Usha Uthup sings in the honour of visiting Pakistani team:

30-nov-2007-Kolkata-Usha Uthup was singing in honour of the visiting Pakistani team and journalists, Uthup, best known for her 'Ramba ho, ho, ho...' song of the 1980s film 'Armaan', said: 'I strongly believe that music and cricket can bridge the gap between our two nations. But music wins in the end because in cricket you still fight on the field.'The interesting moment of Thursday's function came when Uthup invited Pakistani journalist Shahid Hashmi to the stage and sang a popular duet - 'Pyaar karna bhi zaroori hai' from the film 'Vaardat' - with him.'This is a great combination. You have seen many partnerships but this is perhaps the best one - an Indian singer and a Pakistani journalist in a dosti duet,' said Usha.
'It was a great honour for me to share the microphone with one of the best singers of India. It was a nice experience,' Hashmi said.And before singing 'Yeh dosti hum nahi torenge' from 'Sholay', Usha said: 'This song is especially for our Pakistani guests. I believe the people of the two countries are still the same.'

Shoaib Akhter`s bowling action-Indians not easy !

Indian batesman complain against Pakistan’s express fast bowler Shoaib Akhter`s bowling action.This has increased the problem of Pakistani cricket team,already facing severe fitness problems.Indian batesman criticised the akhters bowling action at new Dehli test.indian batesman said that shoaib akhter has performed,some time, illegal bowling action.Specifically the ball whic hresulted the Rahul dravid out was illegal.The Indian camp is quite convinced that the ball that clocked 150kmph and cut back sharply could not have been legal.The secretary indian cricket board (BCCI),Mr.Naranjan shah has reacted carefully.He said international cricket board should consider the actions of the controvercial players.

Wasim Jaffer's bat sparkled brightest-1st day 2nd test: (+photos)

November 30, 2007-Kolkata:Wasim Jaffer hit a sparkling unbeaten century to take India to a healthy position on the 1st day of the 2nd Test at the Eden Gardens -Kolkata.
Jaffer scored up his fifth Test century and had faced 163 balls during the first two sessions of play. He got 23 boundaries adding 136 for the second wicket with Rahul Dravid (50).Dravid struck seven fours during his half-century before he was scalped by leg-spinner Danish Kaneria.Initially, India lost opener Dinesh Karthik early on after electing to bat. Sohail Tanveer inflicted the early jolt in the second over as Karthik failed for the third consecutive time in the series. But Jaffer and Dravid denied Pakistan any further success as the duo held the fort for the home side.At tea, India`s score was 206-2 with Jaffer unbeaten on 124 and Sachin Tendulkar giving him company on 26.
Tanvir, his initial success notwithstanding, was made to look more like a rookie by Jaffer than he has looked at any stage of his international initiation. And as Sachin Tendulkar helped up the pace nearer tea, with a swift fifty partnership, Kaneria's raggedness encapsulated that of his side's. Pakistan had their share of problems: Shoaib looked pretty unfit and struggled to complete his overs, Sami started off promisingly but drifted away and Tanvir, for some reason, kept feeding Jaffer on that middle and leg line. Younis Khan, the captain - Malik is injured and is not in the team - even turned to Yasir Hameed's leg spin and made Tanvir bowl left-arm spin but were thwarted by some fine batting from Jaffer and Tendulkar. Finally, Kaneria broke through with a googly to dismiss Tendulkar but Pakistan lacked intensity and had run of ideas as the day wore on. Finally,India decide to call it off for the day due to bad light.They werw at 352-3 (Jaffer 192*, Tendulkar 82, Ganguly 17*)
Indian team: Anil Kumble (captain), Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman, Mahendra Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel.
Pakistan team: Younis Khan (captain), Yasir Hameed, Salman Butt, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Sami and Danish Kaneria.
Umpires: Rudi Koertzen, South Africa, and Billy Doctrove, West Indies.
Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle, Sri Lanka.
TV Umpire: Amish Saheba, India.

