Test cricket at its best.... Ind vs SA ..bowlers fight back...

Exciting Test match after that stupid one sided test match ...... Good to see Test bowlers doing good again & batsmen struggling out there. As long as such contests exists & result orientated Test matches exists...Test matches will survive for many more years. Hats off to Indian Bowlers...specially Zaheer Khan & Harbhajan Singh at his best in this one . Zaheer & Bhajji just gave the Indian Team another chance to redeem themselves from the pathetic defeat in last match & a chance to cement their No.1 Test ranking. All we need the batsmen to do is hand a decent target to fight for. The batsmen on the other end...flopped again inspite of an impressive lineup....... Murali Vijay has just experienced how difficult international cricket against quality bowlers can be. Dravid & Sachin were very ordinary in this match. Laxman hits his Six in 5 years...whattttttt !!!! ...& people wonder why this guy isnt playing ODIs ??? Sehwag, like I pointed out last time, was supposed to play responsibly...but he messes up again . Dhoni looks like the only responsible batsman out there in this series ...trying to add in runs.Dhoni-Bhajji partnership was useful in the first innings. Good to see Laxman back into some runs. This Match belongs to the bowlers... Dale Steyn is the world's best.... Zaheer, Bhajji doing their best too. Go Zaheer, Go Bhajji, Go Team India !!!!!!!!!!

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Seven Indian cricketers in fray for ODI dream team

Dubai, Dec 22 (IANS) Seven Indian cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar, are among 48 players in the fray for the dream One-day international (ODI) team being selected to mark the 40th anniversary of ODI cricket. The International Cricket Council's (ICC) official website is asking supporters from across the globe to select a dream team from a shortlist of 48 players and also pick their favourite game from a choice of 10 memorable matches. Former captain Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag are the other two Indian batsmen whose names have been nominated for selection among eight openers for the first two batting slots in the dream team. India's World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev is in the running for the all-rounder's slot while current skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be competing with seven others for the wicket- keeping position. Harbhajan Singh and Anl Kumble, along with six others, will fight for the lone spinner in the dream team. 'Supporters can vote on www.icc-cricket.com until Jan 2 to make their selections. They can also send in their dream teams and favourite matches via www.facebook/cricketicc or www.twitter.com/cricketicc,' ICC said in a statement. The names will be announced Jan 5 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first-ever ODI match between Australia and England. 'With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 now less than two months away, excitement and interest in the One-day format of the game will intensify. We know that fans will enjoy having the chance to remember some of the great games and great players to have played in ODI cricket during the past 40 years,' said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat. 'Cricket Australia will mark the 40th anniversary of ODI cricket with a number of events, including a reception with members of Australia's first ODI team at Victoria's Government House, during Melbourne's Cricket Weekend Jan 14-16. The Australian ODI team from 1971 will also be presented to the crowd during the innings break of the first ODI match of the series between Australia and England at the MCG Jan 16. Greatest ODI team of all time (from) Opening batsmen (2) - Saeed Anwar, Sourav Ganguly, Gordon Greenidge, Matthew Hayden, Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn Turner. Middle-order batsmen (3) - Michael Bevan, Martin Crowe, Aravinda de Silva, Inzamam-ul Haq, Brian Lara, Javed Miandad, Ricky Ponting, Viv Richards. All-rounder (1) - Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Andrew Flintoff, Richard Hadlee, Jacques Kallis, Imran Khan, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock. Wicket-keeper (1) - Mark Boucher, M.S. Dhoni, Andy Flower, Adam Gilchrist, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Moin Khan, Alec Stewart, Kumar Sangakkara. Fast bowlers (3) - Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Chaminda Vaas, Waqar Younis. Spinner (1) - Shahid Afridi, Carl Hooper, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralidaran, Saqlain Mushtaq, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Warne, Daniel Vettori.

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The saga of Sachin's 50 Test centuries

New Delhi: Cricket saw one of the most famous chapter added to its history book on Sunday when another record fell to the feet of arguably the greatest player to play the game - Sachin Tendulkar - when the legend scored his 50th Test hundred at the Centurion. While it might turn out to be a century for the losing cause, it will hold a special place not only in the record books but in the heart of every cricket fan.To silence those who say Sachin plays for records, the master himself trashed those talks on Sunday. "I never think about records. I love to focus on preparation and trying to give more than 100 per cent on the field. I love to play, try and keep improving. If I would have been chasing records, I would not have opted out of few ODIs," said Tendulkar. However, one can't run away from the fact that Sachin, in fact, is the 'Record Man' of cricket with almost every run-making record having his name inscribed on it. To add to that series, here is a list of some interesting records related to Sachin's Test tons. - Most 100s against an opponent: 11 v Australia. - Most 100s in a calendar year: 7 in 2010. - Most 100s on a ground: 5 at Chepauk (Chennai). - Most 100s in a country: 22 in India (the most he has scored outside India is 6 in Australia). - Most 100s on a particular position: 43 at number 4 (he has hit 5 at No. 5 and 2 at No. 6). - Most 100s under a captain: 15 under Mohammad Azharuddin (in 47 matches). - Result-wise summary of 100s: 20 in matches won, 19 in matches drawn and 10 in matches lost. - Break-up of 100s at home and abroad : 22 at home, 28 abroad. - Innings-wise break-up of Tendulkar's 100s: 20 in first innings of match, 17 in second innings of match, 10 in third innings of match and 3 in fourth innings of match.

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Group Lotus to take Renault stake in long term deal

Group Lotus has confirmed its much-rumoured partnership with Renault F1 from 2011, with the team to be renamed Lotus Renault GP. The deal is for seven years to the end of the 2017 season and will see Group Lotus inject title sponsorship in excess of £100m over that period. The new partnership has been enabled by Renault selling its remaining 25% share in the team to Genii Capital. Group Lotus will subsequently become a major equity partner in Lotus Renault GP, which it will co-own with Genii. Renault will continue its strong support as a supplier of engines and technological and engineering expertise. The team will continue to compete with the Renault chassis name and Renault will enjoy pre-eminent brand exposure on the livery. "We are delighted that we can now go public with the news that we will be racing as Lotus Renault GP in 2011," said Genii Capital boss Gerard Lopez. "It is extremely exciting to begin a new era for the team in partnership with Group Lotus, and we will continue to enjoy a strong relationship with Renault over the coming seasons. It is a tribute to the excellent work this year by the team in Enstone that we have been able to attract both major sponsorship and new investment for a very bright future." The team has also revealed its new black and gold livery - two months in the making - as it intends to recapture the iconic associations of the colour scheme prompted by the John Player Special Lotus sponsorship of the seventies and eighties. As things stand, however, the Tony Fernandes/Mike Gascoyne-led Lotus Racing, has announced similar plans for its team, entered as Team Lotus in 2011... The matter of ownership rights to the Team Lotus name in F1 is currently the subject of an action due in the British High Court after Fernandes purchased the disputed rights from David Hunt earlier this year. Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar, who has recent F1 experience with both Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, said: "I can think of no better platform for automotive brand communications than motorsport and F1 is the very pinnacle of open-wheel racing. We're well aware that there has been a lot of controversy around the usage of our brand in F1 and I'm delighted to be able to formally clarify our position once and for all: we are Lotus and we are back." Group Lotus intends to use F1 to spearhead the marketing of a new era of sportscar production aimed at moving the brand up- market. Lotus New Era was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October, featuring the new Esprit, Elan, Elite, Elise and Eterne. It is understood that politics apart, Group Lotus wanted an association with a team capable of running at the front in F1 rather than waiting for the Fernandes/Gascoyne operation to develop the necessary infrastructure. Genii, meanwhile, is also offering Group Lotus-owning Proton, "the ability to leverage existing business relationships in Russia and other parts of the world, as a means to expand Proton's global reach. Through Genii, Proton can also potentially access advanced automotive technologies by virtue of Genii's association with Mangrove, a venture capital group." The Russian associations could lead to the assumption that Vitaly Petrov's seat alongside Robert Kubica is safe, athough Petrov was not confirmed at the same time as the announcement, which may have been anticipated. Some sources continue to suggest that Nicolas Todt's associations with Bahar and Felipe Massa's relatively troubled year alongside Felipe Massa at Ferrari could lead to both being part of the new Lotus Renault association going forward. Enquiries along those lines were met with a denial, however, and we understand that it is 'likely' that Petrov will retain his seat with the team.

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Hulkenberg eyes Force India seat

Nico Hulkenberg admits that Force India is the team he is most likely to land a race-seat with. Having been let go by Williams, Hulkneberg is on the lookout for a new drive, and the young German spoke earlier in the week of his strong belief that he would be successful in his quest. The 23-year-old now reveals that he is in talks with Force India about a contract, and hopes to have resolved the situation in the coming weeks. "Right now as we talk I am not sure. I hope, and we are working very hard, to get a deal done but it is no secret that there are not many good race seats left," he told the official Formula One website. "The hope is still there and I am not giving up. I hope I can give you a positive answer very soon. Hopefully before Christmas. "Force India is our best shot, but it is also no secret that quite a few drivers are trying to land a seat there. We are talking to them and let's wait and see what develops." Hulkenberg largely impressed during his debut season, with the highlight undoubtedly a pole position in Brazil, a feat he admits he had hoped would secure his place at Williams. "Of course [I hoped it would be enough]. This Brazilian pole position was something that Williams had not tasted in years, but then again, one lap does not change the course of history," he explained. "There had been signs before that there was something brewing, because the team repeatedly delayed contract talks, putting it off to 'manana', so I was forewarned that something was going on. Nevertheless I would have liked to stay with them." Hulkenberg's replacement at Williams, Pastor Maldonado, has secured the backing of a handful of sponsors, including the Venezuelan government, and Hulkenberg concedes that it is becoming near impossible to make it in F1 on talent alone. "It has become much, much harder to open doors if your application does not come with a serious sponsor package and you really only rely on your talent as the sole 'sales argument'," he said. "This is quite frustrating and somewhat sad - especially if you can show you have had a good season as a reference." Asked where he would look next if a deal was not made with Force India, the 2009 GP series winner was defiant in his answer: "I don't want to think about a Plan B. My focus is 100 percent on finding a good race seat for 2011. That is where all my efforts are going right now."

