Anything 4 U

Manchester United wins Premier League!!!

2008-05-17T22:49:00.001-07:00

Manchester United defeated Wigan Athletic on the last day of the Premiership season to clinch the title for the tenth time. This was their second consecutive title. Ronaldo scored 41 goals for the season, 31 of which came in the premier league. Chelsea drew with Bolton to bag the second place. Before the last day Chelsea and Man UTD were equal on points.

Christiano Ronaldo scored a penalty in the first half after Rooney was brought down in the box by the Wigan defence. Ronaldo stepped up to score the penalty sending Kirkland in the wrong way. Ryan Giggs made his 758th appearance for Man Utd and he scored the winning goal in the 84th minute.

I signed up for PPP!!!

2008-05-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

When I started blogging, I had no clue that i would earn money. I started to blog on my own interest. Along with my friends I started sharing my experiences in a written format using the blog. Various readers appreciated our work and then I thought of starting a blog alone. There I wrote almost about everything. Then I heard from one of my friends that I can earn money out of blogging. This made me more enthusiastic about blogging. When you know that you will get paid to blog then there comes the energy and the interest. I first heard about Payperpost from my friend. He had all praises for the website. I initially did not believe his words but after I signed up my whole idea about Payperpost has changed. Let me take you through this website.

Payperpost is a website which links advertisers and bloggers together. Each have a set of rules to be followed, breaking of which will lead to the rejection of your profile. Being a blogger myself let me explain the advantages that the blogger can get through this website. A blogger first needs to submit his profile and his blog. The Payperpost team will review your blog and this process of reviewing our blog is very quick and genuine. After your blog has been approved you enter the world of opportunities. Lots of opportunities are provided to the bloggers, from which they can choose the apt one. After writing the reviews for the advertisers, the bloggers can submit their task. This again goes for approval to the advertisers. If your post is approved then you will get the quoted money without any trouble. To get the money all that you need is a paypal account. This is my experience from Payperpost. So I would request all bloggers to sign up for PPP and enjoy its benefits.

Clintons have earned more than $100m in 8 years.

2008-05-08T03:46:00.000-07:00

Hillary Clinton and her husband, ex-President Bill Clinton, have revealed they earned more than $100m in eight years.

Since 2000, the former first couple took in nearly $110m, with more than $20m made in 2007, and gave more than $10m to charity in the same period.

Almost half of the income was made from the former president's speeches.

Last week Obama published seven years of tax returns on his website.

The data showed he earned nearly $1 million in 2006, nearly half of it coming from the publication of his second book, The Audacity of Hope.

In previous financial disclosures, Sen McCain has listed his primary sources of income as his Senate salary of $170,000 and his Naval pension of around $56,000.

Shopping guide

2008-05-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

Everyone in this world would like to use the internet in a better fashion and would like to search for the answers to their unknown questions. Well i have found a lot of people looking for online stores for buying things. I have found that many people are unable to find their perfect matching product. This draws in the need for more exhaustive searches which may lead to wasting of one's precious time. When i was browsing the internet i found a website which gives you answers to all your searches regarding the stores. Let me take you through this website in detail.

Shopwiki is a website which will find you the best store online for the product you want to buy. This website works much like google by providing us with the best matching result. Well you may ask what is the difference between other search sites and shopwiki. Other search websites will list you stores for which it is paid for but this website will give a shopper everything. The shopper can find every product for his matching requirements. Here is a sample screenshot from the website.

This provides the search result for Playstation 3. The features about the product along with the specifications is specified in this website. This gives a better picture for the shopper while selecting the best product from the many available in the market. It also gives a user rating for clarity.

Finally i would recommend this website for all the shoppers who are new to the world of internet and would like to get started.

IPL starts with a blast!!!

2008-04-19T06:36:00.000-07:00

The latest trend that has been set in cricket is twenty20. This new format has saw a lot of fans as it is a short and an exciting format of the game. Recently Kapil Dev's ICL had seen a few absorbing series. It was now the turn of the world's richest board BCCI to kick off with its own IPL(Indian Premier League). When it comes to BCCI we know that there is a lot of money revolving around them. So it was expected that this series will be well organized. As expected the inaugral ceremony of IPL was very grand!!! There were dancers from various parts of the country, who performed with a lot of grace. Gymnasts went about swinging about in the air, which made the crowd go mad.. Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy gave their performances which was the perfect kick start needed.. The captains made their pledges which was then followed by an enthralling match.

It was Kolkata vs Bangalore, maybe Rahul vs Dada or Malya vs SRK would be fitting. Rahul won the toss and elected to field. Kolkata came into bat with NewZealand wicket keeper McCullum and captain Dada. Right from the first ball the fire was set. Shots started blazing from the bats of McCullum. On the other end Dada found it hard to combat the swing bowling of Praveen Kumar and Zaheer. Eventually Dada was out and Ponting joined in to give company to McCullum. Fearless McCullum played the innings of his life which made Chinnasamy Stadium go ablaze.
His innings of 158 of 73 balls was the best by any batsman in this format of the game. This innings of his consisted of 10 fours and 13 huge sixes. Bangalore bowlers suffered heavy pounding in the hands of McCullum. With useful contributions from Ponting and Hussey the Knight Riders set a target of 223. It was the turn of Royal Challengers to bat. Ishant and Dinda were too good and broke the back of the Royal Challengers batting. With Dravid departing in the very second over none of the Bangalore batsman could get in. Agarkar took 3 wickets while Ganguly chipped in with 2. Vijay Malya's Royal Challengers had no answer to SRK's Knight Riders. They were bundled out for a meager 82 giving a 140 run win to the Knight Riders. McCullum was undoubtedly the man of the match.

India level series!!!!

2008-04-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

India went on to level the series at Kanpur with an emphatic win over the proteas. Day 3 started with Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma at the crease. The proteas would have thought that they would clean up the tail in no time. But both the tail-enders had other ideas. They extended the lead to 60 runs. This was a handy lead on a crumbling pitch. The Indians made full use of the pitch.

When the proteas came into bat they weern't allowed to get away with easy runs. Both SreeSanth and Harbhajan bowled with accuracy. The successful opening pair didn't give it away either. They were battling it out in the middle. Both Smith and McKenzie were finding it very hard to combat the pitch and it seemed that a wicket was on the cards at any moment. Finally SreeSanth got the break through with the ball keeping low. McKenzie was out when the score was 26. Amla soon followed when Harbhajan got one to spin and bounce from the rough while Jaffer pulled of a good catch. South Africa were 27 for 2 at lunch. It was now the turn for South Africa's most experienced pair to lead the fight back. Both battled it out well in the middle. They went past the lead. Dhoni's bowling changes were working well. He brought on Sehwag and he did the trick for India. He first got Kallis and then Smith by bowling him round the legs. South Africa were 88 for 4 at tea. After tea none of the South African batsmen could apply themselves in the crease. Eventually they were bowled out for 121. This gave a meagre target of 64 for India to achieve.

Sehwag went about in his style hitting 2 sixes of Harris. He was out attempting a similar shot of Harris. Jaffer soon followed lbw to Morkel. Indians were 32 for 2. Then the pair of Dravid and Ganguly led India to an 8 wicket victory to level the series. India held their no 2 spot in tests. Sourav Ganguly was named man of the match while Harbhajan bagged the man of the series.

Quota system to be enforced in IIMs

2008-04-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

It was already said in this blog that there would be a fee hike in all the IIMs. Following this it was heard that quota system will also come into effect in the IIMs. HRD ministry will be sending instructions to the top B-schools like IIMs to enforce the 27 percent OBC reservation which was the decision by the Supreme Court. This instructions will be intimated in another 4 to 5 days.

HRD Minister Arjun Singh earlier in the day said there was no confusion about implementation of quota in IIMs and IITs and the Supreme Court judgement would be followed in these premier institutions.

Sources said the IIMs are by and large prepared to implement the quota as one year has gone by and that they will leave it to the institutions on the implementation aspect of the reservation.

If these institutions have any problem, they could come back to the ministry and 'that it will be resolved by them, they said adding it was for each institute to decide to what extent they can introduce quota in the first year of implementation.

The sources said the fund would start flowing to the IIMS when Parliament approves the demands for grants.

Chanderpaul clinches thriller for the Carribeans!!!

2008-04-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

West Indies pulled off a last ball thriller at Trinidad, thanks to a breathtaking innings by Shivnarine Chanderpaul. West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 1 wicket. The match went down to the wires, with West indies needing 13 from the last over. It then reduced to 10 from 2 balls. With the experienced Vaas bowling the last 2 balls, no mistakes were expected. But Chanderpaul had other ideas. He smashed the penultimate ball straight down the ground for four leaving 6 runs to be get from 1 ball. Would you believe it Vaas bowled a full toss on leg stump and Chanderpaul cleared the ball out of the ground to bring about an emphatic win.

Earlier Lankans were struggling at 49 for 5 unable to handle the brilliant bowling by Bravo and other West Indian bowlers. Sri Lankans went on to score a respectable total of 235, thanks to a good innings from Kapugedera(95) who put on a 159 run stand with Chamara Silva(67). Bravo picked up 4 wickets. Now it was the turn of West Indies turn to bat. Sri Lankan bowling looked flat as Vaas was the only recognised bowler in their line up. The openers went on to pile up the runs and reached 50. Then Smith fell to the bowling of Kulasekara. Gayle and Sarwan then added 50 runs. Gayle reached his fifty. Gayle ,Sarwan and Samuels were out in the space of 6 balls and the West Indies were left stranded at 110 for 4. Then Chanderpaul and Bravo steadied the ship. Bravo played a cameo before he fell for 36 to a run out. From 169 for 5 the west indians went down to 219 for 9. Their only hope was Chanderpaul and did he deliver in style. His last over heroics sealed the match for West Indians. However the man of the match was Dwayne Bravo for his all round performance. The next match will be played on the 12th of March at Trinidad.

