WeeksUpdate

New Logo for Kolkata Knight Riders IPL Team

2012-02-16T08:30:00.000+05:30

Kolkata, 16 February 2012: Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has unveiled its new look and

logo. The team will be now seen in a new jersey, new log and a new marketing campaign titled “New Dawn. New Knights.”

The new logo developed by branding agency Lambie-Nairn looks better thant the previous one. View it here

Chennai Rhinos CCL 2012 Winners

2012-02-15T22:38:00.000+05:30

Hyderabad, 13 February 2012: Chennai Rhinos won the Celebrity Cricket League 2012 tournament defeating Karnataka Bulldozers in the final held at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad. Chennai batted first and scored 161 for four in 20 overs, the Bulldozers in reply finished short of one run in the chase. Chennai star Vikranth was chosen as Man of the Match with his 95 runs from 69 balls which turned crucial in the Chennai innings.

Score board
Chennai Rhinos innings Runs Balls Mins 4s 6s
Jiiva lbw b Karthik 0 1 2 - -
Vikranth not out 95 69 119 14 1
S Balaji c Karthik b Dhruva 7 16 35 1 -
Vishnu retired hurt 3 5 10 - -
Prithivi c Sudhir b Abhimanyu 20 22 48 3 -
+Ramana c Rajeev b Pradeep 8 7 17 - -
*Vishal not out 4 1 3 1 -
Arya did not bat
Karthik Kumar did not bat
B Shantanoo did not bat
Shiva did not bat
Extras (2 b, 1 lb, 1 nb, 20 w) 24
Total (4 wickets, innings closed, 119 minutes, 20 overs) 161
Fall of wickets:
1-0 (Jiiva, 0.1 ov), 2-37 (Balaji, 5.6 ov), 3-136 (Prithivi, 16.5 ov), 4-154 (Ramana, 19.3 ov)
Karnataka Bulldozers bowling Overs Mdns Runs Wkts Wides No-Balls
Karthik 4 1 17 1 1 -
Dhruva 4 0 30 1 5 1
Pradeep 2 0 23 1 1 -
Sudhir 1 0 10 0 - -
Abhimanyu 3 0 27 1 - -
Bhaskar 4 0 25 0 2 -
Chandra 1 0 16 0 1 -
Rahul 1 0 10 0 - -
Karnataka Bulldozers innings Runs Balls Mins 4s 6s
Bhaskar lbw b Shiva 17 15 25 3 -
Rajeev b Shiva 5 6 14 1 -
Dhruva b Vikranth 58 46 100 7 -
Pradeep b Shantanoo 1 5 7 - -
J Karthik run out (Vikranth) 51 44 96 3 -
*+K Sudeep run out (Ramana) 8 4 5 1 -
Rahul not out 0 1 3 - -
T Chandra run out (Ramana) 0 0 1 - -
K Abhimanyu did not bat
Darshan did not bat
T Sudhir did not bat
Extras (1 b, 2 lb, 1 nb, 16 w) 20
Total (7 wickets, innings closed, 129 minutes, 20 overs) 160
Fall of wickets:
1-23 (Rajeev, 2.3 ov), 2-32 (Bhaskar, 4.1 ov), 3-34 (Pradeep, 5.2 ov), 4-152 (Dhruva, 19.1 ov), 5-160 (Sudeep, 19.5 ov), 6-160 (Karthik, 19.5 ov), 7-160 (Chandra, 20 ov)
Chennai Rhinos bowling Overs Mdns Runs Wkts Wides No-Balls
Jiiva 2 0 21 0 2 -
Vikranth 4 0 32 1 3 -
Shiva 4 0 25 2 3 -
Shantanoo 4 0 23 1 - 1
Vishal 1 0 13 0 - -
Karthik Kumar 2 0 19 0 2 -
Arya 3 0 24 0 1 -

credits cclt20 website

In the last edition also Chennai won the trophy defeating the Karnataka team.

MS Dhoni first Indian wicket keeper to play 200 ODIS

2012-02-15T21:28:00.002+05:30

Kolkata, 14 February 2011: Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni became the first Indian wicket keeper to play 200 One Day Internationals in his career. Dhoni achieved this record when he played the match against Sri Lanka in the ongoing tri-nations tournament in Australia.