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People's choice for IPL dream team: Sachin best as captain

Though the auction for the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is yet to be kicked off, few teams have already grabbed their favourite players, thus saving them from the auction bid. However, as per the rules of the IPL Governing Council, no team is allowed to retain more than four players. According to the rules, among the retained players, atleast three must be Indian and one foreigner. Your Dream Team Dainik Bhaskar had conducted a survey to ask the readers about their dream team. We had asked you which players you would want in your team being the owner of an IPL team. We got maximum participation and tremendous response from our readers. Readers picked a balanced team After counting the votes, we found that the team you selected was quite balanced and included openers, middle order batsmen, spinners, fast bowlers and wicketkeepers. Sachin Tendulkar - top choice for captaincy Master blaster Sachin tendulkar emerged as the first choice for captaincy. However, many readers want to see Virendra Sehwag and Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a captain. Virender Sehwag and Yousuf gets maximum votes As a player in the dream team, Viru and Yusuf Pathan got maximum votes, followed by Sachin, Yuvraj, Watson, Gambhir, Raina, AB Markel, Zaheer Khan, Mallinga, Harbhajan and Dhoni. Following is the IPL Dream Team of dainikbhaskar.com readers Opener Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar (captain) Middle Order Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan Wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni All-rounder Shane Watson, AB Markel Bowler Zaheer Khan, Lasith Mallinga, Harbhajan Singh

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Wife expecting, Anderson returns to England

Sydney: England fast bowler James Anderson has returned home to be present at the birth of his child but plans to return to Australia in time for the third Ashes test in Perth, coach Andy Flower said on Wednesday. It’s not ideal, it’s not perfect but we try to get the balance right between our commitments to England and our responsibility to the individual and his family, Flower said.

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MI Retain Sachin, Pollard, Malinga and Harbhajan

Mumbai: Mumbai Indians have informed the BCCI-owned Indian Premier League that they were retaining four players Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, West Indian Kieron Pollard and Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga for the next two seasons. An MI official also claimed that the franchisees have the option of retaining more than one foreigner in their squad as per the decision of the IPL governing council on retention of players.

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IPL 4: Dravid, Ganguly, Gambhir up for grabs

New Delhi: The players' retention deadline that ended on Wednesday night threw few surprises as many iconic players for various franchisees in the first three seasons were left to go under the hammer. Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir are among the top players not retained by their franchise. In fact, Delhi Daredevils only held back Virender Sehwag for the next three seasons, while Kings XI Punjab, along with Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders did not retain any player of their current squads.With a maximum of three Indians players out of four allowed to be retained by every franchise, the Mumbai Indians, as expected, retained Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh in Indian players, while they clang to big- hitting Kieron Pollard and Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga in foreign players. The Chennai Super Kings also retained four players. The 2010 IPL champions once again showed their faith in MS Dhoni, their skipper for the last three seasons, along with two most improved cricketers for the national side - Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay. The Stephen Fleming-coached side also kept South African all-rounder Albie Morkel with them. But while doing so, both Mumbai and Chennai had already spent half of the $ 9 million salary cap available to teams for the players' auction. According to rules set for the next season, the four retained players will be valued at $ 1.8 million for the first player, $ 1.3 million for the second, $ 900,000 for the third and $ 500,000 for the fourth. The most interesting retention came from Royal Challengers Bangalore, where only Virat Kohli was retained. It also means that now team's mainstays like Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble will be available for the January auction. Punjab's decision to release all their players was expected following their dismal 2010 season, which means Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Brett Lee will go under the hammer. Rajasthan Royals, who breathed a sigh of relief after an independent arbitrator stayed the BCCI's decision to expel the team, had clung to their Australian skipper Shane Warne and all-rounder Shane Watson. So the swashbuckling Yusuf Pathan will be up for grab in the players' auction.

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New CBA season tips off

China's basketball league has never been more popular after a number of former NBA players jump on Marbury's bandwagon and sign up to play. China Daily reports. High-profile former NBA players will enhance the competitiveness and expand the influence of the 2010-2011 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season, which will tip off with a game between Zhejiang Guangsha and Fujian SBS on Dec 12, according to the top official of the governing body. "Our league has benefited a lot from high level foreign players for years. And we are happy to see more NBA stars join us this season," said Liu Xiaonong, vice- head of the Chinese Basketball Administrative Center (CBAC), at a media conference to launch the new CBA season on Thursday. The former NBA roster Liu mentioned became more dazzling when Steve Francis, Yao Ming's former Houston Rockets teammate, signed a contract with CBA club Beijing Jinyu on Nov 30. On the same day, Stephon Marbury, another NBA all-star guard, who was unexpectedly released by last season's employer Shanxi Zhongyu just two weeks before its opening game, inked a one-year deal with new CBA club Foshan Longshi. Playing as teammates at the New York Knicks four years ago, Marbury's battle against Francis on the CBA court is expected to be the most eye-catching spectacle of the new season. According to the schedule, the two will meet for the first time on Jan 1, 2011, when Beijing plays Foshan at home. The use of foreign players was once regarded as a detriment to the development of local youngsters. However, that mindset appears to have changed and more fans and greater media interest have been drawn to the league by the overseas "mercenaries". According to figures from the Swiss-based Infront corporation, the CBA's marketing operator, last year's TV audience was more than 400 million. That is expected to rise even more this year. "Bringing more experienced foreign players, especially former NBA players, is definitely beneficial for our league. It is an effective way to enhance the CBA's level and profile. It's also a powerful catalyst to draw fans back and attract sponsorship support," said Bai Xilin, the competition department head of the CBAC. Apart from the former Knicks backcourt duo, another two former NBAers - Fred Jones and Ricky Davis - are also well worth watching. Jones, who won the NBA slam dunk contest in 2004 wearing the Indiana Pacers' jersey, is likely to play for Guangdong Hongyuan. Davis, a veteran swingman with 12 years' of NBA experience, will represent the Jiangsu Dragons. According to Bai, 32 foreign athletes including nine former NBA players and four Asian players have signed with the 17 clubs. Each team can have at most two overseas players, while last season's bottom five clubs are free to sign one more from Asia to boost their squads. Although the same rule from last season that each team's two overseas players are allowed to play a total of six quarters per game still applies, the monthly salary cap of $60,000 has been canceled this coming season. That means more big names will be available to appear on CBA courts. Apart from the boost from more NBA stars, a rules' revision, emulating the NBA's model should be another highlight of the new season. After a trial run during last season's playoffs, the CBA's three-point line will be formally extended to 6.75 meters, 50 centimeters farther than before. The three-second area will be expanded and an offensive foul protection area will be added under the basket, said Bai. "The new rules will bring new changes to each team's tactics and formations; it's a better way to follow the world and keep up our games' suspense," said Liu. According to figures released at the launch of the competition, 28 new faces will debut this season. The average age of the 237 players in the league will be about 23. The regular season, which comprises 309 games, will be played on a round-robin, home-and-away basis with a three-games-per-week schedule from Dec 10, 2010, to March 11, 2011. While the league appears to be on an upswing, organizers are concerned about match fixing. The gambling scandals that have rocked the nation's premier soccer league have also set off alarm bells in the basketball community. "We will pay close attention to any suspicious conduct. We have revised the clubs' access standards, regulations and the penalty provision. We will even introduce judicial organs to investigate (suspicious activities) and will have no mercy on those found guilty," Liu said. "Clean matches are the basis of the league; we are ready to do all we can to ensure fair play."

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Pathan magic seals win for India

BANGALORE, India — Yusuf Pathan hammered a career-best 123 not out off just 96 balls as India pulled off a thrilling five- wicket win in the fourth one-day international against New Zealand on Tuesday. The all-rounder clubbed seven fours and seven sixes on the way to his maiden one-day century to help the hosts overhaul New Zealand's challenging 315-7 with seven balls to spare at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The victory put India on course for a series whitewash over the Black Caps who trail 4-0 with one game remaining to be played in Chennai on Friday. Pathan clobbered the New Zealand attack with his aggressive innings, putting on 133 runs for the unfinished sixth wicket with Saurabh Tiwary (37 not out) after India had been reduced to 188-5 in the 34th over. Pathan also played a key role with the ball, grabbing three New Zealand wickets for 49 runs off nine overs. James Franklin top-scored for the Kiwis with an unbeaten 98 off 69 balls including 12 fours and three sixes. "I have always said Pathan can finish games on his own, and that's what he did today," Indian captain Gautam Gambhir said. "I had never seen something like this before. But I knew till the time Pathan was there, we would win the game." Paceman Andy McKay took two wickets in two balls to spoil a rollicking start by India that saw openers Gambhir (27) and Parthiv Patel put on 67 runs in less than 10 overs. Gambhir, the leading run-getter in the series, cut McKay to point where Martin Guptill took a sharp catch and Virat Kohli was caught by Kyle Mills for a duck. Patel, playing his first one-day international in six years, raced to his maiden one-day half- century off 50 balls but was dismissed three runs later by Nathan McCullum. India looked in deep trouble after losing Yuvraj Singh for 20 runs but man of the match Pathan ensured another fine win for the hosts. "It was a great game of cricket," said New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori. "We were in the game, but Pathan was pretty amazing. Franklin played exceptionally well too to give us a formidable total, but Pathan took the game away from us." Franklin had underlined a spirited batting display by the visitors after they were put in to bat in the day-night game. Scott Styris (46), Ross Taylor (44) and Brendon McCullum (42) also chipped in with valuable knocks. Franklin, who had top-scored with 72 in the third match in Vadodara, provided the late impetus, helping New Zealand add 63 runs in the last five overs. He hit two sixes and as many fours in the last over by Ashish Nehra (2-70) to take the visitors past the 300-run mark.

