Four bookies caught betting on IPL matches

With the IPL-II on in South Africa the crime branch of district police nabbed four bookies from Aashiana on Friday for betting on the
tournament matches. Police recovered from them cash over Rs 50,000 along with 11 cellphones, television sets and diaries having records of the bets made by them and their clients.

Those arrested identified themselves as Vikas Gupta of Sector M in Aashiana along with Ashish Kumar, Mahesh Kumar and Sandeep Srivastava. Police said that Vikas owns a canteen in model wine shop while Ashish and Mahesh worked for Vikas by maintaining records of the bets made and Sandeep is a generator mechanic.

All of them were caught from Vikas's house in Aashiana. During the interrogation, they told police that they were engaged in the betting business and were betting on the tournament as well as the sensex.

SP crime, Nidhi Sonkar said the gang worked for its kingpins in New Delhi and Mumbai and those nabbed made around Rs 20,000 a month. The gang used code words to communicate and the word for betting used by them was KL (khai lagai).

They said that they noted down the amount that was at stake in the betting and if a person won the bet he was given nearly nine times of the amount that was on stake while the money lost by others involved in the betting was taken by those arrested.

They were running the betting racket from the past few months. Investigations were on with regards to the others who might be involved with them in the crime.

[the article was originally published at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lucknow/Four-bookies-caught-betting-on-IPL-matches/articleshow/4543571.cms]

IPL 09 : Celebrity owners on a sticky wicket

There appears to be a strong inverse relationship between the celebrity status of the owner of an IPL team and its performance. Whether this relationship is also causal will be known after a few years.

However, as the table below suggests, the biggest celebrity without doubt is Mr Shah Rukh Khan. His team has the lowest score of three points.

Last year, in IPL-1, it was the Rajasthan team whose owner was not well known. It went on to win the tournament.

This year the team was taken over in part by Ms Shilpa Shetty who became a celebrity after her encounter with the late Jade Goody. Its performance has since declined.

The Bangalore team, which is as star-studded as a team can be, did badly last year but has improved its position this year. Mr Vijay Mallya, its owner, is known for his singular lifestyle, and is a global celebrity, not merely an Indian one. Mr Mallya’s Formula One team, Force India, is also near the bottom of the Grand Prix standings.

Mumbai stands somewhere in-between. Mr Mukesh Ambani, though as well known in urban India as Mr Barack Obama in the US, is not quite what can be properly described as a celebrity. His team has thus median points.

The Chennai team, on the other hand, is owned by the unassuming and unsung India Cements. It is at No 2 place with 13 points.

But it is really the Delhi team that proves the point beyond dispute. Its owner, GMR, is the least well known of all, and it has the highest number of points.

In 2008, after the 14 matches that lead to the semis, there was only one celebrity-owned team in the top four, Punjab. The bottom four had two celebrity-owned teams – Bangalore and Kolkata. Mumbai was in the middle like this time.

A former cricketer close to the current Indian team and also many of the players say that the key difference may lie in the interference factor. “You have to leave it to the coach and captain, you know, to decide things. The game is won mainly by on-field tactics, not off-field strategies.”

“I don’t think star status has much to do with it,” says Mr Anirban Das Blah of Globosport. “It comes down to the ability and focus of the owner which is not necessarily linked to being a star.”

In football, where there are not many celebrity owners, it is the reverse. Mr Silvio Berlusconi owns AC Milan, which is doing quite well. So is Manchester City, which is owned by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family and member of the UAE’s Cabinet. Another celebrity is Mr Franz Beckenbauer, who is part-owner of Bayern Munich.

[the article was originally http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/05/15/stories/2009051552090100.htm]

“Raj must have my nail marks on his arms”

If you don’t know anything about cricket but still go ahead and buy an IPL team (strictly to stay in the news and make some moolah), what can you do to make it look like you are crazy about the game? Lace your words with plenty of emotion, of course!

That’s exactly what Shilpa Shetty is doing, apart from flashing an unwavering smile constantly. So now we’re all suffering from an emotional overdose. Just see the sentiments and words she’s been throwing at us...

“It’s terrible to play against a friend’s (Shah Rukh Khan) team but all’s fair in love and cricket, I guess” Shilpa’s blog.

“Obviously it’s a game and we all want to win. However, there is a lot of camaraderie between us. We care for each other and even party together” On how much she, Preity and SRK love each other.

