Calcutta: Delhi Giants paid the price of not building partnerships as they lost their Edelweiss 20s Challenge encounter to Kolkata Tigers by just one run at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here on Sunday. With this win, Tigers assured themselves a semi-final berth in the ICL Twenty20 meet on better points. Chasing 143 to win, Giants managed 141 for eight in their quota of 20 overs. Requiring 14 runs in the final over, bowled by former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusner, the Delhi team scored 12. In another match in Hyderabad, Lahore Badshahs asserted their supremacy, scoring a 11-run victory over Ahmedabad Rockets in a league match at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium. Badshahs, led by former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq, first scored 151 for nine and then restricted the Rockets to 140 for six. A disciplined bowling by pacers at the death ensured Badshahs’ victory.

SUMMARISED SCORES

Kolkata Tigers 142 (Lace Klusner 62, Deep Dasgupta 35) Delhi Giants 141 (Avishka Gunawardene (35) and M. Mishra 27). Kolkata Tigers won by 1 run

Lahore Badshahs 151/9 (Raza 44, Taufeeq 29; Kalia 4/20). Ahmedabad Rockets 140/6 (Jain 43, Sriram 24; Sami 2/25). Lahore Badshahs won by 11 runs.

Chappell mantra

Jaipur: Former India coach Greg Chappell says fitness is a must to meet the challenges posed by modern cricket and supplement natural talent. “The ‘god-gifted’ natural talent may take you to heights but you would fall faster if you are unfit. To survive in modern cricket you have to be fit,” Chappell said. Asked about players like the bulky Shane Warne’s fitness levels, Chappell said he was never “unfit”. “Let me make it clear that it is a wrong notion that Warne was unfit. He was absolutely fit. Had he not been fit he couldn’t have gone far. He bowled long spells and also stood in the field, took wickets in heaps.”

Akhtar, Asif ignored

Karachi: Pakistan selectors on Sunday ignored controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for the first two one-day Internationals against Bangladesh with Mohammed Asif also not making it owing to a lingering elbow problem. The selectors recalled pacer Umar Gul, who passed a fitness test by playing domestic cricket last week after he was sent back from India last year. They were no other major surprises in the 16-member squad for the first two matches. Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said Asif was not picked as he was still in the rehabilitation process to recover from the elbow problem.

THE SQUAD

Shoaib Malik (captain), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammed Yousuf, Misbah-ul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Fawad Alam, Bazid Khan and Sarfaraz Ahmed.