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IPL 2011 Season 4: BCCI Facing Jittery Phase

A special meeting has been called for by Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI, to be attended by all officials comprising of its general body. Meeting is to be held in Mumbai on coming Saturday with an agenda of reformation of the disciplinary committee of the Board. As evident the current committee ’s in place has completed its term in September and need to be restructured. The main task being performed by the committee is investigation of Lalit Modi ’s involvement in high level of misappropriations in Indian Premiere League that was being headed by him earlier. Lalit Modi who was chairman of IPL was directed by Board to quit after his exposure in many irregularities related to IPL ’s functioning. The board was supposed to reform the disciplinary committee during its annual general body meeting held in September but failed to do it though technically the existing disciplinary committee has lost its sanctity due to expiry of its term. Though BCCI secretary N Srinivasan has stated that reformation of disciplinary committee as minor subject, the sanctity of its functioning was recently pointed out by Lalit Modi’s lawyer Mehmood Abdi in November. BCCI is already staggering with its jittery situation in relation to three IPL teams Rajasthan Royals, Kochi and Kings XI Punjab. Kochi franchise issue on one hand is almost resolved with their formal reply to BCCI on its shareholding problems and hence qualifies to go for IPL season 4 to be held in 2011. Rajasthan Royals team owners had challenged their contract termination by BCCI in Mumbai High Court and have got a stay order ruled by Justice Srikrishna. With all this unstable situations, BCCI ’s plan of auction of players that was to be held in November and then in January is apparently going to be further delayed and may happen during 2011 World Cup. Till IPL season four the number of teams participating in the event was eight that was increase by two with the inclusion of two new teams Pune and Kochi. After the count reached to ten, Kochi franchise controversy started along with BCCI’s termination of contract with two old teams Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab. Further shuffling happened during BCCI ’s plan of bidding for a new franchise, when Kochi had a come back and Rajasthan Royals have got an approval from Court to participate in IPL 2011. BCCI is still not very clear about how many total teams would be participating in the forthcoming IPL season 4.

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'Super Dan' focused on London 2012

The handsome face and muscular figure of Lin Dan make him an ideal candidate for the big screen. However, the Chinese badminton superstar says any speculation about a career in the entertainment industry will have to wait until his on-court career ends. "Right now, I'm just focused on the 2012 Olympic Games. I will not think about the possibility (of acting) as long as I'm still able to play the sport," said 27-year-old Lin during a press conference on Sunday organized by razor brand Gillette. The reigning Olympic and world champion is determined to hold on until the 2012 London Olympics, even though he achieved a grand slam by winning the Asian Games in Guangzhou. "I will try my best and hold on to play at the 2012 Olympic Games," said Lin, who won the MVP Award at the Asian Games thanks to his men's singles title and his overwhelming popularity with fans and the media. "I know it will be a tough two years. I know rising stars and old foes will come up and pose bigger threats during my preparation. But I'm ready to accept the challenge," 'Super Dan' said. The Asiad title was the only major crown missing from Lin's glittering resume, which includes one Olympic title and three consecutive world crowns. He said the pressure going into the Asiad was even greater than that at the 2008 Beijing Games. "I know lots of people expected me to pick up the title. There was big pressure on me," said Lin, who was upset by Malaysia's Hidayat Taufik in the Doha final four years ago. "So when I did it, I felt more excited than when I won the Olympic title."

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7 ex-CFA officials to face bribery charges

The seven detained former officials from the Chinese Football Association (CFA) will stand trial early next year, said Monday's Soccer News, after a year-long sweeping probe into Chinese football's gambling and match-fixing.: By Liu Shanshan (chinadaily.com.cn) All seven sacked officials - ex- CFA head Xie Yalong, his successor Nan Yong and Nan's deputy Yang Yimin, former national team manager Wei Shaohui, ex-CFA referee heads Li Dongsheng and Zhang Jianqiang, and former football league official Fan Guangming - will face charges of bribery, according to the Guangzhou-based football newspaper. The three top officials, Xie Yalong, Nan Yong and Yang Yimin, will be prosecuted for an additional crime of dereliction of duty because of their special executive posts in the Chinese Football Administrative Center, while Fan will also face a charge of gambling. According to the newspaper, more than 10 kilograms of evidence, including copies and conversation records, have been collected for upcoming court hearings to be opened in the Tieling City Procuratorate, Northeast China's Liaoning province. However, the allegation of match-fixing, or manipulating the outcome of matches, cannot be prosecuted as no Chinese law ever defined it as a crime.

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Taylor says U.S. headed for recession

(Reuters) - The U.S. economy is headed for a new recession, said John Taylor, chairman and chief investment officer of FX Concepts, which should likely benefit the dollar and weigh on commodity prices. "It's a new recession. We're already growing, but the numbers show that the U.S. government is still the primary creator of this growth," Taylor said on Monday at the Reuters Investment Outlook Summit. Taylor runs the world's largest currency hedge fund with assets under management of around $8.5 billion. "I would argue that by the middle of next year, we will be in a recession and our fiscal hands will be tied," he said. Taylor has maintained in previous interviews that the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program, designed as a way to help jump-start the economy, won't necessarily prevent a recession. Banks in a recession tend to demand the repayment of loans, and if the debt is denominated in the U.S. currency -- and in most cases they are -- then investors are squeezed as they scramble to find dollars to repay the debt. That should be dollar-positive, Taylor said. This was what happened in late 2008 when panic in the markets -- precipitated by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers -- drove the safe-haven dollar higher against most major currencies. "It's kind of perverse. When the U.S. economy is doing badly, the dollar goes up and when the economy is doing well, the dollar goes down." Taylor's remarks dovetailed with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on Sunday on the CBS program "60 Minutes". Bernanke said the Fed could end up buying more than the $600 billion in U.S. government bonds it has committed if the economy fails to respond or unemployment stays high. The U.S. economy grew at a modest 2.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter. Stronger growth is needed to create large numbers of new jobs and make a dent in unemployment, currently at 9.8 percent. EURO COULD FALL APART For now, all eyes are on the euro zone, which is facing a debt crisis. Theoretically, at some point the euro could fall apart, Taylor said, "What Europe has done is not enough. They have to have eurobonds," said Taylor. "You can't lend money to Ireland or Greece. You're just piling on more debt to them, and it's getting harder and harder to repay." Taylor said Portugal could be the next country to seek a bailout after Ireland, with Spain after that. This will push the euro to parity versus the dollar by next year, he forecast. In early New York trading, the euro was down 1 percent at $1.3277. In October, he told Reuters in an interview that the euro would most likely peak between $1.43- $1.45 in November and was most negative on the euro versus the dollar at a time when almost everybody was selling the greenback because of the quantitative easing factor.

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NBA to buy Hornets

(Reuters) - The National Basketball Association said it agreed to buy the New Orleans Hornets from majority owner George Shinn after a deal to sell the team to minority owner Gary Chouest fell through. The league said on Monday that Chouest decided not to buy the team because of economic uncertainty in New Orleans and Louisiana. "In the absence of any viable purchaser seeking to own the Hornets in New Orleans, I recommended to the NBA Board of Governors that the best way to assure stability and the adequate funding of the franchise would be for the league to step in, and complete the transaction and assume control," NBA commissioner David Stern said in a statement. No deal value was immediately disclosed. Stern said the league recruited Jac Sperling, vice chairman of the parent company of the NHL's Minnesota Wild,to be the team's chairman and governor. The deal is subject to a vote by the NBA's Board of Governors, which will likely take place next week.

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Aus vs vs Eng Eng – – 2010 2010 - - 11 11 : : England England wins wins the the second second test test by by an an innings innings and and 71 71 runs runs