“I did go to meet Shah Rukh on the field but he had already left. Actually, it’s quite awkward to meet someone you know especially when you have won and the other person has lost. But then, we have been friends for too many years to let anything like that come between us” After Rajasthan Royals beat the Kolkata Knight Riders.

“But as we won, I was standing on a chair, screaming and shouting with two people trying to hold me. Raj must have several nail marks on his arms” After winning against the Delhi Daredevils.

“It was a fun day... Graeme (Smith) taught me how to bat and Shane (Warne) taught me how to spin the ball! We played for a bit and after I ran four times between the wickets I was gasping for breath” Shilpa’s blog.

We are sure you can’t bear the torture anymore, so we’re stopping right here!

[the article was originally published at http://www.masala.com/11981]

Mumbai Indians v KXP: Statistical Highlights

Statistical highlights of the Indian Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab.

• # While chasing, the eight-wicket win is Mumbai Indians` first in the 2009 edition of the IPL.
• a victory over Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians are placed fourth in the points table.
• XI Punjab have lost six matches out of 11 played.
• Sohal (43 off 23 balls) has recorded his highest IPL score, surpassing the 30 off 17 balls against Deccan Chargers at Kimberley on May 9, 2009.
• -Paul Duminy (2/15) has registered his best bowling performance in the IPL, eclipsing the 1 for 15 against Delhi Daredevils at East London on May 8, 2009.
• Tendulkar`s unbeaten 41 off 29 balls, is his highest score in his last seven innings in the IPL.
• Bravo (70 not out off 59 balls) has registered his highest score in the IPL, bettering the 64 not out off 53 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders at Kolkata on April 29, 2008. The said innings is his third fifty in the IPL.
• (4-0-9-1) has received his first Man Of Match award in the IPL for his excellent economical figures.
• Indians have posted their fifth victory in the second edition of the IPL. Their eight-wicket win is their first in four matches against Kings XI Punjab.

[the article was originally published at http://cricket.zeenews.com/fullstory.aspx?nid=20196]

Murdered for watching IPL match

In an incident reported from suburban Andheri here on the night of Sunday May 10, an enraged father killed his son for watching the IPL cricket match on television, against his wishes.

The policemen said, Sandesh Kamble (24), who has been pursuing a course in computer repairs, was watching IPL match on television, after attending classes. His father Meghnad Kambale, 60, who returned home at around 10.30 pm, was irked by this sight. He asked Sandesh to switch off the television. After Sandesh refused to obey, Meghnad got involved in a verbal altercation with his son. Thereafter, he repeatedly warned his son to either switch off the television or face consequence thereof.

As Sandesh continued to defy his instructions, Meghnad turned livid, rushed to the kitchen, brought out a knife and stabbed his son in the chest. Thereafter, he came to his senses and carried his son with the help of other family members to a private hospital nearby. However, the youngster was declared brought dead.

The policemen arrested Meghnad and booked him for murder. They also conducted a test to determine as to whether he was drunk at the time of committing murder.

[the article was originally published at http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=59816&n_tit=Reason+for+Murder%3A+Watching+IPL+Cricket+Match!]

Fans vote for 'Fake IPL Player' identity

Even as the general elections head towards a climax, there's another poll unfolding — in cyberspace.

Between Saturday and Monday evening, nearly 29,000 readers of fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com — an Indian Premier League (IPL)-related blog that has spawned a cult following within the country and the Indian diaspora — have cast their vote to decide whether the mystery writer should reveal his identity or not.

The unknown blogger may not have turned out even once for his Kolkata Knight Riders team owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan, his rib-tickling posts have endeared him to thousands of fans, and attracted coverage by prestigious newspapers such as Britain's The Telegraph and The Independent.

"You rock, dude", is one of the most common refrains among fans, an overwhelming bulk of whom now wants to know who the cricketer-writer is, or if he is a cricketer in the first place, given his "mastery" over the English language.

Interestingly, the poll process has been initiated by the blogger himself, who goes by the moniker FIP (Fake IPL Player) and describes himself as a no-hope bench-warmer in a team that is at the bottom of the IPL heap with three measly points from 10 outings.

The voting follows a May 9 post headlined "It's decision time folks", where FIP wrote: "I had mentioned (in an earlier piece) about my decision to reveal my identity at the end of IPL... Whether FIP's identity should be disclosed or not, or how it should be taken forward, is as much as your decision as mine. I am putting up a poll on the right side. Pls take a few seconds to make your decision."

