Actor Salman Khan has said he is serious about owning an IPL team.

Speaking exclusively to NDTV for the first time after he met IPL boss Lalit Modi, the star said that he did not follow cricket but that he would make a good team owner.

Salman also denied that bidding for a team is linked to his rivalry with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.

Shah Rukh owns an IPL team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, and has been an active participant for two years. Other actors who own IPL teams are Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty.

Cricket experts and living legends have tagged Team India as the favourites to win the Twenty20 World Cup slated to begin on June 5 in England. But MS Dhoni and his boys are leaving nothing to chance. On arriving in England, the team headed straight for their first practice session at the Lords.

Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar said, “I was asked a question how you think India is going to perform and I said no doubt, absolutely confident about our team. It’s a solid team; it’s got an explosive batting line up, wonderful bowling attack. If you look at the balance of our team, I think it’s fantastic.”

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar backs Dhoni’s boys to retain the World T20 title in England and its not just him, back home, India’s old horse is also backing the young guns to bring back the cup.

Veteran spinner E Prasanna sent his message across the team and said, “I think you should come back with all the glory and bring back the cup to India.”

With young Indians showcasing their talent in the second edition of the Indian Premier League, many believed fatigue could hamper India’s performance. But the champion has a word of caution for the opposition.

Sachin said, “The whole team has got some world class players in the team. And you know form can sometimes be a worry when you don’t play well. But world class players will always be a threat to the opposition. And I’m glad that we’ve got lot of world class players in the team.”

Team India were greeted in England in a grand fashion and this resounding welcome to the champions is just a mere glimpse of what awaits the Twenty20 champions over the next 30 days.

JOHANNESBURG: Rohit Sharma hit 22 runs off the final over to carry the Deccan Chargers to a pulsating six-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday.

Rohit, who hit an unbeaten 32 from 13 balls, smashed two sixes in the last over bowled by Bangladeshi seamer Mashrafe Mortaza, the second off the last ball.

Brisk start
Chasing a target of 161, Chargers’ captain Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs combined in a 68-run opening partnership as the team took another step closer to the semifinals.

Gilchrist thumped Mortaza for successive sixes in the second over and eventually got a top edge to deep square-leg trying to sweep Brad Hodge.

But his 43 off 31 deliveries got Chargers off to a speedy start in its run chase.

Gibbs was the next to go, contributing 28 off 34, and Tirumalsetti Suman followed with 31 from 24. Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds added a cameo 18 off 13 balls before Rohit Sharma came up with his heroics.

Skipper’s praise
“Rohit played some great innings last year and to see him stand up like this was amazing,” Gilchrist said.

Earlier, Knight Riders, asked to bat, made 160 for five with opening batsman Sourav Ganguly sharing 55 runs with Brad Hodge for the second wicket.

Ganguly made 33 before being removed by Rohit in the 15th over and Hodge was dismissed three overs later after contributing 48.

Following their departures, David Hussey smashed 43 runs off 17 balls with two fours and four sixes.

Salvaging pride
Disappointed after losing yet another close-battle, the Knight Riders skipper Brenden McCullum was looking at the rest of the matches to salvage some pride for his side.

“It’s disappointing. We will try to win the next couple of games we have. We are trying to be as much positive as we can. You have to keep trying for improvement,” he said.

Rohit, adjudged Man of the Match, confessed that he felt the pressure while Mortaza during the last over.

“Yes, there was some pressure during the last over.

“But I had the belief that we can chase down any target given by opponents,” he said. — Agencies

SCOREBOARD

 Kolkata Knight Riders: B. McCullum c Suman b Harris 20 (18b 1×4, 1×6), S. Ganguly c Harris b Rohit 33 (41b 3×4), B. Hodge c Harmeet b Harris 48 (41b, 5×4), D. Hussey (run out) 43 (17b, 2×4, 4×6), W. Saha c Singh b Symonds 7 (3b, 1×6), M. Mortaza (not out) 2 (2b), A. Agarkar (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-2, nb-2): 7; Total (for five wkts. in 20 overs): 160.

Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-85, 3-117, 4-152, 5-158.

Deccan Chargers bowling: Harris 4-0-20-2, R.P. Singh 3.1-0-30-0, Symonds 4-0-28-1, Harmeet 3.5-0-40-0, Ojha 3-0-24-0, Rohit 2-0-15-1.

Deccan Chargers: A. Gilchrist c sub (Shukla) b Hodge 43 (31b 5×4, 2×6), H. Gibbs c Hussey b Kartik 28 (34b 3×4), T.S. Suman (run out) 31 (24b 3 x4, 1 x6), A. Symonds (run out) 18 (13b, 1×6), R. Sharma (not out) 32 (13b, 3×4, 2×6), Y. Venugopal Rao (not out) 7 (7b); Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-2, nb-2): 7; Total (for four wkts in 20 overs): 166.

Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2-85, 3-116, 4-128.

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Ishant 4-0-23-0, Mortaza 4-0-58-0, Kartik 4-0-12-1, Hodge 3-0-23-1, Agarkar 4-0-41-0, Hussey 1-0-6-0.

Defending champions Rajasthan Royals’ hopes of making the semi-finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) suffered a blow Sunday with their 14-run loss to Delhi Daredevils here.

Delhi, who are already through to the semifinals, came up with yet another clinical fare to lead the standings with 18 points, three clear of second placed Chennai Super Kings, with two matches in hand.