Australia vs England – Second Test at Adelaide in Dec 2010 : England won by an innings and 71 runs, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first providing the 131st occasion of Australia doing so against England. It also provides the 74th occasion of Australia doing so on home soil. SM Katich was run out for zero in the first innings of this test providing the 195th occasion of an Australian batsman run out against England. It also provides the 27th occasion of an Australian batsman run out without scoring against England. SM Katich was run out for zero in the first innings of this test providing the 45th occasion of an Australian opening batsman run out against England. SM Katich became the first Australian opening batsman run out without scoring against England. SM Katich became the second Australian batsman to be run out for zero without facing a ball against England. RM Hogg is the other batsman dismissed in such a manner at Birmingham in Jul 1981. SM Katich became the first Australian opening batsman run out for a duck without facing ball against England. RT Ponting was playing his 150th test match in this test. He failed to celebrate the occasions as he failed with the bat by scoring a first ball duck in the first innings and nine of 19 deliveries in the second innings RT Ponting zero and nine in this test provides the sixth occasion of his scoring single digit runs in both innings of a test. The other five occasions are – 9 and 4 vs West Indies at Sydney in Nov 96 : 0 and 0 vs Pakistan at Hobart in Nov 99 : 6 and 0 vs Kolkata in Mar 01 : 4 and 3 vs India at Melbourne in Dec 07 and 5 and 2 vs India at Mohali in Oct 2008 RT Ponting became the fourth batsman in the annals of test cricket to play 150 plus tests. Others are – SR Tendulkar {174} : SR Waugh {168} and AR Border {156} RT Ponting was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of this test providing the 84th occasion of an Australian captain dismissed for a duck in a test innings against various oppositions. His duck provides the 46th occasion of an Australian captain dismissed without scoring in a test innings against England. RT Ponting was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of this test providing the seventh occasion of his dismissal without scoring in a test innings against England. He now shares he record for most ducks by an Australian captain against England with AR Border and GS Chappell. RT Ponting collected the first ball duck in the first innings of this test providing the 96th occasion of a captain dismissed for a duck after facing one ball in the annals of test cricket, RT Ponting’s first ball duck in this test provides the 19th occasion of an Australian captain collecting the first ball duck against England. RT Ponting’s first ball duck in this test represent the fourth occasion of his collecting the first ball duck as captain. Other captains who have collected the first ball ducks on four or more occasions are – GS Chappell {05} : ST Jayasuriya {04} and Khaled Mashud {04} : RT Ponting collected the first ball duck on fifth occasion as batsman. Other Australian batsmen to collect five or more first ball ducks are – DC Boon {05} : GS Chappell {06} : IA Healey {06} : SCG MacGill {07} : GD McGrath {05} : SK Warne {05} : ME Waugh {07} and SR Waugh {06} : MEK Hussey scored 93 in the first innings to provide the 62nd occasion of an Australian batsman scoring a ninety against in a test innings. His knock provides the 38th occasion of an Australian batsman scoring a ninety against against England in a test innings on home soil MEK Hussey scored his second ninety on home soil against England, the first was also at Adelaide in Dec 06 when he made 91. MEK Hussey became the fifth ustralian batsman to score nineties on two or more occasions against England at home. Others are - C Hill {05} : SR Waugh {03} : AC Bannerman {02} and DC Boon {02} MEK Hussey with his two nineties became the tenth batsman to score nineties on two occasions against England. Others are – C Hill {05} : DC Boon {04} : SR Waugh {04} : TJE Andrews {02} : AC Bannerman {02} : MJ Clarke {02} : WM Lawry {02} : RW Marsh {02} and GHS Trott {02} MEK Hussey scored his 22nd test half century and 34th fifty when he made 93 in the first innngs of this test. BJ Haddin scored 56 in the first innings which represents his sixth test half century and ninth fifty. BJ Haddin’s 56 in the first innings of this test represent the 50th occasion of an Australian wicket keeper batsman scoring a fifty in a test innings against England. England’s innings contained four three figure partnerships – 173 for the second wicket between AN Cook and IJL Trott : 174 runs for the third wicket between AN Cook and KP Pietersen : 101 runs between KP Pietersen and PD Collingwood and 116 runs for the fifth wicket between KP Pietersen and IR Bell. England batsmen’s feat provides the eighth occasion of a team posting four three figure partnerships in an innings in the annals of test cricket. It also provides the second occasion of England’s batsmen performing such a feat against Australia, the first such occasion was at The Oval in 1938 in England’s first innings. England posted 620 for 5 declared in this test providing the sixth occasion of England posting a total of 600 plus against Australia. The other five occasions are – 636 at Sydney in Dec 1928 : 627 for 9 declared at Manchester in Jul 1934 : 658 for 8 declared at Nottingham in Jun 1938 : 903 for 7 declared at The Oval in Aug 1938 and 611 at Mancheter in Jul 1964 England posted 620 for 5 declared in this test providing the second occasion of England posting a total of 600 plus against Australia in Australia. The other occasion is its 636 at Sydney in Dec 1928 England’s innings contained four three figure partnerships – 173 for the second wicket between AN Cook and IJL Trott : 174 runs for the third wicket between AN Cook and KP Pietersen : 101 runs between KP Pietersen and PD Collingwood and 116 runs for the fifth wicket between KP Pietersen and IR Bell. At the end of this test England batsmen have posted 298 three figure partnerships against Australia. 173 for the second wicket between AN Cook and IJL Trott in this test provides the 60th occasion of England batsmen posting a three figure partnership for the second wicket against Australia 174 runs for the third wicket between AN Cook and KP Pietersen in this test provides the 50th occasion of England batsmen posting a three figure partnership for the third wicket against Australia 101 runs for the fourth wicket between KP Pietersen and PD Collingwood in this test provides the 42nd occasion of England batsmen posting a three figure partnership for the fourth wicket against Australia 116 runs for the fifth wicket between KP Pietersen and IR Bell in this test provides the 31st occasion of England batsmen posting a three figure partnership for the fifth wicket against Australia AN Cook and KP Pietersen scored 148 and 227 respectively in this test providing the 226th and 227th occasion of England batsmen scoring a hundred against Australia It is just a coincidence that KP Pietersen scored 227 in this test which represents the 227th hundred by an England batsman against Australia AN Cook scored his 15th hundred when he made 148 in this test, while KP Pietersen’s 227 represents his 17th test hundred. AN Cook with his 15 hundreds became the 17th England batsman to score 15 or more hundreds. Others are – G Boycott {22} : MC Cowdrey {22} : WR Hammond {22} : KF Barrington {20} : GA Gooch {20} : L Hutton {19} : AJ Strauss {19} : DI Gower {18} : MP Vaughan {18} : DCS Compton {18} : KP Pietersen {17} : MA Atherton {17} : H Sutcliffe {16} : GP Thorpe {16} : JB Hobbs {15} and AJ Stewart {15} KP Pietersen’s 227 in this test represent the 301st double hundred in the annals of test cricket. It also represents the 13th double hundred by an England batsman against Australia. KP Pietersen with his 227 became the fifth batsman to score a double hundred against Australia in Australia and his 227 provide the seventh occasion of an England batsman scoring a double hundred against Australia. The other six occasions are – 287 by RE Foster at Sydney in Dec 1903 : 251 by WR Hammond at Sydney in Dec 1928 : 200 by WR Hammond at Melbourne in Dec 1928 : 231* by WR Hammond at Sydney in Dec 1936 : 206 by PD Collingwood at Adelaide in Dec 2006 and 235* by AN Cook at Brisbane in Nov 2010 KP Pietersen’s 227 in this test represent the second double hundred by an England batsman against Australia at Adelaide. PD Collingwood had scored 206 at Adelaide in Dec 2006. KP Pietersen’s 227 represent the highest score by an England batsman against Australia at Adelaide. KP Pietersen’s 227 represent his highest test score an improvement upon his previous best of 226 against West Indies at The Oval in May 2007 DE Bollinger {130}, PM Siddle {121} and XJ Doherty {158} conceded 100 plus runs in this innings which takes the number of occasions of Australian bowlers conceding 100 plus runs against England to 248 XJ Doherty {158} conceded 150 plus runs in this innings providing the 25th occasion of an Australian bowler conceding 150 plus runs in an innings against England PM Siddle returned with figures of none for 121 in this innings providing the 20th occasion of an Australian bowler conceding 100 plus runs without capturing a wicket against England. SR Watson scored 57 in the second innings of this test which represents his 13th test half century and 15th fifty. MJ Clarke scored 80 in this test which represents his 20th test half century and 34th fifty. MEK Hussey scored 52 in the second innings of this test which represents his 23rd test half century and 35th fifty SR Watson scored 51 and 57 in this test providing the 77th occasion of an Australian batsman scoring fifty plus in both innings of a test against Australia MEK Hussey scored 93 and 52 in this test providing the 78th occasion of an Australian batsman scoring fifty plus runs in both innings of a test against Australia. SR Watson scored 51 and 57 in this test providing the 44th occasion of an Australian batsman scoring half centuries in both innings of a test against Australia MEK Hussey scored 93 and 52 in this test providing the 45th occasion of an Australian batsman scoring half centuries in both innings of a test against Australia. MJ Clarke and MEK Hussey added 104 runs for the fourth wicket in the second innings of this test providing the 305th occasion of Australian batsmen posting a three figure partnership against England. This stand also represents the 56th occasion of Australian batsman posting a three figure partnership for the fourth wicket against Australia GP Swann captured 5 for 91 in England’s second innings of this test providing the 239th occasion of an England bowler capturing five or more wickets in an innings against Australia. GP Swann captured 5 for 91 in England’s second innings of this test providing the 122nd occasion of an England bowler capturing five or more wickets in an innings against Australia in Australia. GP Swann’s 5 for 91 in this test represent his tenth five wickets haul in an innings and his first five wickets haul against Australia. England won this test by an innings and 71 runs providing the 11th occasion of England winning a test against Australia by an innings margin. The other ten occasions are – innings and 230 runs at Adelaide in Mar 1892 : innings and 225 runs at Melbourne in Feb 1912 : innings and 124 runs at Sydney in Dec 1901 : innings and 98 runs at Melbourne in Mar 1885 : innings and 93 runs at Sydney in Jan 1966 : innings and 29 runs at Melbourne in Feb 1925 : innings and 27 runs at Melbourne in Jan 1883 : innings and 22 runs at Sydney in Dec 1936 : innings and 14 runs at Melbourne in Dec 1986 and innings and 4 runs at Melbourne in Feb 1975.

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Mumbai: The BCCI today allowed the squabbling Kochi franchisee to participate in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League, ending the suspense over the fate of team.

The IPL Governing council, which had given a third deadline to Kochi last week after the consortium's investors reached a last-minute agreement over their shareholding pattern, today approved their ownership structure and took it in its fold. "At their meeting today, the IPL Governing Council confirmed that the Kochi Franchisee had satisfactorily responded to the notice issued to them by the BCCI, and decided that the Franchisee Kochi Cricket Pvt. Ltd., would play in the IPL from 2011 onwards," BCCI Secretary and President-Elect N Srinivasan said in a release. The Governing Council's decision comes on the backdrop of the legal developments involving the BCCI and expelled IPL franchisees - Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, the IPL Governing Council. Barely seven months after becoming the second most costliest team in the Indian Premier League, Kochi was on the verge of being thrown out of the event. But the owners of the beleaguered franchise made a last ditch attempt to save the outfit by reaching a compromise. Before the compromise, the investors of the franchise, which was bought for a staggering sum of Rs 1533.33 crore, had written to the BCCI informing them of their intention to withdraw from the IPL. That letter was sent after the BCCI, which had on October 10 expelled Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals for allegedly violating contractual agreements, gave a termination notice of 30 days to the franchise to sort out internal disputes regarding the shareholding pattern. The investors in the consortium -- Anchor Earth, Parinee Developers, Rosy Blue and Film Wave -- hold 74 per cent of the equity. The remaining 26 per cent lies with the Gaikwad family -- Shailendra, his brother Ravi and their parents all part of Rendezvous Sports World -- as free equity for services rendered while bidding. It is this 26 per cent which became a bone of contention among the stakeholders as the investors were in no mood to give free equity to the Gaikwad family. The Gaikwads, on their part, initially refused to part with the equity but have now agreed to forego at least some of it to put an end to the squabbling which threatens the very existence of the team. The BCCI has made it clear that eight teams will take part in the fourth edition of the league scheduled from April 8, just six days after the World Cup.

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A Pakistan television news program has aired video of allegedly corrupt players agent Mazhar Majeed incriminating four more Pakistan cricketers in spot- fixing.

In the footage _ obtained and released by Geo television on Tuesday night _ Majeed claims the Akmal brothers _ Kamran and Umar _ fast bowler Wahab Riaz and opening batsman Imran Farhat were also involved. The International Cricket Council has already suspended Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir after a British tabloid newspaper accused them of being involving in spot fixing _ bowling no-balls at pre-determined times during a test match against England at Lord's in August. The ICC's anti-corruption tribunal will conduct a full hearing of the cases against the trio in January at Doha, Qatar. Of the seven players implicated by Majeed, only Umar Akmal and Riaz were named in the Pakistan squad for next month's tour of New Zealand. Riaz was also questioned by British detectives during the tour of England, but was released without any charge. Kamran Akmal claimed he approached the ICC's Ant- Corruption and Security Unit after the tour of England and was told that he was clear to compete for Pakistan. However, Pakistan selectors did not pick him for either the Twenty20s or test matches in New Zealand. Farhat was part of the Pakistan team which competed in Twenty20 and limited-overs internationals against South Africa last month in the United Arab Emirates. He was also dropped for the New Zealand tour apparently after the new opening pair of Taufeeq Umar and Mohammad Hafeez performed well in the two test matches against the Proteas. Apparently the latest video was the same which the ICC has shown to lawyers representing Amir and Butt in Dubai last month. In the latest video, Majeed reportedly said that he is not interested in recruiting senior players such as Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and Saeed Ajmal because they have limited years of international cricket left in them. Majeed also said that Ajmal was "too religious" as he explained to an undercover reporter posing as a gambler how he targeted players on the Pakistan team.

