Xler!!!!

I have forgotten how to write

2009-11-03T14:06:00.004Z

During the past few days i have realized the facet that i have forgotten how i am supposed to write. I realised it when i was typing a letter. I was sitting there in front of my laptop not knowing what to write and confused whether i had used the correct words or not. I was pretty sure my grammar was bad in the letter, i didnt remember the spelling for many of the simple words and i had use spell check to get the right words.

I never considered myself to be very good with my writing skills but i am sure i was never this bad in my entire life. There used to be a time when i used to write every day be in my blog or in my diary but i dont do either of them these days. As far as i am concerned i have forgotten how to write simple because i stopped writing and i have lost my touch and the only thing i can do now is start reading and writing as i used to. Its been ages since i read a novel, i used to live on books i still remember the days i used to run behind my friends to get their books but its all in the past now. There has been many days when i have wondered why i stopped writing but i have not got an answer for that and i still continue to wonder about it.

I look forward to start writing again so that i can do what i really loved doing at one point of my life and so that i can continue something which i shoul not have stopped doing.

Is Life a play?

2008-11-04T13:25:00.002Z

Many times during the 21 years of my life, i have got a feeling that life is like a play where people like us are playing different characters. But most of the times i say to myself that's is not true because life does not have a fixed story line or a script based on which everything happens. i have always felt that the suspense part in life is what makes it unpredictable. It is the reason why people say that no body can guess what is going to happen next yet we all seem to balance each other. But now i feel that some part of our life is planned and we are playing certain roles but nobody knows what role we are playing but we end up helping many people and make them our friends and we also end up hurting people, they become our enemies.

Life has a purpose, all of us have some purpose in life. Many of us realize our purpose a bit late and a few realize it earlier. When we start working towards our goal we cross many stages, we meet many people who can be generally classified as friends and enemies. These are the people who help you to achieve your goal and these are also the people who stand as an obstacle in your way towards success.

In short life can be treated as a game where u have a mission that you are supposed to complete at any cost. This is a game where many fail and only the best prevail. Be brave and face your problems with courage. Life is too short to be worried about so act quickly and work towards your goal.

I am back again

2008-11-04T12:51:00.004Z

I quit writing posts in this blog couple of months back and Its been a while since i have blogged. Few days back i popped into my blog and i noticed that my blog had many visitors and i received comments in my cbox saying that they are missing me lots. I started thinking of the good times that i had when i used to blog. So today i decided to get back to blogging. I have changed the look of my blog and deleted many of the stupid and nonsense post i had written in my blog. From now i will be writing sensible stuff and i am sure all of you will like it. This is a new start i hope you all will support me in this.

Be foccused

2008-06-18T08:47:00.001+01:00

Focus this is just a five letter word which has a lot of meaning in it. Every humane being has many ambitions in life he sets numerous goals for him self and nobody knows whether he achieves them or not but if he does one can be sure that the a person was focused on what he was doing and was clear about what he wanted. It is very essential that all of us should be focused on what we are doing to ensure that we succeed in whatever we do.

The reason why i am em phasing on the need to focus is tat if one deviates his attention from what he must actually do then it will become very tough for that person to complete what he was doing and to succeed in life. We must never allow such situations to arise and must always be focused on every thing we do in life.

Rahman 3

2008-05-26T18:22:00.001+01:00

Roja (1992)
Yodha (1992)
Uzhavan (1993)
Thiruda Thiruda (1993)
Pudhiya Mugam (1993)
Gentleman (1993)
Vandicholai Chinnaraasu (1994)
Super Police (1994)
Pudhiya Mannargal (1994)
Pavithra (1994)
May Madham (1994)
Kizhakku Cheemayile (1994)
Karuththamma (1994)
Kadhalan (1994)
Duet (1994)
Manitha Manitha (1994)
Gangmaster (1994)
Indira (1995)
Rangeela (1995)
Muthu (1995)
Bombay (1995)
Love Birds (1996)
Indian (1996)
Kadhal Desam (1996)
Fire (1996)
Mr. Romeo (1996)
Anthimantharai (1996)
Minsaara Kanavu (1997)
Iruvar (1997)
Daud: Fun On The Run (1997)
Ratchagan (1997)
Mona Lisa (1997)
Vishwa Vidhaata (1997)
Jeans (1998)
Dil Se… (1998)
Earth (1998)
Doli Saja Ke Rakhna (1998)
Kabhi Na Kabhi (1998)
En Swasa Kaatre (1999)
Jodi (1999)
Padayappa (1999)
Taal (1999)
Takshak (1999)
Kadhalar Dhinam (1999)
Pukar (1999)
Sangamam (1999)
Mudhalvan (1999)
Taj Mahal (2000)
Alaipayuthey (2000)
Fiza (2000) (1 song)
Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000)
Rhythm (2000)
Thenali (2000)
Zubeidaa (2000)
One 2 Ka 4 (2001)
Nayak: The Real Hero (2001)
Love You Hamesha (2001)
Star (2001)
Lagaan (2001)
Parthale Paravasam (2001)
Alli Arjuna (2001)
Kannathil Muthamittal (2002)
The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002)
Baba (2002)
Kadhal Virus (2002)
Saathiya (2002)
Udhaya (2003)
Parasuram (2003)
Boys (2003)
Enakku 20 Unakku 18 (2003)
Kangalal Kaithu Sei (2003)
Tehzeeb (2003)
Warriors of Heaven and Earth (2004)
Lakeer - Forbidden Lines (2004)
Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (2004)
Aayitha Ezhuthu / Yuva (2004)
New / Nani (2004)
Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa (2004) (3 songs)
Swades (2004)
Kisna - The Warrior Poet (2004) (6 songs)
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2005)
The Rising - Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005)
Anbe Aaruyire (2005)
Water (2005) (5 songs)
Rang De Basanti (2006)
Sillunu Oru Kaadhal (2006)
Varalaru - The History of the Godfather (2006)
Guru (2007)
Provoked (2007)
Sivaji: The Boss (2007)
Azhagiya Thamizh Magan (2007)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) (with Craig Armstrong)
Jodhaa Akbar (2008)

Rahman 2

2008-05-26T16:17:00.002+01:00

In 1991, Rahman began his own music recording and mixing studio, attached to backyard of his house, called the Panchathan Record Inn. He initially composed music jingles for advertisements, Indian Television channels and music scores in documentaries, among other projects. In 1992, he was approached by film director Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for Ratnam's Tamil film Roja. The debut led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal award for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a first-time film composer. Rahman has since then gone on to win the award three more times for his scores for Minsaara Kanavu in 1997, Lagaan in 2002, Kannathil Muthamittal in 2003, the most ever by any composer.

Roja's score met with high sales and acclaim, in its original and dubbed versions, bringing about an effective transformation in film music at the time, and Rahman followed this with scores for films including, among others, Bombay, Kadhalan, Indira, Minsaara Kanavu, Muthu and Love Birds, which gained him notice. His soundtracks gained him recognition in the Tamil film industry and across the country for his versatality in classical, folk, jazz, reggae, soft rock and other styles in his pieces. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, marked Rahman's debut in Hindi films. Many popular and superhit scores for films including Dil Se and Taal followed. The sales of these albums prompted several film producers to take film music more seriously.
Rahman's work is also unique in the fact that his collaborations with some film directors have always resulted in successful soundtracks. In particular, he has worked with Mani Ratnam on ten films until 2006, all of which have been musical hits. Also notable is his collaboration with the director S. Shankar in the films Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys and Sivaji.

His Second movie album Roja was listed in TIME's "Top 10 Movie Soundtracks of All Time" in 2005. Rahman continued to record frequently in his studio, the Panchathan Record Inn. In 2005, a newly developed recording studio, attatched to the Inn called A.M. Studios was opened. It is considered to be the most developed, equipped and high tech studio of Asia. In 2006, Rahman launched his own music label, KM Musiq. It's first release was his soundtrack to the film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal which it released worldwide, in August 2006. His latest work includes Rang De Basanti, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, Guru, Varalaru - The History of the Godfather, Sivaji: The Boss, Azhagiya Tamil Magan, and Jodhaa Akbar . Rahman has scored the movie Provoked, co-scored Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and is working on Chamki Chameli to be released in 2008 and Hindi version of Tamil blockbuster Ghajini. He is a recipient of the Padma Shri.

Loneliness

2008-05-25T19:02:00.001+01:00

At times i wonder if i was meant to be alone all through. Not the way losers think..just something that troubles my mind whenever i get into one of my introspective moods. People are mixed creatures... they want people to share their joys and sorrows and also need their own space in life. I have met a lot of them in my journey of life and can say there is one common thread between all the people in this world... Loneliness!

That is one emotion which every one goes through at some point in our life. For some its an occasional feeling and for some its a daily existence. I belong to the category in the middle. I feel detached from the people around me at times and can be in my elements and have the time of my life when i feel like it.

Today is one of those days when am feeling contended being on my own. Just some time to ponder what i have been upto and trying to connect with my Inner self.. the person that i really am. And its very comforting to know that though many things have changed and as time moves on... there is that something which can give you the comfort feeling of being something from the past...that something which has been the same all through... Ur Inner self!!!!

Hi ppl

2008-05-25T11:33:00.000+01:00

Hi friends i was not in blogging action for sometime because my system had crashed. I have got a standby system now and from now on you can see me posting frequently. I have seen that many of you have updated your blogs in a big way i surely make it a point to visit all your blogs and comment on your posts. So keep in touch and do visit my blogs too cause i ll be posting lots from now onwards.

A review about my blog

2008-05-20T11:00:00.001+01:00

This is the review about my blog written by Mr.Unnikuttan. I have pasted the post in my blog the original post is in the following link Click Here

Today I want to make a hint on the blog of my friend Kiran. It is a nice blog well connected with other bloggers in India. He is a ambitious blogger and managed to set up a great blog community. Kiran, you did a great work, Please go on with it.

Unnikuttan

Results

2008-05-20T09:15:00.000+01:00

Hi guys the results of the final semester are expected any time this week. First it was said that the results will be announced on 20th but I guess it has been postponed to 23rd of this month. I wish all of us get super results and I also wish all of you best of luck for your future endeavors.

Lets give them Hope!!!

2008-04-19T04:27:00.000+01:00

"Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions, which force certain parts of the body into abnormal, sometimes painful, movements or postures. Dystonia can affect any part of the body including the arms and legs, trunk, neck, eyelids, face, or vocal cords."

Not many people know what Dystonia is and what are its affects on you. I was really down with tears after reading what has happened to Tyler. I love kids and always enjoy being with them and and to see something like this happen to a wonderful kid is really bad. What i feel is more than anything else what all of us should do now is to support Tyler and his family so that they can handle this situation well. They must know that they are not alone in this fight and all of us are there to help out.

I would advice all of you to visit Tyler's hope to know more about the organization and their motto. They are a non-profitable organization who are working to prevent Dystonia and are trying to find a cure for the disease. It would be nice if all of us could join hands for the noble cause of creating awareness of this disease and this organization.

I am going to spread this message to whom ever i can in the best way possible and i pray to god that the cure is found soon and the disease is eradicated.

To know more about Tyler's story and about Tyler's hope pls use the links below.

Florida venture blog
Tylers Face book

Rahman 1

2008-04-10T12:02:00.000+01:00

A. R. Rahman was born on January 6, 1966 as A. S. Dileep Kumar in Chennai. Tamilian by birth is an award-winning composer, record producer and musician. He is a musical legend who revolutionized the music standards in India. He was the only musician from India to take Indian music to the world standards and was successful in composing music at the age of 12. Today music buffs in India and not only in India, but also all parts of the world recognizes his music and his music have satisfied all types of music lovers. This magnificent man is one who redefined contemporary Indian music and is the pride of the entire nation and an idol for millions all over the world needs no preamble.

A. R. Rahman was born to R. K. Shekhar, a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam-language films. His father died when Rahman was nine years old, and his family rented out musical equipment as a source of income.

During these early years, Rahman served as a keyboard player and an arranger in bands such as "Roots" and "Nemesis Avenue" with friends including Sivamani, embracing numerous music genres. He played the keyboard and piano, in addition to, among others, the synthesizer, the harmonium and the guitar. His curiosity in the synthesizer in particular increased because, he says, it was the “ideal combination of music and technology.” He began early training in music under Master Dhanraj. At the age of 11, he joined, as a keyboardist in the troupe of Ilaiyaraaja, a great composer of all time and one of many composers to whom musical instruments belonging to Rahman's father were rented to. Rahman later played in the orchestra of M. S. Viswanathan and Ramesh Naidu, accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship to Trinity College of Music, where he graduated with a degree in Western classical music.

A lesson that i ve learned

2008-03-10T14:57:00.001Z

One thing what i have learned is that, your parents look after you since you are born and till the time you start working and your able to stand on your own legs and look after yourself. But after you start earning and do something for them with the money you have earned, it will never be equal to anything they have done for you.

It is the duty of the parents to take care of you till you grow up at the same time it the duty of the children to take care of the parents when they grow old. Just remember one thing "what you do is what you get" "Your children will treat you the way how you have treated your parents" so please set an example for your children.

Save the tiger

2008-03-09T12:54:00.000Z

I found this heartening truth and i wanted to share it with all of you so that we realize what is happening around us.

A few years down the lane after the independence it was note that the number of tigers in our country was dwindling, in order to control it project tiger was started in 1973 to save the dwindling populations of tigers. All these years many tiger census where released but none spoke of the truth.

This in spite of the fact that the number of tiger reserves has tripled since Project Tiger began. The 2006 tiger Census reveals that:

In 1972, a year before Project Tiger began there were 1,827 tigers in India.
In 1997 the Tiger Census showed that there were 3,507 tigers.
And in 2006 the official estimate of the number of tigers is 1,411 only.

A look at some broad trends

Tiger Sanctuaries like Corbett National Park in Uttaranchal and Bandipur, and Nagarhole in Karnataka are safe havens with the number of tigers in these areas remaining more or less the same.

Central and Western India was supposed to be a safe haven for tigers, but the latest Tiger Census shows that the number of Tigers in Madhya Pradesh have almost halved in the last five-six years.

Sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh like Panna and Kanha and even Melghat in Maharashtra have witnessed a drastic reduction in the number of tigers.