On "1996" tour, Gary Kirsten hated India

NEW DELHI: Quiz question: Which South African cricketer wrote the following words for a journal in his 1996-97 India tour dairy: "62 days in a country where westernised living conditions are regarded a luxury is no task for the faint-hearted."Answer: Gary Kirsten.
In fact, his tour diary indicates that the former opening batsman had problems with almost every aspect of the Indian condition: food, socializing, travelling.The tour diary was published in the December 1996-January 1997 issue of SA Cricket Action. Kirsten also wrote that "to spread cricket to all corners of India, we played in what could politely be classed as one-horse towns, places with more cows on the street than cars."For the record, the South Africans played one-day games in Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Faridabad, Rajkot, Guwahati and Mumbai. The Tests were played at Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Kanpur."I'll never forget arriving in Rajkot — laughter broke out in the bus when we were told we had reached our hotel, yet there didn't seem to be one in sight. It was actually above another building... A sense of humour is a necessity on this tour," wrote Kirsten. One wonders how the present BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah, who hails from Rajkot, would react to that.Kirsten, who has been offered a two-year term with a package similar to Greg Chappell's, had also cribbed about the unavailability of direct flights to a playing destination..

"Bob Woolmer" Inquest Fails to Determine How Cricket Coach Died

Nov. 29 (Mr.Khan News) -- A Jamaican coroner's inquest into the death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer at the World Cup in March failed to determine what killed him, the sport's governing body said.An 11-member jury, which heard testimony from more than 50 witnesses over five weeks in Kingston, returned an open verdict yesterday after finding insufficient evidence of a criminal act or death by natural causes.Woolmer was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room on March 18, a day after Pakistan exited the World Cup in an upset loss to Ireland. The inquest was opened after Jamaican police said in June that the 58-year-old Briton died of natural causes, reversing its initial assessment that he was murdered.``It is important to note that, following an exhaustive police investigation, no credible evidence has been produced to prove that there was any foul play connected to Bob's death,'' the International Cricket Council said in a statement.

Four days after Woolmer's death, police began a homicide investigation following a local pathologist's assessment that he'd been strangled. Police examined closed-circuit TV pictures, quizzed Pakistan players and other hotel guests and hired cricket anti-corruption officers to investigate whether his death was linked to match-fixing.``It should also be noted that extensive investigations by the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit found no evidence of match-fixing or corruption of any kind related in this case,'' the Dubai-based ICC added.During earlier testimony in the coroner's inquest, which began Oct. 16, Jamaican pathologist Ere Sheshiah said Woolmer died of pesticide poisoning and asphyxia, Agence-France Presse said. Pathologists from the U.K., Canada and South Africa concluded that Woolmer died from natural causes, most likely heart disease, the ICC said.Woolmer, a former England batsman, suffered from diabetes and had put on weight since taking the Pakistan job in 2004. Blood, vomit and diarrhea were found on the walls and floor of his hotel bedroom and bathroom, Mark Shields, Jamaica's deputy police commissioner, said at the start of the investigation. .

Buoyant "England" win "Sri Lanka" tour cricket match

COLOMBO (Mr.Khan News) — Michael Vaughan's England celebrated a morale-boosting win ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka as the gloom lifted around the injury-hit tourists on Tuesday.England, preparing for Saturday's first Test in Kandy, surpassed a victory target of 246 for the loss of five wickets in the last session of a three-day practice match against Sri Lanka Cricket XI here.Left-handed opener Alastair Cook led the charge with 58 and Kevin Pietersen made 59 on a slow track at the Nondescript Cricket Club where England were dismissed for 134 in the first innings.The victory was set up the previous evening by Yorkshire paceman Matthew Hoggard, who grabbed five wickets including three in one over to send the hosts crashing to 81 all out.Wicket-keeper Matthew Prior clinched the win with two consecutive boundaries off Jehan Mubarak to remain unbeaten with 27 alongside Owais Shah (33 not out).

England had further reason to smile as fast bowler James Anderson recovered from a bruised ankle that forced him off the field on the second day and looks certain to play in the first of three back-to-back Tests.However, strike bowler Steve Harmison is likely to miss the Kandy Test even though scans on a troublesome back at a local hospital on Tuesday morning showed no serious injury.Harmison, 29, who suffered back spasms on Sunday, was a late entrant to the touring squad after proving his fitness playing first-class cricket in South Africa following a hernia surgery.Vaughan said later his team was ready to take on Sri Lanka in the Test series."It's always difficult in this part of the world, so this was a good game of cricket for us to win," the England captain said. "We feel we are in good spirits going into the first Test.