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New Delhi: indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni signed one of the largest single endorsement deals with the liquor to airlines conglomerate, the UB Group, valued at approximately Rs.26 crore for three years, according to a person privy to the deal.

The deal puts the Indian captain in the select league of top Bollywood stars such as Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan who charge anywhere near Rs.6 crore to Rs.8 crore per product's endorsements in a year. A official with the talent management firm Rhiti Sports Management, through which the deal was struck, told IANS: 'Yes, Dhoni has entered into a deal with the UB Group and is now in the exclusive league of stars like Shah Rukh and Aamir.' According to the official, the Indian cricket captain will endorse the company's McDowell soda. 'Right now, Dhoni is one of the most sort-after persons for endorsements, which is majorly due to the fact that the Indian team has been performing very well,' the official added. Earlier, Dhoni's most expensive deal was signed at a price of Rs.6 crore per year with Reebok, which comes down to Rs.30 crore for a 5-year period. Currently, he is associated with 22 brands -- among them beverages and snacks major PepsiCo, reality company Amrapali, telecom operator Aircel and retail chain Big Bazaar.

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Kolkata: Former India all- rounder Bapu Nadkarni described Sachin Tendulkar as an all-time great cricketer.

"Cricketers like (Don) Bradman, (Brian) Lara are born once in a while. Tendulkar is one of them, he is an all-time legend, a gem," the 77-year-old said while attending a programme at the Thakurpukur Cancer Hospital here on Saturday. Asked how would he have bowled to Tendulkar if he was there, the former left-arm spinner known for his tidy and economical bowling, said, "You can never set a field to a batsman like him. He will dominate you no matter how you bowl or the field you set. That's the greatness in him." A respected name in Mumbai cricket, Nadkarni also said Twenty20 cricket was affecting the game. "We are not getting good bowlers now-a-days and T20 has to be blamed. You cannot judge a bowler's efficiency by seeing him in short spells in T20. There has to be a lot of Test cricket that will produce good bowlers," he said.

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London Chess Classic 2010

The field for the 2nd London Chess Classic has been strengthened again this year with the addition of World Champion and number one Viswanathan Anand. Returning is world number two Magnus Carlsen, former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, US Number One Hikaru Nakamura and the top English players Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Luke McShane and David Howell. There will be many events alongside this major tournament. As a special treat Garry Kasparov will be the guest commentator on the day of the final round 7 (December 15th). Magnus Carlsen in last year's Classic against Vladimir Kramnik who he beat in a good game. Photo © John Saunders |

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London Chess Classic 2010

The field for the 2nd London Chess Classic has been strengthened again this year with the addition of World Champion and number one Viswanathan Anand. Returning is world number two Magnus Carlsen, former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, US Number One Hikaru Nakamura and the top English players Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Luke McShane and David Howell. There will be many events alongside this major tournament. As a special treat Garry Kasparov will be the guest commentator on the day of the final round 7 (December 15th). Magnus Carlsen in last year's Classic against Vladimir Kramnik who he beat in a good game. Photo © John Saunders |

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I'm the no-panty girl: Yana Gupta

Right after she was caught offguard, Yana Gupta tags herself as the 'no-panty' girl and the day as the officially funniest day of her life. What do you expect after a wardrobe malfunction? Shock or embarrassment? Item girl Yana Gupta, who was recently caught on camera without panties, has chosen to take the incident in her stride and be very sporting about it. Where any lesser girl may have cringed and disappeared from the scene in sheer embarrassment, Yana suggests half-jokingly that she should perhaps now endorse some underwear brand! "I used to be known as an item girl. Now I will be known as a no-panty girl. I should do an ad for some underwear brand with a tag line saying: 'I've got them NOW'." she tweets wittily on her Twitter account. Yana further goes on to blog why and how the 'malfunction' happened. "For past three weeks I have been rehearsing for a particular dance television show. While doing all the splits and various crazy dance moves, I kept getting irritated by my panties getting stuck in my ass. Now imagine at all times I am being shot by cameras as I rehearse so it just didn't look good that after every crazy step I'm trying to adjust 'myself'. So I thought I'll sort out the issue by simply not wearing undies as I wear pants for rehearsal," she wrote. Yana continues, "That day I had no time to go home after rehearsal in order to make it to the charity event. I packed my bag in the morning, put my make up, dress, shoes in it but guess what I forgot! Yes I openly admit...I did forget something 'slightly' essential to pack. I just pulled my dress down every few steps, but it didn't help! I had no clue it could be seen. I had no clue till I saw the pictures today, now should I cry over this?" Yana claims that such things do not matter much and actually calls it 'the officially funniest day of her life'. Yana, through Twitter requests her fans, "I have only one thing to say. For God's sake! Stop looking at those pictures! I don't want anyone getting a heart attack here." Now, surely Yana isn't the only girl out there who takes such liberties with her innerwear once in a while. We know for sure that many girls beset with similar problems, prefer to do the same. Their saving grace is they do not have cameras clicking them at awkward moments! We at timesofindia.com understand the intricacies of the matter and give a big Thumbs Up to Yana for her sporting attitude!

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President greets Asian Games heroes at Rashtrapati Bhavan

President Pratibha Patil admires the gold medal of Ashwini Akkunji as other athletes look on during a meeting with medal winners of the recently concluded 16th Asian Games in China, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Saturday. President Pratibha Patil today hailed the efforts of Indian athletes, who brought glory to the country in the recently- concluded Asian Games at Guangzhou and encouraged them to maintain their golden run. During a felicitation ceremony here at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Patil congratulated the Asian Games gold medal winners and greeted them with flowers. However, a notable absentee on the occasion was the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief and Commonwealth Games Organising Committee President Suresh Kalmadi. It is important to note that earlier Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also given him a royal snub after the Delhi Games when he met the CWG medal winners. Meanwhile, talking to the reporters during the function athletes said they were overwhelmed by President ’s gesture and would like to further improve upon their performances to put up a better show during the London Olympics 2012. “It is a dream come true. I had never even imagined that I would meet the President some day. The gesture puts an added responsibility on our shoulders to improve our performances and make the country proud in the forthcoming Olympics,” said Joseph Abraham, who etched his name into record books after becoming the first Indian to grab gold in the men ’s 400m hurdles during the recently concluded Games in China. Ashwini Akkunji, who raced to glory with her exemplary golden double in the women ’s 400m hurdles and was also a part of the women ’s 4x400m relay, expressed her gratitude to the people of country and said that without their support she would not have been able to attain the feat. “When I was running it was quite heartening to see the people of my country cheering and supporting me. Although there were only few Indian fans present during the event but to see tears in their eyes after every run encouraged me and that is something I can never forget, ” an elated athlete said. “I am thankful to my parents who supported me. The credit goes to my coaches who motivated me to go a step forward, ” added Ashwini. The small town girl from the coastal town of Udupi in Karnataka said she trained really hard for the Asiad, particularly for the hurdles, even though she started just a month before the Games. “I never expected a gold in hurdles as I started my preparations late for the event. But I tried to give my best, ” insisted Ashwini, adding, “I still need to do a lot of things to improve and be in the reckoning for the Olympics. ” The Indian teen sensation Vikas Krishan who humbled defending champion Qing Hu of China to win India a gold in the lightweight (60kg) category said, “ I never expected that one day I will meet the President, it is just like a dream and it encourages me to bring more laurels to the country. ” Among others who were present on the occasion were the gold medallists of men ’s and women’s Kabaddi teams apart from Bajrang Lal Thakkar, who won India ’s first gold medal in rowing and gold medal winner in men’s double trap shooting Ranjan Sodhi. However, the star Indian boxer Vijender Singh could not make it to the function

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Liverpool Linked With Bolton Striker

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is considering making a move for Bolton striker Johan Elmander. Elmander is in the last year of his contract and could be purchased for around £5million. However, earlier this month there were rumors that Bolton were trying to work out a new deal with the 29-year-old striker.

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NBA - Garnett, Rondo pace Celtics over Bulls

(Reuters) - Kevin Garnett
and Rajon Rondo led all
five Boston starters into
double-digit scoring as the
Celtics eased to a 104-92
victory over the Chicago
Bulls on Friday.
The Atlantic Division-leading
Celtics have won six consecutive
games to improve to 15-4, while
the Bulls have lost two in a row
to slip to 9-8 for the season.
Garnett had 20 points and a
season-high 17 rebounds and
Rondo scored 12 points and had
19 assists. Fellow starters Paul
Pierce scored 18 points, Ray
Allen added 14 and Shaquille
O'Neal scored 12.
Derrick Rose led the Bulls with
20 points, despite shooting just
7-for-17.
"I really liked the way Kevin
(Garnett) asserted himself on
both sides tonight," Pierce said.
"He stepped up to the challenge,
guarding (Joakim) Noah,
guarding (Carlos) Boozer,
knowing that's the meat of their
front line.
"He went out there trying to be
better than everybody. That's the
vintage Kevin we know. He's
shown a lot of flashes of his old
self this week."
The Celtics opened the third
quarter with a 17-6 run to
stretch their 53-48 halftime lead
to 16 points, led by Rondo, who
scored eight points during the
stretch.
Noah had a double-double for
Chicago with 14 points and 11
rebounds, but lost his head-to-
head battle with Garnett.
"It's tough because we lost right
now, but you know they're a hell
of a team and that's what we're
striving to be, one of the best
teams in the game," said Noah,
son of former French Open
tennis champion Yannick.
Boston started the game quickly
and opened a 14-point first
quarter lead but with the Celtics
starters benched, the Bulls
rallied in the second quarter to
tie the game on three occasions.
"We have to do a better job
containing the ball," Bulls coach
Tom Thibodeau said. "Our weak
side has to be more alert. We
have to have better body
position on cuts. We have to
defend with greater intensity."