Present situation

Today there are 28 tiger reserves in the country spread across 17 states.
Central India once best habitat for tigers has noted sharp decline as per latest reports.
New methodology for counting tigers was introduced in 2006 using camera traps.
As per last census in 2002 tigers were estimated to be 3500.
After poaching outbreak in Sariska all tigers were wiped out here.

What the states say?

Madhya Pradesh

2002 – 710

2006 – 300

Orissa

2002 – 173

2006 - 45

Maharashtra

2002 – 238

2006 - 103

Andhra Pradesh

2002 - 192

2006 – 95

Chattisgarh

2002 – 227

2006 – 26

Its high time we realize what is happening and come forward to protect our National animal. Its just like the proverb "Its better late than never". So at least now we should start doing things which must have been done years ago. I pray that these magnificent creatures live a longer life and don't go down with the animals that have extinct.

Injury concerns for India before SA tour

2008-03-08T02:12:00.000Z

India are feeling the effects of the three-month long tour to Australia with four of their players, including Sachin Tendulkar, doubtful for the Test series against South Africa, starting on March 26.

Tendulkar, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, and Yuvraj Singh are required to rest for a minimum of two to three weeks, the Indian physio, John Gloster, has said in his report to the board.

According to the report, Tendulkar is suffering from tendonitis in the right hip region and will require a minimum of two weeks rest. Ishant is troubled by injuries to his toe and finger, Harbhajan has pulled a left hamstring, and Yuvraj's knee continues to be a problem. Yuvraj and Harbhajan could even have to undergo surgeries.

"He must ideally have three weeks break from cricket and excessive activities. He must try to do a lot of swimming, cycling and water running," Gloster, the outgoing physio, wrote in his last fitness report. "He must have a straighter approach when attacking the ball. He must take care while turning on the ball or else it could lead to instability which might need surgery."

All the players have been referred to Melbourne-based surgeon David Young. All the four injured players were part of both the Test and one-day squads and went through a gruelling tour that was not short of controversy.

selection of indian team for SA tour postponed

2008-03-07T16:21:00.000Z

The selection of India's squad for the first two Tests against South Africa has been postponed from March 9 to March 17. The selectors will now meet in Bangalore instead of Mumbai.

Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, had requested a postponement for picking a squad for the Tests starting March 26, so that players could take part in the Deodhar Trophy scheduled between March 14 and 26. "The Deodhar Trophy is a significant tournament on the domestic calendar and would have lost its value if we had announced the Test team on Sunday," Vengsarkar told Cricinfo. "We want those who returned immediately after the Test series in Australia to appear in this tournament. But those who stayed back for the CB one-day series deserve these 15 days of rest."

Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, and Wasim Jaffer are expected to turn out for their respective zones in the tournament that marks a close to the 2007-08 domestic season. Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ishant Sharma are among those who will get a break before the South Africa series.

In an earlier interview, Vengsarkar had pointed out that it was with the amount of international cricket being played, it was difficult to get players in the national side to play domestic cricket.

South Africa will arrive in Chennai on March 21 for three Tests, the first of which begins at the MA Chidambaram stadium on March 26. The next second and third Tests will be played in Ahmedabad and Kanpur between April 3-7 and 11-15.

Meanwhile India's Test specialists will have to undergo routine tests at the NCA over the next three days in accordance with a BCCI policy, which states that players who have been out of action must undergo periodic check-ups prior to all selections. Laxman, Jaffer, Ganguly, Dravid, VRV Singh, Pankaj Singh and Kumble haven't been part of the side since the Adelaide Test in January and will need to go through fitness tests before their names are cleared for selection. They will undergo tests under Paul Chapman, the trainer at the NCA, Paul Close, the physiotherapist, and Dav Whatmore. The NCA will in turn forward the reports to the board on Saturday.

One of the best books

2008-03-06T16:29:00.000Z

I read this book very recently and i just loved it am planning to read more books of this author. i strongly recommend all of you to read this book. I f any of you are readers of Paulo Coelho then plse recommend some of his books to me so that i can lay my hands on them really soon.

Brisinger - third book of inheritence

2008-03-06T05:11:00.001Z

The next Christopher Paolini book has been announced! The third book in the Inheritance series is titled Brisinger. The book is slated to release on September 20th 2008. The first book Eragon has already been made into a movie actually speaking the book is far far better and interesting than the movie. The second book Eldest is a marvelous one with many twist and turns and it has two stories running parallel. I badly hope the third one is a good one too.

Our trip to tada falls

2008-03-06T04:18:00.000Z

HI friends i had been to Tada falls which about 100 kms from where i stay. I had gone with my friends in my friends HONDA CRV. We started at about 5:30am on a Sunday. We had been planning this trip for a long time so all of us were eager to enjoy our trip. We went pretty slowly in the highway and we reached the place after about an hour and a half. we had taken food along with us along with the necessary articles to make a small fire where we can re heat the food and have them. After reaching the hill we had to walk up for 3-4 kms to reach the falls. Water was really clean and good and very much inviting. We didnt wast much time :-) after finding a good place to keep our bags all of us dashed to the water and had a amazing time. After playing in the water for couple of hours all of us were tired. Some of us gathered wood to make a small fire so that we could heat our food. After gulping our lunch we sat down rested for a few minutes before we started on our journey back. We started on our journey back home at about 2pm. We were back in our friends place by evening where we rested again and had a few laughs about our trip after which every one started back to our home. This trip will remain close to my heart for ever. I thank all my friends for making this trip a memorable one for me.

Schumacher - The honours he recieved

2008-03-05T10:54:00.000Z

In recognition of his contribution to Formula One racing the Nürburgring has renamed turns 8 and 9 (the Audi and Shell curves) as the Schumacher S. In a similar act of honoring Schumacher, he was awarded an FIA Gold Medal for Motor Sport in 2006.

The following year the Swiss Football Association appointed Schumacher as the Swiss ambassador for the 2008 European football championship. A month later he presented A1 Team Germany with the World Cup trophy at the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport 2007 awards ceremony. He received a standing ovation from the gathered crowd when he was announced on stage.

Schumacher has been honored during his career. He has won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award twice, in 2002 and 2004 for his performances in the 2001 and 2003 seasons respectively. He has received nominations for the 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007 awards. No-one has been nominated more times than Schumacher in the award's 7-year history.

Sachin back on top and India gains points

2008-03-05T09:42:00.000Z

Sachin Tendulkar has replaced Ricky Ponting as the top-ranked ODI batsman as per the latest ICC player rankings. His elevation comes on the back of successive match-winning knocks of 117 not out and 91 in the finals of the CB Series against Australia

This is the third time the batting maestro is claiming his spot at the top of the batting rankings. It looks like the old war horse has many more to deliver and lots of unfinished business before he decides to step down from international cricket.

Tendulkar, with 777 rating points, is seven points ahead of Ponting, who had a poor run in the CB Series, scoring 191 runs from 10 matches at 19.10. Graeme Smith the South Africa captain, is at third place. Meanwhile, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has climbed to 10th place, three points below the ninth-placed Herschelle Gibbs.

India's title-triumph has put them on fourth place in the ICC ODI Championship - New Zealand were ahead when the rankings were calculated beyond the decimal point, while Australia, with a rating of 127, are still the best one-day side, ahead of South Africa on decimal points.

South Africa can overtake Australia if they sweep their upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, but they will remain in second spot if Bangladesh manages a single win.

Top 10 ODI batsmen

Rank Name Rating

1 Sachin Tendulkar 777

2 Ricky Ponting 770

3 Graeme Smith 753

4 Mohammad Yousuf 752

5 Matthew Hayden 740

6 Adam Gilchrist 738

7 Michael Hussey 736

8 Kevin Pietersen 735

9 Herschelle Gibbs 731

10 Mahendra Singh Dhoni 728

ICC ODI Championships (as of March 4)

Rank Name Rating

1 Australia 127

2 South Africa 127

3 New Zealand 113

4 India 113

5 Pakistan 109

6 Sri Lanka 107

7 England 105

8 West Indies 96

9 Bangladesh 47

10 Ireland 28

11 Zimbabwe 18

Greater than world Twenty 20!!!

2008-03-05T09:37:00.000Z

"This is a greater victory than the World Twenty20," was captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's reaction after India won their first tri-series in Australia, succeeding at the formidable task of beating the top-ranked side in their own den twice.

Dhoni, who has now led India to victory in two prestigious events in the last seven months, attributed the results to a team effort. "The role of the captain was not the only one. The captain is one guy who gathers the pressure and then channels it to the individual player and then it depends on how that individual reacts," he said. "We didn't start that well but we improved as the tournament went on and the credit should go to every player."

India's batting, which has been their biggest weakness throughout the tournament, came into its own during the finals with Sachin Tendulkar hitting top form. Tendulkar followed up his stellar performance at the SCG on Sunday with a vital 91 in Brisbane. Despite ordinary performances early in the tournament, Dhoni never doubted his senior-most batsman. "Performance is one thing, but performing back-to-back is something else. He is the best."

Dhoni was relieved India had wrapped up the series at the Gabba thereby avoiding the trip to Adelaide. Was he desperate that they complete the job in Brisbane? "Yes, because I have not ridden my motorbike for quite a long time," Dhoni joked but added that a third game would have been taxing for his players, some of whom have been away from home for about three months.

After a resounding victory in the first final, India's decision to bat first in Brisbane paid off with Tendulkar and Robin Uthappa giving them a solid opening stand of 94. While India have shuffled their batting order during the series, Dhoni said Uthappa's promotion to the opening slot had given the batting a settled look. "Robin changed his game a little bit and reacted to the situation and curbed his aggressive instincts."

Throughout the tournament, like in the ICC World Twenty20, Dhoni surprised many with his team selections and his on-field strategies. For the crucial final over in the World Twenty20 final, he threw the ball to the inexperienced Joginder Sharma, in the first final here he asked Praveen Kumar, another rookie, to take the new ball. That move paid off; Praveen got crucial top-order scalps and did an encore at the Gabba.

The other surprise was to play the legspinner Piyush Chawla, who was overlooked during the league phase, in the finals. "We wanted to play Piyush, and wanted him to use as a surprise. He mixed it up really well was consistent in his line and length."

When the squad was picked Dhoni had strongly recommended the presence of youngsters. While that gamble has now proved successful, he said he never doubted that it was the only way ahead. "Even if we had lost this tournament, we should have stuck with the young boys. This will be the team's core."

Schumacher 2005-2006

2008-03-05T09:25:00.000Z

In 2005 Schumacher's sole win came at the United States Grand Prix. Prior to that race, the Michelin tyres, used by most teams, were found to have significant safety issues. When no compromise between the teams and the FIA could be reached, all but the six drivers using Bridgestone tyres dropped out of the race after the formation lap. However, rule changes for the 2005 and 2006 seasons required tyres to last an entire race, tipping the overall advantage to teams using Michelins over teams such as Ferrari that relied on Bridgestone tyres. The rule changes were partly in an effort to dent Ferrari's dominance and make the series more interesting. Less than half-way through the season, Schumacher said "I don't think I can count myself in this battle any more. It was like trying to fight with a blunted weapon.... If your weapons are weak you don't have a chance." The most notable moment of the season for Schumacher was his battle with Fernando Alonso in San Marino, where he started 13th and finished only 0.2 seconds behind the Spanish driver. Schumacher retired in six of the 19 races. He finished the season in third with 62 points, less than half the points of world champion Alonso.

2006 became the last season of Schumacher's racing career. After three races, Schumacher had 11 points and was already 17 points behind Alonso. He won the following two races, his first wins in 18 months, not including the boycotted 2005 United States Grand Prix. Schumacher was stripped of pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix and started the race at the back of the grid. This was due to him stopping his car and blocking part of the circuit while Alonso was on his qualifying lap; he still managed to work his way up to 5th place on the notoriously cramped Monaco circuit. By the Canadian Grand Prix, the ninth race of the season, he was 25 points behind Alonso, and the three wins that followed helped him reduce his disadvantage to 11. After his victories in Italy (in which Alonso had an engine failure) and China, in which Alonso had tyre problems, Schumacher led in the championship standings for the first time during the season. Although he and Alonso had the same point total, Schumacher was in front because he had won more races.

The Japanese Grand Prix was led by Schumacher with only 16 laps to go, when, for the first time since the 2000 French Grand Prix, Schumacher's car suffered engine failure. Alonso won the race, which gave him a 10 point championship lead. With only one race left in the season, Schumacher could only win the championship if he won the season finale and Alonso scored no points.

Before the Brazilian Grand Prix, the last race of his career, Schumacher conceded the title to Alonso. In pre-race ceremonies, football legend Pelé presented a trophy to Schumacher for his years of dedication to Formula One. During the race's qualifying session, Schumacher had the best time of all drivers through the first two sessions; but a fuel pressure problem prevented him from completing a single lap during the third session, forcing him to start the race in tenth position. Early in the race Schumacher moved up to sixth place. However, in overtaking Alonso's teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella, Schumacher experienced a tyre puncture caused by the front wing of Fisichella's car. Schumacher pitted and consequently fell to 19th place, 70 seconds behind teammate and race leader Felipe Massa. Schumacher recovered and overtook both Fisichella and Räikkönen to secure fourth place. His performance was classified in the press as "heroic", an "utterly breath-taking drive", and a "performance that ... sums up his career".

Schumacher returned to an F1 cockpit for the first time since retirement on 13th and 14th of November 2007, in Barcelona. The reason for this test was to help Ferrari prepare for 2008 season, the first without Traction Control and using Standard ECU (Electronic Control Unit). Upon return, Schumacher contributed fastest lap times, and it is confirmed that he will continue to test for Ferrari in Jerez. Testing is scheduled to begin on December 4th, marked with the return of slick tyres for the first time since the ban in 1998.

India beat champions in their Den!!!!

2008-03-04T15:29:00.000Z

In the final installment of its 29-year existence, a series that has become a part of Australia's summer culture came to a climactic end with a fitting humdinger at the Gabba.

Twenty three years after India's last significant limited-overs title in Australia, Sachin Tendulkar helped script another memorable chapter with an innings of skill and determination. There was to be no repeat of his twin centuries against Australia in 1998, but his 91 set up a total which, backed by Praveen Kumar's subtle-swinging accuracy, proved nine runs too much for Australia.