The team line up for the next match will be as follows...

West Indies (probable) Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Patrick Browne (wk), Darren Sammy, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell, Fidel Edwards

Sri Lanka (probable) Upul Tharanga, Mahela Udawatte, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chaminda Vaas, Ajantha Mendis, Kaushalya Weeraratne

India fights back at Kanpur!!!

2008-04-11T06:52:00.000-07:00

Day 1 belonged to the hosts as India reduced South Africa to a score of 265 at stumps with all South Africans back in the pavillion. Earlier Graeme Smith won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. The openers started in a solid fashion as they did in the previous 2 matches. Smith and McKenzie added 50 runs in no time. With Kumble missing the game, this gave young Piyush Chawla an opportunity and he grabbed it with both the hands. He sent opener McKenzie(36) back who tried to step down the crease and hit him for six and was completely deceived in the flight. The visitors were well placed at 80 for 1 during lunch.

The post lunch session saw Smith completing his half century and was playing well along with Amla. A lapse in concentration saw his downfall as Smith departed for a well made 69 runs, caught at short leg to the part time spinner Yuvraj. Amla went on to complete his half century before he got a beauty from Ishant which clipped the top of off stump. Kallis got a viscous turning delivery from Harbhajan and was clean bowled for just 1.The visitors then slumped to 175 for 4 at tea. The post tea session was even worse for the visitors. They were losing wickets at regular intervals of time. Both Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan claimed three wickets each.

With resistances from Boucher and Prince the visitors managed to get to a score of 265. However experts feel that 265 might be a good first innings score.

Spinning track awaits the Proteas....

2008-04-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

The Kanpur Test is all set to begin tomorrow, the 11th of April. South Africans will enter the field thinking they wont lose the series from here. On the other hand Indians will have to win this to level the series. Kanpur's Green Park is famous for its tame draws. Recently 12 out of the 19 tests played here have ended in a draw. After the meek submission by the Indians to the South African pace attack in Ahmedabad, the curators have gone on to prepare a spin track which will definitely suit the Indian spin trio. Yes this time India will be playing three spinners. Kumble's fitness is still under scrutiny. He will undergo fitness tests tomorrow morning to seal his place in the side. If Kumble doesn't make it to the team, it will give Romesh Powar an opportunity. India will be playing other two spinners Harbhajan and Piyush Chawla. Ishant Sharma's return to the side will be a big boost and he is likely to share the new ball with Shree Shanth. Pathan might miss this game despite his valiant knocks in Ahmedabad.

On the other hand South Africans are likely to play the winning combination. Though the pitch is a turning one they prefer to go just with the one spinner Paul Harris.

The pitch looks extremely dry and has no grass cover. Anil Kumble and the curator felt it would break as early as the third day and assist spin from there on. Gary Kirsten, India's coach, is reported to have been taken aback by the track on first inspection. If all predictions hold true, neither side will want to bat last. The toss will be extremely crucial.

The bounce is expected to be on the lower side which, given Dale Steyn's raw pace, could also work in South Africa's favour. If they win then Graeme Smith will become his country's most successful captain after equalling Hansie Cronje's record of 27 victories in Ahmedabad. South Africa will also be the first side to win in India since Australia in 2004.

Teams: Likely

India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 VVS Laxman, 5 Sourav Ganguly, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7 Anil Kumble (capt), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Ishant Sharma.

South Africa (probable): 1 Neil McKenzie, 2 Graeme Smith (capt), 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 AB de Villiers, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Morne Morkel, 9 Paul Harris, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove and Asad Rauf.

Chelsea through to the Semifinals.

2008-04-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

Chelsea 2-0 Fenerbache

Chelsea fought back to clinch a semi-final tie against their Barclays Premier League rivals Liverpool. It will be the third time in four years the English pair have met in the last four of the competition but there is growing belief at Stamford Bridge that this could finally turn out to be Chelsea's year.

Goals from Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard helped Chelsea to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the fourth time in five years. A free-kick from Lampard found the Fenerbahce defence dreaming and the Germany captain glanced a fine header into the far corner of the net.

But with nine minutes left Chelsea had stand-in goalkeeper Hilario to thank for earning them a place in the semi-finals.

He made two stunning saves within seconds to deny Gokhan and then Colin Kazim-Richards.

But Chelsea wrapped-up the tie with three minutes of normal time remaining when Michael Essien's cross was turned home by Lampard from close range.

Liverpool through to champions league Semifinal.

2008-04-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

Liverpool 4-2 Arsenal.

Liverpool are through to the semifinal of the champions league with an overall aggregate of 5-3.It was a one of those great champions league nights at Anfield and the atmosphere was electric.The match was an absolute thriller.The match swaued from one side to the other constantly and finally liverpool came on top proving that benitez is a master tactician as far champions league is concerned.

Abou Diaby handed The Gunners a dream start on 13 minutes when he fired past Jose Reina; but on 30 minutes Sami Hyypia's thumping header drew the sides level.

Inevitably Fernando torres scored the second for Liverpool as the tie once again swung in favour of the Reds.

Theo Walcott's sensational solo run saw him assist Emmanuel Adebayor, who tapped home to swing the tie back in Arsenal's favour on away goals.

Then in the 86th minute it was the crunch moment in the game when babel was foulled by Toure and the referee handed Liverpool a penalty and the penalty was taken by the Anfield hero Steven Gerrard,he slotted home the penalty and the scoreline was 3-2.

Then in injury time babel slotted home the winner to see liverpool safely home.

Sachin to participate in the Olympic Torch Relay!!!

2008-04-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

The Olympic torch is under the process of being carried around the world. Now its the turn of the torch to travel through India. Many athletes have agreed to participate in the relay. Among the various athletes Sachin Tendulkar will also be participating in the relay. The torch will travel through India on the 17th of April. Sachin has called up Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Suresh Kalmadi and expressed his willingness to participate in the relay.

Sachin has added that it is a great privilege for him to take part in such an event. Earlier Indian football player Bhaichung Bhutia pulled out from the relay expressing his solidarity towards pro-Tibet activists. Among others who will take part in the relay are Milkha Singh, Pullela Gopichand and Anju Bobby George. Kalmadi, meanwhile, assured that with adequate security in place, the relay would go without any hiccup.

Todays market Standings...................

2008-04-07T05:16:00.000-07:00

Sensex today closed at 15757 up by 414 points.The Nifty closed at 4761 up by 114 points. Markets witnessed tremendous downfall on Friday. Monday seemed to be a better day for the markets.

Asian markets were on a high yet again.HSI closing the day at 24578 almost 314 points up .NIKKEI closed at 13450 up by 157 points.CHINA closed at 3599 up by 153 points .

The European markets were slightly up FTSE closing at 5998 up by 51 points.DAX closed at 6833 up by 69 points. CAC 40 closed at 4953 up by 52 points.

Overall the markets had a good start to the week and let us wait and see whether the markets continue this trend or are volatile as they always are.

WestIndies levels series.

2008-04-07T02:14:00.001-07:00

Ramnaresh sarwan scored a brilliant century to guide WestIndies to their first win in Trinidad since 2000.Sarwan scored a 102 and was out caught at bat-pad of the bowling of Murali with just 23 required for victory.Chanderpaul scored 86 and he stayed till the end to guide WestIndies home.

WestIndies started the day chasing a target of 253 and they got off to poor start loosing their captain Gayle for just 10.Gayle was out caught by dilshan of the bowling of Vaas.Then chatergoon soon perished with the score at 24 for 2 Vaas claiming his second wicket.

Samules joined Sarwan and the pair added 49 runs.Samuels scooped the ball in the air and he was out caught at cover by warnapura of the bowling of Vaas.

Chanderpaul joined sarwan who was in a league of his own scoring freely at one end.The pair added 19 runs and the match was interrupted by rain.After the delay Sarwan did not loose his focus and continued his good form helping WestIndies level the series.

ManUnited held to a draw.

2008-04-06T22:55:00.000-07:00

Boro played some brilliant football to deny United a win at the riverside.Afonso Alves sent an icy blast through Manchester United's hopes of wrapping up the title with an excellent double to earn Middlesbrough a share of the spoils.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s 37th goal of the season had given United an early lead, but Alves produced two superb finishes in each half to put Boro in command in an end-to-end game.

United’s defence, shorn of Nemanja Vidic, was frequently made to look uncharacteristically shaky by a lively Boro outfit and only a series of last-ditch tackles prevented the Teessiders from extending their lead in the second half.

Rio Ferdinand came off with what looked like a leg injury with 20 minutes left and, although United also had chances to win it, Sir Alex Ferguson will perhaps settle for a point after a testing encounter in the driving north-east snow.

La Liga results.

2008-04-06T22:38:00.001-07:00

Mallorca 1-1 RealMadrid

Real Mallorca kept the title race interesting in La Liga by holding 10-man Real Madrid to a draw.

Wesley Sneijder gave Madrid a first-half lead, but Borja Valero levelled for the hosts with 18 minutes to play.