Alongside the post, FIP put up six categories, against any of which the blog's fans are required to mark their votes:

Yes, stick to your word man (to reveal his identity)

Yes, I'd like to see your a** kicked

No, let it (identity) remain a mystery

No, I fear for your safety

No, I want this to continue

Who cares a f***?

Till a little before 8 p.m. on Monday, nearly 19,000 blog fans or 64 per cent of the total "voters" till then had plugged for the faceless writer's identity to be revealed.

Wrote a fan under the pseudonym "Anonymous", echoing thousands of others: "of course! want your identity to be revealed. be a sport man! ppl wl love u all the more!"

There are others who noted his "celeb status", and advised him to hire a consultant to guide his career post-cricket, while another — clearly a die hard groupie — appeals rather plaintively: "If you reveal your identity and get your a** kicked, how can you do this next year?"

The popularity of the posts, most of which have attracted over 500 comments, stem from FIP's wicked wit, tongue-in-cheek sexual innuendoes, juicy details of players' drinking binges or womanising, and outrageous nicknames for fellow cricketers, the support staff, team owners including Shah Rukh, and IPL bosses and commentators.

Wrote he after a particularly humiliating loss that fuelled talks of staff sackings: "While our fielding coach was busy browsing naukri.com, our Throwing Coach accusingly glared at our wicketkeeping coach every time Skipper and Buddhiman Baba (Brendon McCullum and Wriddhiman Saha, both wicketkeepers) had their slip-ups in the outfield."

Then, not contented with taking a dig at these two coaches, FIP went for chief coach John Buchanan, referred to as "Bhookha Naan" in the blog: "I am waiting for the day Bhookha blames global warming for our performance."

Understandably, FIP's team management is livid, but the readers find the blog "awesome". Little wonder that the online edition of Britain's Telegraph newspaper ran a story under the headline "Fake IPL Player lights up Kolkata Knight Riders camp in South Africa".

And light up it has, and promises to do so for at least four more days —when polling ends.

[the orginal article was orginally published at http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200905121411.htm]

Taylor trumps McCullum in IPL cricket battle

Ross Taylor triumphed in the battle of the New Zealanders against Brendon McCullum Tuesday as Bangalore defeated Kolkata by six wickets in an Indian Premier League thriller.

McCullum struck an unbeaten 84 at Centurion Park as bottom team Knight Riders reached 173-4 from 20 overs only to be passed by Royal Challengers, who made 176-4 in 19.2 overs with unbeaten 81-run Taylor the hero.

Friend and foe praised Taylor after one of the most exciting finishes in the five-week Twenty20 tournament as teams chase a top-four finish and a place in the semi-finals next weekend.

"Ross was fantastic and took the game away from us after I thought our total would be good enough to secure victory," said McCullum of official man-of-the-match Taylor.

Bangalore and South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher added: "The innings of Ross was as good as it gets. We were under a lot of pressure to win and he pulled us through."

Taylor said: "The innings was a relief as I have been struggling in the IPL this season. I desperately wanted to repay the faith shown in me by the coaching staff."

McCullum struck two sixes and 10 fours as he stayed at the crease from start to finish of a Kolkata innings that gathered momentum in the second half after labouring to 69-2 by the 10-over 'tactical break'.

The Kiwi also pulled off the catch of the tournament so far to send South African Jacques Kallis packing after his opening partnership with Kiwi Jesse Ryder had yielded 58 runs for Bangalore.

Ryder departed five runs later and after Bangalore were in run-rate trouble for several overs, Taylor let loose and his five sixes and seven fours steered the team home.

Victory lifted Bangalore two places to fifth on the eight-team standings, one point behind defending champions Rajasthan Royals with three round-robin fixtures to play.

[the article was originally published at http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i-I_msWqBUYF9CCK6D_L93pRCnzA]

Google Enhances SMS Search in India

Google India has updated its SMS Search functionality to add more content -- namely IPL related stuff and commodity prices in a bid to attract more users.

Launched back in 2007, the service went through a similar update last year with the SMS number being changed to 9-77-33-00000. The best part of this service is that you do not need to pay premium charges for each SMS sent.

As for the new SMS keywords, SMS 'cri' to 9-77-33-00000 for varied content on cricket in general; send 'cri IPL' for instant IPL scores, 'cri IPL ' (for example 'cri IPL knight riders') for your favorite team score and 'cri ranji' for domestic match updates. SMS 'price gold', 'price oil', or 'price cotton' to know the MCX spot prices for these commodities. To learn more, sms 'help commodity' to 9-77-33-00000.