In a game that ebbed and flowed wonderfully, James Hopes took Australia agonisingly close to victory with his maiden fifty after Praveen returned from an 11-run 45th over to snap a threatening eight-wicket stand. Back when Australia dominated this tournament regularly Steve Waugh earned the moniker 'Ice Man' and under starry skies Hopes and Praveen gave it a modern context.

Hopes battled on with comfortable sweeps against the spinners and some deft placement down the ground. There was not a trace of emotion on face as he raised his fifty. Similarly, having given up 11 runs in his penultimate over, Praveen displayed awesome composure to bowl a three-run 47th, cleaning up Brett Lee.

That left Australia needing 29 from 18 balls. Sreesanth picked up a second wicket but Hopes refused to bow down, flat-batting a six over wide long-on to ratchet up the tension. With 13 required off the final over, Pathan came back on. A single to third man exposed Nathan Bracken, who chipped a slower ball to midwicket. Hopes crossed and drove a manic couple to long-off but could only drive the fourth ball into midwicket's diving lap. Sinking to the ground as India whooped and cried around him, Hopes cut an endearing figure, a hero on a losing side, but the entire Brisbane crowd stood to applaud a pulse-setting, nerve-wracking game - and the deserving winners.

The contest was set up by yet another masterclass from Tendulkar. In nearly three hours of nimble-footed driving, mainly to the off side, interspersed with soft on-side strokes, Tendulkar treated an appreciative crowd to a fine innings. India were steady during the Powerplays, scoring 36, 30 and 26 in three blocks, but made their best opening of the tournament. The ball didn't speed away to the ropes when the openers leaned into their drives and so they smartly adjusted gears, keeping the outfielders busy through a mixture of full-faced dabs to third man and flicks to deep square leg.

Tendulkar had a life on 7 when Ricky Ponting dropped a hard reflex catch at short cover, and he made it count. An utterly mistimed pull attempt off Nathan Bracken was the first sign of frustration but he quickly regained composure and decided to target Stuart Clark. His fifty came up from his 70th delivery and India had successfully chipped out a good start.

Some needless shots, however, allowed Australia back in. India would have preferred even 280 after this but having seized the initiative they allowed it to slip in a flurry of impetuous shots. Hopes allowed just one run in the 45th over, Bracken was accurate with his crafty mix of yorkers and slower deliveries, taking two wickets in the 48th over, and Lee kept it full as well.

At the SCG Tendulkar backed the bowlers' efforts with a sublime century and today they returned the favour. Especially Praveen, who for the second time in two high-pressure matches justified his new-ball promotion with the wickets of Australia's three most dangerous batsmen. Adam Gilchrist's final innings came to end with an edge and a walk but it was Ponting's horrendous attempt at a pull shot that really set off the alarm bells.

Michael Clarke's ability to judge length has been his strength in the tournament but he lost his off stump, playing a crude swipe across the line, to one that stayed low. Hayden made the most of mess-up between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Tendulkar, at first slip, when he was on 5, to keep the asking rate in control. Irfan Pathan was again the target of Hayden's ire and went for 37 from his first five overs. Hayden put on 89 with Andrew Symonds, whose eventful season continued with him shoulder charging, and Australia looked to be in the game.

At this stage Australia required another 138 and Michael Hussey showed there was fire in Australia's belly. Paddling and sweeping his way energetically in a 76-run stand with Hopes, he threatened to take the series to Adelaide. Hunting a target at over eight an over finally got to him, and he under-edged Sreesanth for a cool 44 in the 42nd over.

The rest turned into a tension-filled rollercoaster ride, during which India held their nerve to triumph. After a long and controversial tour Down Under, India now head home with their heads held high. For Australia, the last time they surrendered back-to-back series was 1983-84 and 1984-85, against West Indies, and 23 years later this loss would come as a chastening blow.

Domino Effect

2008-03-03T15:19:00.000Z

My friend pinay mama tagged me today with this Domino effect meme, another way to create technorati, I guess! Well, thanks friend for sharing this meme with me. You always remember me for memes. And for that thank you and to all future memes! heheehe!

Nora's Family Treasures

Wildcatlady29

Pinaymama
Kiran

To Be Continued Here.

Wanna share this Domino effect to the rest of my blogger friends
Channu, juliana, lensman, les, mars,

Who is your Idol?

2008-03-03T08:46:00.000Z

My friend JK passed me this Who’s Your Idol meme. I shall answer it the way I feel... And you can See me for what you will... Thank you so much JK

1. Who is/are your idol/s? – My Dad

2. What characteristic/s does/do your idol/s possess/es that draws you to him/her/them? – I have been with my dad since my birth and i like everything about him. I get drawn to him mainly because of the way he speaks.

3. What have you learned from him/her/them? – Yup lots actually. One of the important thing i have learned is how to prioritize the things we have to do so that we can finish them easily.

4. Have you applied anything you’ve learned from your idol/s? – Yes of course i am putting many things i have learned form him into action each and every day in my life.

5. What have you taught others based on what you’ve learned from your idol/s? – I try to set an example to others with what i do and if i feel that certain habit is good i suggest all the people i know to try it so that they can also get positive results.

6. What are the things that you don’t like about your idol/s? – I don't think i dislike anything about my dad but just that he is short tempered

7. Have you done something to correct them? – I have told him that he looses temper for small things and he has also taken steps to correct them.

Now, I am passing this tag to: Channu, Kavin, roko, sheng, pinay mom, Mahesh

Friendship Chain

2008-03-02T16:12:00.000Z

This is a Friendship Chain. I recieved this tagged from JK and . thankyou for passing this tag :-).
I'm passing this tag namely: Channu, Gen, Buzzing around, juliana, rica.
~~Begin Here~~
This is the easy way and the fastest way to : 1. Make your Authority Technoraty explode.2. Increase your Google Page Rank.3. Get more traffic to your blog.4. Makes more new friends. Rules : 1. Start copy from “Begin Copy” until “End Copy” to your blog.2. Put your own blog name and link.3. Tag your friends as much as you can. 1. Picturing of Life 2. La Place de Cherie 3. Chez Francine 4. Le bric à brac de Cherie 5. Sorounded by Everything 6.Moments 7.A lot to Offer 8.Blogweblink 9Blogcheers 10. Bloggerminded 11.Blogofminegal 12.LikeADreamComeTrue 12.Simply Amazing 13.Amazing Life 14. oldmonkkings 15. JK 16. Kiran. 17. ADD YOURSELF HERE!!!
~~END HERE~~

Under 19 world cup

2008-02-27T14:50:00.000Z

Needing 191 to win off 43 overs in a rain-affected match, India seemed well on course for an easy win as Shreevats Goswami's half-century and captain Virat Kohli's 41 took them to 150 for 3. However, India had to endure some anxious moments as four wickets fell in quick succession. Left-hand batsman Saurabh Tiwary, though, kept his cool in a nervy finish and his unbeaten 29 sealed India's place in the final.

Heyden Warned

2008-02-27T14:41:00.000Z

Cricket Australia has upheld the charge that Matthew Hayden breached its code of conduct when he referred to Harbhajan Singh as an "obnoxious weed"on a radio station on Tuesday. No fine was imposed on Hayden but he was issued a reprimand after a hearing on Wednesday by the Code of Conduct commissioner Ron Beazley. Hayden was charged under Rule 9 of CA's Code of Behaviour, which prohibits detrimental public comment.

In a brief statement following the verdict, Hayden said: "I maintain my innocence, my intentions were never to denigrate cricket or anyone. But in the spirit of cricket I respect and accept the decision." Reacting to the judgment, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told Cricinfo, "CA has taken a decision and the matter is closed as far as we are concerned."

Earlier CA had assured the Indian board that it would investigate Hayden's remarks. "Mr Sutherland [the Cricket Australia chief executive] wrote to me that he is aware of the comment and is dealing with it," Shah told. Shah has asked the Indian team manager Vimal Soni not to react to Hayden's comments.

Harbhjan was quoted saying he did not want a slanging match over the issue. "Maybe they [Australians] realise they no longer are the undisputed champions of the world. Maybe they feel the crown is slipping. Otherwise, why would a cricket veteran [Hayden] ask a 19-year-old [Ishant Sharma] to join him in a ring? You only need to speak to international cricketers and international teams to know in what opinion they hold Hayden," Harbhajan said.

Hayden and Harbhajan clashed during Sunday's CB Series game between the two sides and the Indian team later complained that Hayden had called Harbhajan a "mad boy". Clarifying what he had said, Hayden told the radio station: "I called him a bad boy."

He also said: "It's been a bit of a long battle with Harbhajan, the first time I ever met him he was the same little obnoxious weed that he is now. His record speaks for itself in cricket."

Award

2008-02-23T12:11:00.000Z

Thanks to my friend JK for this wonderful award...

I would like to pass it to: China, Mahesh, Boobu, Raznok, Kavin,rokoksalem, Raja

Schumacher 2000-2004 "Championship years"

2008-02-22T07:33:00.000Z

Schumacher won his third World Championship in 2000 after a year-long battle with Häkkinen. Schumacher won the first three races of the season and five of the first eight. Mid-way through the year, Schumacher's chances suffered with three consecutive non-finishes, allowing Häkkinen to close the gap in the standings. Häkkinen then took another two victories, before Schumacher won at the Italian Grand Prix. At the post race press conference, after equaling the number of wins (41) won by his idol, Ayrton Senna, Schumacher broke into tears. The championship fight would come down to the penultimate race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Starting from pole position, Schumacher had the early lead, but soon lost it to Häkkinen. After his second pit-stop, however, Schumacher came out ahead of Häkkinen and went on to win the race and the championship.

In 2001, Schumacher took his fourth drivers' title. Four other drivers won races, but none sustained a season-long challenge for the championship. Schumacher scored a record-tying nine wins and clinched the world championship with four races yet to run. He finished the championship with 123 points, 58 ahead of runner-up Coulthard. Season highlights included the Canadian Grand Prix, where Schumacher finished 2nd to his brother Ralf, thus scoring the first ever 1–2 finish by brothers in Formula One; and the Belgian Grand Prix in which Schumacher scored his 52nd career win, breaking Alain Prost's record for most career wins.

In 2002, Schumacher used the Ferrari F2002, widely considered to be one of the most dominant racing cars in Formula One, to retain his Drivers' Championship. At the Austrian Grand Prix his teammate, Rubens Barrichello was leading but in the final meters of the race, under orders, slowed to allow Schumacher to win the race. In winning the Drivers' Championship he equaled the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio of five world championships. Ferrari won 15 out of 17 races, and Schumacher won the title with six races remaining in the season. Schumacher broke his own record, shared with Nigel Mansell, of nine race wins in a season, by winning eleven times and finishing every race on the podium. He finished with 144 points, a record-breaking 67 points ahead of the runner-up, his teammate Rubens Barrichello. This pair finished 9 of the 17 races in the first two places.

Schumacher broke Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five World Drivers' Championships by winning the drivers' title for the sixth time in 2003, a closely contested season. The biggest competition came once again from the McLaren Mercedes and Williams BMW teams. In the first race, Schumacher ran off track, and in the following two, was involved in collisions. He fell 16 points behind Kimi Räikkönen. Schumacher won the San Marino Grand Prix and the next two races, and closed within two points of Räikkönen. Aside from Schumacher's victory in Canada, and Barrichello's victory in Britain, the mid-season was dominated by Williams’s drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, who each claimed two victories. After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher led Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Räikkönen by only one and two points, respectively. Ahead of the next race, the FIA announced changes to the way tyre widths were to be measured: this forced Michelin, supplier to Williams and McLaren among others, to rapidly redesign their tyres before the Italian Grand Prix. Schumacher, running on Bridgestone tyres, won the next two races. After Montoya was penalised in the United States Grand Prix, only Schumacher and Räikkönen remained in contention for the title. At the final round, the Japanese Grand Prix, Schumacher needed only one point whilst Räikkönen needed to win. By finishing the race in eighth place, Schumacher took one point and assured his sixth World Drivers' title, ending the season two points ahead of Räikkönen.

In 2004, Schumacher won a record twelve of the first thirteen races of the season, only failing to finish in Monaco after an accident with Juan Pablo Montoya during a safety car period when he briefly locked his car's brakes. He clinched a record seventh drivers' title at the Belgian Grand Prix. He finished that season with a record 148 points, 34 points ahead of the runner-up, teammate Rubens Barrichello, and set a new record of 13 race wins out of a possible 18, surpassing his previous best of 11 wins from the 2002 season.

Schumacher 1996-1999

2008-02-22T05:24:00.000Z

In 1996, Schumacher finished third in the Drivers' Championship, as well as helping Ferrari edge out his old team Benetton for second in the constructors' race. He won three races, more than the team's total tally for the period from 1991 to 1995. During the initial part of the 1996 season, the car had had reliability trouble and Schumacher did not finish 6 of the 16 races. He took his first win for Ferrari at the Spanish Grand Prix, where he lapped the entire field up to third place in the wet, using an uncharacteristically flamboyant oversteering style. In the French Grand Prix Schumacher qualified in pole position, but suffered engine failure on the race's formation lap. However at Spa-Francorchamps, Schumacher used well-timed pit-stops to fend off the Williams' Jacques Villeneuve. Following that, at Monza, Schumacher scored a momentous win in front of the tifosi. Schumacher's ability, combined with the improving reliability of Ferrari, enabled him to end the season, putting up a challenge to eventual race and championship winner Damon Hill at Suzuka.

Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve vied for the title in 1997. Villeneuve, driving the superior Williams FW19, led the championship in the early part of the season. However, by mid-season, Schumacher had taken the Championship lead, winning five races, and entered the season's final Grand Prix with a one-point advantage. During the race, held at Jerez, Schumacher and Villeneuve collided as Villeneuve passed his rival. Schumacher retired from the race and Villeneuve scored four points to take the championship. Schumacher was held to be at fault for the collision and was disqualified from the Drivers' Championship.