And the league leaders were lucky to escape with a point after Sergio Ramos was given his marching orders in the 66th minute.

Barcelona 0-0 Getafe

Barcelona remain seven points behind bitter rivals Real Madrid following a desperately disappointing goalless draw at home to Getafe on Sunday.

A win would have seen Frank Rijkaard's side move above Villarreal into second place and close to within five points of Real, who could only draw at Real Mallorca on Saturday.

But the Catalans were denied by the woodwork and a stubborn Getafe rearguard in what turned out to a frustrating evening for the home side.

Jeers rang around the Nou Camp and white handkerchiefs were waved in protest by the Catalan fans at the final whistle.

Sevilla 2-0 Villarreal

Villarreal's dreams of winning the Primera Liga title suffered a setback on Sunday when they were beaten 2-0 at Sevilla.

La Liga top scorer Luis Fabiano broke the deadlock in the 18th minute before Fredi Kanoute sealed the victory three minutes from time with a penalty.

To add insult to injury Villarreal defender Joan Capdevila was sent off in injury time for a second bookable offence.

OTHER RESULTS

Atletico Madrid 6 - 3 Almeria

Levante 0- 3 Valladolid

Real Zaragoza 0 - 3 Real Betis

Racing Santander 1 - 3 Deportivo La Coruna

Murcia 1 - 0 Valencia

Athletic Bilbao 1 - 0 Espanyol

Osasuna 0 - 1 Recreativo Huelva

Massa wins bahrain Grand prix.

2008-04-06T07:42:00.001-07:00

Massa has won the bahrain GP for the second time in consecutive years.Massa started the Gp from second in the grid but managed to get past Robert Kubica in the opening. BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica lost second place to Kimi Raikkonen on the third lap, and from then on, pit stops apart, it was an easy one-two for Ferrari.

Starting third on the grid, the McLaren-Mercedes driver fell to 10th place on the opening lap before driving into the back of former team-mate and adversary Fernando Alonso.He eventually finished one lap down on the leaders in 13th place.

Raikkonen now leads the Drivers' Championship with 19 points, three ahead of Heidfeld, with Hamilton, Kubica and Kovalainen tied for third place on 14.

Meanwhile, the emergence of BMW Sauber is rewarded by the lead of the Constructors' Championship, one point ahead of Ferrari with McLaren one point behind in third.

Jeyaraj Fernandopulle killed in blast.

2008-04-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

Highways Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was attending a function to mark the forthcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year in the western district of Grampaha.

The defence ministry blamed Tamil Tiger rebels, who want an independent state for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority.

Mr Fernandopulle is the second minister to have been assassinated this year.

The former minister for nation building, DM Dassanayake, was killed in a bombing on 8 January, days after the government pulled out of a crumbling ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers.

The government has since vowed to crush the separatist rebels by the end of this year or the next. At least 70,000 people have died since the war began in 1983.

Serena clinches Sony Ericsson Open Title.

2008-04-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Serena Williams claimed her fifth Sony Ericsson Open title in Miami on Saturday thanks to a 6-1 5-7 6-3 victory over Jelena Jankovic.

Williams was in total control early on, winning eight straight games, but was broken to love serving for the match.

Jankovic, 23, took advantage to level thanks to a Williams double-fault, but the American eventually came through with three breaks in the decider.

Portsmouth through to FA cup finals.

2008-04-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

Kanu scored the all important goal to send pompey through to the finals of the FA cup.The winner came just before the hour after Dean Kiely had saved brilliantly from Milan Baros. Then Zoltan Gera got in the way of his own keeper as he looked to clear off the line but he could only find Kanu - who made no mistake from four yards.

The result does not tell the story of the game or do justice to Championship side West Brom, who dominated for most of the semi-final.

Portsmouth will face the winners of the all-Championship tie between Barnsley and Cardiff on Sunday in the final.

Their win carries on the top flight's run of having a team in every FA Cup final.

Totti looks set to miss the Second leg.

2008-04-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

Roma's talismanic captain missed the first leg of the quarter-final at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday as the Red Devils triumphed 2-0 with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

And the thigh injury which has kept the Italy international on the sidelines is now expected to rule him out of the return meeting in Manchester

Premier league results.

2008-04-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool.

Liverpool striker Peter Crouch gave Liverpool the lead at the end of the first half, but Nicklas Bendtner levelled on 54 minutes to leave honours even and Arsenal trailing Manchester United and Chelsea in the top-flight title race.

Both Gunners boss Wenger and his opposite number Rafa Benitez made a number of changes following Wednesday's 1-1 draw in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg clash and with next week's return meeting at Anfield in mind.

ManchesterCity 0-2 Chelsea

Chelsea's 11th away win of the season kept the pressure on title rivals United as it closed the gap at the top of the Premier League table to two points ahead of United's trip to face Middlesbrough on Sunday.

City skipper Richard Dunne gave Chelsea the lead with a sixth-minute own goal, and Salomon Kalou's 53rd-minute strike proved enough to seal the three points, despite the Blues being far from firing on all cylinders.

OTHER RESULTS

AstonVilla 4-0 Bolton
Blackburn 1-1 Spurs
Fulham 1-3 Sunderland
Newcastle 3-0 Reading
Wigan 2-0 Birmingham

Thilan revives Lankan hopes

2008-04-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

Samaraweera came to the tourists' rescue with a knock of 125 after they had looked like being steamrolled by the West Indies pace attack.Samaraweera cracked 18 fours to record his 16th Test century after the Windies had ripped through the Sri Lankan top order.

He was eventually run out attempting a second run and Muttiah Muralitharan followed, caught at fine leg by Daren Powell off the bowling of Jerome Taylor, for four the next over to leave the hosts to chase 253 for a victory which would level the series.

Sri Lanka had been reeling on 6-99 when Silva was caught at gully by Marlon Samuels off the bowling of Taylor for 13. They had earlier lost both openers within the first two overs, Warnapura (zero) caught by Sewnarine Chattergoon at third slip off Taylor, who then ran out Michael Vandort (1) with a superb direct hit from silly mid-off.

Mahela Jayawardene (12) looked to inject some spark into the Sri Lanka innings by hitting three quick boundaries, but he played on to the stumps attempting a square drive off a wide Fidel Edwards delivery. Kumar Sangakkara added 14 before he guided an attempted cut off Powell straight to Samuels at gully.

Dilshan (25) had signalled his intent by smashing Powell for two fours and a six in his first over but he was next to fall when Taylor uprooted his off stump shortly before the interval.

Chaminda Vaas was the only one to provide support for Samaraweera, scoring 45 in a 138-run partnership with the centurion before he edged a Chris Gayle delivery.

West Indies added 26 runs to their overnight total before being bowled out for 294.

Emphatic win for South Africa.

2008-04-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

Virender Sehwag was the first wicket to go, though not before he had smacked two sixes in the opening over. His early onslaught ended when he was trapped lbw by Ntini for 17.

Former captain Rahul Dravid and Wasim Jaffer batted cautiously before both fell in the space of six runs, the former the first to go when he was surprised by a Morkel short ball that he could only fend to AB de Villiers in the slips.

The same fielder was also involved two overs later when all-rounder Jacques Kallis found the edge of Jaffer's bat.

A 55-run stand for the fourth wicket briefly halted South Africa's momentum and took India past their first innings total of 76, their second lowest ever on home soil.

However, a lazy prod outside his off stump ended VVS Laxman fluent innings of 35 and provided Morkel with his second wicket of the day.

Ganguly and Dhoni surviving some hostile bowling, particularly from the impressive Steyn, to share a century stand that threatened to take the match into a fourth day.

Sourav Ganguly stood on the burning deck nearly four hours for a fine 87. Ganguly added 110 with Mahendra Singh Dhoni.But once Dale Steyn, wicketless until then, returned to tempt him into a drive from round the wicket, the match was only ever going to have one outcome. Ganguly stood his ground, and replays suggested the noise that alerted Tony Hill might have been bat striking ground, but the South Africans were convinced that there had been a big deflection. Dhoni reached his half-century from 122 balls soon after, but with Smith calling on his big guns, the resistance was swiftly ended. It was Makhaya Ntini who saw off Dhoni, pitching one perfectly in the off-stump corridor to induce the expansive drive. Smith made no mistake at slip. Paul Harris claimed his first wicket of the match, bowling Anil Kumble with a delivery that went straight between the India skipper's bat and pad.

Sreesanth slogged two fours and a six to briefly give the home fans something to cheer about until he was the last man to fall, leaving Irfan Pathan stranded on 43 not out.

Kubica takes pole position.

2008-04-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

Kubica secured the first pole position of his Formula One career as he pipped Brazilian Massa with a time of one minute 33.096 seconds.Felipe Massa has made the running here all weekend, but on Saturday he had to play second fiddle to Robert Kubica as the Pole grabbed the first pole position of his career, and the first for BMW Sauber.

When the chips were down in the final runs of Q3, Lewis Hamilton went to the top with 1m 33.292s for McLaren, but then Kubica banged in 1m 33.096s - even though he said his car was pulling to one side under braking - and when Massa came up short with 1m 33.123s, the dye was set, to the delight of the men from Munich and Hinwil.

Championship leader Hamtilon shares the second row with world champion Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari.

The result means that neither a Ferrari nor McLaren will be on pole position for the first time in a Grand Prix since China in October 2006.

Lorgat is the next CEO.