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Arsene Wenger blasts outdated FIFA

ARSENE WENGER has branded
FIFA's decision to snub
England's 2018 World Cup bid
as one from the "Middle Ages".
The Arsenal boss was an official
supporter of the England 2018
campaign and a video message
from him was shown to FIFA
committee members as part of
our presentation.
But Wenger insists football's
governing body must now drag
their decision-making process
into the 21st century after
England's bid received just TWO
votes and Russia were awarded
the tournament.
The Frenchman said: "I'm very
sad because I supported that
bid as much as I could.
"I am sad for the people who
have a passion in England for
football. I don't believe FIFA
was conscious of how much it
meant to people here.
"I watched how much the
people worked for this bid and
they put some unbelievable
quality work in."
Wenger has called for future
World Cups to be allocated on
a more scientific basis, taking in
the relative merits of the
technical bids.
He added: "It looked to me a
little bit of a Middle Age way to
decide. You would like to have
much more technical criteria
than human criteria.
"You could have 100 criteria for
example with a different weight
and you put that in a computer
and the best comes out.
"It doesn't look right in modern
life that people have to go over
there and lobby and say 'please
believe in us.' I would like to see
it be more technical.
"You have to work in the
modern life to get all suspicion
out. Is the suspicion right or
wrong I don't know, but you
don't want a vote of that
importance to be the subject of
suspicion."
Wenger was mystified at how
England could poll just two
votes from the 22 FIFA
members.
He said: "I personally cannot
understand that. I was a great
supporter of that bid. You have
to take it on board and get on
with it.
"It has not been played here for
a long, long time and this
country created the sport.
"That's why I say you should
have 100 criteria, the technical,
commercial, the fact that the
country never had the
competition before could be
one of them and give them a
different weight and decide.
"That criteria cannot be the only
one that is taken into
consideration before a decision
of that magnitude is made.
"Russia is a good candidate and
congratulations to them but we
all do not know why the
England bid has failed so
much."
On the effect of the media
investigations into FIFA
members, Wenger added: "Did
it help? Certainly not."

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Obama: Qatar wrong choice for 2022

Barack Obama, the US
president, has said that Fifa, the
world governing football body
erred in awarding the 2022
World Cup to Qatar instead of
his country.
"I think it was the wrong
decision," Obama told reporters
at the White House on
Thursday.
He said he remained optimistic
that the US team would make it
to the finals.
Fifa selected Qatar over bids
from the US, Japan, South
Korea and Australia to play host
for the games in 2022.
Russia won the right to stage
the 2018 World Cup.
The US Football Federation
spent millions of dollars on its
bid. Bill Clinton, the former US
president, was highly involved in
the process and participated in
the closing presentation.
Those pushing the US bid had
hoped that bringing the World
Cup back to the country for the
first time since 1994 would
boost the slow but steady
growth of football in America.
Qatar hailed Thursday's decision
as a victory over misconceptions
about the country's bid.
The Gulf state was initially seen
as an outsider, regarded by
many as too small and hot to
stage the tournament.
It will now become the smallest
country to host the World Cup
after convincing Fifa that its
plans to build carbon-neutral
air-conditioned stadiums to
combat the searing summer
heat are viable.
Thanking Fifa for their "bold
vision", Sheikh Mohammed bin
Hamad al-Thani, the bid
committee chairman, said: "We
started off being written off, the
unconventional bid, the bid that
nobody saw coming, that
nobody thought had a chance
to win".
"As you can recall, there were
several tournaments with similar
climates to Qatar but because
of the misconceptions, it was
difficult to combat those, to
prove ourselves on the world
stage.
"One of the most important was
Qatar cannot do it because
Qatar is too hot. It's very
important to have faith as Fifa
did when they went to South
Africa in 2010 and it's important
to get beyond these
perceptions."
Qatari triumph
Sheikh Mohammed said that
another misconception was that
women in the Middle East were
not allowed to play football,
adding that Qatar was setting
up a professional women's
championship.
"The perception that women
are oppressed is another wrong
perception," he said.
"We will deliver with passion
and make sure this is a
milestone in the history of the
Middle East and a milestone for
Fifa."
Sheikh Mohammed said Fifa's
decision was "a statement of
trust, of loyalty to the game".
"On behalf of millions of people
in the Middle East, thank you
for believing in us, thank you
for having such bold vision. I
can promise we will not let you
down," he said.
"Most importantly [for the
people of the Middle East],
rather than watching a World
Cup overseas across thousands
of miles, it's finally at their
door ... finally being recognised
by Fifa as an integral part of the
footballing world.
"To Fifa, thank you for
acknowledging this is the right
time for the Middle East, we
have a date with history," he
said.

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Russia hosts 2018 World Cup, Qatar for 2022

Football's governing body, Fifa,
has announced Russia and
Qatar as hosts of the 2018 and
2022 World Cup tournaments
respectively.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter
announced the verdicts at a
gathering of the football
hierarchy in Zurich moments
ago.
Russia beat rival bids from
England, Portugal-Spain,
Netherlands-Belgium to host the
football mundial for the first
time.
Qatar also edged out Australia,
the United States, South Korea
and Japan also for a historic first
time hosting.
Brazil will host the 2014 FIFA
World Cup, which will be the
20th FIFA World Cup.
Thursday's decisions came after
the bidding countries made their
final presentations with Blatter
announcing that a secret ballot
of Fifa's 22 executive members
decided the winners.

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FIFA member: Media ruined England bid

The Japanese FIFA executive
committee member has said
England's World Cup bid failed
so utterly because of the
country's media investigations
into the world governing body.
Junji Ogura, who was thought to
favour England's bid to host the
2018 tournament, was
impressed by a presentation in
Zurich that included David
Beckham, Prince William and
prime minister David Cameron.
He said that investigations by
the Sunday Times and the BBC's
Panorama programme had
irretrievably harmed the
country's chances however.
"I thought England was a very
strong candidate," Ogura told
the BBC. "Their presentation
was one of the best
presentations.
"But I think there was a big
influence from the BBC and the
Sunday Times. These reports
possibly influenced people. It
made damage for some
people."
Russia was chosen to host with
England crashing out of the
contest in the first round with
only two votes, including that of
former FA chairman Geoff
Thompson.
Reports have circulated that
FIFA president Sepp Blatter gave
a private address to the
members of the executive
committee before voting took
place, reminding them of the
investigations.
"We have had difficulties with
them," he said, according to the
Daily Mail's Charles Sale.
Surprisingly it is also reported
that the second member to vote
in favour of England was African
football president Issa Hayatou,
the subject of one of the probes
into irregularities.
Asked whether he had voted for
England, Ogura replied: "I
cannot say anything. It's totally
complicated. Nobody will say
which country they voted for."
Spain-Portugal and
Netherlands-Belgium were the
other two bids to miss out, while
Middle Eastern state Qatar won
the right to host in 2022.
Source: Eurosport

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AIDFI's Ram Pump Project Wins prestigious World Challenge 10 competition

London, 4 December 2010. This
Saturday, BBC World News
broadcasts the final programme
of the World Challenge 10
series, announcing The Only
Way is Up the Alternative
Indigenous Development
Foundation Inc. ’s (AIDFI) Ram
Pump Project as the winner.
Based in the Philippines the
initiative uses the power of a
river ’s flow to literally push
water uphill without any other
energy source.
The hydraulic ram pump has
been around for a couple of
centuries but has failed to date
to realise its potential. AIDFI is
determined to see it come into
its own and has devised a way
of using the pump which has
proved a boon for poor
villagers living in mountainous
regions. The ram pump can save
both hours of back breaking
work carrying water uphill and
cash where expensive water
pumps are replaced. AIDFI has
introduced the pump to over
170 villages and has plans to
spread the benefits far and wide
among poor communities.
Now in its sixth year, World
Challenge is more popular than
ever with more than 167,000
people around the world voting
online for their favourite finalist
– up 40,000 on last year’s votes.
This year 800 nominations were
received from over 70 countries
from which the final 12 projects
featured in World Challenge
2010 were selected. The final
programme airs on BBC World
News this weekend, showcasing
the presentation ceremony
hosted by the BBC ’s award-
winning presenter Zeinab
Badawi. The Only Way is Up
Project will receive a US$20,000
prize grant from Shell. Details
will also appear in Newsweek
magazine.
Two runner-up projects will
each be awarded US$10,000 by
Shell. The first runner-up is Pass
It On, a Peruvian initiative from
Sierra Productiva a federation of
small –scale subsistence farmers
teaching organic techniques to
dramatically improve production
from both livestock and crops.
Second runner-up is A Class
Apart, a project from Guatemala
with the aim of building a
school from recycled waste such
as car tyres and bottles.
Paul Gibbs, Head of
Programmes, BBC World News
says: “The World Challenge
competition is a deserved
favourite with BBC World News
viewers. The competition
continues to highlight these
fantastic projects and raise
awareness globally in the field
of sustainable development.”
Rhona Murphy, Publisher and
Managing Director, Newsweek
International says: “World
Challenge underlines
international support for
individuals and groups showing
an entrepreneurial approach to
environmental and community-
driven projects. We hope that
through World Challenge, more
people will be inspired to put
similar ideas into action. ”
Malcolm Brinded, Executive
Director of the Upstream
International Business, Shell
said: "Access to energy is critical
to driving development and
improving people's quality of
life. This year's winner of World
Challenge, a hydraulic pump
delivering water to remote
villages, could not be a clearer
demonstration of that. At Shell,
we are committed to using new
technology to deliver a lower
carbon energy future, and it's
exciting to see that same
ambition in action in the World
Challenge competition."
World Challenge is a global
competition rewarding grass
roots projects that give
something back to their
communities. It is run by BBC
World News, the BBC ’s
international news channel, and
Newsweek, the weekly global
current affairs magazine, in
association with Shell. This year ’s
series included a special
programme, World Challenge:
Down To Business, which saw
sustainable business advisor Leo
Johnson visit two previous
finalists to give them business
advice to help raise global
awareness of their projects.
Source: Sophie West

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Sreesanth, Raina rested for last three ODIs

Jaipur: Pace spearhead Zaheer
Khan, who missed the first two
matches due to a injury, on
Thursday returned to the Indian
team for the next three games of
the ODI series against New
Zealand while the selectors
decided to rest batsman Suresh
Raina and pacer Sreesanth
ahead of the upcoming South
Africa series.
The selectors announced two
separate teams for the third ODI
in Baroda on Saturday and
fourth and fifth matches of the
series in Bangalore and Chennai
on December 7 and 10
respectively.