In 1998, Finnish driver Mika Häkkinen became Schumacher's main title competition. Häkkinen won the first two races of the season, gaining a 16 point advantage over Schumacher. With the Ferrari improving significantly and being faster in the second half of the season, Schumacher won six races and had five other podium finishes. Ferrari took a 1-2 finish at the Italian Grand Prix, which tied Schumacher with Häkkinen for the lead of the Drivers' Championship with 80 points, but Häkkinen won the Championship by winning the final two races. There were two controversies; at the British Grand Prix Schumacher was leading on the last lap when he turned into the pit lane, crossed the start finish line and stopped for a ten second stop go penalty. There was some doubt on if this counted as serving the penalty, but the win stood. At Spa, Schumacher was leading the race by 40 seconds in heavy spray, but collided with David Coulthard's McLaren when the Scot, a lap down, slowed in very poor visibility to let Schumacher past. After both cars returned to the pits, Schumacher rushed to McLaren's garage and accused Coulthard of trying to kill him.Schumacher's efforts helped Ferrari win the Constructors title in 1999. He lost his chance to win the Drivers' Championship at the British Grand Prix: At the high-speed Stowe Corner, his car's rear brake failed, sending him off the track and resulting in a broken leg. During his long absence, he was replaced by Finnish driver Mika Salo. After missing six races, he made his return at the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix, qualifying in the pole position by almost a second. He then assumed the role of second driver, assisting team mate Eddie Irvine's bid to win the Drivers' Championship for Ferrari. In the last race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix, Häkkinen won his second consecutive title. Schumacher would later say that Häkkinen was the opponent he respected the most.

Schumacher's Ferrari years

2008-02-21T06:57:00.000Z

For 1996, Schumacher joined Ferrari, a team which had last won the Drivers' Championship with Jody Scheckter in 1979. He left Benetton a year before his contract with them expired; he later cited the team's damaging actions in 1994 as his reason for opting out of his deal. A year later, technical director Ross Brawn and designer Rory Byrne also departed Benetton to join Schumacher at Ferrari.

Ferrari had previously come close to the championship in 1982 and 1990. The team had suffered a disastrous downturn in the early 1990’s, partially as their famous V12 engine was no longer competitive against the smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient V10s of their competitors. Various drivers, notably Alain Prost, had given the vehicles labels such as "truck", "pig", and "accident waiting to happen". The poor performance of the Ferrari pit crews was considered a running joke. At the end of 1995, though the team had improved into a solid competitor, it was still considered inferior to front-running teams such as Benetton and Williams. Schumacher declared the Ferrari 412T good enough to win the championship.

Schumacher, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, and Jean Todt (hired in 1993), have been credited as turning this once struggling team into the most successful team in Formula One history. Three-time World Champion Jackie Stewart believes the transformation of the Ferrari team was Schumacher's greatest feat. Eddie Irvine also joined the team, moving from Jordan.

IPL Billion Dollar Baby

2008-02-20T14:45:00.000Z

The teams for the IPL tournament

Jaipur Shane Warne (US$ 450,000), Graeme Smith (US$ 475,000), Younis Khan (US$ 225,000), Kamran Akmal (US$ 150,000), Yusuf Pathan (US$ 475,000), Mohammad Kaif (US$ 675,000), Munaf Patel (US$ 275,000), Justin Langer (US$ 200,000)

Chennai MS Dhoni (US$ 1.5 million), Muttiah Muralitharan (US$ 600,00), Matthew Hayden (US$ 375,000), Jacob Oram (US$ 675,000), Stephen Fleming (US$ 350,000), Parthiv Patel (US$ 325,000), Joginder Sharma (US$ 225,000), Albie Morkel (US$ 675,000), Suresh Raina (US$ 650,000), Makhaya Ntini (US$ 200,000), Michael Hussey (US$ 350,000)

Mumbai Sachin Tendulkar (icon), Sanath Jayasuriya (US$ 975,000), Harbhajan Singh (US$ 850,000), Shaun Pollock (US$ 550,000), Robin Uthappa (US$ 800,000), Lasith Malinga (US$ 350,000), Dilhara Fernando (US$ 150,000), Loots Bosman (US$ 175,000)

Bangalore Rahul Dravid (icon), Anil Kumble (US$ 500,000), Jacques Kallis (US$ 900,000), Zaheer Khan (US$ 450,000), Mark Boucher (US$ 450,000), Cameron White (US$ 500,000), Wasim Jaffer (US$ 150,000), Dale Steyn (US$ 325,000), Nathan Bracken (US$ 325,000), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (US$ 200,000)

Hyderabad Adam Gilchrist (US$ 700,000), Andrew Symonds (US$ 1.35 million), Herschelle Gibbs (US$ 575,000), Shahid Afridi (US$ 675,000), Scott Styris (US$ 175,000), VVS Laxman (US$ 375,000), Rohit Sharma (US$ 750,000), Chamara Silva (US$ 100,000), RP Singh (US$ 875,000), Chaminda Vaas (US$ 200,000), Nuwan Zoysa (US4 110,000)

Mohali Yuvraj Singh (icon), Mahela Jayawardene (US$ 475,000), Kumar Sangakkara (US$ 700,000), Brett Lee (US$ 900,000), Sreesanth (US$ 625,000), Irfan Pathan (US$ 925,000), Ramesh Powar (US$ 170,000), Piyush Chawla (US$ 400,000), Simon Katich (US$ 200,000), Ramnaresh Sarwan (US$ 225,000)

Kolkata Sourav Ganguly (icon), Shoaib Akhtar (US$ 425,000), Ricky Ponting (US$ 400,000), Brendon McCullum (US$ 700,000), Chris Gayle (US$ 800,000), Ajit Agarkar (US$ 330,000), David Hussey (US$ 675,000), Ishant Sharma (US$ 950,000), Murali Kartik (US$ 425,000), Umar Gul (US$ 150,000), Tatenda Taibu (US$ 125,000)

Delhi Virender Sehwag (icon), Daniel Vettori (US$ 625,000), Shoaib Malik (US$ 500,000), Mohammad Asif (US$ 650,000), AB de Villiers (US$ 300,000), Dinesh Karthik (US$ 525,000), Farveez Maharoof (US$ 225,000), Tillakaratne Dilshan (US$ 250,000), Manoj Tiwary (US$ 675,000), Gautam Gambhir (US$ 725,000), Glenn McGrath (US$ 350,000)

Gilly happy about his last outing

2008-02-16T08:15:00.000Z

The outpouring of emotion at the WACA on Friday made Adam Gilchrist realize the end of his record-breaking career was near. Gilchrist, who will retire at the conclusion of CB Series, waved goodbye to his home crowd in Perth with a fine 118 in the 63-run win over Sri Lanka and listened to chants of "Gilly, Gilly" throughout the match.

"Today was where it really hit me, that it is all finishing," he told Friday night. "Today was always going to be a big day, so I was more nervous than any day, leading into here. I am glad it is done ... there was a lot of emotion in there."

I feel very happy that he was able to come up with a century in his last game on his home turf. This fellow will always be remembered as one of the greatest cricketer of all time.

India Vs Srianka Match

2008-02-14T12:19:00.000Z

A 21-over match should have suited the reigning world Twenty20 champions India, but a revised-down total and some blistering early strikes from Sanath Jayasuriya lifted Sri Lanka to their first win of the CB Series. Rain reduced the target to 154 and Tillakaratne Dilshan's half-century eased Sri Lanka home with 12 balls to spare.

India were on the wrong end of the weather adjustments after Rohit Sharma's career-best 70 not out set up what should have been a competitive total following morning showers. But further rain during the innings break meant Sri Lanka could pursue a victory in Twenty20 style.

The chase of 196 from 29 overs had been reduced to 154 from 21 but Sanath Jayasuriya appeared to be still aiming for the original target from the smaller amount of overs. He had his team rattling along at nearly 12 an over when he top-edged an attempted pull to Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Ishant Sharma.

Jayasuriya had taken only 13 deliveries for his 27 and he left Sreesanth with the ugly figures of 0 for 34 from his first two. Sreesanth's second over went for 23 as Jayasuriya casually flicked a six off his pads over midwicket - the ball nearly left Manuka Oval - and followed with another six lifted over backward point. There were also a couple of cracking drives through and over cover before Ishant's pace earned the prize wicket.

But with just over a run-a-ball required it was simple for Sri Lanka to keep the score ticking for such a short period, and Dilshan anchored the chase with an unbeaten 62. Dilshan cut hard and pulled impressively, reaching his half-century from 47 balls. The milestone came off Sreesanth, whose horror day continued as fielders fumbled off his bowling and Ishant misjudged what could have been a catch off Dilshan, but turned into a six.

On a day when Australia's capital city experienced the first sitting of parliament under a Labor government in nearly 12 years, Canberra's residents also enjoyed the end of another lengthy era. There had not been a one-day international played there since the 1992 World Cup, when Kepler Wessels' South Africans beat Zimbabwe at Manuka Oval.

It looked for a while like the local fans might be disappointed as the scheduled start time of 10am came and went with heavy rain falling. After three and a half hours and some frantic work by the groundstaff, a 29-over game was announced and Mahela Jayawardene asked India to bat in the still damp conditions.

India initially struggled to adjust to the unusual-length match, although Sachin Tendulkar was typically dominant in posting 32 from 30 balls, including plenty of runs worked to the leg side from outside off stump. But when he and Virender Sehwag were both caught at third man the runs dried up for a while.

Rohit and Gautam Gambhir had trouble deciding on the right tempo and India went for nearly nine overs without a boundary until Rohit cut hard for four in the 15th over. Gambhir (35) showed glimpses of his best with a couple of brazen drives over cover to the boundary but he was caught short thanks to a snappy piece of work from Lasith Malinga, who took a hard throw at the bowler's end and flicked the ball backwards onto the stumps.

At 3 for 113 after 20 overs India needed to get a wriggle-on and the 46-ball partnership of 68 between Dhoni and Rohit was ideal. They often manufactured boundaries from deliveries that weren't that bad, and it was their second important stand in three days, having saved India from a late scare to beat Australia in Melbourne on Sunday.

Rohit's half-century came with a four bunted over the wicketkeeper's head when he backed away and Nuwan Kulasekera followed him with what appeared a sensible piece of bowling. But everything went right for Rohit, who at one point had seemingly dawdled to 29 from 45 balls.

His perfectly-timed slog-sweep six off Muttiah Muralitharan inspired the late charge and soon he was backing away to create space, premeditating sweeps, and finding runs where they did not seem to exist. His 64-ball innings was complemented by Dhoni, who struck three fours in his 26-ball 31.

But India's chances drained away with the further showers - they had already suffered two wash-outs to open the CB Series in Brisbane - and Sri Lanka's first victory evened up the tournament with all three sides sitting on one win. Australia's tri-series is being axed after 29 years but the farewell competition is shaping up as a classic.

We Won!!!

2008-02-10T17:06:00.000Z

India wins!!!!!!!!!! India registered their first victory in the CB series today. They won against the Australians By a margin of 5 wickets. Our bowlers did a good job of restricting the Aussies to a total of 159 in 43 overs. India had a bit of hiccups in their batting but, Dhoni The Aggressive captain!!! stood along with the young Rohit Sharma to finish off the innings with out any trouble. Young pacers Ishanth and Sreeshanth formed a formidable new ball pair to cause the early damage and they took 7 wickets in total leaving the other bowlers very less job to do. India face Srilanka in their next match. This victory was India's first in the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 22 years!!!!! wat a special victory this is!!! Now we are at the top of the points table in the series. I am sure this series is set for a fabulous finish and we can expect many thrilling matches in this series. One last word Ishanth sharma is truly the find of the season. He is playing in the batsman's mind and he likes bowling to Ponting a loooot.... Am waiting to see more of his action in the future... I am glad India has a good bowling dept now!!!!!!!!!!

Will keep updating abt the matches

Ponting Praises Ishanth

2008-02-10T17:04:00.000Z

Ricky Ponting is still working out how to tackle Ishant Sharma. You could say he is a bit puzzled. The Australian captain admitted as much as Ishant waited to talk about his spoils at the post-match media briefing.

"He's been a big improver for India through this tour", Ponting said of Ishant, who has already got him thrice this summer. The memories of WACA where Ishant picked him twice in the slips during the Test series is still haunting Ponting and he once again had no answer to Ishant's poser on Sunday.

It is no surprise that Ishant knows the value of having the number of the one of the best batsman of this decade. "Ponting is one my favorite batsmen and if you get the batsman complimenting you, it feels good," Sharma explained modestly.

Even if he was taking the new ball for the first time in the ODIs Ishant had fast tracked his growth as bowler on the first leg of the tour to understand and deal with the pressures of sharing the new ball. Obviously, he stuttered a touch initially. His first ball was a no ball, the fifth was a wide and in between Hayden edged one just above the outstretched hands of Rohit Sharma at the third slip. Next over a still-settling Ishant was whipped for 18 runs which included three fours from Hayden's bat.

"After that over Dhoni told me to just stick to my plans. He felt I was trying to do something else and instead I should do what I had to. I calmed down from there onward", Ishant recalled of those nervous moments.

He recoiled well to pick three top-order wickets in Hayden, Ponting and Andrew Symonds to effectively turn the match in India's favour. "We had our plans for each batsman and I just worked on that. For Ponting, it was to bowl to him on the fourth stump."

Ponting reckons Ishant is one of the few right-arm fast bowlers who can bring the ball in and that makes him a difficult proposition. "He's a little bit different in the fact that he probably brings the ball back into right-handers more than most right-arm bowlers that we've faced. Normally as a right-handed batsman you usually only get the ball coming back in from left-armers. He's tall, he hits the deck pretty hard and he gets a little bit of inconsistent bounce off the wicket."

Ponting said Ishant has the variety that can also trouble the left-handers and compared him to the Makhaya Ntini in that respect. "He's looked dangerous. With the angles he creates he can be pretty dangerous against the left-handers as well and he swings the ball away from them, a bit like Ntini does."

When asked if the workload has been an issue, Ishant said he was fine even if he felt a "little tired" at the end of today's encounter. "I was a bit tired and I had stomach aches but I have bowled long spells and my stamina is improving."

Tag away...