"How much of an impact this result has on the Tests remains to be seen. But yesterday we were looking like losing, so to come through and win shows a lot of character, which is a good sign for the team."The SLC XI added four runs to their overnight total of 77-8 before being all out for 81 with Kaushal Lokuarachchi unable to bat due to a hand injury.Vaughan and Cook put on 50 for the first wicket before the England captain, who made 28, mis-hit a ball from part-time bowler Mubarak to Tillekeratne Dilshan at point.Ian Bell, looking to step up the scoring, top-edged a drive off Dilshan to long-on as England slipped to 74-2.Pietersen and Cook put on 65 either side of the lunch interval before both departed in quick succession.Cook, England's man in form with 63 in the tour opener and 35 in the first innings here, hit six boundaries before he was trapped leg-before by Mubarak.Pietersen smashed five fours and a six when he edged an intended cut off another part-time bowler Chamara Kapugedara to wicket-keeper Kaushal Silva.The home side missed the leg-breaks of Lokuarachchi, the lone specialist spinner in the team who dislocated his right index finger while attempting a return catch off Bopara on Monday.England leave for Kandy on Wednesday morning for three days of hard training before the first Test..

Cricket "Zimbabwe" to tour "Pakistan" next year after elections

KARACHI, Nov 27 (Mr.Khan News) - Zimbabwe will tour Pakistan after the host country's general elections on Jan. 8 to play five one-day internationals, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said on Tuesday.The official told Reuters that at the request of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, which has had its test status suspended since 2005, the team would play a four-day and three-day game before the one-day series."They want their players to get exposure in the longer duration of the game as they are not playing tests at the moment," the official said.The one-day internationals will be stagedin Karachi, Hyderabad, Multan, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura.

The official said the itinerary for the Australian team's tour to Pakistan in March-April next year would be completed after a visit by a delegation of Cricket Australia following the elections.The Australian Cricketers' Association have said they are worried about security arrangements in Pakistan because of the political upheaval since the introduction of emergency rule.Australia are due to arrive in Pakistan on March 10 to play three tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international."We are not worried because their tour is still some months away and by that time the elections would have been held and things would have settled down politically," the PCB official said. .

Australian Cricketers Association worried about security in pakistan

YDNEY (Reuters) - There is increasing concern among Australia's cricketers about their planned tour of Pakistan next year.The Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) said they were worried about security arrangements in Pakistan because of the political upheaval since the introduction of emergency rule.ACA president Darren Lehmann told reporters on Monday the tour should be cancelled, or moved to a neutral venue, if there was any risk to player safety."If there's any risk at all then I'm presuming the tour might not go ahead," Lehmann said."But if security say it's fine then we'll be going."Australia are due to tour Pakistan next March but Lehmann said the ACA and Cricket Australia were planning to visit the country in January to determine whether it was safe enough.Lehmann said they would present their findings to the players who would make the final decision."We put everything on the table for them and then it's a group decision from there," Lehmann said."Pretty much they're happy to go with the ACA and Cricket Australia what we recommend and that'll be a joint discussion along the way so if we say 'Look we think it's safe to go', they'll go."

India Survived A Top Order Collapse In Delhi Test:

DEHLI,The first Test in Delhi is intriguingly poised after Pakistan closed day three 167 runs ahead of India at 212-5.Danish Kaneria took three wickets in 15 balls as Pakistan snared India's final four wickets for 14 to restrict the home side's first innings lead to 45.Salman Butt gave Pakistan an excellent start with 11 fours in his 67 but three wickets fell for 12 within eight overs.Misbah-ul-Haq, dropped on one, hit two sixes and shared an unbroken 51 with Kamran Akmal to add a further twist.On a fluctuating day of Test action, VVS Laxman had taken his seventh-wicket partnership with Anil Kumble to 54 before Kaneria made the breakthrough.The India captain edged a sharp leg-break to Younus Khan at first slip for 24.The 22-year-old Tanvir bowled Harbhajan Singh round his legs for one in the next over before Kaneria removed the last two batsmen Zaheer Khan (9) and Munaf Patel (0) with successive deliveries. Khan smashed Kaneria over long on for six but could only mis-hit the next flighted delivery to be caught by a running Shoaib Akhtar at mid off. Patel fell lbw first ball.Pacemen Shoaib and Tanvir had led Pakistan's fightback by triggering a top-order batting collapse on the second afternoon before Laxman added 115 runs for the sixth wicket with Mahendra Dhoni (57).Laxman, 33, who completed his 30th Test fifty, glided Shoaib through the slips for his only four in the morning before running out of partners.He hit eight fours in his 135-ball knock spanning over four hours but was left stranded on 72.Butt and Yasir Hameed calmly recorded the Pakistan 50 in the 16th over, before skipper Kumble and spin partner Harbhajan began to restrict the scoring slightly.

