After Rahul Dravid, an under-pressure Bangalore captain, decided to bat, Misbah-ul-Haq and Virat Kohli gave a glimmer of hope that the side’s top-order woes had come to an end. But unfortunately, both batsmen failed to capitalise on their starts.Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan got the ball to swing early: Pathan’s first over was a maiden, while J Arunkumar was done in by some extra bounce from Sreesanth. That brought in Misbah, who managed to hit two short balls from Sreesanth for four, though not convincingly. At the other end, Kohli dispatched Pathan for successive fours. Misbah then launched Sreesanth just over the long-off boundary, but the four that followed was among the best in the tournament, as Misbah made room to a full delivery on middle, got down on his knee and majestically drove the ball square. But next ball he was out in bizarre fashion, as he somehow trod onto the stumps while pushing a Sreesanth delivery to the off side.Yuvraj took a gamble by bringing Piyush Chawla in the final Powerplay over, and though he started by straying on leg, he bowled Kohli after the batsman had swept him twice to the boundary. Once Misbah and Kohli exited, Bangalore failed to keep up the momentum. VRV Singh slipped in a couple of economical overs, and Chawla got his second wicket when he ran towards midwicket to complete a splendid catch off a top-edge from Cameron White.Dravid once again was unable to improvise as required in the Twenty20 format, and his 27-ball 29 will do little to silence the critics. As in the previous game against Chennai Super Kings, Punjab’s bowlers were largely right on the mark at the end. VRV followed up his miserly first spell, in which he gave just eight, with an exceptional second, conceding one less than in his first. He mostly kept it straight, putting in the occasional short delivery, and towards the end he relied primarily on yorkers.Bangalore needed to strike early to put pressure on Punjab, but the Australian duo of Shaun Marsh and James Hopes got the home side off to a confident start. Hopes gave the innings the early momentum, hitting three sixes, but another attempt at clearing long-off against Vinay Kumar was caught by a diving Dale Steyn.Marsh, the in-form player, was quiet during the Powerplay overs, and he was lucky as substitute fielder Bharat Chipli grassed one at mid-off when he was on 12. He took on Anil Kumble in his first over, sending one over long-off, as Punjab motored to 70 for 1 after ten. Steyn was brought back to stem the flow, but leaked more runs: Marsh smashed the first delivery through extra cover for four, lifted the next over the square boundary, and then swatted one straight over mid-off’s head. A frustrated Steyn then got one in the blockhole, but Marsh deftly sneaked it past the wicketkeeper.Marsh’s fifty came off a single in the same over, and a deflated Bangalore side could do nothing much to stop Punjab from then on. Luke Pomersbach, playing his first game, also took a liking for Kumble, carting him for two sixes and a four. Kumble, who is yet to take a wicket in the IPL, even resorted to seam-up, but Marsh late-cut it delightfully.With victory in sight, Marsh and Pomersbach didn’t relent, each hitting two boundaries as Zaheer Khan’s final over, the penultimate of the game, went for 18. Marsh took a single to seal the deal with 4.2 overs remaining. With his unbeaten 74, Marsh now has a Bradmanesque average of 98.33 in the IPL, and if he continues in the same vein, a semi-final slot shouldn’t be a headache for Punjab, who are already sitting pretty at 12 points from nine games.