Dhoni is ranked fifth in the list of wicket keepers who has played the maximum number of ODIs. South African wicket keeper Mark Boucher leads the list with 294 ODI appearances followed by Austalian Adam Gilchrist. Former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara (269), Pakistan wicket keeper Moin Khan (211) are above Dhoni in the list. Dhoni has the best average (50.96) and the highest score (183*) among the wicket keeping legends. As a captain he has two world cup wins for team India in his credit and is known as the best finisher of the game.

Virat Kohli in 'Top 10 Best Dressed International Men' List

2012-02-11T17:13:00.000+05:30

New Delhi, 11 February 2012: Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has been listed in the list of 'Top-10 Best Dressed International Men' compiled by fashion magazine GQ.

Virat Kohli is ranked third in the list which includes US President Barack Obama, Indian business icon Ratan Tata etc. Irish - German actor Mihael Fassbender leads the list of Best Dressed International Men.

23 year old Kohli, is the most sucessful upcoming Indian cricketer who also plays for Delhi in Ranji trophy and the key player for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in 2008 and was part of the Indian team which won the 2011 World Cup. He is also the brand ambassador of Flying Machine Apparels, TVS Motors (TVS Sports), Fastrack watches and eyegear, Herbalife, Sanngam suiting, etc.

GQ (Gentlemen's Quarterly) is a monthly men's magazine focusing on fashion, style, and culture for men, through articles on food, movies, fitness, sex, music, travel, sports, technology, and books. It is the male equivalent of Vogue.

Sachin Tendulkar Anthem by Dhanush for Boost

2012-02-07T05:58:00.000+05:30

Chennai, 7 February 2012: Dhanush, the Kolaveri star in association with energy drink Boost has come up with a a new anthem for cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar. The Sachin anthem written, composed, sung, directed and acted by Dhanush is a tribute to India's greatest cricketer from the film world. Actress Anushka is also seen along with Dhanush in the Sachin Anthem.

Dhanush, the Tamil actor rose into nation-wide fame after his single 'Why this Kolaveri Di' for the upcoming movie '3' turned viral on the internet. He will be now seen in his first Bollywood movie titled Raanjhnaa where he will be playing the character called Kundan and will be shot in Varanasi.

Yuvraj Singh diagnosed with cancer

2012-02-06T10:28:00.000+05:30

New Delhi, 06 February 2012: Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer and man of the tournament of the last World Cup has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy in the United States. Earlier it was reported that he was diagnosed with a non-malignant tumour and was undergoing treatment. Now it has been confirmed as cancerous and is under treatment at Cancer Research Institute, Boston, USA.

As per reports the physiotherapist of the player has assured that the ailment is curable and nothing to worry about. He has also announced that Yuvraj will return to cricket field in May 2012.

IPL Auction 2012: List of Players, Teams, Bid Amount

2012-02-05T11:53:00.000+05:30

New Delhi, 5 February 2012: Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja got the highest bid in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction held yesterday. Jadeja who was a player of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the last edition of the IPL secured his spot in the Chennai Super Kings team for a maximum price of $ 2 million and an undisclosed amount to the BCCI in a tie-breaker. Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene went to the Delhi Daredevils for $1.4 million, Indian medium pacer Vinay Kumar received $ 1 million to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Brendon McCullum from New Zealand went for $ 900,000 for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Mumbai Indians were the most acitive participant in the auction who brought RP Singh, Thisara Perera, MMitchell Johnson, Robin Peterson, Herschelle Gibbs etc. Pune Warriors pulled off the auction due to the sponsors Sahara India Pariwar withdrawing from the team's ownership.