Kumble made the breakthrough in the 26th over when Hameed pushed forward to a full and fast delivery, the ball flew off the face of the bat and was brilliantly caught inches from the turf at silly point by Laxman.In the fourth over after tea, Younus was adjudged lbw by Simon Taufel when he was hit low on the pad pushing forward to Kumble.
That brought in the prolific Mohammad Yousuf who promptly hit two fours in reaching 10 from his first three balls.But when he was on 18, he succumbed to the first ball of Harbhajan's new spell when some extra turn caught his inside edge and gave the spinner a simple return catch.Less than four overs later Butt was back in the pavilion as well, when Kumble's googly deceived him and the edge was comfortably snaffled by Rahul Dravid at slip.

Pakistan were only 116 ahead when they lost their fifth wicket, skipper Shoaib Malik unluckily losing a solitary bail when he got a bottom edge via the pad.It might have been even worse had Wasim Jaffer taken a reasonably straightforward chance at short-leg given by Misbah off his irate captain when only a single had been added.Misbah then dispatched Harbhajan for two sixes in an over and with Akmal striking four fours in his 20, the sixth-wicket pair began to build the sort of target to give India's batsmen cause for concern as the increasingly fascinating encounter nears its conclusion.

Harbhajan pitches in for India win over Pakistan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is confident of victory in the first test against Pakistan despite only two teams having successfully chased a fourth innings target of over 200 runs at the Ferozshah Kotla ground.Pakistan were 212 for five in their second innings at stumps on the third day, leading by 167 runs, after Harbhajan and leg spinner Anil Kumble caused a batting collapse on Saturday.Harbhajan, who took two for 51 and Kumble three for 55, said they succeeded despite the pitch playing better than the first two days when the ball often kept low.Pakistan were 231 all out in the first innings and India were dismissed for 276 in reply."We've a good chance, the wicket is playing better," Harbhajan told reporters. "I can't believe the match is being played on the same pitch.""Kumble has always done well here and once again he has brought the game back to us," he said.The Indian skipper, the third highest wicket taker in test history, took 10 Pakistan second innings wickets to achieve victory in 1999.
The 37-year-old has taken seven wickets so far in the game. Pakistan's Misbah-ul Haq followed his first innings 82 with 29 not out after being dropped on one, adding 51 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket with Kamran Akmal (21 not out)."If Wasim Jaffer had held the chance, maybe they would be seven, eight, nine even all out," Harbhajan said. "The pressure was such."Pakistan opener Salman Butt, who hit 67, said his team had still not averted defeat."If we get another 120-130 runs it would be safe for us," he said. "India have some good batsmen so we have to bowl well like we did in the first innings."The pitch is low and slow but none of the batsman got out because of that."

Security for Pak. cricket team reviewed

New Delhi (PTI): Security for visiting Pakistani cricket team was on Saturday strengthened and a country-wide alert sounded by Union Home Ministry against terror strikes in the wake of an e-mail to a television channel threatening an attack on the team and a series of explosions.An alert was sounded following intelligence inputs suggesting that various sleeper cells of militants outfits like banned Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia (HuJI) and Lashker-e- Taiba (LeT) would be targeting some key installations in the country, official sources said.They said the security for the Pakistani cricket team, now playing a test match here, was further strengthened with more security personnel deployed at the hotels where they are staying.

The states and the Union territories have been asked to keep a strict vigil on their entry and exit points and deploy strengthen intelligence-gathering.The states have also been asked to ensure beefed-up security to the public transport system which could be the target of militants, the sources said.The email address -- guru_boys2000@yahoo.com -- was created on Friday and central security agencies were trying to trace it.Friday's email received from guru_alhindi@yahoo.fr had been generated on November 22, a day ahead of the blasts in Uttar Pradesh and the authorities were in touch with the service provider to give other details including the server from which the email identity was registered.