There is also this nice little time finder service if you want to know what the time is it "now" in a city of your choice. Simply SMS 'time ' to 9-77-33-00000. For example, 'time new york' and you will receive your answer within seconds.

Those looking for train related details of Indian railways, the service has been enhanced to provide seat availability and fare information as well. For example, to check the seat availability for April 24 on train #1018, going from Bangalore to Mumbai, simply SMS 'train avail 1018 Bangalore to Mumbai on 24-04' or if you want to know the fare for sleeper class, SMS 'train fare 1018 Bangalore to Mumbai for SL'. To learn more, SMS 'help train' to 9-77-33-00000.

You might want to visit http://www.google.co.in/sms for more. If SMS is what you prefer, key in 'help' and send it to 9-77-33-00000.

[the article was originally published at http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Google_Enhances_SMS_Search_in_India/551-101484-547.html]

Super Kings will win IPL : Gony

He took 17 wickets from 16 matches in the inaugural Indian Premier League season. He belongs to the team that missed the IPL crown by a whisker last year. Strong-built, tall and a match-winner, he's none other than - Chennai Super Kings' Manpreet Gony.

The cash-rich twenty20 tournament gave him a platform to show his mettle to the cricket pundits and he finally, made his debut in Tri-Nation Series in Bangladesh in 2008.

CricketNDTV.com caught hold of him while he was rushing to the team party in Port Elizabeth and talked about Chennai's chances of winning the title this season and what he thinks of Andrew Flintoff's arrival in the side.

Were you satisfied with your performance in the opening match though Chennai lost it?
Yes, I am quite satisfied and I am feeling good about my performance. Winning and losing is just part of the game.

Last year your team was runner-up. What do you think are your prospects this season?
We will win the title this time.

Does the inclusion of Andrew Flintoff makes any difference to the side?
Definitely. He helps the boys in the fielding and bowling department. And especially, he gives me tips to improve my bowling.

If given a chance, what is that one thing you would want to change in the team so that it could fetch you the 2008 title?
Nothing really, it wasn't really in our destiny I guess but we will win it this time.

Do you think IPL can facilitate your selection for the Twenty20 World Cup squad?
Yes, certainly. I am working very hard for it.

What is team's greatest strength?
Our all-round performance.

[the article was originally published at http://cricket.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtvcricket/ipl09/news_story.aspx?ID=INTEN20090091984&keyword=interview]

Punjab beats Rajasthan by 27 runs in IPL

Kings XI Punjab produced a fine bowling and fielding performance to beat defending champion the Rajasthan Royals by 27 runs in an Indian Premier League match Sunday at Newlands.

After batting first and scoring 139-6, Punjab's bowlers restricted Rajasthan to 112-7 bowling a full length and swinging the ball sharply.

South African pace bowler Yusuf Abdulla was the pick of the bowlers with 3-21, while allrounder Irfan Pathan and spinner Piyush Chawla both chipped in with two wickets apiece.

Rajasthan were on the backfoot as early as the second over when Swapnil Asnodkar (3) was caught by Ramesh Powar off a delivery from Pathan.

Graeme Smith (2) then edged a swinging Pathan delivery to wickekeeper Kumar Sangakkara to leave Rajasthan on two wickets down with just nine runs on the board.

The only two Rajasthan players to make any real impression with the bat were Ravindra Jadeja, who made 37 off 44 balls before he was bowled by Abdulla, and captain Shane Warne who struck an unbeaten 34.

Warne was clearly unimpressed with his team's effort.

"We haven't found the right combination," Warne said. "the blokes at the top are not doing a good job. We've got to find a solution. The bowlers are not firing."

His opposite number Yuvray Singh praised Sangakkara, who struck 60 _ including seven fours and one six _ and Irfan Pathan, who scored 39 off 33 balls for lifting Punjab to a respectable total.

"We needed a partnership and those two gave us that," he said. "We defended the total nicely too."

Punjab had slumped to 4-48 before Sangakkara and Pathan came to the rescue.

[the article was originally published at http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=931499&lang=eng_news&cate_img=145.jpg&cate_rss=news_Sports]

Shah Rukh takes an IPL break to vote

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan will take a break from following his Kolkata Knight Riders team in the Indian Premier League tournament being played across South Africa to cast his vote in the Indian elections.

Having politely declined earlier offers to join political rallies of any South African parties in the run-up to the elections here last Wednesday, which was overwhelmingly won by the African National Congress (ANC), Khan will head back to India on Wednesday, together with his family, wife Gauri and children Aryan and Suhana.

