By DPA,

Madrid : Portugal midfielder Deco has announced his intention to leave troubled Spanish giants Barcelona.

The veteran playmaker said Thursday evening that Barca had told his agent to start looking for a new club for next season.

"I will go to England or Italy, for sure," the 30 year-old said. "I will not stay in Spain, because the only Spanish club at the level of Barca is Real Madrid, and I would never sign for them."

Deco is just one of up to 14 players who could be leaving the Camp Nou this season, after a second disappointing season without trophies.

By DPA,

Rio de Janeiro : Inter Milan's Brazilian striker Adriano, currently on loan at Sao Paulo, is set to return to the Brazilian national squad following a severe slump in his form and a subsequent recovery.

National coach Carlos Dunga Thursday selected Adriano alongside Kaka, Robinho, the young Alexandre Pato and others, for Brazil's upcoming qualifying games for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, against Paraguay and Argentina, set to be played in mid-June.

By IANS,

Mumbai : Sameer Kochhar, TV anchor turned actor and host for IPL tournaments, says betting in cricket matches should be legalised.

Sameer, who plays a cop in "Jannat", Mahesh Bhatt's film on match fixing, said there is nothing wrong in betting if it does not lead to match fixing.

"Betting is prevalent in many games and there is nothing wrong with it. People bet in casinos and many other places.

By IANS,

New Delhi : The following is the sports schedule for May 16, 2008:

Cricket: Indian Premier League: Mumbai Indians vs. Kolkata Knight Riders (D.Y. Patil Stadium, Mumbai); Previews of Delhi Daredevils vs. Kings XI Punjab (Feroze Shah Kotla, Delhi) and Rajasthan Royals vs. Bangalore Royal Challengers (Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur)

Tennis: SAIL Open ATP Challenger (R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium, New Delhi)

Hockey: Azlan Shah Cup

Olympics: Torch relay

By Jaideep Sarin, IANS,

Chandigarh : Top-end hotels in Chandigarh just love the new T20 format of cricket. Be it the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) or the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), it has meant a windfall for these hotels.

While none of the IPL or ICL matches is being played in Chandigarh city itself, the holding of T20 matches in the neighbourhood - the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium in nearby Mohali for the IPL matches and the Tau Devi Lal stadium in suburban Panchkula for the ICL matches - has led to rooms in top hotels here being booked to capacity.

By IANS,

New Delhi : With their thrilling 12-run win over Deccan Chargers here Thursday night, Delhi Daredevils consolidated their position in the Indian Premier League (IPL) standings and also strengthened their claim for a semi-final berth.

The standings have been tabulated under matches played, won, draw, loss, tied, points and net run rate:

Team M W L T Pts NetRR

Rajasthan Royals 9 7 2 0 14 +0.592
Kings XI Punjab 9 6 3 0 12 +0.458
Chennai Super Kings 10 6 4 0 12 -0.203
Kolkata Knight Riders 9 5 4 0 10 +0.619
Delhi Daredevils 10 5 5 0 10 +0.331

By IANS,

New Delhi : Amit Mishra claimed the second hat-trick of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here Thursday night to guide Delhi Daredevils to a thrilling 12-run win over Deccan Chargers.

Mishra picked up five for 17 and became the third bowler after Sohail Tanvir (6/14) and Lakshmipathy Balaji (5/24) to claim five wickets or more in an IPL innings.

The Daredevils spinner became the second bowler after Chennai Super Kings' Balaji to record a hat-trick in the IPL.

The following are the other statistical highlights of the match:

By IANS,

New Delhi : Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist minced no words in criticising Delhi Daredevils' ploy of bringing an unfit Mohammad Asif for bowling and replacing him with a substitute for fielding in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match here Thursday night.

Asif, who was suffering from an injury, after bowling his first two overs at the start of the innings retired to the dug-out and then returned to bowl the 15th and 17th over.

By IANS,

New Delhi : Leg-spinner Amit Mishra took a hat-trick as Delhi Daredevils ended their losing streak with a 12-run victory over Deccan Chargers in a thrilling Twenty20 match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here Thursday.

Put into bat, Daredevils scored 194 for six with half centuries from Gautam Gambhir (79) and Shikhar Dhawan (68 not out). In reply, Mishra ran through the Deccan Chargers batting line-up and in the last over took the second hat-trick of the IPL, after Chennai Super Kings' Laxmipathy Balaji, to restrict the visitors at 182 for nine in 20 overs.

By IANS,

New Delhi : Following is the scoreboard of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 match in which Delhi Daredevils defeated Deccan Chargers by 12 runs at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium here Thursday:

Match No.37, Indian Premier League, Twenty20, Delhi Daredevils vs. Deccan Chargers, Feroze Shah Kotla, May 15

Delhi Daredevils:

Gautam Gambhir st Gilchrist b Ojha 79
Virendra Sehwag c Singh b Vijaykumar 0
Shikhar Dhawan not out 68
Ferveez Maharoof c Sharma b Ojha 19
Tillakaratne Dilshan run out (Gilchrist) 16
Manoj Tiwary not out 4
Extras (lb 3, w 5) 8