SHAH RUKH NOT IN CRICKET MATCH AGAIN-SHOAIB MALIK DISAPPOINTED-KAPIL DEV DEFENDED

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has upset so much when Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) accused the actor of using the ongoing ODI series to promote his latest Hindi flick ‘Om Shanti Om’.He has vowed never to be a spectator at match involving the Indian team.Shoaib Malik's elder brother Imran Malik,at the Ferozeshah Kotla,watching the first Indo-Pak Test, said his whole family love Shahrukh a lot and Shoaib Malik was very disappointed to know that the great khan may not come to watch any match again."We often discuss cricketing matters at length and yesterday Shoaib was very disappointed after knowing about Shahrukh's statement," said Imran Malik." Shoaib Malik was of the view that if we can go and watch their films why cannot they watch our matches?" The cricket legend and former Indian captain Kapil Dev supported Shah Rukh Khan's presence at cricket matches, saying association of a celebrity like him would popularise the game. He added that Shah Rukh was a cricket fan and watched the fifth ODI between India and Pakistan because of his sheer craze for the sport."I think like any other cricket buff Shah Rukh took time off to watch a match and there was nothing wrong in it. If the Prime Minister of India comes to watch a match, it is a great thing for cricket," he said."Shah Rukh is known for his movies and acting and if he had a chat on his film, I don't think it was wrong," he said.Kapil said a star like Shah Rukh did not need to use a cricket match to make publicity for his movie."Shah Rukh is already a popular personality in the world through his films. Does he need cricket to popularise himself and his work?"

Cricket: England draw Sri Lanka tour opener

England drew their first match of the Sri Lanka tour on Thursday after gaining useful batting practice at the Colombo Cricket Club.The tourists, replying to Sri Lanka Cricket XI's mammoth 500-5 piled over the first two days of the practice match, scored 315-6 on the final day before the game was called off.Opener Alastair Cook made 63, Ian Bell hit 49 and Paul Collingwood smashed a belligerent 52 off 69 balls before all three batsmen retired to give others a chance at the crease.England captain Michael Vaughan made 38 but star batsmen Kevin Pietersen was dismissed cheaply.Vaughan was trapped leg-before by leg-spinner Malinga Bandara, while Pietersen fended at a short ball from Nuwan Kulasekera and was caught at gully for four.It was England's first hit since the one-day tour of Sri Lanka a month ago when they recorded an impressive 3-2 win in the five-match series.The tourists get another chance to tune up for three back-to-back Tests starting in Kandy on Decemer 1 when they play a first-class match against the same opposition in Colombo from Sunday.The home team, comprising Sri Lanka's second-string, had batted for two days with opener Upul Tharanga making 112, 20-year-old Chamara Kapugedara 141 and Thilana Kandamby an unbeaten 107.The local spinners suffered as much on the dead wicket as their English counterparts Monty Panesar (1-117) and Graeme Swann (1-112).After the Kandy Test ends on December 5, the second Test will be played in Colombo from December 9-13 and the third in Galle from December 18-22.Brief scores:SLC XI 500-5 decl (U. Tharanga 112, M. Warnapura 48, C. Kapugedara 141, T. Kandamby 107 not out, K. Silva 54 not out, R. Sidebottom 1-46, S. Broad 1-41, M. Panesar 1-117, G. Swann 1-112)England: 315-6 (A. Cook 63 retired out, I. Bell 49 retired out, P. Collingwood 52 retired out, Owais Shah 38 retired out, R. Bopara 40 not out)

Shahrukh Khan And Deepika Padukones- guest appearance at 5th ODI:

JAIPUR-Sunday, November 18: Although He have played a hockey coach role in Chak De India but cricket seems closer to the heart of Shahrukh Khan, who made a guest appearance in the fifth one day international,here.Attired in white shirt and black trousers and sporting a ponytail, the actor joined Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) President Lalit Modi to share his views on the match to anchor Rameez Raja. It's great to see the camaraderie between the players. They are talking to each other and enjoying the game, it feels good," the great khan said.He also took the opportunity to thank his fans for making Om Shanti Om a roaring success."Have you seen the movie yourself?" he asked Raja. When the Pakistani cricketer-turned-commentator replied in the negative, Shahrukh said, "Before theTest series starts, do find out time and watch it. And watch it with your family."Later, RCA spokesman Anant Vyas told that Shahrukh had arrived after being invited by Modi."He's a dear friend of Mr Modi and has arrived here on an invitation," he said. Once the interaction part was over, Shahrukh took his side in the VIP enclosure at the SouthBlock of the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.Shahrukh, along with Om Shanti Om co-star Deepika Padukone, who is often linked with Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, had also turned up to root for the team when the side took on Australia in Mumbai last month.Prior to that, Shahrukh also made a surprising visit to the press box at The Oval where India were playing the third and final Test against England.