2008-02-09T17:38:00.000Z

Got this tag from China thank you ever so much,

I’m passing the tag to: Bobou , Samba, Swami, les

Dear Friends and co-bloggers lets play-game-tag to tag- “pass it to the front”Heres the Rules:* First copy and paste it.* Do not remove any content.* Just add One word related to your blogs.* If you don’t like the concept Pls! say no?* Our main goal is we are going to circulate our number of friends.* The more people join the “pass it to the front” the more links we generate.* Lastly write only one word “short” for your blogs…*Keep it simple and short,i know some of you have more than one blogs.* The color is only black,gray, or white plssss avoid using any Let me show you:

1.-Filipina,2.-Stories,3.-Abroad,4.-Husband,5.Gagiers, 6. Life 7. Everything, 8. Offer, 9. Moments, 10. Food Trip 11. World 12. suffering 13.china's autograph 14.Kiran's My voice

Result at last

2008-02-08T17:45:00.000Z

After the first two games were washed out due to rain, it was good to have one full game o cricket today. Today was the third match of the CB series and it was played by Australia and Srilanka. Australia went to bat first and managed to pile up a total of 253in 50 overs at the loss of 6 wickets. Adam Gilchrist 61 And Micheal Clarke 77 were the two batsman who made most of the runs. Srilanka was pushed to the back foot right from the start of their run chase. Both their openers fell for a cheap score and that too in quick succession. While Sangakkara was left with the responsibility of consolidating the innings wickets kept tumbling at the other end. Finally Sangakkara was castled by a beautiful delivery by Bracken, all hopes of Srilanka savin the match had shattered. Bracken went on to take a 5 wicket haul, which is one ODI career. At last Srilanka was dismissed cheaply for a total of 125.

Now after al the teams having played 2 matches each the points table looks like this

1) Australia 6 points (1 win , 1 draw)
2) India 4 points (2 draws)
3) Srilanka 2points ( 1 draw, 1 lost)

Automatic braking system

2008-02-08T08:33:00.000Z

After the Anti-lock braking system (ABS) its time for a new ABS to hit town, that is the Automatic Braking System. Automatic Braking System gives the driver an amazing advantage while driving a vehicle. This system is controlled by a micro controller. The braking is done based on various inputs it receives from different sensors. The main job of the controller is to dictate the braking pressure that is requires to be applied so that the vehicle can be slowed down or stopped at the right instant and a mishap can be avoided.

It is certain that there are many advantages by using the Automatic Braking System. But the question is, IS THE SYSTEM RELIABLE ?????? the whole circuit isbuilt up by electrical and electronic parts, if any one part fails then it will lead to a very dangerous situation like an accident. Where as then motive of launching a Automatic Braking System is to reduce accidents which are cause by Human negligence.

It obviously remains to be a question whether an Automatic Braking System is a right replacement for a manual braking system. I certainly would suggest that the vehicle should be incorporated with both Automatic Braking System and a manual braking system so that even if the Automatic Braking System fails he ll have an option of using manual braking system and can rectify the fault in the Automatic Braking System as soon as he can. I feel it would be wise to use the Automatic Braking System in the presence of a manual braking system so that we ll be able to study the braking system and can understand why the system is failing(if at all it fails!).

Disappointed

2008-02-07T12:53:00.000Z

I was badly looking forward for the India Vs Srilanka cricket match. I wanted to see the maestro in action. More over i was dreaming about the duel between Sachin and Murali two legends of the game but i guess nothing of that sort happened on that day. Rain played its part that day too and the second match was abandoned too. I must admit that i was happy that the first match got abandoned because India had very less chance of defending such a low score. I hope that we ll be able full game of cricket in the next match that is on Friday. I wish our Indian team all the best for their future matches. Pls win the cup guys i badly want u to thrash the Aussies and the Lankans

Money making opportunity - PAYPERPOST

2008-02-07T11:30:00.000Z

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Hi every one I have always made it a point to post about something which will be use full for every body. Today am going to post about some thing that is really interesting and which is something all you are looking for. There are several money making options available these days online. At the drop of the hat you will find sites that allure you with attractive options of making money, some even promising you with sign up bonuses and other attractive offers, and many of them eventually turning out to be pranks. All of us need money for our day to day expenses but you must always ensure that you get your money form reliable sources. When you work for reliable people you can always be certain that you will not be cheated and you get the money what had been promised to you.

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British council Student Fair

2008-02-05T15:00:00.000Z

All you people who are eager to go to UK to pursue your studies there is some good news for you. Education UK is coming up with an exhibition in chennai. The fair is going to take place for two days 12/02/2008 and 13/2/2008. About 58 universities are going to be there in the fair so pls do go and attend. Apart form interacting with the university staff you can also attend the seminar that are held. The fair will be held at Taj Coromandel, Nungambakkam, Chennai.

To get to know about the universities that are coming for the fair pls use the link below

http://www.britishcouncil.org/india-educationuk-events-participating-universities-chennai-feb08.pdf

To get to know about the various seminars that are going to held during the fair please the link below

http://www.britishcouncil.org/india-educationuk-events-seminars-feb08.pdf

For further details regarding the fair pls feel free to log on to the Education UK website or just use the link below

http://www.educationuk.org/pls/hot_bc/bc_calendar.page_pls_events?x=821481053702&y=0&a=0

Hope the details given above have been useful to all of you i ll update the post if i get important details regarding the fair.

Micheal's Championship Years 1994-1995

2008-02-04T16:19:00.000Z

In 1994, Schumacher won his first Drivers' Championship. The season, however, was marred by the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger during the third race of the year, the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola and by allegations of cheating.

Schumacher won six of the first seven races. He had been leading the Spanish Grand Prix till the fifth lap before a gearbox failure left him stuck in fifth gear for 42 laps. Schumacher finished the race in second place, behind Hill. Following the San Marino Grand Prix, the Benetton, Ferrari and McLaren teams were investigated on suspicion of breaking the FIA-imposed ban on electronic aids. Publish PostBenetton and McLaren initially refused to hand over their source code for investigation. When they did so, the FIA discovered hidden functionality in both teams' software, but no evidence that it had been used in a race. Both teams were fined $100,000 for their initial refusal to cooperate. At the British Grand Prix, Schumacher was penalized for overtaking on the formation lap. He then ignored the penalty and the subsequent black flag, which indicates that the driver must immediately return to the pits, for which he was disqualified and later given a two-race ban. Benetton blamed the fiasco on a communication error between the stewards and the team. Schumacher was also disqualified after winning the Belgian Grand Prix after his car was found to have illegal wear on its skidblock, a measure used after the accidents at Imola to limit downforce and hence cornering speed. Benetton protested that the skidblock had been damaged when Schumacher spun over a kerb, but the FIA rejected their appeal.These incidents helped Damon Hill close the points gap. With Schumacher leading by a single point going into the final race in Australia, Schumacher made a mistake and left the track. After rejoining, he collided with Hill and crashed out of the race. Furthermore, the damage to Hill's car from the collision forced him to retire. Thus, he became the first German to win the Formula One World Championship.

In 1995 Schumacher successfully defended his title with Benetton. He now had the same Renault engine as Williams. He accumulated 33 more points than second-placed Damon Hill. With teammate Johnny Herbert, he took Benetton to its first Constructors' Championship and became the youngest two-time world champion in Formula One history.

The season was marred by several collisions with Hill, in particular an overtaking maneuver by Hill took them both out of the British Grand Prix near the start of the race. Schumacher won nine of the 17 races, and finished on the podium 11 times. Only once did he qualify worse than fourth; at the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix, he qualified 16th, but went on to win the race. After Schumacher left Benetton, the team would win only one more race before being bought by Renault in 2000.

Debut of Micheal Schumacher

2008-02-03T12:55:00.000Z

Schumacher made his Formula One debut with the Jordan-Ford team at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix as a replacement for the imprisoned Bertrand Gachot. Schumacher, still a contracted Mercedes driver, was signed by Edie Jordan after Mercedes paid Jordan $150,000 for his debut. The week before the race, Schumacher impressed Jordan designer Gary Anderson and team manager Trevor Foster during a test drive at Silverstone. His manager Willi Weber assured

Jordan

that though Schumacher had only seen the challenging Spa track as a spectator, he knew it well. During the race weekend, teammate Andrea de Cesaris was meant to show Schumacher the circuit but was held up with contract negotiations. Schumacher then learned the track on his own, by cycling around the track on a fold-up bike he had brought with him. He impressed the paddock by qualifying seventh in this race, his first competition in a Formula One car. This matched the team's season-best grid position, and out-qualified 11-year veteran de Cesaris. But Schumacher retired on the first lap of the race with clutch problems.

This is for u ppl!!!!

2008-02-03T12:50:00.000Z

I was wondering wat should i post next thats when something struck me like a lightening. " Micheal Schumacher" yup i know many of you are great fans of Micheal. So here on all of you can see a lot of posts from me on Micheal, the posts will be on all the things that Micheal has achieved during his racing career. My first post is going to be on his debut stay tuned and enjoy!!!!!!!!!

For ur Attention

2008-02-03T10:30:00.000Z

Hi guys all of u must have noticed that my template has changed. I have added some horizontal buttons so that all of you can go through my blog easily now. Please post your comments about the new look of my Blog.

Singapore Circuit Details

2008-02-02T17:49:00.000Z

This a very interesting post my Dear friends... for all formula1 fans here is one news u have been waiting for. The schedule for SINGAPORE NIGHT race has been announced

Friday 26 September 2008
practice 1 13:30 - 15:00
practice 2 17:30 - 19:00

Saturday 27 September 2008
saturday practice 14:30 - 15:30
Qualifying 17:30

Sunday 28 September 2008
Race 17:30

No of laps 61
Circuit length 5.067 km
Race distance 309.087 km

Srilankan Ace Muttiah Muralitharan attacked!!!!!

2008-02-02T13:09:00.000Z

Members of the Sri Lankan camp in Australia for the CB series were the target of verbal abuse and had eggs thrown at them on Thursday night in Hobart. Muttiah Muralitharan and a team selector were part of a group walking from a restaurant to the team hotel and the selector was hit on the back by an egg. As a result, the Sri Lankan board has asked Cricket Australia (CA) to tighten security around the team.

"Muralitharan, along with one of the selectors and the team masseur, were walking on the street in Hobart when suddenly from nowhere a car passed them and the guy starts abusing," a source close to the team confirmed to Cricinfo.

"He then came back a few more times and repeated this and suddenly he started throwing eggs in their direction. One landed on the back of the selector. The team management has lodged a protest with the cops but fortunately nothing untoward happened on the ground."

It is not clear whether Muralitharan was the target of the attack, though Sri Lanka's manager, Sriyan Samararatne, suggested it was unlikely, arguing it was dark and that the car was travelling at too great a speed for recognition.

"I don't know the exact motive. I doubt whether they recognised Murali but unfortunately he was there," Samararatne told. "We told Cricket Australia about it and they were very upset." Samararatne added also that nothing untoward had occurred when Sri Lanka played a Test in Hobart last November.

Muralitharan's presence at the incident is bound to complicate matters. The spinner, who is the world's leading Test wicket-taker, has had a difficult time in Australia in the past. His action was no-balled early in his career, since when crowds have often heckled him at various venues. For a period he decided not to tour Australia, but he returned for Sri Lanka's series last November when the heckling seemed to have eased off.

K Mathivanan, the SLC secretary, said the board had informed CA about the matter and had asked for security for the team to be enhanced. "We have drawn the attention of Cricket Australia to this incident yesterday. They have already given the team security. But we have asked the authorities whether this can be beefed up further,"

Formula1 news

2008-02-02T05:44:00.000Z

Its is always nice to see fierce battles in any form of sport but when it comes to Formula 1 its just awesome to witness fierce competition between the drivers. Now i have some hot news about the same topic for u!!!!

Rivalry is Revived!!!!! McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton set the pace in Spain on Friday as a three-day test session got underway in Barcelona. Hamilton was over half a second quicker than former team mate, Renault’s Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton worked with McLaren tester Gary Paffett, sixth fastest, on Bridgestone tyre evaluation, with the Circuit de Catalunya providing a more high speed and abrasive surface compared to the previous test sessions of late.

It was Paffett’s first run in the new MP4-23, and it was also his first test without driver aids. As a result the Briton spent some time during the day familiarizing himself with the team’s 2008 package and during this process had a couple of minor spins.

Renault had two R28s in action, fresh from the car’s official launch in Paris on Thursday. Alonso ran 61 laps, with team mate Nelson Piquet Jr adding a further 46 after a few disruptions to his session. The Brazilian ended the day seventh fastest.

“Both drivers had reasonable programmes, but to start with the balance of the car was poor so we had to spend the day working on that,” explained Renault’s chief test engineer, Christian Silk. “By the end of the day we had found a reason balance and we were quite happy with the performance of the car. Fernando completed most of his programme, but Nelson had a few delays, so we can hopefully make some more progress in the next couple of days.”

Am sure that Alonso ll be determined to put in a better effort in the next session. I just got to say one thing we are in store for a cracker this season!!!!

But the surprise package of this testing was from the team Force India yup!!!! Giancarlo Fisichella their main driver had a good outing as he finished 4th in the testing and he said “It was a good day today and I think we made a lot of progress,” reported the Italian after 100 laps. “We did some runs to work on set-up and looked at some parts to improve reliability and had no big problems over the day. I felt more comfortable in the car too - we are definitely going in the right direction and the times were pretty good. I'm very happy as we're showing the potential we have now.” This is great news for all formula 1 fans of India. Can we witness a Force India victory this season?? lets wait and watch.

The Last Race of the Emperor - Micheal Schumacher

2008-01-31T13:23:00.000Z

The Legend lives on........... this is very true. Long after the Emperor's retirement he is still remembered and ll still be remembered as one of best formula 1 drivers.

He is a person who created a revolution in the world of Sports and especially in the world of Formula 1.

Micheal's last race was at Sao Polo in Brazil in the year 2006. I would surely rate his last race as one of his best. Even though it was just another day at the office for him, he was at his peak on that particular day. Let me take u through the proceedings of Schumacher's final race day.

Schumacher needs ten full points to get the championship and thats not it, his rival Alonso must not get a point in the race. It certainly was a tough ask. Filipe Massa had clinched the pole position and he had a huge task of helping his team mate on his last race. Alonso just needed 1 point to ensure that he retained championship. Micheal was starting from 10th position in his last race due to a fuel pump failure. Micheal has started 3 times form 10th position in his career. But his best finish from 10th is just a 5th place. One good news is that he has won the race once after starting at 16th in the grid, and in Schumacher's case predictions are of no use cause we should always expect the unexpected from the MASTER.