2008-04-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Lorgat's appointment was confirmed by the ICC Board following a meeting between the South African and David Morgan, the ICC president-elect, in Pretoria. The International Cricket Council today announced that Haroon Lorgat had been appointed as the organisation’s next Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Lorgat, 47, will take over from the current CEO, Malcolm Speed, following the ICC Annual Conference which is scheduled to take place between 29 June and 4 July.

Mr Lorgat’s appointment was confirmed by the ICC Board following a meeting between the candidate and David Morgan, the ICC President-Elect, in Pretoria on Wednesday.

After that meeting the Recruitment Committee – made up of ICC President Ray Mali, Mr Morgan, ICC Vice President Sharad Pawar and ICC Director Creagh O’Connor (Australia) – agreed to the appointment and made its recommendation to the ICC Board.

Lorgat will become only the third CEO in the ICC’s 99-year history. The first person to occupy the role was David Richards, who held the post from 1993 to 2001.

At present, Lorgat is an executive director of Kapela Investments Holdings, an investment company with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, and also a non-executive director of Santam Ltd, a South African commercial and corporate insurance company.

Lorgat also played first-class cricket for Eastern Province and Transvaal as a left-hand batsman and right-arm medium-pacer, scoring 2,813 runs (including three hundreds) and capturing 191 wickets.

Since retiring as a player he has served on the Board of the Western Province Cricket Association and also on finance committees for the United Cricket Board of South Africa and ICC Cricket World Cup 2003.

Tendulkar to miss the third Test.

2008-04-05T03:32:00.000-07:00

Tendulkar has been advised to take 12 days rest,so he out of Kanpur Test.The star batsman has failed to recover from the groin injury which ruled him out of the second match of the series in Ahmedabad.

Tendulkar didn't appear fully fit during the first Test in Chennai and missed part of the action on the first, second, fourth days. He didn't take the field on the fifth day and was rested for the next Test.

There was an injury concern over Tendulkar even before the start of the series. Tendulkar was advised two-weeks rest after the Australia tour and the then physio, John Gloster, in his fitness report, warned against the injury entering a chronic phase.

Tendulkar will now be expected to be fully fit ahead of the inaugural Indian Premier League, starting on April 18.

Evenly poised after Day2.

2008-04-05T03:22:00.000-07:00

Resuming on 5-217, Tillakaratne Dilshan added only four runs to his overnight score of 58 before getting a top edge to Fidel Edwards and being caught behind by Denesh Ramdin.

Chaminda Vaas contributed only one before he too was snapped up by the wicketkeeper in the following over, becoming the first of Daren Powell's two victims.

Thushara faced 21 balls but, like Vaas, could only manage a single run. He was run out attempting a second run by Sarwan in the 55th over.

The next over saw the departure of Muttiah Muralitharan, who had smashed the first two balls he faced to the boundary but then holed out to Dwayne Bravo at third man off Powell from the third.

Silva, who was dropped on 33 by Devon Smith at second slip on Thursday evening, survived another scare after completing his second Test half-century when he was put down by Jerome Taylor on 70.

Chamara Silva (76), who began the day on 37, was the only Sri Lankan to offer any resistance as his team-mates came and went cheaply.

Taylor's spell was brought to a premature end in his 18th over when he was told by umpire Billy Bowden that he was not allowed to bowl anymore in the innings after bowling a beamer at Silva.

Silva was the last man to fall when he was caught at deep square leg by Powell off the bowling of Bravo, leaving Ishara Amerasinghe unbeaten on nought.

Sri Lanka picked up six wickets in the final session to leave West Indies at 268 for seven at stumps on the second day of the second Test in Port of Spain.

Chris Gayle (45), Sewnarine Chattergoon (46), Ramnaresh Sarwan (57) and Devon Smith (47) all made healthy contributions as the hosts chipped away at the tourists' total of 278 on a rain-affected day in Trinidad, but the Sri Lanka attack made sure no batsman developed their start.

Kollywood goes on a hunger strike!!!

2008-04-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

The tamil film industry went on a hunger strike today following the attack of Tamil theatres in Karnataka. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have already been haggling over the Cauvery water issue. Almost every star participated in this strike today. Leading the protest was Karnataka born Tamil actor Super Star RajniKanth. He was very angry on the Karnataka politicians and spoke against them. He also said that the Cauvery water problem was an easy one to solve and the 2 governments were making a big fuss over the issue.

Among those present in the protest were actress Manorama, Kamal Hassan, Sarath Kumar, Vijaykanth, Prabhu and various actors, directors , musicians , actresses, etc. Everyone spoke of this issue in their own way and wanted steps to be taken to solve this dispute as soon as possible.

South Africa extend their lead to 418.

2008-04-04T04:36:00.000-07:00

South Africa dominated the day yet again with AB de Villiers bringing up his maiden double hundred. Jacques Kallis also made a wonderful 132. The Indian bowlers continued to struggle and though they picked up some wickets in the third session, it may not be enough with the visitors already managing a 418-run lead.

In the 77.2 overs bowled in the day, India managed just three wickets, two of them when the batsmen were in the quest for quick runs after tea. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh picked up one apiece, with Mark Boucher and Morne Morkel trapped leg before, but by then the only question being posed was just how imposing the lead would be.

de Villiers needed just 146 balls for his second hundred, and played some stupendous strokes in the final session. A huge six off Harbhajan landed on the roof at what is a massive venue, and when he was later gifted a full toss that he creamed through cover, the celebrations could begin. That stroke also brought up the 400-run lead, and de Villiers put the seal on an impressive day's work with a mighty heave off Kumble that soared into the empty stand at deep midwicket. As a weary Indian side trudged off, a defeat of mammoth proportions beckoned unless they could bat with a great deal more application at the second time of asking.

Kumble and his men could reflect on opportunities that came their way early in the proceedings. Harbhajan, the pick of the bowlers, was desperately unlucky against both batsmen. Kallis had made just 61 when he fended one awkwardly off the glove, only to see it roll back and strike the stumps. The bails stayed on, Harbhajan held his head, and the chance had gone. In his very next over, an offbreak went right through de Villiers, missing the stumps by a whisker.

Irfan Pathan was insipid with the old ball, and Kumble soon replaced him at the other end, but the runs slowly started to mount as the pitch showed few signs of menace. de Villiers cut Harbhajan for four, and Kumble was then far from thrilled as a Kallis cover-drive was fumbled over the rope by Sourav Ganguly.

Despite slightly overcast conditions, Kumble didn't call on Sreesanth. By the time the new ball was taken after 81.2 overs, whatever little moisture that might have been in the pitch was long gone. Sreesanth soon made an impact too, striking Kallis on the shoulder with a bouncer and then having an excellent leg-before shout turned down.

Once the initial threat posed by the new ball passed, the runs came freely. de Villiers flicked RP Singh for four and then glanced Sreesanth fine, before Kallis highlighted his power with two contemptuous pulls for four. On the stroke of lunch, Ganguly came on, and a paddle down to fine leg saw de Villiers reach his fifth Test century.

Kallis was on 97 at the time, and the 30th century that took him past Sir Donald Bradman arrived soon after the interval, with a magnificent cover-drive for four off Ganguly. It had been a stolid and at times fortuitous effort, spanning 228 balls, but vital in the context of the match after Harbhajan's three quick wickets on the first afternoon.

The 200-run partnership came from 401 balls, and the runs were milked with ease after that. Pathan was pedestrian at best and Kumble merely restrictive. Both men played the sweep with increasing confidence and it was quite bizarre that Sreesanth, the most effective Indian pace bowler on view, was called on only an hour and ten minutes after lunch.

Kallis swatted the first ball for four, and when an edge then streaked past slip, Sreesanth's frustration boiled over. But instead of self-destructing, he used the anger to produce a gem of a delivery that lifted from outside off stump and caught Kallis in two minds. By the time he tried to arc the bat away, it was too late and the inside edge cannoned into the stumps.

WestIndies vs SriLanka Day1.

2008-04-04T04:31:00.000-07:00

Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor shared five wickets as a rain-affected first day of the second Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka in Port of Spain ended honours even.

Edwards claimed 3-50 and fellow paceman Taylor 2-63 as the tourists closed on 5-217.

Edwards was at his economic best in the morning session as he almost single-handedly pegged the Sri Lankans back after they had made a strong start, taking the scalps of dangermen Malinda Warnapura and Kumar Sangakkara in successive overs.

The diminutive quick then removed Michael Vandort after lunch before Taylor dismissed Thilan Samaraweera and Mahela Jayawardene, but Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chamara Silva shared an unbeaten stand of 100 to bring the Sri Lankans back into the match.

Warnapura - looking for another big score to go with the century he struck in the first Test - and Vandort got the Sri Lankans off to a solid start, the former hitting eight fours in his almost run-a-ball 35.

He was dropped on 12 by Dwayne Bravo, but was not to be afforded another chance after edging an Edwards delivery to Sewnarine Chattergoon at third slip.

And Sangakkara followed him back to the pavilion for 10 two overs later, wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin taking the catch after the batsman had nicked another ball from Edwards.

Rain delayed the start of the afternoon session, but Edwards was again first to strike when play did get under way. He had Vandort caught down the leg side by Ramdin for 30.

Taylor came to the party after another rain break, drawing Samaraveera into a shot which he edged to Chris Gayle at first slip on six before clean bowling captain Jayawardene past his outside edge for 26.

But as the Windies threatened to take a stranglehold on the game, Dilshan and Silva steadied a rocking Sri Lankan ship.