PAKISTAN BEAT INDIA IN 5TH ODI BY 31RUNS-INDIA WON THE SERIES:

wahabuddin khan`s report
Pakistan won the best for the last as their batsmen piled up 306-6 and then bowled out India for 275 to win the fifth and final ODI in Jaipur on Sunday. Shoaib Malik and Mohd Yousuf struck fluent fifties to boost Pakistan's total, while India capitulated in front of the Pakistani bowlers led by Sohail Tanvir, who bagged four wickets. Batting first, Pakistan's new opening pair of Salman Butt and Imran Nazir settled quickly.when a slower Santh delivery prompted Nazir to slap a simple return catch, Pakistan were struggling on 77-3 in the 17th over.Then Yousuf and Malik came to the crease, and the experienced pair mixed the occasional boundary with a series of ones and twos to rebuild Pakistan's innings.Yousuf was twice lucky to remain at the crease, firstly when he was trapped in front by Yuvraj only for the appeals to be waved away by umpire Billy Doctrove, and then when his top-edged sweep fell between the fielders at square leg.But, he and Malik - who heaved two wonderful sixes over mid-wicket and six fours in an aggressive knock - had soon moved Pakistan to 245-3 with eight overs remaining.
Kartik returned to the attack to have Malik cleverly stumped, and Yousuf fell in similar fashion to Yuvraj two overs later, but Misbah-ul-haq (22) and Fawad Alam (31no) took up the baton.The pair put on 38 in 4.5 overs, sharing two sixes and three fours, and even after Misbah fell to a brilliant caught-and-bowled to Irfan Pathan, Alam saw Pakistan past 300.It was always going to be a tough total - despite the batsman-friendly surface in Jaipur - but Pakistan got off to a fabulous start with four wickets in the first 12 overs. Tanvir was the hosts' main tormentor, the seamer trapping Gautam Gambhir plumb in front in the fourth over, and inducing a rash swipe from Virender Sehwag in the 12th.

That came after the seamer had snared the precious wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, the Little Master edging to slip just as he looked like getting into his stride.Rao Iftikhar was the other early wicket-taker, Robin Uthappa falling to a simple catch at first slip two balls after he had been dropped by the same fielder, but Sharma and Yuvraj built something of a recovery.With the dewy conditions playing havoc with the spinners' grip and the seamers increasingly ineffectual under the lights, the pair milked the ones and twos in putting on 81.However, minutes after reaching his maiden half-century, Sharma fell for 52 when he dollied Malik to long-on - and Yuvraj followed suit when he was given out caught behind off Umar Gul on 50 despite the ball appearing to come off his shoulder.While Dhoni remained even the asking rate of over nine an over did not seem totally out of India's reach, but the wicket-keeper soon took one liberty too many when he skied Malik to mid-wicket.The hosts were never in the race thereafter and Malik took his third wicket with his off-spinners when Kumar holed out at mid-wicket, before Kartik skewed Iftikhar to backward point to end his enterprising knock of 16.Pathan (44 off 39 balls) produced some late fireworks, but he was left with far too much to do and home resistance was finally ended with a ball to spare when Tanvir clean bowled the left-hander to finish with figures of 9.5-0-53-4. Indian skipper Dhoni said the early strikes by Tanvir left his team struggling and praised Malik and Yousuf.
"Pakistan exploited the conditions," he said. "Our top order batsmen played the kind of shots they would not on a normal day."

2009-Twenty20- World Cup Groups announced

Defending champions India were placed in an easy group A alongside Bangladesh and Zimbabwe for the 2009 ICC Twenty20 cricket World Championships in England.The grouping for the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup was decided in a two-day ICC board meeting, which concluded on Wednesday.The early decision on the matter was taken on the request of hosts England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who want to proceed with the venue event bidding process which would allow match tickets to go on sale at the earliest.
Since not enough matches have been played in the shortest format of the game to allow viable official rankings, the board decided to group teams on the basis of their finishing positions in the inaugural edition of the championship this year.
ODI World Champions Australia have been placed in group C along with Sri Lanka and West Indies.