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India Vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI: India Won by 9 Wickets, Lead Series by 3-0

VADODARA: India won the 3rd
ODI against New Zealand being
played at Reliance Stadium,
Vadodara by 9 wickets in 39.3
overs. Now, India lead the five-
match series 3-0 following easy
victories in the matches in
Guwahati, Jaipur and Vadodara.
Captain Gautam Gambhir once
again led from the front with the
bat to give India victory.
Gautam Gambhir was once again
crowned as the Man of the
Match for his unbeaten 126.
The way he rotated his bowlers
around and took the decision to
field first was really remarkable.
He converted an easy chase into
a ridiculously easy one, once
again dominating the opening
partnership, scoring 78 out of
115.
Chasing 225 for victory, India
comfortably scored the runs.
Gambhir slammed 126 from just
117 balls, hitting 16 boundaries,
while Murali Vijay scored 30
runs, before he was run out.
Gambhir added 115 runs in 112
balls for the opening wicket with
Murali Vijay. Thereafter, Virat
Kohli joined the Gambhir and
added 63 runs.
Earlier in the day, India won the
toss and once again decided to
field first. Indian bowlers
restricted the New Zealand at
just 224 runs for the loss 0f 9
wickets in 50 overs. Indian
bowlers took wickets at regular
intervals.
New Zealand All-rounder James
Franklin finished unbeaten on
72, hitting five boundaries and six
in his 108-ball knock. At a time,
Kiwis were reeling at 106 for
seven, but Franklin and Nathan
McCullum (43 from 53 balls)
repaired the damage as they put
on 94 runs from 107 balls for
the eighth wicket.
Zaheer Khan with his superb
bowling performance claimed
two wickets for 31 in eight overs,
while Munaf Patel bowled a
miserly spell of one for 28 in ten
overs. R Ashwin took two for 49
in nine overs and Yusuf Pathan
took two for 27 in eight overs.
Match Summary:
New Zealand Innings: Fall of
wickets: 1-2 (BB McCullum, 0.2
ov), 2-19 (Guptill, 4.5 ov), 3-34
(Taylor, 10.5 ov), 4-49
(Williamson, 15.2 ov), 5-77
(Styris, 22.6 ov), 6-96 (Vettori,
27.6 ov), 7-106 (Hopkins, 29.3
ov), 8-200 (NL McCullum, 47.2
ov), 9-224 (Mills, 49.6 ov)
India Innings: Fall of wickets:
1-115 (Vijay, 18.4 ov)

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2nd Test: England 90/1 at lunch on Day 2

ADELAIDE:
Australia struck
early to take the
prize wicket of
England captain
Andrew Strauss but Alastair
Cook and Jonathan Trott eased
the tourists to 90-1 at lunch on
the second day of the second
Ashes Test on Saturday.
Scorecard
Cook (35) and Trott (39)
enjoyed a record unbeaten
stand of 329 in the first Ashes
Test and again looked a
formidable partnership as they
chased Australia's first innings
total of 245 on a blistering hot
day at the Adelaide Oval.
Recalled fast bowler Doug
Bollinger gave the hosts a
dream start by clean bowling
Strauss for one run on his third
Ashes delivery, delighting much
of the packed house basking in
the morning sun.
The wholehearted Bollinger,
steaming into the England
batsmen with protective white
war paint daubed on his face,
almost had a second scalp when
Trott, on 10, sliced a drive to
gully but Mike Hussey failed to
hold a low catch.
Trott had already survived a
earlier scare after a mix-up with
Cook when he was on nine, but
Xavier Doherty missed the
wicket when a direct hit would
have comfortably run the
batsman out.
England's stunning start to the
test on Friday, when they
reduced the Australians to 2-3
in the first three overs, was fired
by Trott's accurate throw to run
out Simon Katich.
Australia dropped Mitchell
Johnson and overhauled their
fast bowling unit for the second
test after Cook (235 not out)
and Trott (135 not out)
hammered them at the Gabba.
Local quick Ryan Harris is also
making his Ashes debut in place
of Ben Hilfenhaus, while Peter
Siddle retained his spot on the
back of six wickets and a hat-
trick in England's first innings.
All three struggled to get any
movement on Saturday morning
after Bollinger's early
breakthrough with the Adelaide
track again looking like a
batting-friendly surface.
England are hoping to retain the
Ashes a earn a first series
triumph in Australia in 24 years.

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China funded Indian team to win water polo gold

BANGALORE:That China never let go even a
single medal
winning
opportunity at the just
concluded Asian Games is no
secret. They successfully lobbied
for the inclusion of popular
Chinese sports like Weiqi and
Xianqqi in the 16th edition of
the Games. They even denied
entry to a strong Indian
equestrian team to help the
Chinese riders.
But as strange as this may
sound, the same Chinese
authorities 'sponsored' a weak
Indian women's water polo
team that competed in the
quadrennial event. The China
Waterpolo Association worked
overtime to ensure that the
Indian eves arrived in
Guangzhou in time for the
competition. Their travel
documents were processed with
due diligence even as some of
the Indian journalists waited for
months to get the visa approval.
It spent around Rs 6 lakh for
the 15-member contingent's air
travel. Besides, the players were
provided accommodation at the
Games Village.
Why did China take such a huge
interest in the participation of an
Indian team? Reason: They got
one more gold medal from an
event which was on the verge of
becoming a non-medal sport.
Women's water polo, which
made its debut in Guangzhou,
had attracted only three entries.
So the presence of a fourth
team became inevitable to be
counted as a medal event. At
this juncture, CSA requested the
Swimming Federation of India
(SFI) to send the Indian team.
China spent a lot of energy and
money to get India's
participation. They got the
reward in the gold medal, a top
official from Asia Swimming
Federation told TOI on
condition of anonymity. Fancied
China clinched the gold,
demolishing the other three
opponents. Kazakhstan took
home the silver while Uzbekistan
claimed bronze.
The Indian eves, as expected,
cut a sorry figure, finishing at
the bottom of the table. They
conceded 96 goals in three
matches -- a whopping average
of 32 goals per match -- while
managing to score only six
goals. China and Kazakhstan
fired 38 goals each against India
while Uzbekistan pumped in 20.
Back home, swimming observers
raised a hue and cry over the
team's pathetic show. But SFI
general secretary Virendra
Nanavati remains unfazed and
defends the federation's
decision to send the team. "CSA
had offered an all-expenses
paid trip for our women's team.
Had we not sent our team,
waterpolo's future at the Games
would have been in jeopardy,"
he told TOI.
"We had picked the team for
the Commonwealth Waterpolo
Championship scheduled to be
held in the first week of
November in Chennai.
Unfortunately, it was cancelled
following the withdrawal of
Canada, England and New
Zealand. We had the team
ready at our disposal. When we
got the request from our
Chinese counterpart, we
decided to send them
immediately," he added. "We
wanted water polo to remain as
an event at the Asian Games.
The OCA may be tempted to
drop the event in the next
edition citing lesser number of
entries."
Nanavati also said the federation
did not take a single penny from
the players. "It's an all-expenses
paid trip. Then why should we
take money from the players?"
he asked.
On the composition of the team,
Nanavati said all the national
campers, who had a passport
when the invite came, were
allowed to go to China. "It is not
true that players from Police
were denied the opportunity.
Two Police players were there in
the camp, and only one had a
passport," he added.

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Harbhajan needs to find himself afresh

Harbhajan Singh's twin centuries were a joy to watch, evidence that he can bat, and proof to himself, more than to anyone else, that he was selling himself short sometimes. They don't tell you anything more, and indeed, like most good things, they come with a warning. India now have a more confident No. 8, someone who can stand up to the bowling and shield those below. But India do not have a new No. 7. It would be delusional to think so. It might seem like just a number here and there, and might be workable occasionally for tactical reasons, but batting at No. 7 places a lot of responsibility on the batsman. Suddenly the fifty is no longer a bonus but a necessity. A quick thirty that might boost the score is not good enough. As their No. 1 spin bowler, Harbhajan needs to win India matches, to work on his craft constantly, to widen his repertoire, indeed even to have time to iron out the little faults that could creep in sometimes. He needs to define himself as the country's No. 1 bowler - certainly he must believe he is - and revel in that role; think as deeply about his bowling as a Tendulkar or a Dravid might about their batting. It is a mindset that could get diluted by thoughts of being an allrounder (which, in any case, has long lost its original definition: as a player who can earn his place in the side as a bowler or batsman alone). Accordingly Harbhajan will need to guard against believing that taking two wickets and scoring 45 is good enough. Taking five wickets and scoring 15 would be a more valuable contribution most times. This is not to suggest that he ignore his batting. No, banish the thought. Merely that he needs to regard himself as a bowling match-winner first. Harbhajan has now spent twelve and a half years as an India player and has tended to give the impression in recent times that he is fatigued. It can happen to the best - when your tricks become familiar, your metaphors tired, your slower balls predictable. But it is also a phase that separates the best from the very good. Like Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble did, the great ride the phase and remain standing. When they are not playing as well as they can play, they are still good enough to be better than the challengers. It is a phase that Harbhajan is going through. In the last two Test matches there has been a hint of a new dawn, but South Africa will be the challenge. And yet he needs to look no further than the man he admires greatly, Kumble. At the same stage in life, after twelve and a half years, Kumble had 349 wickets from 76 Tests to Harbhajan's 378 from 90. From here on, Kumble took a staggering 270 wickets in his last 56 matches. After 90 Tests, Kumble had 434 wickets, he took another 175 from the next 42. These are numbers that Harbhajan can look to for inspiration without getting bowled over by their magnitude. Kumble's last few years were defined by the strength of his resolve; seen not as much on the field of play as in ensuring that he was fit and ready to go; in constantly analysing and reinventing his craft. When the famous rocket ball started to desert him, he started looping it up more, began bowling the googly that he gripped between thumb and forefinger. But at all times he searched for wickets, at all times he believed that he was going to get them. Some days he dragged his body along. It is this sort of doggedness that might characterise the second half of Harbhajan's career. It is a phase he is well into now. As his body starts asking more questions, as opposition batsmen experience a sense of déjà vu watching him bowl, as challengers emerge, it is his attitude, his resolve, that will see him through. Indeed, I wonder if a challenger will spur Harbhajan on the way his presence drove Kumble to seek more from himself. That challenger is not threatening at the moment but will arrive, for that is the way of all life. Glenn McGrath once told me of how he retreated briefly - only metaphorically, of course - to ask himself what kind of cricketer he was and what he sought from his game. Musicians and writers do it and often return refreshed. Maybe he should take a break from limited-overs cricket for a couple of months, start bowling Test match lines, master again the loop and the bounce that marked him out as someone special. And return for the World Cup. As a bowler, Harbhajan stands at the crossroads. Ahead of him is a door, beyond which lies the path that can take him towards greatness as a bowler. Unlike with lesser cricketers, I believe the key to that door lies with him.