Bhargav Bhatt and Aditya Waghmode continued their good form with ball and bat, respectively, to guide Baroda to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Maharashtra.Bhatt, who was coming off a stellar performance of 2 for 16 against Odisha on Monday, picked up three wickets in the 35th over and one in the 37th, as Maharashtra slid from 135 for 4 to 145 for 9 within five overs. Nikit Dhumal then paired with Domnic Muthuswami to add an unbeaten 31 for the last wicket, taking Maharashtra to 176 for 9 in their fifty overs. Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel picked up one wicket each, while pacer Rishi Arothe picked up two.Waghmode followed up his maiden List A century against Odisha with an unbeaten 77 to steer Baroda’s 177-run chase. He found an able partner in Deepak Hooda, who scored 58 not out off 78 deliveries, and contributed to the 132-run, third-wicket partnership that sealed Baroda’s win in the 40th over.Odisha suffered their fourth consecutive defeat, losing by 55 runs to an Andhra side that was guided by AG Pradeep’s 102* and D Siva Kumar’s 4 for 37.Opting to bat, Andhra’s innings was anchored by Pradeep’s second List A hundred, after Alok Chandra Sahoo sent back the openers within the first ten overs. Pradeep shared a 79-run stand for the third wicket with captain Prashanth Kumar (46), and then posted a partnership of 138 runs for the fourth wicket with Jyothi Sai Krishna, lifting the team score to 261 for 4 in 50 overs.Odisha were off to a poor start, losing two wickets to Siva Kumar in the first over. Anurag Sarangi (52) then combined with captain Natraj Behera(42) and Biplab Samantray (44) to post partnerships worth 71 and 56 respectively, but Andhra’s bowlers kept chipping away at the wickets. Odisha lost their last six wickets for 60 runs and were eventually bowled out for 206 in 48 overs.Centuries from Ganesh Satish and Jitesh Sharma drove Vidarbha‘s colossal 158-run win over Tripura. Satish’s unbeaten 140 off 134 included 12 fours and four sixes, while Jitesh stroked ten fours and one six in his 108-ball 105. The pair added 172 for the second wicket, after opener Faiz Fazal fell for 12 and the partnership took Vidarbha to a commanding 324 for 5 in their 50 overs, after they were put in. None of Tripura’s bowlers conceded less than 50 runs, with Manisankar Murasingh (79 for 1) the most expensive bowler.In reply, no Tripura batsman scored more than 40 as the side was dismissed for 166 in the 48th over. Offspinner Akshay Wakhare picked up 3 for 29, while Ravikumar Thakur and Akshay Karnewar picked up two each.

The West Indies Cricket Board has set up a review committee to assist their international players under the scanner for suspect bowling actions.Bowlers suspended by the ICC can continue playing domestic cricket in their country with the permission of their local board and the WICB has established this committee to “review, assess and make the relevant recommendations of all the international players before they are allowed to bowl in domestic competitions.”This move comes in the wake of the ICC suspending several of their spinners for illegal actions. On Sunday, Marlon Samuels was barred from bowling in international cricket for 12 months after copping his second suspension in two years. He was first reported in 2008, after which he had stopped bowling for three years.West Indies’ premier spinner Sunil Narine is also under cloud. His action was reported during an ODI against Sri Lanka in November and a test done at Loughborough indicated his elbow extended beyond the 15 degree limit for all of his variations. Although that was the first time he was pulled up in international cricket, his action had come under repeated scrutiny in the Champions League T20 in 2014 and subsequently led to him skipping the World Cup 2015.Narine can ask for a re-test of his action at any time now, but Samuels will have to wait until his 12-month suspension is complete.Shane Shillingford had faced the same problem after a tour of India in November 2013. He had been West Indies’ first-choice Test spinner at the time, and has since had success at correcting his bowling action.