Khan had reportedly been approached by ANC leaders in Durban prior to the first IPL games there a few days before the elections here. Other IPL team owners Preity Zinta of the Kings XI Punjab and Shilpa Shetty of the Rajasthan Royals had reportedly also declined offers to appear at political rallies.

Zinta said they had to maintain their political neutrality, just as they did in India.

None of the Bollywood stars would comment on the political mantle that has been assumed by one of their ilk, Sanjay Dutt, who is embroiled in a controversy with his participation in the Indian elections. Dutt had been widely publicised as putting in an appearance at an ANC rally in Durban last month, but failed to appear, citing personal problems.

Unlike South African citizens abroad, who this year were allowed to cast their votes at missions there after potential voters won a high court appeal in this regard, Indian citizens abroad cannot vote, except for diplomatic staff.

Mission officials here were also not sure whether the players in the IPL teams would be allowed to cast their ballots here, but the consensus appeared to be that this would not be permitted.

Khan said he had warned his team that if they did well in his absence, he would return; if not, he would be shouting at them from India.

[the article was originally published at http://movies.ndtv.com/newstory.asp?section=Movies&id=ENTEN20090091882]

IPL-II has warmed up nicely

The IPL-II has now warmed up nicely. At least six of the eight teams could have a real shot at the title and this implies suspense which is essential to any good sporting event.

The laggards are Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore and unfortunately, both only have tougher days ahead.

Knight Riders would lose Chris Gayle on his national duty and that means the face of the team’s batting is gone.

Brendon McCullum hasn’t been the same free-spirited batsman since being the captain but then he is always looking over the shoulder to see how many hands are up for the challenge in his absence.
Inspirational leadership

Lightweight batting needs inspirational leadership, such as Shane Warne provides to his team regularly.

In bowling too, a lot has come to rest on Ishant Sharma who hasn’t been his normal self. There are tough days ahead for KKR.

Royal Challengers is licking its own wounds. Kevin Pietersen is criticised for its ills and that is understandable since he is the most expensive buy of the tournament.

Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis are alright but they need a Hulk Hogan of a striker in their ranks.

Of the rest, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Dardevils and Deccan Chargers inspire confidence.

All these four teams have an allround balance and that matters. Names such Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbahjan Singh, Suresh Raina, M.S. Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Pragyan Ojha figure in these teams and that is virtually India’s ODI line-up!

These men are worth their weight in gold.

Even their foreign buys are incredible: Sanath Jayasuriya and Lasith Malinga for Mumbai; Matthew Hayden and Muttiah Muralitharan for Chennai; A.B. de Villiers and Daniel Vettori for Delhi and Adam Gilchrist and Fidel Edwards for Hyderabad have been awesome.

All these teams have solid opening bowlers and batsmen and that tell us something about successful teams in this format.

With Andrew Symonds joining the Chargers ranks soon it will be one team to keep an eye on.
Dark horses

Punjab and Jaipur ought to be the dark horses. Punjab, for it has such incredible batting talent as well as two new ball bowlers who can take the best by surprise.

Yusuf Abdulla has no international reputation but try telling this to his domestic opponents in South Africa and they would vouch he is the best going around in T20 circuit.

Irfan Pathan doesn’t inspire fear but unfailingly picks up important wickets.

As for Jaipur, never write it off. It has this uncanny ability to throw up stars out of nowhere. Kamran Khan can be the fizz of this tournament.

The team will only look up when Graeme Smith starts flexing his muscles.

[the article was originally published at http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/26/stories/2009042651161800.htm]

IPL turns the tables

The going up to now in the IPL has been great. This year the points table seems to be absolutely reversed. Deccan Chargers who were at the bottom of the table last year have climbed up the tables and are heading the list with 4 points. Though these are early days the indications for the Deccan Chargers seem to be good.

Rajathan Royal is finding the going a bit tough as they rely too much on Indian players. These Indian players are not familiar with South African pitches.

The less said about Bangalore’s Royal Challengers the better. Delhi and Chennai are doing well as expected. Kolkata seems to have too many lose ends and their internal fights seem to bring them down.

Mumbai Indians with veterans like Sachin Tendulkar and Jayasurya are tipped to be the surprise favorites. Though nothing can be said with confidence, one thing is for sure, and that is a tough fight is on among the best teams in IPL2.

[the article was originally published at http://andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=38505]

Shah Rukh dreams of victory lap with IPL trophy in Kolkata

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan admitted his team Kolkata Knight Riders is under a lot of pressure to perform due to the multiple-captaincy controversy in the second edition in Indian Premier League (IPL).