Dilshan racked up his 12th Test half-century, cracking seven fours in an unbeaten run-a-ball 58, while Silva survived being dropped by Devon Smith to move on to 37 not out when bad light brought a premature end to the day's play.

Sensex closes at 15343

2008-04-04T04:24:00.000-07:00

Sensex today closed at 15343 down by 489 points.Markets witnessed tremendous downfall on Friday.The Nifty closed at 4647 down by 124 points.

It was a great day for the asian markets.HSI closing the day at 24264 .NIKKEI closed at 13293 down by 97 points.CHINA closed at 3446 .

The European markets were slightly up FTSE closing at 5925 up by 34 points.DAX closed at 6762 up by 21 points.CAC40 closed at 4904 up by 16 points.

Shoaib banned for 5 years!!!!

2008-04-03T05:26:00.001-07:00

PCB recently banned Shoaib Akhtar, for 5 years ending the career of the Pakistani speedster. He was banned for violation of discipline. He was already banned for 2 years for hitting his fellow pacer Asif on the eve of twenty20 world cup.

The 32-year-old Akhtar, who appeared before a disciplinary committee earlier in the day on charges of publicly criticising the Board, has been banned from all forms of cricket but would continue to be a part of the Indian Premier League.

The ban effectively ends the controversial 11-year career of the world's fastest bwler, which has been rocked by injuries, disciplinary problems and a doping scandal in 2006 RPT 2006.

Akhtar took 178 wickets in 46 Tests and scalped 219 in 138 one-day matches during his career.

Akhtar seemed to unhappy about the ban and said that he will move to the court appealing against his ban.

Vidic will be out of action for two to three weeks.

2008-04-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

Vidic suffered an injury during United's 2-0 victory over Roma.The Serbian centre-back, who fell awkwardly after an aerial challenge against Roma, came off after just 31 minutes of Tuesday's 2-0 quarter final first-leg win.

He was sent for a scan on Wednesday, the results of which showed the injury not to be serious.

He left Stadio Olimpico on crutches and there had been fears that Vidic could miss the rest of the season with the injury.

But a second scan on Thursday morning has shown that there is not a serious problem with the centre-half's knee.

United expect Vidic to miss Sunday's Premier League game with Middlesbrough and the return leg against Roma next Wednesday.

He has also been ruled out of the showdown with title rivals Arsenal at Old Trafford on 13th April, but could be back the following week against Blackburn Rovers.

South Africa in commanding position.

2008-04-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

South Africa are in a commanding position after Day1.Dale Steyn bowled a fast and furious spell on a condusive wicket.Dale Steyn claimed 5-23 as the hosts lasted exactly 20 overs after their captain, Anil Kumble, had won the toss and decided to bat first.

Had the surrender taken place on a truly spiteful pitch, India's finest could at least have dusted off the excuses. As it was, only Rahul Dravid fell to a peach of a delivery. The rest were either victims of their misjudgement or their inability to get into line against fiery pace bowling from Steyn in particular. The tail can be absolved of blame after being swept away by the whirlwind, but there could be no excuses for a top order that has perhaps grown accustomed to batting on substandard batsman-friendly pitches in home Tests.

Irfan Pathan, recalled in place of the injured Sachin Tendulkar to strengthen the bowling, finished as the leading scorer, hitting three fours before being left high and dry on 21 not out.

Mahenda Singh Dhoni was the only other batsman to make it into double figures with 14. Extras were the second top-scorer with 19.

Makhaya Ntini claimed the opening wicket of Wasim Jaffer before going on to dimiss VVS Laxman, who was bowled shouldering arms, and Sourav Ganguly in his fourth over.

Virender Sehwag, coming off the back of the fastest ever triple century in the first Test, fell in between to Steyn who then bowled Rahul Dravid with an away swinger to leave the hosts five down with only 53 on the board.

Dhoni attempted to hit his side out of trouble until an extravagant waft outside off stump gave Mark Boucher a simple catch behind the stumps and allowed Morne Morkel to get in on the carnage.

Steyn claimed the final three wickets to fall in a hurry to claim his eighth five-wicket haul in just his 22nd Test.

McKenzie was fortunate to survive a vociferous leg-before shout from RP at the start of his innings, and Ganguly then failed to grab a chance at short leg off Sreesanth when Smith had just two. But by and large, the Indian bowlers just didn't make the batsmen play enough, while Smith and McKenzie also showed a much better awareness of which deliveries to leave well alone.

Smith was soon cutting and driving with customary élan, and two fours in a Sreesanth over had the total racing towards 50. McKenzie joined in with two boundaries off RP and then played some gorgeous off-drives when Pathan came on to try and trouble the South Africans with left-arm swing.

Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince also fell to Harbhajan soon after but Kallis and de Villiers stopped any momentum for India, putting South Africa in complete control by the end of an eventful day.

Sensex closes at 15832

2008-04-03T04:47:00.000-07:00

Sensex today closed at 15832 up by 82 points.Marketswitnessed tremendous volatility on Thursday.The Nifty closed at 4772 up by 17 points.

It was a great day for the asian markets.HSI closing the day at 24264 up by 392 points.NIKKEI closed at 13389 up by 200 points.CHINA closed at 3446 up by 98 points.

The European markets were slightly on the decline FTSE closing at 5891 down by 24 points.DAX closed at 6741 down by 36 points.CAC40 closed at 4891 down by 20 points.

Setback for Mugabe as opposition wins Zimbabwe Assembly.

2008-04-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

The ruling party ZANU-PF were displaced in the recent elections held in Zimbabwe.This is the first time in Zimbabwe's history that an opposition has got hold of the Assembly since its Independence in 1980.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) took 99 seats, while President Robert Mugabe's party polled 97.

With presidential election results yet to be declared, the MDC said its leader had won, but Zanu-PF denied this.

In elections for the 210-member assembly, an offshoot MDC faction at odds with Tsvangirai won 10 seats, according to the ZEC's final results.

One seat was won by an independent candidate and polling in three constituencies was postponed as candidates died in the run-up to elections.

Fenerbache stuns chelsea .

2008-04-02T23:04:00.000-07:00

Chelsea were left stunned in Istanbul after Fenerbache secured a 2-1 victory over the blues after being a goal down.Colin Kazim-Richards led the fightback for Fenerbahce at a hostile Sukru Saracoglu Stadium to leave Chelsea's Champions League hopes in the balance.

Michael Ballack dummied the ball for Malouda to run down the left and his cross flew into the net after hitting Deivid's outstretched leg.

Fenerbahce did not learn from that setback and could easily have been 2-0 down within minutes when Essien strode forward unchallenged down the right and crashed a shot against the bar.

The chances kept coming for Chelsea too and Didier Drogba headed wide before he forced a great save out of Volkan Demirel from a tight angle.

But the Turkish side levelled when London-born Colin Kazim-Richards smashed home Mehmet Aurelio's pass.

And Deivid made amends for his early error to win the game with a superb 30-yard strike into the top corner.

Arsenal held to a draw at the Emirates.

2008-04-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

The atmosphere was absolutely electric but the teams got off to a slow and steady start. After seven minutes, Adebayor raced onto a long through-ball as Jose Reina dashed out of his goal.

The Liverpool goalkeeper missed his attempted clearance, but was alert enough to recover ground and then block the follow-up cross from the Togo frontman.

At the other end, Cesc Fabregas had to do some defending in his own six-yard box to deny Sami Hyypia after he had stayed up front following a corner.

There was no escape for Liverpool when Arsenal took a deserved lead three minutes later through Adebayor.

Van Persie worked a short corner routine with Fabregas and crossed for Adebayor, who rose to head home, with Sami Hyypia hopelessly flat-footed and Reina helpless.

The home side's lead lasted only three minutes when Gerrard took advantage of some feeble challenges to drive into the area and cross for Kuyt to bundle home from inside the six-yard box.

Liverpool had a chance just after the restart, and Manuel Almunia needed to get down quickly to smother Kuyt's snapshot.

Arsenal introduced England squad man Theo Walcott, to replace van Persie, for the second half and the teenager looked lively down the left as Hleb was given more freedom in an advanced role.

Walcott picked up the ball and let fly from 25 yards, but his shot was always going wide of Reina's right-hand post.

Liverpool had an amazing escape after 65 minutes when Kuyt clearly dragged Hleb back by the arm as he raced into the area but Arsenal were understandably furious when Dutch referee Pieter Vink ignored their appeals.

Substitute Nicklas Bendtner then unwittingly cleared a Fabregas shot off the line but he had already been ruled offside.

Fee hike trend continues with IIT's!!!

2008-04-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

This isn't the best of news for people trying to join the premier institution like IIT. Following the IIM price hike IIT's have also decided to hike their fees by almost 100 percent. The students will be asked to pay almost double the amount now.

It is learnt that the IITs too have drawn up a proposal which will double the fee for students and sent it to the Union ministry of human resource development. It means that from the current fee of around Rs 25,000 per annum, a student may have to shell out Rs 50,000 per year.

If it is any matter of consolation for students, even after the increase, the fee will be far less than the hike effected by the country’s leading management institutes, the IIMs. In recent days, the IIMs have announced huge increases in their fees for those wanting to pursue their post-graduate diploma in business administration.

The IITs are taking the plea that they need to hike the fee in order to meet their rising expenses and to improve their financial health. In the past, the IIT directors who head these institutions have often complained that they do not have enough money to even pay the salaries of their staff. Or for the upkeep of their infrastructure. As a result, they have often had to dip into their contingency fund to make up for the shortfall.