Highlights of the day

After losing their first game of the season against Services, Karnataka bounced back by holding on for a one-run win against Mumbai in Cuttack. Karnataka, after being inserted, were boosted by a 38-run blast from Stuart Binny, which lifted the team to 162. Binny then struck with the ball, accounting for the crucial scalps of Shreyas Iyer and the captain Aditya Tare to peg Mumbai’s chase back. However, Abhishek Nayar stayed firm, stroking 49 off 32 balls, to reduce the equation to 19 needed off 10 balls, with two wickets in hand. Nayar got Mumbai to within two runs of victory, but was caught behind off Vinay Kumar in the penultimate ball of the match, leaving the final pair of Pravin Tambe and Dhawal Kulkarni to collect the winning runs. Tambe, though, was run out off the final ball, putting Karnataka on the board.Tamil Nadu posted their second win on the trot, after compiling a total of 151 and then bowling Bengal out for 82 in Nagpur. Rahil Shah was the pick of Tamil Nadu’s bowlers, collecting 5 for 12, while M Ashwin chipped in with 2 for 9.Harbhajan Singh shone with the ball for Punjab, his 3 for 8 setting up a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Jammu & Kashmir. Harbhajan dismissed Mithun Manhas, Parvez Rasool and Zahoor Sofi in successive overs, restricting J&K to 105. Punjab then gunned down their target in 14.3 overs, thanks to an unbeaten 45-ball 58 from Mandeep Singh.Delhi‘s Nitish Rana was the star of the show in Vadodara, smashing 97 off just 40 balls to fire the team to a 111-run win against Andhra. Rana drilled eight fours and sixes each during his blitz, and shared a 119-run stand with Milind Kumar (58) as Delhi compiled a total of 236 for 9. Andhra failed to gather any momentum in the chase and were shut out for 125, with Suboth Bhati, Pawan Negi and Shivam Sharma snaring two wickets apiece.

Other brief scores

Former India spinner Murali Kartik has whole-heartedly backed the West Indies after their controversial win over Zimbabwe at the Under-19 World Cup on Tuesday. West Indies fast bowler Keemo Paul mankaded the last man Richard Ngarava with three runs needed off the final over to help his team through to the quarter-finals. The incident has led to fierce debate but Kartik, who has dismissed three batsmen in such a manner over his playing career, remains steadfast in his belief that a bowler is completely justified in effecting what is just another “mode of dismissal.”Among the arguments given by pundits who were critical of West Indies was that Paul had failed to warn Ngarava. But Kartik argued the rules do not demand that courtesy.”It is one of those things where people are once again going to bring up the spirit of cricket issue,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s very simple; you are not allowed to steal anything in life so stealing anything whether an inch or a yard when it’s a crucial time, it’s not done. People are going to say he wasn’t warned, but the rule is very clear, you are not supposed to leave the popping crease before the bowler delivers the ball. There are different modes of dismissals and this is one of them and I don’t know why people create such a hue and cry about the spirit of cricket.”Most bowlers do warn a batsman before mankading him and Kartik used to do so at least thrice. However, he believes he had the time since he was playing a first-class cricket across four days. Here, West Indies were defending only a handful of runs with six balls left and needed the wicket to progress in a World Cup.”For me the situations were different, I was playing a four-day game,” Kartik said. “I had the time to warn, that was something that was happening for a very long time. I didn’t want to get that person out, I just wanted to warn him and if somebody doesn’t heed to the warnings after three times, then obviously there’s nothing left. Over here, there were just three runs required and the last man was in and they wanted to win the game, so it’s a different situation.”Zimbabwe’s players were visibly distraught after the match, with captain Brandon Mavuta repeatedly saying “No comment” in the post-match presentation ceremony. Their coach Stephen Mangongo was more vocal: “It is my honest and sincere opinion as a coach, who has been coaching this game for nearly two decades, that at youth cricket you want to teach them sportsmanship, you want to teach them to win with honour and valour. And I do not think that they’ve won with honour, by sneaking a run out in such a manner.”Kartik laughed off that view, saying the West Indies players should in fact be complimented for their game awareness in a high-pressure situation.”They are not kids, they are 19-year olds and many people have played for their countries at the age of 14 and 15.” he said. “When you get to that level, there’s no kid, everybody is treated at par, at the end of the day they are playing for their country. If the other team is trying to win by stealing, is that what you are trying to tell everyone that Zimbabwe were trying to win by gaining that extra yard.”I don’t know why people use the word “Mankad”, it should be on the name of the person who is trying to steal that extra advantage. The person who does it is always the one who is vilified but for me, I have always believed whether you steal a rupee or a million rupees, stealing is stealing. They were just trying to win the game. I am glad they know the rules, and somebody was aware enough to see that someone was trying to take unfair advantage in a tight situation.”TV commentator and former Zimbabwe bowler Mpumelelo Mbangwa, in his post-match analysis for the host broadcaster, said he would have wanted the on-field umpires to take charge of the situation and ask if the West Indies captain really wanted to go ahead with the appeal. Other critics have also argued that the intent of the batsman should have been taken into consideration before he was ruled out via a mankad. Was he willfully stepping outside his crease or was it simply the result of a natural urgency that comes with wanting to get the required runs in a tense situation? But Kartik did not entertain those views either and offered a few analogies to back his stance.”When a bowler misses the crease by a micrometer, isn’t it a no ball?” he said. “Or when a run out or a stumping is referred to the third umpire, the line belongs to the umpire, [and] whether you are a millimeter or a micrometer out, you are out.”Let me put another situation [across]. As a spinner, when I am bowling and someone is beaten in the air and he drags the foot by a micrometer, is the keeper going to ask him, ‘Can I stump you or not? Are you out? Are you trying to take a single?’ No, that’s not the case. So, I am really sorry, whether it’s a micrometer or an inch or a mile out, he’s out.”The spirit of cricket is a convenient bunker for people to hide behind. Everybody needs to look into themselves. How many times do people nick and not walk? How many times do people claim catches that aren’t catches and they know it? The situation was such, the kids were trying to win a game and anybody who flouts rules, obviously you have to pay a price.”