Shah Rukh said a fan following in a city like Kolkata also adds to the pressure. He hopes to win the IPL trophy this time around for Kolkata and take out a victory march in the city.

"I know the team is under a lot of pressure after the multiple captains, the choice of captain and all that. At the moment the team is under a bit of disarray, but we will stick together. We have started doing it," Shah Rukh said after KKR logged their first points, beating Kings XI Punjab by 11 runs via D/L method.

"My team is under more pressure because it is owned by a film star and then you have such fan following, the backing of a city that supports you one night and gets angry the next night."

"But I know they understand and they love the team. I am waiting for the day when I will go around Kolkata with the IPL trophy. I am sure the day will come," he said.

KKR coach John Buchanan's multiple-captain theory has brewed up a heated debate as Ganguly was replaced by Brendon McCullum as the new captain.

Shah Rukh hailed Ganguly as the most important member of his side.

"He has been a great player for the country. I hope he emerges as the player of the tournament."

Asked about the difference between cricket and acting, Shah Rukh said there are no 're-takes' on the field.

"The decisions have to be taken in split seconds so lot of time we are hoping that it is right. It is very difficult in the middle."

[the article was originally published at http://www.hindustantimes.com/highpl/storypage.aspx?id=eff01fce-3385-465a-a8c5-6c10120516f1&category=Chunk-HT-UI-IPLSectionPage-TopStories]

Flying high - Shilpa Shetty

Now that the much awaited IPL has started in full swing, can Bollywood be far behind! Even though the cricket
tournament isn't being held in India this year, it just hasn't failed to dilute the Indian populace into a frenzied sports driven mania. One can only wait and watch the 'resultant' of the marriage of Bollywood and cricket.

One such initial 'resultant' is in the form of the latest issue of Hi Living, which has got Shilpa Miss Long Legs Shetty, on the cover. Keeping up with the extreme pace of the game, Shilpa drapes herself in some exquisite clothing, thus raising the temperatures on field as well as off it! One must say that, the Shetty girl has really gone all out to promote her team Rajasthan Royals, with a music video et al.

Making this month's issue of Hi! Living a must read is Shilpa Shetty and her style quotient that can give the even the most glamorous of the models a run for their moolah!

[the article was originally published at http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/features/2009/shilpa-shetty-hi-living-220409.html]

I am loving every bit of the IPL - Shilpa Shetty

A lot is happening in Shilpa Shetty's life. After 'looting' UP-Bihar, she is all set to win over South Africa in the second season of the Indian Premier League.

On the personal front, Shilpa has finally made her relationship with Raj Kundra official.

Trans World Features correspondent Sreya Basu caught up with the actress, as she talked cricket.

IPL 2 has just started. Let's not talk about who will win and who won't. Just tell us, what is more difficult -- being a Bollywood actor or the Queen of the Rajasthan Royals?

Queen! Sounds so majestically good (giggles). Believe me, I never thought in this way. I always enjoy multi-tasking and being a part of Rajasthan Royals is a completely new experience for me. I am loving every bit of it.

As for my acting, nowadays I really don't have to grind myself for acting. After all, experience bhi toh koi cheez hoti hai!.

[the article was originally published at http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2009/apr/21sd1-shilpa-shetty.htm]

Mandira Bedi's new look for IPL 09

During the last IPL, Mandira Bedi sported a bob cut complete with red streaks.

She had told us then, “This is the first time that I’ve cut my hair so short. I was a little hesitant to get them chopped, for I’m a Sardarni.”

Guess she was really happy with what the mirror told her. For, she’s gone and done it again – and this time too, it is her friend and hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani, who has styled Mandy’s ‘IPL’ look.

Says Sapna, “This time I’ve given her a still shorter cut – but a lot of fringes on the forehead. Since she is going to be away for a month, I thought the cut would be easy to maintain.” But those red streaks will not be there. “Red streaks fade away too quickly and start looking bad,” explains Sapna.

[credit : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Mandiras-look-in-IPL-/articleshow/4425784.cms]

Kings XI set 105 run target for Delhi Daredevils

Karan Goel scored a quickfire 38 as Kings XI Punjab made 104 for 7 wickets in 12 overs against Delhi Daredevils in the third match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Newlands.
Daniel Vettori picked up three for 15 in the match which was shortened to 12 overs per team due to wet field because of rains and drizzle since morning.

Game has now stopped due to rain again.