Airprices to be hiked!!!

2008-04-02T11:23:00.000-07:00

I draw the attention of people traveling in domestic flights. There will be hike in the air prices of about 150 to 350 Rs from April 7th. This hike has been reported due to the hike in the prices of aviation turbine fuels.

While private carrier Jet Airways and low-cost carrier SpiceJet have already announced the hike, unified state-owned carrier Air India, Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan say they are evaluating the situation. Aviation sources say these airlines may also follow suit.

Jet Airways and SpiceJet will charge Rs 150 extra per passenger than at present on flights up to 750 km while Rs 350 will be charged for flights beyond this range. Airlines currently charge Rs 1,650 per passenger as fuel surcharge. This means that for flights beyond 750 km, the total fuel surcharge will be Rs 2,000 per passenger while it will be Rs 1,800 per passenger for flights up to 750 km. The decision of Jet Airways and SpiceJet follows the announcement by public sector oil firms of a 13 per cent hike in ATF prices. This is the first time that differential rates have been applied to the fuel surcharge (depending on the distance of the flight).

Bush urges NATO to send more troops to afghan.

2008-04-02T00:28:00.000-07:00

US President George W Bush has urged Nato allies to send more troops to Afghanistan ahead of the alliance's biggest-ever summit in Romania.

Bush was in Bucharest and he urged Nato to send more troops to Afghan. Romania and France are due to send more troops .

During the summit, Bush is expected to say Nato membership must be open to any European democracy that seeks it.

Barcelona take a slender lead against schalke.

2008-04-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

Barcelona will be odds-on favourites to meet either United or Roma in the Champions League semi-finals, after their first leg victory over Schalke 04 in Germany.

The Catalan giants won 1-0 through a 17th minute strike from Bojan Krkic. The 17-year-old prodigy stabbed in Thierry Henry's cross to become the second-youngest scorer in Champions League history.

Schalke had more than their fair share of chances to draw level, but Kevin Kuranyi, Soren Larsen, Marcelo Bordon and Halal Altintop all spurned opportunities.

A rash of late bookings for both sides saw the match draw to an ill-tempered close, but Barca will expect to book a last-four berth in next Wednesday's second leg at Camp Nou.

ManchesterUnited ease past Roma.

2008-04-02T00:03:00.001-07:00

ManchesterUnited eased past Roma to take a 2-0 lead in the first leg of their champions league tie at the Stadio Olimpico.Ronaldo and Rooney both scored and Ronaldo now becomes the Top scorer in this year's champions league.

After losing Nemanja Vidic to injury after half-an-hour, United took the lead six minutes before half-time when Ronaldo rose powerfully to meet Paul Scholes' cross for his 36th goal of the season.

Roma responded positively after the break with Christian Panucci firing over when unmarked and Mirko Vucinic forcing a fine reaction save from Edwin van der Sar.

Wayne Rooney then doubled their lead in the 66th minute. The 'Red Devils' will take a two-goal cushion into the second leg at Old Trafford, where Roma were beaten 7-1 in the same stage of last year's competition.

Totti to miss the first leg champions league encounter against MAN U

2008-03-31T23:36:00.000-07:00

Totti misses out the first leg champions league encounter with MAN U due to a thigh injury which he sustained in 1-1 draw against cagliari. The former Italy international is backing his team-mates to do a job on in-form United in the first leg and he hopes to be fit for the return leg at Old Trafford.

Stock market updates

2008-03-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

It was great day for the asian markets with HSI finishing the day at 23149 up by 300 points.NIKKEI closed at 12648 up by 123 points.CHINA closing at 3342 down by 130 points.
The European markets were a bit flat. FTSE closed unchanged at 5702.DAX closed at 6534 down by 25 points and CAC40 closed at 4707 up by 11 points.
The US markets also closed flat . DOW closed unchanged at 12262.NASDAQ at 2279 up by 17 points.S&P500 closing at 1322 up by 7 points.

Australia's squad for Windies tour!!!

2008-03-31T22:48:00.000-07:00

After a controversial and a disappointing tour Aussies are on the verge of touring the West Indies. With the retirement of Adam Gilchrist it is most obvious that Brad Haddin will take his place. The aussie selectors had to go in for a few new faces as well as old ones. There were many inclusions in the squad to tour the carribeans. In the Test squad Simon Katich earned him a spot after an excellent Pura Cup scoring a mammoth 1506 runs at an average of 95.14, which was a world record beating the record held by Michael Bevan. Beau Casson was the spinner who was included as the follow up for MacGill. Casson is the left arm spinner from New South Wales who picked up 29 wickets in the Pura Cup at an average of 35 and also chipped in with some useful contributions with the bat with 485 runs at an average of 60. The other inclusion to the Test squad is the all-rounder Ashley Noffke. The inclusions in the one day squad are Hussey's brother David Hussey and Western Australian Shaun Marsh. Cameron White has also been included due to his recent form in the Pura cup matches.

Test squad Matthew Hayden, Phil Jaques, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Simon Katich, Brad Haddin (wk), Ashley Noffke, Beau Casson, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Stuart MacGill, Ben Hilfenhaus.

ODI squad Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, David Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Cameron White, Brad Haddin (wk), James Hopes, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark.

Sachin out ,Kaif in for second Test!

2008-03-31T22:40:00.000-07:00

India will not play their full side for the Ahmedabad Test as Sachin will be out of action due to a groin injury. Sachin did not take the field for the first, second, fourth and fifth days. Mohammad Kaif has been named as his replacement in the squad, though Yuvraj Singh is likely to take the spot in the playing XI.

Tendulkar was advised two-weeks rest after the Australia tour and the then physio, John Gloster, in his fitness report, warned against the injury entering a chronic phase.

Kaif last played a Test for India during the 2006 tour of the West Indies. He enjoyed an impressive domestic season for Uttar Pradesh and Central Zone, finishing fourth in the list of run-getters, scoring 993 runs in 13 first-class matches at an average of 58.41.

Premier league results

2008-03-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

ManchesterUnited 4-0 Villa

ManchesterUnited completed a 4-0 rout against Aston villa on Saturday.United were absolutely brilliant against a villa team that looked a level down.
Cristiano Ronaldo's outrageous flick started the agony for Aston Villa after 17 minutes and he provided Carlos Tevez with a simple second before half-time. Wayne Rooney rounded Scott Carson for a third after 53 minutes and he slid home the fourth with 20 minutes left after more superb creativity from Ronaldo. Manchester United now lead the league by six points from Arsenal, while Villa lie eighth.

Ten men Arsenal edge past Bolton in a Reebok thriller

Arsenal hung on in the title race by coming from 2-0 down to beat Bolton despite Abou Diaby's sending off. Matthew Taylor headed Bolton in front from a cross by Gretar Steinsson. Diaby produced a disgraceful challenge on Steinsson to earn a straight red card. Taylor's deflected drive doubled the lead before William Gallas volleyed home to cut the deficit. Robin Van Persie made it 2-2 with a penalty and Arsenal won it when Jlloyd Samuel put through his own net late on.

Chelsea keep their title hopes alive

Chelsea cut Manchester United's lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League table to five points with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge.

Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho scored the only goal in the sixth minute as Avram Grant's side moved back above Arsenal into second place.

Torres seals Reds win

Fernando Torres' early strike gave Liverpool a precious five-point lead over their Merseyside rivals in the race for Champions League qualification.

Liverpool dominated the first half, and should have been in total command. Steven Gerrard hit a post and a hatful of chances were wasted.

But Everton, to their immense credit, tested Liverpool to the absolute limits in the second-half, and the Kop stood in anguish as they watched their heroes defend the goal in front of them.

But Liverpool hung on to complete only their 12th league double over the Goodison Park side in what was virtually a final eliminator for fourth spot.

Brilliant Mckenzie helps South Africa to a draw

2008-03-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

South Africa finished the first test against India strongly finishing the day at 331 for 5.Mckenzie and Amla played quite brilliantly .Neil McKenzie finished unbeaten on 155. India needed quick wickets if it was to force a result but some sloppy fielding in the morning session ensured that possibility did not materialise.

Hashim Amla, who went on to make 81, was twice dropped before lunch, once by Sreesanth and once by RP Singh. Those slips, combined with McKenzie's determination to occupy the crease, set the tone for the day. Amla's luck finally ran out shortly before the first interval when he edged an Anil Kumble delivery to Rahul Dravid at first slip.

McKenzie reached his fourth Test ton in an afternoon session which also saw two South Africa wickets fall. The first was that of Jacques Kallis, who made 19 before departing to a wonderful catch by RP Singh at square leg off the bowling of Harbhajan Singh. Harbhajan claimed his third wicket of the innings two overs later, Ashwell Prince (five) lunging forward only to see the ball clip the glove on its way to Wasim Jaffer at short leg. AB de Villiers departed in similar fashion after tea, Virender Sehwag the bowler this time and Sourav Ganguly the fielder close to the bat. But they proved to be rare moments of success for the Indian attack as the final day panned out in a similar fashion to the previous four with the batsmen in charge. It was a match which featured a number of notable innings - Sehwag hitting the fastest triple century in Test history, Dravid reaching 10,000 runs in Test cricket and Amla and McKenzie both hitting sizeable centuries.

Huge fees hike at IIM-A!!!