Shaheen Shah Afridi, on his BBL debut, was removed from the attack for dangerous bowling in the match between Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Renegades in Geelong.In the 18th over of Renegades’ innings, after Heat elected to field, Afridi bowled two waist-high full tosses – one each to Tim Seifert and Ollie Peake – and he was forced out of the attack.After being told he could no longer bowl, Afridi sported a wry grin as Heat captain Nathan McSweeney had to bowl the final two deliveries to complete the over.It meant Afridi finished with the rough figures of 0-43 off 2.4 overs, including three no-balls and two wides, in a tough BBL initiation. Entering the game amid much fanfare, with Pakistan team-mate Mohammad Rizwan also making his BBL debut for Renegades, he had started well with three dot balls in the second over.But things went downhill after that as he missed his lengths and was not brought back on until the 13th over when Renegades took the power surge. Afridi conceded 19 runs in the over before the horrors of the 18th over, where he ultimately leaked 15 runs, including three no-balls.Renegades finished with a massive 212 for 5 with Seifert smashing 102 off 56 balls and Peake clubbing 57 off 29. Rizwan, batting at No. 3, made just 4 from ten before holing out to left-arm spinner Paddy Dooley.

Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool will be without Roberto Firmino ‘for a while’ after he missed the victory over Norwich City, coming after Diogo Jota was also absent from the Anfield win through injury.

The Lowdown: Firmino misses Reds win

The Reds picked up a crucial 3-1 win at home to the Canaries on Saturday afternoon after having fallen behind in shock fashion early in the second half.

Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz all scored to turn the game on its head with Man City’s defeat to Tottenham last night also blowing the Premier League title race wide open.

One player who was absent alongside Diogo Jota was Firmino, however, who was struggling with a muscle injury after the midweek win at Inter Milan.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375258″]

The Latest: Klopp says Firmino ‘out for a while’

Speaking after the game [via The Athletic], Klopp hinted that the 30-year-old could be out for a lengthy period, but at least says Jota’s injury wasn’t as bad as first thought – though refusing to give an update on the latter man’s return.

He explained:

“With Diogo, it looks a little bit better than we first thought. With Bobby (Firmino), we didn’t even know that he had something until he felt it only after the game (in midweek).

“We all thought it is a little thing, but it’s a muscle injury and we have to see how long it will take. I don’t know at the moment, but for sure not for the next game, so we have to see.”

He then added:

“Bobby Firmino has a muscle problem and is out for a while, so we have to keep the boys fit and create a spirit like the boys did today in the game.”