Rajasthan’s royal skipper - Shane Warne

As good as he was with the ball in hand in crunch situations, it was as a captain that Shane Warne turned out to be a game-turner. By far, he was the most perspicacious of the eight IPL captains in the league’s inaugural year. He is, arguably, the best captain Australia never had; or, to be precise, the best captain it chose not to have, writes Nirmal Shekar.

After it was all over, after a team that was written off at the start of the tournament had scripted a fairytale finish worthy of blue-blooded cricketing royalty, when you looked back on it all, the irony was inescapable.

Last year’s inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament was a stage made-to-order for strapping young twenty-somethings with over-sized adrenal glands — men such as Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma, to name only two.

What chance of triumph and glory would the merciless actuarial table of T20 cricket have given an ageing troubadour looking forward to his 39th birthday in a competition as frenzied and skill-flattening as the Indian Premier League?

These questions seem obvious until, of course, you come up with the protagonist’s name. Then, suddenly, the pieces fall in place magically and all illogic disappears like morning dew on a clear summer day.

For, rules that apply to ordinary mortals, even the ones that apply to the good and the great, don’t hold good in the case of Shane Warne.

Aged 38, well past his prime and after having retired from international cricket, you’d have thought Warne might have been an expensive misfit in a T20 championship. Yet, this was the man who turned out to be the single most influential figure in the hugely successful first year of the League.

It was a bit like a reluctant Jose Carreras descending on a Hard Rock concert stage and stealing a march over Kid Rock, Metallica and Oasis.

As good as he was with the ball in hand in crunch situations, it was as a captain that Warne turned out to be a game-turner. He is, arguably, the best captain Australia never had; or, to be precise, the best captain it chose not to have.

By far the most perspicacious of the eight IPL captains in the league’s inaugural year, Warne revelled in his role even as his under-rated team, Rajastan Royals, written off as the weakest side in the competition a week into the event, surprised everyone with a string of high-quality performances leading up to a dramatic last-ball victory over Chennai Super Kings in the final.

At $400,000, Warne was by far the best value-for-money player in the competition. But then, the virtues that the great Aussie brings to the field can hardly be represented purely in dollar terms.

There is no putative algorithm for successful leadership, especially in sport, an area of activity that makes room for a wide array of personalities at the top. However, Warne surely possesses a rare mix of attributes that turned him into a genius as a captain. A natural risk taker who backs his instincts, Warne was a hugely inspirational figure, standing on whose shoulders the Royals scaled regal heights.

As in life, in sport too, the best of leaders make things happen instead of waiting for things to happen. And there was no captain quite as pro-active as Warne in the IPL last year.

“Genius is not replicable. Inspiration, though, is contagious and multi-form,” wrote the late David Foster Wallace in Play.

If indeed genius were contagious, everyday reality would be a much more life-enhancing for a lot of us average blokes. But life does offer, from time to time, the illusion that another man’s genius can rub off on us. This is especially so in a cooperative venture like team sport.

Eons before modern civilisation, hundreds of thousands of years before management gurus came up with their mantras and business schools started flourishing, successful alpha males led hunter-gatherer bands through persuasion rather than coercion with ‘collaborative decision-making’ being the norm.

Even in pre-historic times, surely, there is unlikely to have been one successful brand of leadership. For, human personality differences are not exactly a modern phenomenon.

But goal-directed cooperation in the context of modern professional team sports has made way for a fascinating variety of helmsmen, not the least in cricket where the quality of leadership matters so much more than in a sport such as football or hockey. From the imperious Douglas Jardine down to the Socratically wise Mike Brearley and from an awe-inspiring Don Bradman down to a lovable larrikin such as Warne, the game has been able to fit in a range of personalities in leadership roles.

“Broken marriages, conflicts of loyalty, the problems of everyday life fall away as one faces up to (Jeff) Thomson,” wrote Brearley.

Thommo’s lethal pace apart, an English captain may have had to deal with quite a number of other vexing issues in that era. If this is true of almost all captains at all times then the brash new age of Twenty20 cricket — which has robbed on-field decision makers of valuable time — has come to favour the instinctive leaders.

Then again, apart from the speed and quality of Warne’s on-field decision-making, it was what the Aussie genius brought to the Rajasthan Royals’ dressing room that may have made a huge difference in the end.

“You can divide leadership into two aspects,” Brearley said in an interview to The Times (London) a few years ago. “One is telling, ordering even, having a clear idea of what you want and getting people to do it. You might call those masculine qualities.