The list of players brought in the auction is as follows
Brendon McCullum - $900,000 to Kolkata Knight Riders
Ravindra Jadeja - $2 million to Chennai Super Kings
Muttiah Muralitharan - $220,000 to Royal Challengers Bangalore
Mahela Jayawardene - $1.4 million to Delhi Daredevils
Herschelle Gibbs - $50,000 to Mumbai Indians
Brad Hodge - $475,000 to Rajasthan Royals
Parthiv Patel - $650,000 to Deccan Chargers
Dinesh Chandimal - $50,000 to Rajasthan Royals
Andre Russell - $450,000 to Delhi Daredevils
Mitchell Johnson - $300,000 to Mumbai Indians
RP Singh - $600,000 to Mumbai Indians
Vinay Kumar - $1 million to Royal Challengers Bangalore
Sreesanth - $400,000 to Rajasthan Royals
Ramesh Powar - $160,000 to Kings XI Punjab
Brad Hogg - $180,000 to Rajasthan Royals
Sunil Narine - $700,000 to Kolkata Knight Riders
Robin Peterson - $100,000 to Mumbai Indians
Daniel Harris - $70,000 to Deccan Chargers
Kevon Cooper - $50,000 to Rajasthan Royals
James Faulkner - $190,000 to Kings XI Punjab
Azhar Mahmood - $200,000 to Kings XI Punjab
Thisara Perera - $650,000 to Mumbai Indians
Marchant de Lange - $50,000 to Kolkata Knight Riders
Darren Bravo - $100,000 to Deccan Chargers
Doug Bracewell - $50,000 to Delhi Daredevils

Indian Premier League Soccer PLS Teams, Players List

2012-01-30T21:41:00.001+05:30

New Delhi, 30 January 2012: The team and player auction for the first edition of the Indian Premier League Soccer has been held today. Barasat located 28 kms from Kolkata recorded the highest bid among all six franchises. The various teams auctioned and their respective owners are as follows

Barasat - Uro Infra Realty India Limited - 25.12 crores
Kolkata - Camelia group - 11.5 crore
Siliguri - Ajay Consultants - 18 crores
Howrah - Syncsys Infotech - 9 crores
Durgapur - Tulip Infotech - 7.6 crore
Haldia - unsold

The franchises will be owned by the respective companies for a period of ten years. The auction of five icon players and fifteen international players were also held. Italian player and 2006 FIFA world cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro was sold to Siliguri franchise for a price of $830,000. Former Argentina and Chelsea midfielder Hernan Crespo was sold for $ 840,000 Robert Pires French midfielder-striker Robert Pires got $800,000

Icon players

NAME NATIONALITY POSITION AGE Sold to Sold for
Fabio Cannavaro Italy Defender 38 Siliguri $830,000
Robert Pires France Striker 38 Howrah $800,000
Hernan Crespo Argentina Striker 35 Barasat $840,000
Jay Jay Okocha Nigeria Midfielder 38 Durgapur $550,000
Robbie Fowler England Striker 36 Kolkata $530,000

Overseas Players

NAME NATIONALITY POSITION AGE Base Price Sold to Sold for
Daniel Varela Costa Rica Offensive Midfielder 21
$100,000 Kolkata
$110,000
Alonso Solis Costa Rica Midfielder 33
$200,000 Durgapur
$200,000
Joaquin Botero Bolivia Striker 33
$180,000 Barasat
$180,000
Limberg Gutierrez Bolivia Striker 34
$180,000 Siliguri
$180,000
Christian Lara Ecuador Offensive Midfielder 31 $200,000
Barasat
$200,000
Bryan Vega
Costa Rica Forward
/winger 20 $100,000 N.A. Unsold
Diego Madrigal Costa Rica Forward
/winger 22 $120,000 Howrah $120,000
Jose Carlos Castillo Guatemala Striker 20 $80,000 Durgapur $80,000
Robert Egbeta Nigeria Defensive Midfielder 21 $100,000 Kolkata $350,000
Jose Gabriel Rios Bolivia Striker 25 $140,000 Howrah $180,000
Santino Quaranta USA Striker 27 $180,000 Siliguri $180,000
Joselito Vaca Bolivia Striker 31 $180,000 N.A. Unsol

IPL 2012 Auction: McCullum, Sreesanth, Laxman most wanted

2012-01-30T20:37:00.000+05:30

New Delhi, 30 January 2012: The player auction for the forthcoming IPL 2012 season will be held on Saturday, 4 February 2012, at the ITC Royal Gardenia, Bengaluru.