Race starts its a total of 71 laps and a boom!!!! there is crash in the first lap both the Williams hit each other and the safety car is out. race starts after 3 laps Micheal jumps top 6 th place while Massa sticks to his first position. 61 laps more Micheal over takes Giancarlo Fisichella and there first disaster strikes. As soon as Micheal over takes his left rear tyre gets punctured. Micheal takes a pit stop changes all his tyres, rejoins the race at 20th position.The race continued with no big changes for the next few laps. 47 laps more Massa takes his first pit stop and rejoins the race in 3rd position and Micheal is far behind at 17th place. Alonso is the new race leader followed by Button. All drivers start going to the pit, Micheal climbs to the 13th spot. Massa has a good stop and now he is back in front of the race. Button makes a good pass to overtake Raikkonen, tat was a very close pass.

Half way down the race Micheal Schumacher is at 11 th place an Massa at 1st. Micheal starts accelerating more and he reaches 8th place in no time. Micheal over takes Kubica to get to 7th place by a sweet pass on the inside. Micheal is having a very tough day at office , with his car giving him loads of problems. 29 laps more for the race to end. Micheal comes for his second pit stop when there is just 24 laps remaining and rejoins at 8th spot, Barrichello is in front of him.

Battle between two old team mates Barrichello receives a message from his team " Micheal behind u and ur racing him". but Micheal is speeding away. This one of the one of the best team message i ve ever heard. Micheal overtakes barrichello in th straight section of the 20th lap and waves at him as he passes,wow tat was a wonderful sight. All the drivers start taking their second pit stop.19 more laps to go and Micheal is at number 6. Massa takes his final stop he rejoins at 1st, Alonso is back on 2nd place button is at a close 3rd. Can Ferrari claim the constructors?. 14 laps more Micheal still in 6th can the master pull out something miraculous. Just 8 laps to go Micheal over takes Fisichella to move to 5th place. Now the battle is between Micheal and Kimi. Kimi is going to replace Micheal in Ferrari next year lets see if Micheal can prove his dominance over Kimi in his last race.

6 laps to go there is a crash and the safety car is out, Nick Heifield has crashed due to a suspension failure. Micheal is loosing precious time. Race resumes 5 laps to go Micheal is right behind Kimi ans Massa is enjoying outstanding lead right at the first position.2 laps more, and we see a fantastic move by Micheal. He pulls of a mind blowing pass right on the inside at the straight section to move ahead of Kimi. Both the cars had just a few gap between them they were going wheel to wheel and eventually Kimi gave way for Micheal cause that was the only thing he could do!!

The crowd roars seeing this sight, the Ferrari team mechanics are ecstatic what more can u ask from a person on his last race?? but Micheal is not finished yet. Alonso gets a radio message "I ve got good news and bad news for you, good news is there is only two laps to go and the bad news is Micheal is coming".Micheal goes on to make the fastest lap in his final lap but that was not enough for him to move up in the rankings. Micheal finishes fourth Massa takes his second career victory, Alonso finishes second and comfortably claims the championship for the second consecutive year. Alonso is really happy but sad tat he is leaving his team Renault with he he has won his two titles. Alonso is joining Mclaren Mercedes next year.

This is the final top 5

1 Fileppe Massa
2 Fernando Alonso
3 Jenson Button
4 Micheal Schumacher
5 Kimi Raikkonen

I surely feel Micheal was a very satisfied man at the end of the day and this was arguably the best race of his formula 1 career. He had driven his car in the best possible way he can and with a few mechanical problems he surely did commendable job to finish fourth. I am sure tat his fans ll keep on loving him forever no matter if he is in the sport or not, his 16 year long career ll always be remembered by all.. I salute the master for being such an entertainer and wish him good luck for his future endeavors.

Something thats rarely seen

2008-01-31T09:40:00.000Z

Have u ever seen one person talk good abt another ? tat too in EPL ? No then just scrol down

Cesc Fabregas believes Emmanuel Adebayor has grown into "one of the best strikers in the world" - and admits Arsenal could not "live without him" right now.

Togo's loss in failing to secure qualification for the African Nations Cup has certainly proved the Gunners' gain, as in-form Adebayor took his tally to 19 for the season with a first-half strike in the 3-0 win over Newcastle at Emirates Stadium last night.

It was a result which lifted Arsenal back to the top of the English Premier League over Manchester United, who host Portsmouth on Wednesday, and ensured there would be no hangover from last week's Carling Cup semi-final defeat to arch-rivals Tottenham.

Adebayor, 23, has now netted an impressive nine goals in his last seven appearances, scoring the opener in three successive league games.

Manager Arsene Wenger hailed the 6ft 4in African as a "dream striker", who continues to go from "strength to strength".

Midfielder Fabregas believes there are few around to match him, as understandably comparisons with the likes of Chelsea's Ivory Coast frontman Didier Drogba begin to be drawn.

"Emmanuel is one of the best in the world, without any doubt," Fabregas declared.

"You can not fault him in any way. He works, he defends, he chases the centre-backs, he goes behind, he can play to feet, he has a good first touch and a good technique.

"He has improved amazingly and for us I don't think we could live without Adebayor right now."

Adebayor - signed from Monaco during January 2006 - is certainly repaying the faith shown in him by Wenger following the summer sale of talisman Thierry Henry to Barcelona, and on current form he looks set to smash the 30-goal barrier sooner rather than later.

Fabregas is glad to see how quickly his team-mate has become the "idol of the club".

"You have to have the capacity to learn, to be patient. He was when Thierry was here. Now he has the chance and he has taken it," said the midfielder.

"That's what a big player does. Sometimes players they have the chance and they don't take it. He took it, he is playing very well, is improving every day and now he is the idol of the club."

Fabregas was also on the scoresheet on Tuesday night, netting Arsenal's third with 10 minutes left.

His midfielder partner Mathieu Flamini capped another impressive display with a stunning 25-yard effort.

Flamini, who almost left the club in the summer, has been a revelation this season, and is in talks about extending his contract, which runs out at the end of the campaign.

Fabregas hopes the 23-year-old Frenchman will remain part of an exciting young side.

"Mathieu has been amazing all season," said Fabregas. "He is hyperactive, on the pitch, outside the pitch.

"He has so much passion for the game. He enjoys it and he hates losing.

"I don't know how he does it but he has so much power. With his encouragement we play better."

Fabregas added: "He is a very big player for us and has improved a lot.

"Mathieu has stepped up this year as have Adebayor and Gael (Clichy) and all these kind of players. We need them so badly."

Info on IELTS exam

2008-01-31T06:05:00.000Z

Hi friends i just took up my IELTS exam for pursuing my higher studies in UK. Though i had prepared fro a very less time i managed to get score of 7 out of 9, which i guess is a descent score. There very important things u have to keep in mind while preparing for any test like IELTS or others (TOEFL , GRE). You ve practice constantly, even a small break ll tamper ur progress and ur results. I had prepared alone for my exam and i didn't go for any class too, this had its own plus and minus. When u go to a coaching class they ll start from scratch and u ll get to know about lots of shortcuts and they ll give u lot of tips about the exams. These info are very helpful during the exam. But i feel u should be attend classes for IELTS only if ur English is poor, if u have good materials and few friends who can work together with u in doing few speaking exercises then ur sure to get a good score.

Th first thing i did after i decided to take up my IELTS was to get a membership from British Council. You get lot of books on IElTS published by Cambridge and Oxford all these books are really good ones. The best thing is that each book has a planner which helps u to frame a schedule and this ll help u in knowing wen ur ready to take up the final exam. This is not it u exclusive books called IELTS PRACTICE BOOK 1-6. Please work out all these books to ensure that u get high marks. The reason i am asking u to work out all the 6 books is because there are lot of ways in which questions ll be asked in ur exam, so if u practice all these u can be sure that all questions ll be of a known format to u.

Apart form British Council i got loads of materials from online by visiting various communities one link i found very useful is this.

http://www.urch.com/forums/ielts/74849-i-hav-all-ielts-material.html

Do check it out cause as its name says it has most of the materials u need to prepare for ur IELTS exam. You ca also visit the IELTS community in Orkut from where u can get more links. Pls feel free to contact me if u have any queries , i ll be more than happy to help u. I ll keep posting more details abt IELTS in my blog so keep peeping frequently.

Adios...

Right Attitude towards Relationships and Life

2008-01-29T13:04:00.000Z

Many of us ve no clue wat life is all about, even i didn't ve a clear idea until a few years back. I realized that having the right attitude is really important in any relationship and most importantly in life too. It is a know fact that a life or a relationship can never be explained easily with words but let me share my realization with u.

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be, your neighbor, your coworker, a long lost friend, or a complete stranger. When you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.

Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved,straight, flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen.

Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.........

Inspiration begins with-in.. Inspiration begins within!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets. Most importantly if you Love someone tell him or her, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.

Learn a lesson in life each day that you live. That's the story of Life.

ICC withdraws Harbajan's racist charge

2008-01-29T12:44:00.000Z

Three weeks after the controversy erupted, the racism charge against Harbhajan Singh was found to be not proven by Justice John Hansen, hearing the appeal, on Tuesday. Harbhajan was instead charged with a Level 2.8 offence - abuse and insult not amounting to racism - to which he pleaded guilty and was fined 50 per cent of his match fees.

With this, the cloud over the immediate future of the Indian tour lifted; the Indian team, which had gathered in Adelaide in a show of support instead of proceeding to Melbourne for Friday's Twenty20 match, has now decided to continue with the original arrangements.

Harbhajan had been found guilty of racist abuse of Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test in early January and handed a three-Test ban by match referee Mike Procter. The charge was leveled by the on-field umpires, Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson, on a complaint from Ricky Ponting, Australia's captain that Harbhajan had called Symonds a monkey.

During the hearing, oral evidence was called for from all the witnesses to the exchange between Harbhajan and Andrew Symonds - Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and Sachin Tendulkar. The witnesses were then cross-examined by Brian Ward, counsel representing the Australians, and VR Manohar, representing Harbhajan.

Justice Hansen said he was convinced that, on all the evidence submitted before him, the charge of a Level 3.3 offence was not proven but that Harbhajan should be charged with a Level 2.8 offence. Harbhajan pleaded guilty to this charge, after which the fine was imposed on him. Hansen is scheduled to provide the full reasons for delivering his judgment on Wednesday evening.

After the hearing the two teams issued a joint statement emphasizing the need to move on and focus on the cricket. Harbhajan and Symonds said they had resolved the issue between them in Sydney and now intend to move on. They have said they intend to make no further comment on the issue and get on with the game of cricket, which is the most important issue for each of them. The two captains also expressed their satisfaction with the outcome.

Cricket Australia's spokesman Peter Young said both the Indian board and Cricket Australia were happy with the decision. Sharad Pawar, president of the Indian board, said the verdict vindicated the BCCI's stand. BCCI was consistently taking only one stand that it was practically impossible for us to accept the racist charges against any Indian player.

Adam Gilchrist retires...... We will miss you buddy...

2008-01-27T16:01:00.000Z

Adam Gilchrist has given more outright joy to followers of the game than any cricketer since Sir Garfield Sobers. He will be missed as a cricketing force, as a contributor and as an entertainer. Though guarding the stumps was his primary duty, a role he carried out with an athleticism and skill that spoke of substantial skill and unfailing stamina. It was no easy task to replace as superb a glove man as Ian Healy, into whose hands the ball nestled like a bird in a nest. Gilchrist met the challenge with aplomb, not so much ignoring the hisses that greeted him as turning them into cheers by sheer weight of performance and freshness of character.

Standing back to fast bowlers, he was superb. Even now, in this sudden, dismaying and inevitable hour, it is possible to remember him flying through the air to take glides down the leg side, glove outstretched, landing with a thump and emerging with the ball with the sort of pleasure detected in a child who has found a plum. At these times he transformed innocent glances into remarkable snares.

Doubtless it helped that he is a left-hander but then his work in the other direction was not much worse. He was a capable, as opposed to gifted wicketkeeper.

Standing over the stumps to spinners, Gilchrist was reliable. Over the years Shane Warne had less reason than he imagined to regret Healy's departure. Until the last few rugged months, Gilchrist did not miss much. Often he'd wear a helmet to counter the Victorian's prodigious spin, and his work behind the pads was admirable. He holds the world record for Test victims. He must have done something right.

But it is in his secondary responsibility as a batsman that Gilchrist will be remembered longest and cherished most. Simply, he changed the role of the wicketkeeper, changed the way batting orders were constructed. Previously keepers had been little, cheeky fellows built along the lines of jockeys who advanced their tallies with with idiosyncratic strokes sent into improbable places. By and large they did not alter the course of an innings. Gilchrist was having none of that. Instead he became two cricketers, a dashing and dangerous batsman and a polished glove man. Throughout his career Australia has been playing with 12 men.

Others may reflect upon his thrilling innings at the top of the order in fifty-over cricket, not least the dazzling hundred in the last World Cup final. But then, he attacked because he must. In Test cricket he attacked because he could. He refused to be bogged down by bowling or inhibited by pressure, and did not allow a frown to cross his brow except when an injustice has been observed or an uncharitable remark had upset him, and then he spoke his mind with the same directness that marked his batting.

Gilchrist was a magnificent willow-wielder. Released from worry by his work behind the sticks, he was able to express his temperament at the crease. Fortunately he had the range of strokes needed to meet the occasion: the swing of a swordsman, an ability to assess the length of the ball in an instant, plenty of power, and a wide range of strokes off both feet. Always he looked for opportunities to score, giving ground to defence only when every alternative had been removed. It took fierce reverse-swing or probing spin offered early in the innings to unsettle him. Otherwise he was not easily troubled let alone dismissed.

Above all, Gilchrist was a sportsman. Nothing held against him would have raised a murmur from someone else. Cricket will miss his smile and sense of fun and also his panache with the bat. Australians will miss the sight of him walking through the gate when the team was in trouble or else when quick runs were required. Everyone will remember the dynamic hundred struck in Perth against England.

Every significant passing produces a hundred memories. Gilchrist's also brings forth a hundred smiles. He has been a mighty cricketer who did his best to serve the side, entertain spectators and improve the way the game was played. The amazing thing is not that he occasionally faltered. The amazing thing is that he so often succeeded.