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India v New Zealand, 2nd ODI, Jaipur Gambhir, bowlers make it 2-0

India 259 for 2 (Gambhir 138*, Kohli 64*) beat New Zealand 258 for 8 (Guptill 70, Styris 59, Sreesanth 4-47) by eight wickets Gautam Gambhir's bowlers responded well to his call of bowling first, restricting New Zealand with smart, accurate bowling, and the captain reciprocated with a fluent 138 off 116 balls to make the chase look easy. Gambhir, capping off a return to form that began with a struggling Test fifty in Hyderabad last month, never let his strike- rate come under 100 once he crossed the mark in the sixth over. He had for company an equally hungry Virat Kohli, who now has two centuries and a fifty in his last three international outings. Dew, expected later in the evening, was the reason why India put New Zealand in on a cracking surface, but the towels were conspicuous by absence in the second half of the game. Which is what made the bowling effort special. The pitch played slow and low, and India cut out the pace and the room. There was nothing spectacular done with the ball, just accurate, wicket to wicket bowling for most of the part. Martin Guptill and Scott Styris tried to take New Zealand towards a fighting total with important fifties, but India pulled the visitors back every time they threatened to break free. New Zealand began with three boundaries in the first two overs, but Sreesanth's late swing removed Jamie How. Guptill and Kane Williamson looked solid but subdued in a 50-run stand for the second wicket. Those runs took 12.5 overs coming - all but seven of those deliveries in the Powerplay. The duo did little to upset the bowlers' rhythm. Munaf Patel was allowed to hit the same spot again and again, with slight seam movement either way. One of those moved a bit more than expected, and found a way through Williamson's bat and pad, taking the top of off. The pressure showed when Ross Taylor went to hit Yusuf Pathan's first delivery for a six, but found deep midwicket. Styris came out in the 25th over with the score yet to reach three figures, and cut out the unproductive balls, taking singles with ease and finding timely boundaries. When he and Guptill asked for the Powerplay in the 35th over, R Ashwin responded with a carrom balls to remove Guptill. That set New Zealand back by a couple of overs. Styris and Daniel Vettori had to take some time set up another charge, but Sreesanth pegged them back again. Like he did in the first match of the series, Sreesanth came back for a new spell in the 46th over, and took two wickets with his first two deliveries. He ended a threatening ninth-wicket partnership in the last game, and got rid of Styris and Vettori this time. New Zealand opened their defence with Nathan McCullum, presumably to get through some overs of spin before dew appeared, and immediately troubled M Vijay, who struggled to come to terms with the slowness of the pitch. Gambhir, however, was playing in a different world. He timed almost everything sweetly except for a couple of inside edges that went for fours. Against Kyle Mills, he walked down the pitch on a couple of occasions to create the driving length. When Mills pitched slightly short, he cut him away. The driving between mid-off and extra cover stood out. By the end of the eighth over, Gambhir had scored four times Vijay's eight, taking India to 40, and putting Mills out of the attack. Against Styris he made room and went over extra cover. Andy McKay strayed too straight, and was clipped for four into the leg side. There was not a hint of power; the short back lift emphasised how well he timed the ball. Vijay continued his patchy innings until he tried a premeditated slog-sweep off Vettori in the 18th over, and was bowled. Gambhir, though, had reached 54 off 48 by then, out of India's 87, and looked set to carry India through. A crucial moment came in the 22nd over when Gambhir's bat got stuck into the ground as he tried to slide it in, but Vettori failed to collect the throw cleanly and Gambhir was let off. Every time Gambhir needed quick runs, he made room and went over extra cover. Kohli batted like he was never dismissed in Guwahati, pulling powerfully wide of long-on, and punching square for most of his runs. Over by over, the 116-run partnership brought the asking rate down, until it read 4.3 for the last 13 overs when Kohli found short midwicket with a pull shot. It was a distraught batsman that left the wicket, 36 short of a third straight century, which was possible with 56 still required. His captain and a senior back in Delhi, though, was there to see India home and continue their unbeaten home season.

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Previous World Cup Cricket Finals Results, Champions

Cricket World Cup 1975 "West Indies" Venue : Lords, England Result : West Indies beat Australia. West Indies won by 17 runs. Scored 291 runs in 60 overs for 8 wickets. Australia scored 274 in 58.4 overs all out. Cricket World Cup 1979 "West Indies" Venue : Lords, England Result : West Indies beat England West Indies won by 92 Runs & scored 286 runs in 60 overs for 9 Wickets England scored 191 in 50 overs all out. Cricket World Cup 1983 "India " Venue : Lords, England Result : India beat West Indies. India beat West Indies by 43 runs & scored 183 in 54.4 overs all out. West Indies scored 140 in 52 overs all out. Cricket World Cup 1987 "Australia " Venue : Calcutta, India. Result : Australia beat England. Australia won by 7 runs & scored 253 in 50 overs for 5 Wickets. England scored 246 in 50 overs for 8 wickets. Cricket World Cup 1992 "Pakistan " Venue : Melbourne, Australia. Result : Pakistan beat England. Pakistan won by 22 runs & scored 249 in 50 overs for 6 wickets. England scored 227 runs for 49.2 overs all out. Cricket World Cup 1996 "Sri Lanka " Venue : Lahore Pakistan. Result : Sri Lanka beat Australia. Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets & scored 245 in 46.2 overs for 3 wickets. Australia scored 241 in 50 overs for 7 wickets. Cricket World Cup 1999 "Australia " Venue : Lords, England Result : Australia beat Pakistan. Australia won 8 wickets & scored 133 in 20.1 for 2 wickets Pakistan scored 132 in 39 overs all out. Cricket World Cup 2003 " South Africa " Venue : The Wanderers, Johannesburg, South Africa. Result : Australia beat India by 125 runs & Scored 359 for 2 wickets. India scored 234 in 39.2 overs all out.

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ICC World Cup Cricket History,

The Cricket World Cup was first held in 1975 in England, with eight teams participating: Australia, England, the West Indies, Pakistan, India, and New Zealand (the six Test nations at the time), with Sri Lanka and a composite team from East Africa. The first three tournaments were held in England. N. K. P. Salve, President of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) recounts the awarding of hosting rights for the 1987 World Cup in his book The Story of the Reliance Cup. According to Salve, he was given two tickets for the 1983 World Cup final at Lord's. When India unexpectedly qualified for the final, he requested two additional tickets from the MCC for friends who had just arrived from India. The MCC refused his request. Following this rebuff, Salve campaigned heavily amongst associate members of the International Cricket Council to form a bloc of voters, who ultimately awarded the hosting of the 1987 World Cup jointly to India and Pakistan. Since 1987, the hosting of the World Cup been shared by the major cricket playing regions of the world - England, the Indian subcontinent, Australasia, Southern Africa and the West Indies. The tournaments have been based mainly in the local superpowers, though matches are held in all regional cricketing nations. The World Cup is held in high esteem amongst fans, players, and administrators, unlike many of the myriad of one-day tournaments held around the world each year. It has been the scene of some of the major developments in the way one- day cricket is played.

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DHONI Biography

Personal information Full name: Mahendra Singh Dhoni D.O.B: 7th July, 1981 Place of Birth: Ranchi, Bihar Nickname: Mahi Cricketing information Role: Captain of the Indian ODI and Twenty20 team and Vice captain of the Test team Batting style: Right hand batsman Bowling style: Right arm medium Field position: Wicketkeeper Clubs played: Jharkhand Cricketing profile Mahendra Singh Dhoni started his first class career in the year 1999-2000. His one day international debut came after playing five years of first class cricket on the 23rd of December 2004 against Bangladesh. The venue of the match was in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Unfortunately, he was run out on the first ball he faced. It wasn’t a great debut for him where batting is concerned. Luck wasn’t on his side in the first four matches he played. Where as on the fifth match which was played against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam, Dhoni came to the crease one down and managed to score 148 runs from just 123 balls. He hit 15 boundaries and four sixes. He got his first man of the match award that day. Not only a good wicketkeeper but Dhoni proved himself to be a first class batsman too. He is one of the few finest wicketkeeper batsman India has seen after a very long time. On the 31st of October, Dhoni broke the record of highest runs scored by a wicket keeper by securing 183 runs against Srilanka which was played at Jaipur. Adam Gilchrist was the former record holder with 172 runs. Before he started playing cricket, he was a football goalkeeper. Its said he drinks around four litres of milk everyday but he denied it by saying that has been exaggerated a bit. He said he loves milk and drinks around a litre on a daily basis. On the 2nd of December 2005, Dhoni made his Test cricket debut against Srilanka which was played in Chennai, India. Personal profile Dhoni was born and brought up in the city of Ranchi. He has two siblings. A sister who is married and a brother who lives in Almora. Almora is a high-lying town at the foot of the Himalaya which is his father’s home town. His father’s name is Pan Singh and mother’s name is Devki Devi. His hobbies and interests include: Hearing music, ghazals and songs by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar Loves to ride bikes Enjoys playing computer games and badminton Not interested in: English songs Working out at gyms Special qualities: Thinks positive Highly confident about himself Is aggressive on the field His Idol: Adam Gilchrist

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