2008-03-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

IIM Ahmedabad recently announced after its board meeting that the fees for the two year course would increase by 300 percent. Now students will have to pay Rs 11.5 lakh for a two-year course, compared to the earlier fee of Rs 4.5 lakh.

The institute has softened the blow by raising the income limit for giving financial support to students. Earlier students were considered for support only if the family income was two lakh rupees. But now that has been raised to six lakh rupees.

The Centre and the Gujarat government have opposed the steep hike, saying it would set a precedent for other IIMs. A week ago, IIM-Bangalore had also proposed to hike its fee by 75 per cent, but it was not approved by the Centre.

Dravid joins the elite list!!!

2008-03-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

With the 80th run during his 111 in Chennai, Rahul Dravid became only the sixth player - and the third Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar - to reach the coveted milestone of 10,000 runs in Test cricket. He hasn't been at his best of late - this hundred was his first since last May - but Dravid's determination came to the fore yet again; perhaps it was fitting that he brought up the milestone with a typically characteristic knock, stonewalling his way to a hundred while Virender Sehwag stole the thunder with a blazing 319.

Dravid reached the landmark in his 120th Test and 206th innings, and although both Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar required lesser number of innings, Dravid has achieved the same in the shortest time span, a few months under 12 years, almost two years lesser than Lara. With an average of 55.41, Dravid has the best average among those with over 10,000 runs.

His career average is only bettered by two Indian batsmen, neither of whom has played more than three Tests. With a cut-off of at least 500 Test runs, Dravid's average is the highest among Indians.

Day 4 belongs to Proteas!

2008-03-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

Day 4 started with all eyes on Sehwag. Sehwag started patiently knocking off just ones and twos. Dravid was cautious at the other end as usual. Sehwag added 10 runs to his overnight score before he was caught by McKenzie of the bowling of Ntini. After a standing ovation for his innings there was even a bigger roar as the little maestro walked into his favourite soil. Before the roar could even stop the crowd saw the back of Sachin walking back for a rare duck at Chennai. Ntini was in the midst of a great spell. Dravid and Ganguly then steadied the ship. They piled on useful runs. Ganguly then got a shocker from the pitch, the ball took off from nowhere and he was well caught behind the stumps. Dravid was now joined by Laxman, the famous pair. Dravid then went on to make his 10,000 runs in Test Cricket. He joined the elite panel and was the third Indian after Gavaskar and Tendulkar to do so. At luch India were 547 for 4 just 7 runs ahead of South Africa.

The post lunch session saw Dravid completing his 25th Century. Soon he fell and the batting collapse started. Steyn and Harris cleaned up the tail as the Indians were bowled out for 627 with a lead of 87. It was the turn of Proteas to bat after tea. As in the first innings the openers started confidently. Both Smith and McKenzie played attacking cricket. They reached 50 in no time. Bhajji got Smith for 35 when Amla joined McKenzie at the crease. McKenzie went on to score his fifty. Both kept on piling up the runs. At stumps South Africa was 131 for 1 with McKenzie and Amla at the crease.

The match is heading towards a draw. The only relief for the cricket fans is that many records were broken and set at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai.

Sensex closes at 16371

2008-03-29T04:07:00.000-07:00

Sensex yesterday closed at 16371 up by by 356 points.The Nifty closed at 4942 up by 112 points.
Yesterday was a very good day for the Asian markets with HSI up by 2.74%,NIKKEI up by 1.71% and china up by 4.94% .
The European markets were on the decline with FTSE down by 0.43%,DAX down by 0.28% and CAC40 down by 0.5%.
The U.S markets closed on the lower side with DOW closing at 12216 down by 86 points and NASDAQ closing at 2261 down by 20 points

TATA spreads its territory!!!

2008-03-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

Having bagged Jaguar and Land Rover doesn't mean Tata is slowing down its big global ambitions.

Next stop is Thailand where Tata Motors launched its first product at the ongoing Bangkok Motor Show. Tata's launched the pick up truck Xenon, the first product of its JV with Thailand's Thonburi.

Tata has decided to enter the second largest pick up truck market in the world by launching its pick up truck called Xenon which will be followed by other products from their range. This pick up truck will also be branded as Fiat when it gets launched in Latin America later.

Tata has designed the Xenon to cater to foreign markets which explains Fiat's interest. The Xenon will be branded Fiat and sold in South America and will be made at Fiat's Cordoba plant in Argentina. In Thailand, Tata wants to cash in on a 400,000-unit strong pickup truck market.

The low cost of ownership tag is the big attraction for the Xenon but that won't be enough to take on a market dominated by the likes of Nissan and Toyota which control more than half the local Thailand market.

A Blitzkrieg at Chennai put Indians on top!!!

2008-03-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

Resuming the days play at 82 for no loss the Indians just looked to play out the first hour. Jaffer moved on steadily to a half century while Sehwag was playing his natural game and reached his century in no time. The Indians were coasting along at 176 for no loss at lunch. The South Africans looked to pull things back in the post lunch session by picking up Jaffer for 73. Paul Harris picked up the only wicket of the day. When Dravid joined Sehwag the score was 213. The South Africans thought they could crawl back into the game but they never knew that a long hard day was awaiting them. Dravid played cautiously while Sehwag was striking the ball to all parts of the boundary. He brought his 150 in 175 balls. India were 309 for 1 at tea. Now the match drifted slightly in favor of the Indians. Sehwag batted courageously. His reverse sweeps against Paul Harris, full blooded strokes against the other South African bowlers sealed his second triple century to join the elite panel of Lara and Sir Donald Bradman of scoring 2 triple centuries.
On the other hand Dravid played himself to his 51st half century.
At stumps the Indians were 468 for 1 with Sehwag at 309 and Dravid at 65.
The Indians now feel that they are back into the game. Sehwag will eye Lara's record while the Indians will look to pile up a lead of at least 200. The Proteus will be hoping that they dont get to bat for a long time.

India get off to a Steady start

2008-03-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

South Africa resumed the day at 304 for 4 and the visitors played cautious cricket in the first hour.The conditions were hot and humid at the M.A.Chidhambaram stadium in chennai.

Amla, 85 not out overnight, batted into the afternoon session and his 262-ball innings – his fourth Test hundred - was only curtailed by a needless run out, as he stranded himself calling partner Mark Boucher for a single that wasn’t.

Boucher hit 70 at an unusually slow rate for him, scoring at just 47 runs per 100 balls, but he did add 99 with Amla for the sixth wicket and help to take the Proteas nearer to a commanding first innings total.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh claimed his 21st five-wicket haul in Tests but his five-for did not come cheaply, conceding 164 runs from his 44 overs. It showed the nature of the surface. Maybe if India can score a similar total, things may be different in the second innings if the pitch cracks and breaks up.

India replied confidently on a flat pitch to reach stumps on day two at 82-0.Wasim Jaffer (25 not out) and Virender Sehwag (52 not out) will look to bat all day on Friday and exploit the placid wicket at the Chepauk and the draw would now seem the most likely outcome, unless South Africa’s bowlers can somehow find some menace in the wicket and use it to their advantage.

Sensex closes at 16015.

2008-03-27T03:07:00.000-07:00

The Sensex today closed at 16015 down by 71 points and the Nifty closed flat at 4830.The other Asian markets were on the decline as well Nikkei at 12604 down 103 points and China closed at 3411 down by 196 points.

HSI closed slightly on the higher side at 22664 up by 48 points.The European markets had a slightly better day with FTSE closing at 5718 up by 58 points,DAX at 6569 up by 78 points and CAC 40 at 4718 up by 42 points.

US markets were also on the decline with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down nearly 110 points, or 0.9 percent, at 12422.86 Wednesday. The Nasdaq shed 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 relinquished 0.9 percent.

Crude oil surged above 106$ a barrel after an EIA report showed crude inventories held steady at 311.8 million barrels last week. Economists had expected a 1.7 billion-barrel build.

Ribery seals victory for France

2008-03-27T01:24:00.000-07:00

France won the international friedly against England in Stade de France.David Beckham won his 100th cap and he lasted for just 63 minutes before he was substituted.Beckham was also booked for his challenge.It was not the result the LA Galaxy midfielder would have wanted to mark such a significant occasion, while there was little to suggest Rio Ferdinand had staked a strong case to be made captain on a permanent basis.

Capello's team started at a high tempo but it was France who created the early openings - Anelka heading wide from a Ribery free-kick and shooting weakly at goal after he was gifted far too much time to turn on the edge of the area.

England - with Gareth Barry and Owen Hargreaves shielding the back four - gradually asserted themselves on the contest and enjoyed a decent period of play.

A low teasing cross from the left was diverted clear of Beckham's path by keeper Gregory Coupet while Gerrard twice missed the target with headers.

Bayern Munich playmaker Franck Ribery got the only goal from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute, after England keeper David James brought down Nicolas Anelka.

Capello opted to make four substitutions at the break - with Peter Crouch, Michael Owen, Stewart Downing and Joleon Lescott introduced.

Only Terry's substitution for Lescott was injury related, with the Chelsea skipper complaining of a tight hamstring.

The changes hinted at Capello's recognition that his decision to play Rooney as the lone striker did not work, with the Manchester United player often forced to come deep in search of the ball.

But it was France who continued to play the incisive football, breaking viciously with James saving from Anelka while Malouda shot narrowly wide.

In contrast, England were frequently betrayed by a poor first touch while a speculative - and wide - effort from Crouch was emblematic of their growing frustration.

Anelka had illuminated the contest with several audacious back-flicks and he also laid the ball off to Ribery but the goalscorer somewhat scuffed his shot.