“And there are the more feminine qualities you might call receptivity. This is consulting people, finding out what they think, their feelings, whether they have different ideas you can learn from.”

Ask any Rajasthan Royals player and he would be willing to swear that Warne blended those two aspects of leadership wonderfully well.

If a leader, as Napoleon said, “is a dealer in hope” then Warne brought hope in lorry loads to the Royals’ camp.

“Some people had branded us underdogs but we had self-belief,” said the charismatic Australian spinner midway through the 2008 tournament.

It was a rare brand of self-belief — instilled in them by their heroic captain — that saw young players such as Ravindra Jadeja, Siddarth Trivedi and Swapnil Asnodkar come up consistently with nerveless displays on the big stage.

“The best part about the IPL is, as well as having four or five different cultures in your team, unearthing some of the young Indian players,” Warne told BBC Sport after last year’s final.

If Warne enjoyed the process of uncovering new talent, then there is little doubt that every one of those young Indians simply adores the great man and will always cherish the days they played alongside one of the game’s greats.

Looking back, it is a bit of an irony that all this celebration of Warne’s imaginative leadership and his ability to inspire youngsters and help them raise their levels should have come after his retirement from the international game.

For, Warne did lead Australia in 11 One-Day Internationals in the late 1990s when Steve Waugh was injured and his team won 10 of those matches. And he might have gone on to lead his country in many more matches but for what the Australian Cricket Board described as “a catalogue of reckless conduct.”

It is a ‘catalogue’ that the Royals’ management is unlikely to take into account as the great man and his boys set out to defend their title in South Africa. For Warne — flawed, sinning, warts and all — may well be irreplaceable.

[credit : http://www.sportstaronnet.com/stories/20090418500700400.htm]

Tendulkar can make it happen for the Mumbai Indians in IPL-2

Indians will be looking to a fully-fit, in-form Sachin Tendulkar to make them serious contenders in the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), beginning here Saturday. They will take on Chennai Super Kings in the first match.
The most expensive of IPL teams, owned by business tycoon Mukesh Ambani, missed iconic Tendulkar in the first seven matches of the inaugural edition due to a groin injury. But his timely presence was inspiring for the team to recover remarkably from a disastrous beginning and reach within striking distance of the semi-final.

Mumbai Indians lost the first four matches under the captaincy of Harbhajan Singh, who was banned for the rest of the IPL for slapping teammate S.Sreesanth. They bounced back to win six matches in a row with Shaun Pollock leading from the front.

The star firepower of Sanath Jayasuriya, Pollock and Dwayne Bravo lifted the team from the dumps. Youngsters Abhishek Nayar and Dhawal Kulkarni, too, played a crucial role in reviving the team’s fortunes.

Mathera marauder Jayasuriya will be a month shy of 40, making him the most aged player in the tournament, but he will be as dangerous as ever. Last year he sprang back to form, scoring 514 runs to become the second highest scorer in the tournament.

This year, he will have a fulltime partner in Tendulkar and seeing the two open the batting will be one of the highlight of the tournament.

Pollock will be doing the job behind the scene as a coach. Former India player Praveen Amre and Jonty Rhodes are the other two coaches of the team.

Zaheer Khan, who was exchanged with Bangalore Royal Challengers’ Robin Uthappa, will be a big bonus to the team. He will lead the attack with fiery Sri Lankan slinger Lasith Malinga.

Mumbai Indians made a smart buy in South Africa’s latest batting sensation J.P Duminy at the auction. Duminy was bought for a whopping US$950,000. They also got Bangladesh batsman Mohammad Ashraful and New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Mills besides trading Ashish Nehra for Shikhar Dhawan from Delhi Daredevils.

They will count on a strong line-up of allrounders in Bravo, Ryan McLaren, Duminy and Essex’s Graham Napier, who hit a world record 16 sixes, cracking 152 against Sussex in a T20 match.

Squad: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Dilhara Fernando, Dwayne Bravo, Luke Ronchi, Saurabh Tiwary, Rohan Raje, Ajinkya Rahane, Pinal Shah, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Yogesh Takawale, Lasith Malinga, Jean-Paul Duminy, Kyle Mills, Mohammad Ashraful, Graham Napier, Jaydev Shah, Ryan Mc Laren, Shikar Dhawan, Chetnya Nanda, Raheel Shaikh, Jude Singh.

[credit : http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/in-form-tendulkar-can-make-it-happen-for-mumbai-indians-in-ipl-2-profile_100180588.html]