The Groups:

Group A: India, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe

Group B: Pakistan, England, Associate 1

Group C: Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies

Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Associate 2.

Shoaib Akhtar And Sanjay Dutt meeting ON Sunday:

Sanjay Dutt who had a bitter experiences this year has added another admirer to his fan’s kit . It is none other than the Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akthar of Pakistan team .Yes it is said that Shoaib Akhtar is a very big fan of “Munnabhai” and watches all his films. It is also said that the Public relation executive of Shoaib Akhtar is making all arrangements to the meeting of Akhtar and Sanjay.It is said that Shoaib will meet the star inYerwada jail and the Rawalpindi express wants to give a special gift to Sanjay and also the million prayers offered for him by the Pakistanis . If all goes well than the speedster will be meeting Sanjay on Sunday and may be under whole media coverage . So let us hope that he gets the permission and than all can witness the meeting of controversial cricket child with one and only Munnabhai

Sri Lankan Bowler Maharoof To Miss England Cricket Series:

HOBART, Australi — The beleaguered Sri Lankan tourists will be without seamer Farveez Maharoof for this month's home cricket series with England, skipper Mahela Jayawardene said Saturday.The former under-19 skipper suffered a left ankle injury while bowling on the opening day of the second Test here against Australia and sat out Saturday's second day's play.Jayawardene confirmed that the 23-year-old paceman will be out for up to five weeks and was definitely out of the series against England, which gets underway in Sri Lanka late this month.The Sri Lankans are under the pump against the rampant Australians, losing last week's first Brisbane Test by an innings and 40 runs and on the end of another massive Australian innings of 542 for five declared here on Saturday.Jayawardene had to make do with a threadbare strikeforce of just three bowlers and paid dearly.
Lasith Malinga finished with 1-156 off 35 overs, Dilhara Fernando 2-131 off 26 overs and Muttiah Muralitharan 1-140 from 46 overs."Farveez had a scan yesterday and he's got crush fracture in his ankle and it looks like he will be out of the England series," Jayawardene said Saturday."He'll be out for at least four to five weeks, it could be a bit more than that depending on how he will feel especially because he is a fast bowler and he needs to put his weight on that ankle."He'll be definitely out of the England Test series."

Australia's Gilchrist hits unprecedented 100th 6 in test cricket

HOBART, Australia: Adam Gilchrist became the first batsman to hit 100 sixes in test cricket, belting a ball from one of the game's premier bowlers out of the ground in typically swashbuckling style.Now he wants the ball back to keep as a memento.Last seen, it was rolling down a street adjoining Bellerive Oval, with some children chasing it.The 36-year-old Australian vice-captain hit consecutive sixes against Muttiah Muralitharan over mid-wicket late Saturday in the second test against Sri Lanka, the second one going right out of the stadium to notch 6 No. 100."We haven't got the ball back which is a bit frustrating," Gilchrist said. "I'm not a massive collector of memorabilia but I think there's probably a few little bits and pieces every cricketer has stashed away that means something to them."
Unlike baseball, where home run balls can remain in the hands of fans and can be worth a lot of money to the person who catches it, the cricket ball is supposed to be returned to the field before the game continues.If a ball is genuinely lost, a replacement with similar wear and tear is selected by umpires. After a cricket ball has been used for 90 overs, it usually goes to the player who achieved a significant milestone with it."That's a unique little item and I'd love to get it back," Gilchrist said. "There aren't many things that you do in life that you're the only person ever to have done. With that in mind it would be nice to have the ball that notched that 100."