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The Verdict: Blow for Klopp, but at least there’s depth now

Losing someone of Firmino’s quality is always going to be a blow – Klopp has hailed him as ‘brilliant’, among other superlatives – but the key is that Liverpool are now in a situation where they have a plethora of top-quality depth in attack.

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The arrival of Diaz has left the Reds with more superb options in the final third, rather than having to bring in second-rate squad figures when key men are absent.

That being said, with Diogo Jota also currently out and some huge matches are on the horizon, so the hope is that Firmino makes a swift recovery and isn’t missing for too large a chunk of action.

In other news, a journalist has questioned one ‘wobbly’ Liverpool player. Find out who it is here.

Lorient central defender Laurent Koscielny is desperate to leave France and join Arsenal this summer, according to the player's agent.

The highly-rated 24-year-old has only been with his current club for one season, but would like the chance to try his luck in England next season.

Agent Stephane Canard told France Football:"French and foreign clubs have shown interest. Among them, there are the Gunners.

"It is difficult to not listen to someone like Arsene Wenger when he is attracted. Any player is tempted to work with him.

"Lorient's officials want to get an eight-digit fee and negotiations have started. With some bonuses, we are not that far away.

"One year ago, coming to Brittany was a real sporting choice. During last season, German clubs showed interest, but it didn't go any further.

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"Now it is different as the season is over. Without being critical of Lorient, Laurent is 24 years old and has others ambitions.

"He recently called his chairman and coach to tell them he absolutely wants to join Arsenal."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

The first thoughts to enter my head when I saw Blanco come on for Mexico against South Africa were “What the Hell!! Mexico must be desperately short of players!”  He looked like a big tank rolling across the field. He made Berbatov seem like a Gazelle. So why did Mexico bring him along to the World Cup and more importantly would he make a difference?

Few minutes after he came on I realized why Mexico needed him, he seemed to energize an uninspired team, and brought them to life, their attacking play improved a lot and most of it went through Blanco. He might be the slowest forward in the World Cup but he’s by no means a liability to the team, I think if they could, Mexico would have played him every game from the start. The Man has an innate ability to pick out the right pass, unlock defenses with a chip or a through ball, he’s a player who’s capable creating a moment of brilliance. He also scored for Mexico against France from the penalty spot.

Intrigued and also impressed by his cameo performances so far, I did a bit of research on him; turns out he’s a legend for Mexican Football, considered their most talented player in the last two decades. His career was spent playing in the La Liga, MLS and the Mexican First Division. Having played for Club America for the longest period, his stats were impressive too, showing he had a knack for scoring goals. He’s been playing most of his career as a deep-lying forward or as an attacking midfielder, making full use of his creative talents.

So I realized I have a new reason to cheer for Mexico, this almost immobile and unfit player who incredibly is in my opinion key to Mexico achieving anything in the World Cup 2010, Javier Aguirre has a player who can create a chance from nothing, a brilliant impact sub, who can be brought on when things aren’t going right for Mexico.

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So with a new reason to cheer Mexico on, I look forward to seeing this man who many would consider not in shape to even keep up with a Sunday league team, play at the world’s biggest stage  and impress everyone and show the world why we’ll miss Cuauhtemoc when he finally retires!

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill expects the fight to both retain leading players and make new signings to heat up in the next couple of weeks.

The Midlands club have already rejected one bid of £20million from Manchester City for England midfielder James Milner at the beginning of the summer.

During the last off-season, former captain Gareth Barry made the same move to Eastlands in a blow to O'Neill's hopes of transforming Villa into a top-four force.

The battle to keep hold of Milner is expected to intensify now that he has returned from World Cup duty, while O'Neill is also looking to bolster his squad with new signings.

He told the club's official website:"There is a lot of speculation, obviously, at this time of the year and it will hot up now over the next couple of weeks.

"From my own viewpoint, I would like players to stay here and try and build. Sometimes that is not always possible but we have got a couple of weeks now and we will review the position.

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"But for us to have even the same sort of season as last year, one, we would have to be a bit lucky and, two, we would have to try and strengthen."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email