Novak triumphs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-27T15:56:00.000Z

Novak Djokovic withstood the expected barrage from upstart Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first set, and then rallied to win the Australian Open for his first Grand Slam title. Djokovic fended off the Muhammad Ali lookalike 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the final on Sunday night,

Djokovic had not lost a set in six matches leading into the final, including his semifinal win over two-time defending champion Federer.

But with unseeded Tsonga coming out swinging like he did in his straight-sets upset over No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals and three other top 14 players, that streak came to a sudden end.

The third-ranked Djokovic rebounded in the second and third sets, and after saving a crucial breakpoint in the fourth, dominated the tiebreaker to clinch his first major at his 13th attempt.

"You feel the expectations and pressure, so I'm very happy with the way I dealt with the pressure," Djokovic said. "Coming on against a player with nothing to lose — he was going for the shots and he was very dangerous, especially in the first set — I was pretty nervous."

The 20-year-old Djokovic was the youngest player since Stefan Edberg defeated Mats Wilander in 1985 to win the Australian title and the first man from Serbia to win a major.

Tsonga, who had been so aggressive earlier in the tournament, seemed more content to rally from the baseline, especially after getting passed several times.

"He was very dangerous," Djokovic said. "I was aware of that fact, but I was trying to stay with him because I knew sooner or later, with my style of game, I could get in control of the match, which I did in the middle of the second set."

Wanting to finish it off quickly, he raced through the tiebreaker — with some help from Tsonga, who double-faulted to make it 5-1 and then sent a running forehand long to give Djokovic four championship points.

He only needed one as Tsonga hit a forehand wide.

Djokovic fell on his back, then got up to shake hands with Tsonga and put his arm around the Frenchman. He got on his knees and kissed the court, shook hands with his family, then tossed two rackets into the stands before burying his face in a towel.

"First, before I thank everybody in this world, I want to thank everybody in my box, who've supported me all the way through, not just these two weeks, all the way in my life," Djokovic said. "Thank you very much, I love you."

"I know the crowd wanted him to win more," Djokovic said. "That's OK, it's all right. I still love you guys, don't worry. I'm very, very happy that I won my first Grand Slam here, so hopefully we'll see you here on this stage a lot more often in the future."

Tsonga said he was proud of himself.

"I don't know if I have to be sad or happy of this final, but I feel great," Tsonga said. "I'm happy for Novak, because he played unbelievable today."

It was a fitting final for the Australian open and a delight to every ones eyes hope all of u enjoyed the game as I did.

The True story -The trail of Harbajan Singh

2008-01-26T07:46:00.000Z

Mike Procter, the match referee who found Harbhajan Singh guilty of calling Andrew Symonds a "monkey" during the Sydney Test, relied on the evidence of three Australian players in reaching his decision, it has been revealed. Harbhajan was banned for three Tests for that offence but the sentence was suspended following an appeal, by the Indian team, which will be heard next week.

In a leaked copy of his report on the hearing, Procter says: "I have heard evidence from Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden that he did say these words. Harbhajan Singh denies saying these words. Both umpires did not hear nor did Ricky Ponting or Sachin Tendulkar. I am satisfied and sure beyond reasonable doubt that Harbhajan Singh did say these words.

"I am satisfied that the words were said and that the complaint to the umpires, which forms this charge, would not have been put forward falsely, I dismiss any suggestion of motive or malice."

Procter's decision came late into the night of January 6, after Australia won a Test match that was mired in controversy and ended amid inflamed passions among players and public. The race issue apart, there were several contentious umpiring decisions, largely going against India, and visible tensions between the teams. The verdict itself created almost as much controversy as the incident; it was welcomed and criticised along national lines, the neutrals preferring to wait and see how Procter reached his decision, and these revelations are likely to stir up emotions again..

Among those present at the hearing was Sachin Tendulkar, the other Indian batsman at the crease, but Procter indicates he would not have been within earshot of the incident. "It was submitted to me by Chetan Chauhan [the Indian team manager] that there was doubt because the umpires and other players did not hear the words but, in my judgment, they would not have been in a position to hear them," Procter says. "I note that Sachin Tendulkar only became involved when he realised that something was happening and was gestured over. He tried to calm things down because something had happened that he did not hear."

The second issue he had to consider; Procter said, was whether Harbhajan used the words with the intention of insulting or offending him. "I am sure beyond reasonable doubt that the use of the word "monkey" or "big monkey" was said to insult or offend Andrew Symonds on the basis of his race, colour or ethnic origin."

While asserting that whatever may have been said between them prior to the exchange in question was irrelevant, Procter acknowledges there was a "history" between the two dating back to the one-day international in Mumbai late last year.

"It is not relevant to my findings here to decide what happened in Mumbai. Nevertheless there was trouble in Mumbai when members of the crowd were arrested for using the word "monkey" and gesturing towards Andrew Symonds. This caused both Indian and Australian boards to issue a joint-statement. To this extent Mumbai is relevant to this hearing."

The spat between Harbhajan and Symonds took place on the third day of the second Test in Sydney, when India were batting. Symonds later revealed he approached Harbhajan after the Indian offspinner had tapped Brett Lee on the back with his bat.

"I was standing nearby and when I saw what happened, I thought, 'Hold on, that's not on'," Symonds told the Herald Sun: "I'm a firm believer in sticking up for your team-mate so I stepped in and had a bit of a crack at Harbhajan, telling him exactly what I thought of his antics. He then had a shot back, which brings us to the situation we're facing."

Tendulkar and the umpires - Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor - intervened to defuse the situation, Benson covering his mouth while talking to Harbhajan to avoid lip-reading television viewers. The umpires reported Harbhajan to Procter after receiving a complaint from Australia's captain Ricky Ponting, who was abiding by the ICC directives concerning racism.

Following India's appeal the ICC appointed New Zealand judge John Hansen to chair the hearing, which is slated to be held on January 29 and 30 in Adelaide.

Rusian beauty Wins........

2008-01-26T07:10:00.000Z

Maria Sharapova's acceptance speech was as polished as her game at the Australian Open. A year after being on the wrong end of one of the most-lopsided losses in a Grand Slam final, Sharapova wrapped up her third major title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over fourth-seeded Ana Ivanovic.

The Russian lost out to Serena Williams in the final 12 months previously, the fifth seed produced a powerful performance to see off a spirited Ivanovic in straight sets and take the season's opening grand slam title.

After Ivanovic sprayed a forehand wide on match point, Sharapova dropped to her knees and appeared to be fighting back tears as she waved and blew kisses to the crowd.

Then she dropped her racket in her chair before heading to shake hands and exchange high-fives with her father and supporters.

She clasped her hands and swayed as she stood, waiting to receive the Daphne Akhurst Trophy, then told the Rod Laver Arena crowd that she'd received a text message from tennis great Billie Jean King telling her that 'Champions take chances and pressure is a privilege. "I took mine,"

It’s surely nice to see the young Russian winning a grand slam again … congratulations’ champion..

FedEX Derailed!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-26T06:50:00.001Z

Serbian young gun Novak Djokovic ended defending champion Roger Federer's record run of 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals to power into the Australian Open decider on Friday.

Third-seeded Djokovic confirmed his status as Federer's heir apparent with a tense 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) win in two hours 28 minutes to set up an intriguing final on Sunday against unseeded French sensation Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.

The young Serb was speechless at first but later Djokovic said “It's amazing, an indescribable feeling to beat the number one player of the world, probably one of the best players this sport has ever had, in straight sets, I'm just so amazed at how well I coped with the pressure, in the most important moments I played my best tennis."

The Swiss champ didn’t know what had happened he could only say that "He made the more important points today. It was a bit unfortunate for me, but he did play well and served really well when he had to,"

Federer came under increasing pressure in the second set and went down a break in the fourth game when Djokovic came up with a super running backhand to pick up a sliced volley for a winner. Djokovic pumped his chest in triumph on snaring the point and the break.

The Swiss again fell behind two break points in his next service game and Djokovic claimed it with a cracking forehand on the line to lead 5-1. But Federer broke back with a floating backhand return on his third break point.

Djokovic was put under pressure as he attempted to serve out for the second set and won a tense service game with an ace.

He fought his way out of three break points in his opening service game of the final set and put Federer under renewed pressure with four break points in the third but the Swiss grimly held on.

The third set went into a tiebreaker and despite falling behind a mini-break, the Serb clinched it on his first match point for a career-defining victory.

He celebrated his victory in style by ripping his shirt off any waving to the crowds anyone who saw the game will surely accept the fact that the Serb deserved to win. Hats off to u mate!

Results

2008-01-23T18:42:00.000Z

Hi ppl my IElTS results have come i ve got an overall band score of 7 out of 9. Its a pretty decent score. My with subdivisions are as follows

Listening 7.5

Reading 7

Writing 6.5

Speaking 7

The Universities requirement is 6.5 so i am eligible to apply for univs... :-)

Inspired India end Australia's streak

2008-01-20T10:01:00.001Z

No overseas team, barring legendary Caribbean sides, had won in Perth since 1985-86, and given what transpired in Sydney a fortnight ago, India's convincing 72-run victory at the WACA will surely go down as their finest Test win. An entertaining ninth-wicket partnership between Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark gave a 16,000-strong crowd plenty of merriment, but it proved to have only nuisance value as India ended Australia's stunning 16-match streak.

Michael Clarke had been the boy on the burning deck, but with Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist back in the pavilion, the good ship was always destined for the ocean floor. And when Clarke gave Anil Kumble the charge and was beaten in the flight, it was as good as over. His 81 had spanned just 134 balls and included some majestic drives, but when he departed, he took any lingering Australian hope with him.

Johnson and Clark thought differently though. They weren't about to die wondering, and a partnership that contained more agricultural mows than a harvest season gave Kumble and the Indians more than a bit of grief. The 73-run stand at nearly a run a ball had everything - fours, huge sixes, miscued hooks falling short of fielders and even Johnson being bowled off a no-ball.

Kumble took the new ball as soon as it was due and Irfan Pathan struck with the final ball of his second over with it, inducing a big swish from Clark that flew to Dhoni behind the stumps. But there was still time for Johnson to bring up his 50 and Shaun Tait to show off his space-age pads before RP Singh sneaked one through a defensive prod to spark joyous celebrations.

A couple of contentious decisions helped them along the way. At lunch, with Australia three down, the match was still finely poised. But soon after the interval, RP jagged one back a little to strike Hussey on the knee roll. As he had with Sachin Tendulkar on the opening day, Asad Rauf chose to disregard the height and give the batsman out. Hussey had made 46, and his exit dimmed hopes of glory.

Worse was to follow for Australia. Symonds biffed Kumble for a six over long-on, but was then caught on the crease by a delivery that hurried through at 102kph. To the naked eye, it was plumb, and Billy Bowden's finger was already on the way up by the time a dismayed Symonds suggested an inside edge. Having drunk from a reservoir of luck in Sydney, Symonds found the well bone-dry across the continent in Perth.

Through it all, Clarke played with the mastery that marked his debut in Bangalore in 2004. There were a couple of beautiful straight-drives, and elegant strokes through the covers that left the fielders standing. He was just as assured clipping off the pads, and with Gilchrist showing signs of finding his feet, the 50 partnership came up in 10.4 overs.

By that stage, with Ishant Sharma not replicating his morning heroics and Pathan not quite finding his rhythm, Kumble had gambled on the offspin of Virender Sehwag. It was an inspired move. Gilchrist tried to sweep one that was too full and was bowled behind his legs, prompting frenzied celebrations from the Indians. And when Brett Lee followed in Sehwag's next over, the game was as good as up.

It had been much tighter in the morning, even though a sensational spell of seam bowling from Ishant put Ponting through the wringer for an hour before dismissing him. Both Ponting and Hussey struggled for any semblance of fluency as the Indians toiled with little reward on a slightly cooler morning.

Ishant had Ponting sparring outside off stump innumerable times, and induced more than one false shot in a spell where his rhythm was exceptional. Starting with an edge off Hussey that didn't quite carry to second slip, he tested both batsmen with lively pace and steep bounce while maintaining great seam position. His height was the most significant factor, with even length deliveries causing problems. Ponting took one on the knuckles, and was never at ease all morning.

There were two excellent appeals for leg before turned down, the second when Ponting didn't even offer a stroke, but justice was done 20 minutes before lunch when Ishant drew him into a stroke that took the edge through to Rahul Dravid at first slip. Ponting and Hussey had added 74, giving a platform for the rest to tilt at what remained an imposing windmill.

The figures may not show it, but Ishant's nine-over spell was as good as any seen from a visiting bowler in Perth over the past decade. It pushed Australia right back on to the ropes and after lunch, his bowling mates landed the knockout blows that levelled the best team in the world.

Chennai open Result

2008-01-06T17:54:00.000Z

Mikhail Youzhny won this years edition of Chennai open in a rather convincing manner. He defeated the world No.2 easily for a score line of 6-0, 6-1. The total game just lasted for 48 minutes. The world number 2 was clearly tired after his previous days classic match against Moya. Surely Nadals fans were disappointed because they were not able see a evenly contested final.
Lets wish both of them the best for the Australian Open.

A classic match

2008-01-05T18:19:00.000Z

It was a treat to the eyes for everybody who watched the semi final clash between Nadal and Moya. It was an outstanding performance by both the players. Moya started off really well by winning the first set 6-7. But the crowd was behind the youngster, who shot bak and took the second set in an exciting tie breaker. He won the second set 7-6. later carried his form to the final set which also was to be decided by a tie breaker. by this time the match has passed the previous record of the longest match tat has been played at the Chennai open. The final score line was 6-7,7-6,7-6. Nadal was received by loud cheers of the crowd and both the players were given a standing ovation for their game. Nadal now faces Mikhail Youzhny in the finals.

Chennai Open

2007-12-30T09:53:00.000Z

Chennai is all set to sizzle with the start chennai open. Big names form the world of tennis ve already landed here. Am already phoning my friends for arranging tickets to watch the match. my bet is on Nadal to win the ATP event. Lets c wats in store join in and have fun guys. I wish the players all the best. come on lets ve some exciting tennis !!!!!

India start australia series on the right note

2007-12-26T09:52:00.000Z

India were the last team to seriously threaten Australia in Tests at home and it took only one day in Melbourne for Anil Kumble to reignite the spark. Kumble was the architect and builder of the Indian challenge, grabbing 5 for 84 and denying Matthew Hayden a satisfactory party after he scored his sixth century in Boxing Day Tests.

