IPL 7 auctions to feature maiden appearance of uncapped players

New Delhi: Reaching out to uncapped players for the first time in its auctions, the mandarins of cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) have decided to include unselected players in the upcoming Feb 12-13 extravaganza in Bangalore for League’s seventh edition. The decision means that the likes of Unmukt Chand and Rishi Dhawan- players who are yet to make the cut for Team India- will be available for auction as they feature in the 651-strong list of uncapped players to be put under the hammer .

                                           

The absence of uncapped players in the auction thus far was a contentious issue, with many franchises complaining of horse trading by their richer rivals who, it was alleged, were luring players with under-the-table deals.Read more

Sachin Tendulkar defaulted on water bills, claims BMC

Mumbai: In what could cause major embarrassment to batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC) on Wednesday named him, along with  Samajwadi Party's Abu Azmi and late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray in its list of water bill defaulters.

                               

The civic body , striving to recover more than Rs. 1,000 crore from over 200,000 defaulters ,  has uploaded the defaulters' list as on January 16, 2014 on its website in lieu to an order from the State Information Commissioner(SIC).Read more

 

 

New Zealand’s Taylor-made plan to scuttle Indian bowling!

New Delhi: Under severe criticism from all quarters for their lackadaisical performance, Indian bowlers, it has been revealed, have come under Kiwi assault as a part of well thought of strategy. 

                               

The Black Caps, notorious for faltering against the spinners, have decided to play out the Indian tweakers and instead train their guns on the pacers,New Zealand’s in-form batsman Ross Taylor revealed recently. Read more

Sports Ministry grants Rs. 10,52,000 to Sochi Olympics’ participants

New Delhi: The Sports Ministry on Monday sanctioned financial grant of Rs. 10, 52,000 for three Indian athletes slated to participate in next month’sWinter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. 

                                    

India will be represented by Shiva Keshavan (Luge), Himanshu Thakur (Alpine Skiing) and Nadeem Iqbal (Alpine Skiing) in the Games beginning February 7.Read more

Sania- Tecau stun top seeds, march in mixed doubles finals

Melbourne: In a stunning display of come from behind Tennis, Indian ace Sania Mirza and her Romanian counterpart Horia Tecau decimated defending champions Matthew Ebden and Jarmila Gajdosova 2-6, 6-3, 10-2, thereby cruising into mixed doubles finals in the ongoing Australian Open here on Friday.

                                           

The Australian pair, seeded first, won the first set 6-2 in just 29 minutes, but was vanquished 6-3 in the next set. The Indo-Romanian pair took the match in tie-break.Read more

NZ, Duckworth, Lewis thrash India in second ODI; World Champions lose top rank

Hamilton: A scoreline that suggests a tally of 277/9 by the chasing side when the team batting first has posted 271/7 more often than not means the team with more runs has won the game, unless of course you have discounted Messer’s Duckworth and Lewis. 

                                                   

In a rain curtailed tie, New Zealand, riding on fifties from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor and a late blinder from Corey Anderson posted a formidable 271 off their 42 overs. Read more

Australian Open: Rafa prevents another upset, beats Grigor Dimitrov to enter semis

Melbourne: It could well have been yet another upset in season’s first Grand Slam had world number one Rafael Nadal not exorcised his indefatigable spirit and unquestionable skills to overcome a spirited challenge from 22-year old Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. Eventually, with a scoreline reading -6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7), 6-2, RafaelNadal walked into Australian Open semi-final here on Wednesday, and will take on the winner of Roger Federer- Andy Murray game. 

                                 

The match was largely dominated by Dimitrov, who, in his maiden Australian Open quarter final, thoroughly tested the 2009 champion. The world number 22 won the first set, and as a nasty blister on the palm made things worse for Nadal, the Spaniard finally made the breakthrough in game 11, only to hand it straight back in a shocking game of three double-faults.Read more

When God bowed!

Mumbai: Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar once again demonstrated his grounded self, when he, on being honoured by Bollywood patriarch Amitabh Bachchan in a recent event, touched Bib B’s feet to get his blessings. The picture-perfect moment came to pass during ‘Umang,’ Bollywood’s annual extravaganza for the Mumbai Police.

                         

The event featured singing and dancing performances from various artists from the film fraternity. 

Later, Bachchan tweeted, “They ask me to felicitate Sachin Tendulkar .. an honour .. proud that "main us desh ka vaasi hoon, this desh se Sachin aata hai" ..!”Read more

How Malaysian betting agent tried to fix 2013 I-league matches

Mumbai: After AIFF vice-president Subrata Dutta said that the result of some I-League matches had raised doubts in the federation last week, Mumbai Football club's senior official  made shocking revelations on Sunday confirming that his team was approached by match fixers. 

                         

Mumbai FC's Vice President Atul Bagdamia said that  the club was approached by a few Malaysian men. "They called me and invited the team to Malaysia to play friendly matches. They said all expenses would be borne by them. I was okay with the idea, not knowing what exactly they had in mind,” Bagdamia told an English daily.Read more

Here’s why Serena-slayer Ana Ivanovic is hotter than Melbourne sun!

Melbourne: Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic scuppered Serena Williams’ record-breaking winning streak here on Sunday, defeating the world number one 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 defeat in the fourth round of the ongoing Australian Open.

                         

Ivanovic, seeded fourteenth, countered Serena’s strong serves by standing well inside the baseline. She took big swipes on her forehand and generally put Williams off her rhythm. Read match report here. 

15 sizzling pics of Tomas Berdych’s hot girlfriend Ester Satorova

Melbourne: The glam quotient in Tennis is usually restricted to the likes of Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova, with the focus intermittently shifting to the likes of Ana Ivanovic and Agnieszka Radwańska. However, a glance at Czech Tennis star Tomas Berdych’s hot girlfriend Ester Satorova, and you know that the hot model can easily topple the best from the top of hot-list.

                              

Berdych began dating her in the fall after his long-time relationship with WTA player Lucie Safarova ended in the summer.Read more

Virat-Anushka to Yuvi-Deepika,

New Delhi: The Indian team is currently in New Zealand to play a series of five ODIs and two Tests, and a lot of India’s hopes will rest on Virat Kohli’s strong shoulders. Currently the best Indian batsman on view, Kohli had a phenomenal 2013, where he consistently reeled off match-winning efforts.

                                 

Off the field, the 25-yaer old is known to be a hit with female fraternity, and is said to be dating Bollywood hottie Anushka Sharma. The two, ever since they featured in a shampoo commercial, are reportedly too fond of each other.Read more

Virat-Anushka to Yuvi-Deepika, these are the hottest Bollywood-cricketer couples!

New Delhi: The Indian team is currently in New Zealand to play a series of five ODIs and two Tests, and a lot of India’s hopes will rest on Virat Kohli’s strong shoulders. Currently the best Indian batsman on view, Kohli had a phenomenal 2013, where he consistently reeled off match-winning efforts.

                                   

Off the field, the 25-yaer old is known to be a hit with female fraternity, and is said to be dating Bollywood hottie Anushka Sharma. The two, ever since they featured in a shampoo commercial, are reportedly too fond of each other, and Virat is said to have stayed at Anushka’s Mumbai pad for 5 days after returning from South Africa tour.Read more