The shortlist of the 144 players who will go under the hammer during the auction has been released. The players who got highest reserve price are as follows:

Brendon McCullum $400,000
S. Sreesanth $400,000
VVS Laxman $400,000
Mahela Jayawardene $300,000
Muthaiah Muralitharan $300,000

RP Singh $200,000
Parthiv Patel $200,000
Steven Smith $200,000
Brad Hodge $200,000
Ian Bell $200,000
Owais Shah $200,000
Nicky Boje $200,000

Ravindra Jadeja $100,000
Vinay Kumar $100,000
Ramesh Powar $100,000
VRV Singh $100,000
Jacon Oram $100,000
Mark Boucher $100,000
Ryan McLaren $100,000
Dilhara Fernando $100,000
Ray Price $100,000

The auction will begin at 11:00 am. The auction will be conducted by Richard Madley, a professional auctioneer from England who has conducted each of the previous IPL player auctions. The proceedings will be broadcast live by IPL Indian broadcaster Sony Set Max.

Federation Cup Tennis 2012 Indian team announced

2012-01-24T00:14:00.000+05:30

New Delhi, 23 January 2012: The Indian senior tennis team for the Federation Cup 2012 scheduled to be held at Shenzhen City, China, from 30th January, 2012 to 4th February, 2012 has been announced.

The team will be led by Indian tennis star Sania Mirza. Other members of the team include Isha Lakhani, Rituja Sampatro Bhosale, Ms. Prerna Bhambri and. Sharmada Balu.

Seven members of the Indian Team, except Ms. Mirza, will leave on 26th January, 2012 to China. Ms. Sania Mirza, who is presently playing in the Australian Open, will join the team in China later. The players will be accompanied by Mr. Enrico Peperno- Coach, Shri Rohit Rajpal- Non-playing Captain, and Shri Anand Kumar, Physiotherapist.

ICC Test Cricket Best Batsman, Bowler, Player Rankings 2012

2012-01-20T18:02:00.000+05:30

New Delhi, 20 January 2012: Internatinal Cricket Council (ICC) has released the official Reliance cricket test player ranking for the month of January 2012 today. Only two Indian players are featured in the list of test batsmen and bowlers. Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan are ranked 9th in the batsmen category and the bowlers list respectively.

Sri Lankan player Kumar Sangakkara is ranked as the no.1 batsman in the test and south African bowler DW Steyn is the best bowler in the list. However the ODI batsman list features two Indian players - Virat Kohli at 3rd spot and MS Dhoni at 5th position.

Batsmen List Test Cricket

ID Rat. Name Nat.
1 850 K.C. Sangakkara
2 846 J.H. Kallis
3 815 A.B. de Villiers
4 791 Younus Khan
5 782 A.N. Cook
6 781 I.J.L. Trott
7 780 I.R. Bell
8 775 T.T. Samaraweera
9 774 S.R. Tendulkar
10 768 M.J. Clarke

Bowler List Test Cricket

ID Rat. Name Nat.
1 896 D.W. Steyn
2 799 J.M. Anderson
3 762 Saeed Ajmal
4 752 G.P. Swann
5 737 S.C.J. Broad
6 736 P.M. Siddle
7 718 B.W. Hilfenhaus
8 715 M. Morkel
9 705 Zaheer Khan
10 678 Shakib Al Hasan

Batsmen List One day Cricket
ID Rat. Name Nat.
1 840 H.M. Amla
2 791 A.B. de Villiers
3 783 V. Kohli
4 772 I.J.L. Trott
5 758 M.S. Dhoni
6 757 S.R. Watson
7 752 K.C. Sangakkara
8 737 M.E.K. Hussey
9 715 M.J. Clarke
10 702 Umar Akmal

Bowler List One day Cricket
ID Rat. Name Nat.
1 736 Saeed Ajmal
2 717 Mohammad Hafeez
3 690 D.L. Vettori
4 689 G.P. Swann
5 688 M.G. Johnson
6 677 M. Morkel
7 662 Shakib Al Hasan
8 660 D.E. Bollinger
9 644 Shahid Afridi
10 642 D.W. Steyn

Bangladesh Premier League T20 2012: Afridi, Gayle most valuable players

2012-01-19T20:36:00.001+05:30

Dhaka, 19 January 2012: Shahid Afridi of Pakistan became the most valuable Twenty20 player in the first Bangladesh Premier League auction held today. Afridi was roped in by Dhaka Gladiators team for US $ 700,000 followed by Chris Gayle who secured $551,000 to play for Barisal Burners.