At the close Australia were 9 for 337 with Mitchell Johnson on 10 and Stuart Clark on 21. While Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist remained at the crease Australia were still hoping for a recovery and a hefty first-innings score but Kumble ended both of their stays in the final session before the lower order fell away in unusually quick fashion.

Gilchrist top-edged an attempted slog over long-on and was caught at point for 19, soon after Symonds (35) had pulled hard to midwicket. Kumble continued to leave a trail of destruction when Brett Lee was lbw pushing forward to a straighter delivery for 0 before Brad Hogg edged Zaheer Khan to slip for 17. The strikes meant a highly productive day for India, who proved a much harder unit to rattle than Australia's most recent Test guests, Sri Lanka and England.

It was also an impressive recovery after Australia went to lunch at 0 for 111 having chosen to bat, but India's fortunes turned with Kumble's wrong'un. He removed the in-form Phil Jaques and Michael Hussey during a seven-over period in which Australia lost 3 for 30 soon after the first break and only Hayden's determination saved the hosts from more disappointment.

Hayden clearly had a point to prove. It was a less dominant display than many of his hundreds as he fought to again pull his weight after being the only one of Australia's top seven not to register a half-century in last month's Sri Lanka series. He reached triple figures from 126 balls with a well-timed four driven wide of mid-off from RP Singh and enjoyed the moment with an energetic wind-up to swing his bat and propel his bulky frame in a jump for joy.

A few of his runs came from trademark Hayden bludgeoning and walking at the bowler, although more often he relied on timing and placement, and a superbly-judged on-drive for four off Zaheer was a highlight. But Hayden appeared to tire after reaching triple-figures from 126 balls and nudged his way to 124 from 183 before clipping Zaheer to Rahul Dravid at mid-on.

He had already lost his steady partner Michael Clarke, who was unusually watchful in posting 20 from 60 deliveries as he tried to decide how to handle the challenge. The correct answer was probably not to try a jammed square drive with little foot movement to a wide half-volley from RP Singh, but Clarke attempted the shot and edged to second slip where VVS Laxman clutched a sharp chance.

It was the second breakthrough India's left-arm fast bowlers had manufactured by coming around the wicket, after Zaheer added Ricky Ponting (4) to the post-lunch list of victims. Zaheer delievered from wide of the crease and pitched it on off; Ponting played for the angle but the ball straightened and collected the top of off stump.

Zaheer's success was sandwiched between the initial Kumble double-strike that brought India back into the contest. Kumble almost singlehandedly promised the crowd of nearly 70,000 a more competitive series than last year's Ashes, which was played to packed houses around Australia. Kumble had Michael Hussey lbw for 2, struck on the back pad by a wrong'un, and Jaques also fell to the googly. He failed to pick the spin while trying to push back past the bowler and was stumped after slipping as he tried to regain his ground.

Jaques could hardly have guessed that his dismissal would spark such a comeback from India after he and Hayden posted a solid 135-run opening stand. The pair survived several plays and misses and streaky edges against the left-armers following Ponting's decision to bat, but after those wobbles they appeared to be cruising. They scored at a decent pace as Jaques took 108 balls for his 66 and confidently swept a pair of boundaries against Harbhajan Singh, who was nowhere near as threatening as Kumble.

Hayden and Jaques initially tried to deprive India of a positive Boxing Day experience as Hayden wanted to keep that honour for himself - he has now made a century in every Boxing Day Test since 2001-02 except against Pakistan three seasons ago. By the end of the day it was India who were having a more festive season.

Aus VS india biger than Ashes!!!!

2007-12-16T13:38:00.000Z

Fast bowler Brett Lee says Australia's upcoming Test tour of India will be an "unofficial world championship" marked by a rivalry which now overshadows that over the Ashes.

"The Ashes (between Australia and England) has tradition and history, but India have been playing well for the past two years. They are perhaps closest to us," Lee told reporters during a private visit to Kolkata.

"In this context, the India series can be rated as the unofficial world championship. We have grown up watching the Ashes on TV sets, but this series is going to be bigger."

Australia is scheduled to play four Test matches in India in October.

Lee, who missed Australia's last tour of India in 2001 due to an injury, said he was keen to give a good performance this time but warned that his side faced a huge task to beat India at home.

"Playing in India is a huge challenge and requires a lot of grit," said the Australian, who has so far grabbed 139 wickets in 37 Tests.

"I have never been able to tour India for a Test series and hope it will be different this October. I plan to play the full series this time and give a good show," said Lee.

It would be possible, he added, to beat India at home despite the hosts having a strong batting line-up.

"It is possible to beat India in India. The Australians set a certain benchmark and Ricky Ponting, like Sourav Ganguly likes to lead from the front," he said.

"It will not be easy because India have six (of the) top batsmen in the world. The pitches will be flat and help spinners, but the victory in Sri Lanka was an enormous boost and everyone is eager to come and play in India."

Ponting led Australia to a 3-0 sweep in Sri Lanka in March in his first Test series as captain. Lee was absent with an injury.

"India are a very talented and exciting side under Ganguly and they have given us really good competition," Lee said.

HI ppl

2007-12-12T14:36:00.000Z

Hey guys i booked my test date tdy. Yup i am taking up IELTS on 10th jan 08. I wish to pursue my masters in Automobile in th UK. Hoping to do my exams well. if any of u ppl are taking up the same exams pls let me know so that we can share materials.

Scholarship Exam

2007-12-11T14:26:00.000Z

Hey boys and girls if any of you guys are interested in design be it Mechanical, Architectural, Civil. Cadd center is conducting a scholarship exam this month. The dates of these exams are 15th 16th 22nd and 23rd of this month. The exam is pretty easy so take it up and learn the design software u want at a cheaper price.

New coach

2007-12-10T13:59:00.000Z

South African Gary Kirsten has been appointed as the new coach of the Indian cricket team. After interviewing many applicants the selection panel have zeroed on Gary for the top job. He ll be joining the team from March 08. But he ll be with the Indian squad during the third and fourth test in Australia. He has said he has to complete personal commitments before he takes up the job.. I wish him all the very best...

Sreesanth Doubtful for aus series

2007-12-06T14:41:00.000Z

Indian pace bowler sreesanth is doubtful for the Australian test series due to an injury he picked up in the last match he played. Many had been looking forward for him in action against Aussies in their home turf. Guess that action will ot be there and there l not be any war of words between Symonds and Sreesanth as well. I know many of You ll be disappointed hearing this news, but lets hope he ll be fit enough to play the one day series.

India Clinch Series

2007-12-06T13:53:00.000Z

A win at the right time is always a welcome thats wat that can be said about the victory of India in both the test and One days series against arch rivals pakistan. India managed to win comprehensively in both forms of the game proving to the rivals that they cannot win against them in test and one day matches too... This win will be a morale booster before the much awaited Australia series

No match for INDIA in T20

2007-11-22T13:46:00.000Z

Gautam Gambhir's blazing knock of 63 helped India crush Australia by seven wickets in the one-off Twenty20 international at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.

Gambhir smashed six boundaries and a six in his 52-ball knock as India coasted to the victory target of 167, with 11 balls to spare.

India lost an early wicket in the form of Virender Sehwag for 5, but Gambhir and Robin Uthappa (35) entertained the crowd with delightful strokeplay. The youngsters put on a quick 82-run partnership to put India on course to victory.

Yuvraj Singh finished unbeaten on 35, inclusive of three sixes, while captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit a huge six to score the winning runs.

Earlier, Ricky Ponting mashed 76 off 53 deliveries to guide Australia to a healthy 166 for 5 in their 20 overs.

Harbhajan Singh was instrumental in restricting the Australians in the middle over, as he took one wicket for 17 runs in his four.

Murali Kartik, making his Twenty20 debut, also impressed giving away 27 runs in his four overs.

India are the reigning Twenty20 World champions, having won the inaugural tournament in South Africa last month.

This is the first every Twenty20 international on Indian soil.

Smoke all the way

2007-11-20T15:53:00.000Z

Smoking has become a common sight now a days.. any time u can see boys n girls smoking in the streets or any coffee shop. In the last 2 - 3 years there has been a considerable increase in the number of people who smoke and the best part is most of them are educated and are well aware of the consequences of smoking. After the boom of IT youngsters have started to rely a lot on cigarette's to relieve their stress but actually they are affecting themselves more.. an important fact failed to be realized.

People who smoke can also be called as blind cause they never read the warning. The companies have been asked to print it big so tat seeing that at least some quit the habit but nothing of that sort has happened :-). Many NGO's are carrying out workshops and awareness programs so that people don't become a prey to a disease like CANCER!!! but their rate of success is minimal.

Latest to the addition of warnings is the governments order of printing photographs of people who are affected by CANCER but believe me i had a chance of seeing on of the photos and i immediately felt like puking!!!! man i cant imagine how any person who is not blind go and buy a cigarette knowing that some thing of that sort is on the pack, and how is a person going to sell this kind of stuff knowing that customer might just look like the one in the photograph if he continues smoking. But am not sure whether this is going to create any impact on our INDIAN brothers and sisters who are thick skinned.

This is not the first time a country is putting visual warnings on cigarette packet. Countries like CANADA are already practicing this and have attained good results.

Hope people realize that there is no pleasure in smoking and its nothing but a filthy stick reducing your lifespan. Quit it and live a happy life.

cheers..!!!

A visit to the hills of Kodai.....

2007-11-15T13:16:00.000Z

When ever me and my friends go on a trip we make sure we have a gr8 time. It was no different this time wen we went to KODAIKANAL. i was a surprise guest in this trip. I was doing an Internship because of which i had opted out of the trip, i went to the station to sent them off and wished them bon voyage. The next i went to the company as usual i gave my final report the same day and it got approved. I left the company quickly went and booked my ticket to kodaikanal for an night bus. All this while my friends had no clue of wat i was upto. I reached there the next morning. I had been keeping track of wat they were upto and where they were going. They were at the lake (which is a beautiful one) i called them and said i had come and they didn't believe me cause they thought i was playing a prank.. :-) I went straight at them and caught them by surprise. That was it celebrations started that instant. Wat ever happened aftr that ve to be censored...!!!!

But one thing we had one of our best times out there. i know most of u guys would ve experienced something like this in ur own life, if not pls do !!!!

Our banglore trip

2007-11-14T12:59:00.000Z

This is one trip that ll always be close to my heart. It was in our second yr of college me and my friends went to banglore to celebrate the new yr(2006). It was awesome fun. With nobody to watch over us , we were enjoying to the core. We used to be wandering here and there in our friends car till late nite and sleep the whole morning of the subsequent day. On 31st nite we were at Mg road celebrating the new yr with loads of other ppl whom we didn't even know. Certain things cannot be explained with words and this feeling of mine is like that too. It is beyond expression. !!!

Champions

2007-11-07T13:51:00.001Z

India clinched the inaugural Twenty20 cricket World Cup after a thrilling five-run victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the final in Johannesburg on Monday.

In a match that saw fortunes fluctuate till the dying moments, the young Indian team scored 157 for five and then held its nerve to dismiss Pakistan for 152 with just three balls to spare.

It was India's first major triumph since winning the 60 overs-a-side World Cup in 1983.

It was an incredible display by the Indians who relied on superb team work to not only maintain their all-win record against their bitter foes in World Cup matches but also complete a series of giant-killing acts in the blaze glory.

The stunning victory not only added a glorious chapter to India's cricketing history but also made amends for the team's inglorious exit from the ODI World Cup in the West Indies six months ago.

The large flag-waving gathering of Indians at the Wanderers burst into celebration when S Sreesanth caught the dangerous Misbah-ul Haq off Joginder Sharma to bring an end to Pakistan's challenge.

The contest seemed to go out of India's hands in the 17th over when Misbah clobbered Harbhajan Singh for three sixes, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni's band of young warriors roared back in great style to come out trumps and claim the winners' purse of US $49,000.

Reservation

2007-11-05T14:44:00.000Z

For long all the political parties that has come to power has used reservations as a medium to sustain their vote bank. they always proclaim of doing this and tat and manage to succeed in the polls. I sternly believe all these reservation and promises given by these people in power are just to please the people who are capable of turning the picture during the elections.

The start of cast ism i would call is way back after the independence when the reservations actually started or thought of by these politicians.. they had given these reservations bases on the census of 1931.

Last year when the students of IIT Delhi university AIMS started stagging demonstration & protest against reservation the supreme court had asked the government to hand over a copy of the census with which they provide reservation and our most perfect govt provided the court what they wanted, u have any clue which years census the govt gave to the supreme court? 1931 yup the same one tat i ve mentioned earlier this clearly depicts how ignorant our govt is and how bad their functioning is.

For long experts have asked the govt to drop the cast based reservations and have reservation based on economic background, the help must be rendered to the needy & not for one who is well capable of backing up himself without anyones help. This does not mean that people at higher level must not be helped but it is just that all these must not be done at the cost of poor they must not be the sufferer in the end.

Thanks to our country proceeding with any idea has a great amount of difficulty. At this juncture where many are advising for a economic based reservation there is a big Question to be answered how will the govt come to know about the income of every citizen this will remain to be a really tough job because of most of the ppl in our country don't pay their tax properly & do not show their complete income when these type of problems are yet to be explored students getting proper justice is rather a far dream than a reality.

As long as these worthless people remain in power i don't see India becoming a super power or the 2020 vision of our previous president being achieved. God knows when our country will be gifted with proper leaders who take decision by thinking in a wide angle and do things for the benefit of the citizens than for themselves

TO QUOTE : during a recent interview done by the popular news channels & during pblic meetings politicians have not shown any sign of changing their stand when Mr. V.P. SINGH former prime minister of our country was asked a question whether he ll give reservation to a rich OBC or a poor forward cast person he said he ll give t for a OBC only... since he was a backward cast person when he got screwed later in the interview he corrected what he said as to he ll give for both of them this shows how adamant these ppl are.

The present HRD MINISTER ARJUN SINGH in his meeting publicly announced that he will surely bring back reservation as it previously was this happened only a few days after the supreme court stayed the reservation for OBC

Until these ppl change their attitude or new people with non partisan attitude be in power.. No big valuable change can be expected. And we shall always live under their mercy. THIS REMAINS THE BITTER TRUTH.