Gilchrist was unbeaten on 67, including three 6s and seven boundaries — when Australia captain Ricky Ponting declared the innings closed at 542 for five, giving Sri Lanka 12 overs to bat before bad light stopped play on day two.It was his 130th test innings — but first in 10 months — in a career spanning 92 matches. His first six in test cricket was at the same venue, when he helped steer Australia to a comeback win over Pakistan in 1999.Nobody else has come close to Gilchrist's rate of clearing the boundaries in the test arena.West Indies great Brian Lara hit 88 sixes in his 131-test career, one more than New Zealander Chris Cairns notched in 62 tests.Viv Richards, another West Indies great who earned the nickname "the Masters Blaster," hit 84 sixes in his 121 test matches in the 1970s and 80s.Earlier in the week, Gilchrist was voted Australia's greatest limited-overs player. He has hit 141 sixes in 275 limited-overs internationals and has a batting strike rate of 96.66 per hundred balls in the shorter format.Gilchrist said he had only really thought about the 100 milestone when he hit Lasith Malinga for sixes earlier in his innings on Saturday."I went 'oh, that's right — it's coming up'... it came into my mindset a bit," he said. "The sixes at the end were very natural free-flowing shots, not trying to bludgeon the ball over the rope."Despite his reputation for big hitting, Gilchrist said he usually finds he hits more sixes when he's concentrating on trying to bat properly and not just slog the ball.And he knows a good shot as soon as he sees it."There is a nano-second, just a moment in time when you are the only person in the whole world who knows that you've hit it right in the middle," he said.

This is Cricket: The Basics of Batting -video

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Pakistan's Muhammed Asif to miss India test series:

KARACHI - Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif has failed to recover from an elbow injury and will miss the test series in India, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Friday
"He is still struggling with his elbow injury and is going to be sent to Australia for a complete check-up and rehabilitation process," chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed told Reuters on Friday.
"He will leave in a week's time and hopefully he will be fit before our next important series. Asif's absence from the Indian tour has been a setback for the team."Pakistan and India play three test from November 22.Selectors have called up leg spinner Danish Kaneria, batsman Faisal Iqbal and fast bowler Mohammad Sami for the three tests.They will replace Imran Nazir, Fawad Alam, Rao Iftikhar and allrounder Shahid Afridi who were in the one-day squad and are due to return home after the fifth game on Sunday in Jaipur.India has an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series after winning the fourth match in Gwalior on Thursday.

Pakistan's Muhammed Yousuf asked to face hearing after ICL U-turn:

MUMBAI- Pakistani batsman Mohammad Yousuf has been asked to face an arbitration hearing over his decision to pull out of a rebel Indian Twenty20 league.Yousuf had signed up with the lucrative Indian Cricket League (ICL), which has not been approved by national boards, but then changed his mind and joined the Indian Premier League(IPL).The IPL is the Indian board's multi-million dollar professional Twenty20 league launched to counter the rebel version.Yousuf has been asked to attend the hearing in Mumbai a day before Pakistan begin their first test against India in New Delhi on November 22.India's Essel Group, the promoters of the ICL, confirmed they had sent the batsman a legal notice for arbitration."We will not let him set a bad example," Ashish Kaul, executive vice president of the Essel Group, said on Friday.The inaugural tournament of the ICL will be played from November 30 to December 16. The league has attracted several big names including Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq."The Pakistan Cricket Board will be handling all these matters.

Cricketers At Gwalior Fort - photo gallery

Pakistani and Indian cricketers enjoy during the visit to the historical Gwalior Fort on Wednesday,14th Nov, the eve of the fourth ODI of the series.

Shahrukh And Harbhajan Singh--A Pretty Event.

Recently when Harbhajan Singh was at the event held in Lucknow to celebrate the Indian and Pakistani teams SRK did the jig with Dia Mirza and called up the leggie Harbhajan to do the same steps he did. However the spinner landed in a tangled web and said that he could not complete the intimate step of holding Dia and looking into her eyes.
What followed shocked and thrilled others as SRK said that he would play Dia’s role and Harbhajan was to play his. This ended with Harbhajan holding SRK and staring into his eyes like long time lovers. A pretty funny sight it was.

Cricketers Afridi and Gambhir fined for on-field collision

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Cricketers Shahid Afridi and Gautam Gambhir were fined Wednesday following their on-field collision and altercation during the third one-day international between India and Pakistan.The International Cricket Council fined Pakistan allrounder Afridi 95 per cent of his match fee, while Gambhir, an India batsman, was fined 65 per cent of his match fee. The amount of their match fees was not disclosed.Both players were charged with two counts of "conduct unbecoming to their status which could bring them or the game of cricket into disrepute" and another of "inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play."The fourth one-day match will be held at Gwalior on Thursday. India leads the five-match series 2-1.And here is the rest of it.