France substitute Djibril Cisse went close towards the end, while England rarely looked like equalising.

Sri Lanka Draws first blood

2008-03-27T01:09:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka recorded their first ever test victory in carribean soil by beating the West Indies by 121 runs.Sri Lanka claimed nine West Indies wickets on the final day to seal victory in the first Test at Providence Stadium on Thursday.

Set an unlikely victory target of 437, the Windies were dismissed for 315 in their second innings, Chaminda Vaas finishing with figures of 5-61.

Opener Dwayne Bravo's 83 had given the hosts hope of pulling off a dramatic run chase as they reached lunch on 2-170, but an impressive afternoon session helped the tourists to a 121-run triumph.

Vaas removed Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in quick succession after lunch to put the tourists well on their way to claiming their first Test match win in the West Indies.

Samuels edged Vaas to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara for 10 and Chanderpaul was bowled off an inside edge for three as the Windies slumped to 4-178.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene paid tribute to the performance of his two senior bowlers, Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan, who made 72, had earlier allowed the hosts to dream of a shock victory.

Bravo struck 10 fours and a six in his impressive knock before he fell caught and bowled to Muralitharan before lunch.

Sarwan - back in the Windies line-up after a 10-month absence - continued to look in good form as he followed up his first-innings score of 80 with another half-century before he fell LBW, playing back to Thilina Mirando.

Ryan Hinds then edged a Muralitharan delivery to Sangakkara for 10 from the final ball before tea to leave the Windies on 6-229.

The hosts had resumed on 1-96 at the start of the day and lost only one wicket, that of Bravo, in the morning session.

Fellow opener Devon Smith (10) had perished on Wednesday evening when Thilan Thushara took a brilliant catch at long leg off the bowling of Vaas.

The four wickets in the afternoon session though left the Windies hanging on for a draw.

Captain Chris Gayle frustrated the Sri Lankan attack with a stubborn 51 not out, but received little support from his partners at the other end.

Denesh Ramdin edged Mirando to Jayawardene at first slip for one, while Sulieman Benn also went cheaply, LBW, playing forward to Muralitharan for seven.

And it was the veteran Vaas who cleaned up the final two wickets as Gayle threatened to lead the hosts to a hard-fought draw.

First he removed Jerome Taylor, who sent an outside edge to Tillakaratne Dilshan at second slip for 12, and then Daren Powell, brilliantly caught at mid-off by Muralitharan for 14.

South Africa take the upper hand on Day 1

2008-03-26T04:28:00.000-07:00

South Africa scored 304 for 4 at stumps on the first day.South Africa won the toss and greame smith had no hestitation to bat first on a good batting track.
Capatin greame smith opened the batting with Neil mckenzie and the pair put on a partnership of 132 runs after which greame smith was dismissed for a well played 73.Kumble got the wicket of his counterpart
Amla came into bat along with Mckenzie and they scored 64 runs before Mckenzie was dismissed for 94 .Harbhajan bowled the doosra and got Mckenzie caught at slip.
kallis just scored 13 and he was back in the pavillion because of some good bowling by harbhajan.Ashwell prince was out caught and bowled by kumble which was a brilliant catch.
Amla and Ab devilliers are are at the crease . Amla is on 85 and devilliers is on 10.

Coca Cola to be the associate sponsor of IPL!!!

2008-02-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

Coca Cola used to be the official sponsor for almost all cricket matches in India. It had just stopped sponsoring. After about 7 years of complete isolation from cricket, Coca Cola is now back with a bang. It has signed as the on-air associate sponsor for the Indian premier League(IPL).
Being one of the four associate sponsors, Coke will pay between Rs. 16-20 Crores for the series which is at a much lower rate than other individual slot payers.

Main sponsors, Vodafone and Hyundai are paying between 22-26 Crore each. Coke's rival Pepsi will not be able to secure any commercial time during the IPL matches since Coke is the exclusive beverage partner as well.

China's woes!!!

2008-02-21T11:26:00.000-08:00

China have their worries regarding the Beijing Olympic Torch being carried to various countries. The torch which was lit on Monday will be next passed on to Thailand. China has asked Thailand to tighten up its security for the safety of the torch. Due to the anti-Beijing protests in various parts of the world, China are worried regarding the safety of the torch. One of the torch bearers in Thailand has already backed out from carrying the torch due to the violence in Tibet. The torch is expected to reach Thailand by 18th of April. When it comes to India it has been urged that the torch should travel through Mumbai and not Delhi as the chances of violence in Delhi is greater.

Demonstrators wearing "Free Tibet" shirts also held up the start of the relay Monday by lying in front of cars, preventing runners from passing with the torch. Reports said at least another six people, including a Swiss national, were detained.

The torch relay is occurring as China faces criticism for its handling of protests by Tibetans against Chinese rule in the Himalayan region.

Sensex closes at 131 points down

2008-02-19T03:18:00.000-08:00

Markets closed 131 points down finishing at 16086.Nifty closed 49 points down at 4828.Rupee declines by four paise against dollar.The other Asian markets are trading mixed on Wednesday. While South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are in the green by over 0.3 per cent each, Japan's Nikkei is trading in the red by 0.3 per cent.
The BSE banking index shedding one per cent or 82 points is the biggest loser among the sectoral indices. ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Union Bank of India are the major losers in this pack.

Tata to takeover jaguar landrover

2008-02-18T03:07:00.000-08:00

Tata motors are set to take over jaguar landover for an estimated value of 2.25 billion dollors.This deal will make the company global.Tata will now count amongst world's major carmakers. Tata brand to encompass entry level at Nano, top end with JLR. JLR portfolio is the strongest in last 5 years.Tata benefits from this deal on technology and design fronts. SUV strength at Land Rover, a big asset to Tata. this has given TATA a great boost in both Engineering and development. JLR has 3 manufacturing plants. So deal with JLR will prove to be a great advantage for TATA.

Rio is the new England captain

2008-02-12T02:57:00.000-08:00

England manager Fabio Capello has named Manchester United Defender Rio Ferdinand as the England Captain for the Game against France.
Many had expected Chelsea skipper John Terry to be given the nod for the Stade de France friendly, but an FA statement confirmed Ferdinand will lead the side instead. Fabio Capello will explain his decision at a press conference on Tuesday night.
Ferdinand has played 65 times for Englnad but this is his first game as skipper.Rio Ferdinand told in a press conference that it was an honour to be the England captain and he also said that he wanted to emulate his former team mate and now Sunderland manager Roy Keane.

England clinches series

2008-02-12T02:36:00.000-08:00

England won the Test match in napier by 121 runs to clinch the series in style.Monty Panesar was the magician behind england's win with match figures of 6 for 126.Ryan Sidebottom was the player of the series for the heroics he performed with the ball.Sidebottom took 24 wickets in 3 Tests with an average of 17.

Resuming on 5-222, still 321 short of an unlikely victory, Taylor and McCullum continued on to a 105-run sixth-wicket stand - their side's only century partnership of the match - before Panesar broke through at 6-276 when he had Taylor caught at first slip by Paul Collingwood for 74.

Taylor again proved he will be a vital asset on the upcoming tour to England, showing both defensive technique and attacking flair in a 117-ball innings including 14 boundaries.

McCullum followed five runs later when he attempted to whip Panesar's quicker ball square and was bowled for 42.

Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel also offered resistance and provided nuisance value in a 48-run partnership, until a stunning catch from paceman Stuart Broad ended Patel's innings on 18.

Patel swept Panesar low and fine to Broad's left at short fine leg and the tall 21-year-old took a fine catch to his left. It showed another string to his bow after impressing with bat and ball in Wellington and most notably in this Test.

That was followed by an umpiring brain melt that accounted for Vettori on 43. The New Zealand captain shuffled to the offside on the last ball of a James Anderson over and missed a short ball on leg stump, but Rudi Koertzen thought he was pulling away and called dead ball.

Just to top it off, Vettori tried the same thing again and was caught off the glove down the legside to become Anderson's first victim.

Tim southee the debutant who played in under 19 world cup for NewZealand came and played a little cameo at the end scoring 77 of just 40 balls which included 4 fours and 9 huge sixes.

ICC asks Gavaskar to step down as chairman!!!

2008-02-05T03:02:00.000-08:00

The ICC on tuesday asked Sunil Gavaskar, Chairman of the ICC to give up his post due to a conflict of interest between his chairman post and his commentator job. He was accused of talking against the ICC referee Mike Procter defending Harbhajan in that case. This has proved to be favoritism and members of the ICC have collectively decided in their recent meeting that Gavaskar should resign or he will be sacked.
Gavaskar who as a commentator let out some comments which were against the aussies after the Sydney Test was over. This has cost him his chairman post. Reports even say that Gavaskar had called the Australian team as people who cannot open their eyes and see that India has become a Super Power both on and off the field.

Pakistan's New Prime Minister-Gillani

2008-02-02T02:49:00.000-08:00

Yousuf Raza Gillani sworn in as Pakistan's Prime Minister today. He was accompanied by President Parvez Musharraf while many leaders of the ruling party boycotted this ceremony. Gillani who is the member of the Pakistan People's Party became the 25th prime Minister of Pakistan. It is a bit surprising to note that he is the first Prime Minister who is not from the Bhutto Family. President Musharraf administered the oath for his post in Islamabad.
Gillani, 55, was on Monday elected the prime minister by a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly or lower house of Pakistan parliament...