Other players based on the highest bidding value are as follows:
Marlon Samuels - Rajshahi $360,000
Kieron Pollard - Dhaka $300,000
Shoaib Malik - Chittagong $150,000
Dwayne Bravo - Chittagong $150,000
Brad Hodge - Barisal $140,000
Sanath Jayasuriya - Khulna $110,000
Muttiah Muralitharan - Chittagong $100,000
Kamran Akmal - Sylhet $100,000
Rana Naved-ul Hasan - Dhaka $100,000
Sohail Tanvir - Sylhet $100,000
Saeed Ajmal - Dhaka $100,000

Bangladesh players Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Ashraful, Shahriar Nafees and Alok Kapali had been selected as icon players for the six franchises.

Around 200 cricketers were auctioned for the tournament in which each team could spend a maximum of Rs. $2 million and eight overseas players.

Celebrity Cricket League CCL 2012 Schedule

2012-01-15T21:54:00.001+05:30

Celebrity Cricket League CCL 2012 Schedule

13-Jan Friday Sharjah
Mumbai Heroes Telugu Warriors 9.00 pm to 1.00 am

14-Jan Saturday Sharjah
Mumbai Heroes Chennai Rhinos 9.00 pm to 1.00 am

15-Jan Sunday Bengaluru
Bengal Tigers Karnataka Bulldozers 6 pm to 10 pm

21-Jan Saturday Hyderabad
Kerala Strikers Chennai Rhinos 2 pm to 6 pm
Telugu Warriors Karnataka Bulldozers 6 pm to 10 pm

22-Jan Sunday Kochi
Bengal Tigers Chennai Rhinos 2 pm to 6 pm
Kerala Strikers Mumbai Heroes 6 pm to 10 pm

28-Jan Saturday Chennai
Telugu Warriors Kerala Strikers 2 pm to 6 pm
Karnataka Bulldozers Chennai Rhinos 6 pm to 10 pm

29-Jan Sunday Bengaluru
Bengal Tigers Telugu Warriors 2 pm to 6 pm
Karnataka Bulldozers Mumbai Heroes 6 pm to 10 pm

4-Feb Saturday Vizag
Kerala Strikers Bengal Tigers 2 pm to 6 pm
Telugu Warriors Chennai Rhinos 6 pm to 10 pm

5-Feb Sunday Kolkata
Karnataka Bulldozers Kerala Strikers 2 pm to 6 pm
Bengal Tigers Mumbai Heroes 6 pm to 10 pm

11-Feb Saturday Chennai
Semi Final 1 2 pm to 6 pm
Semi Final 2 6 pm to 10 pm

12-Feb Sunday Hyderabad
Final 6 pm to 10 pm

Cricket to be included in Olympics in 2020

2012-01-15T08:23:00.001+05:30

New Delhi, 15 January 2012: The International Cricket Council (ICC) considers T20 cricket format to be included as an event in the Olympics soon. Cricket, Test format and ODI format, eventhough is played globaly was not included as an event in the Olympics games. Cricket has been played only once at the Olympics, in 1900, although it was not officially recognised as an Olympic sport until 12 years later.

Now with the advent of the shorter T20 format, it has become easier to be included in the Olympics. The International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport's world governing body, was officially recognised as a federation by the International Olympic Committee in 2010, and the ICC can bid to join the 2020 Games, said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.

MS Dhoni hints retirement from Test cricket in 2013

2012-01-12T19:05:00.003+05:30

Trivandrum, 12 January 2012: Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni has said that he plans to retire from Test cricket in 2013. ""If I have to see through the 2015 (World Cup), I would have to retire from one of the formats", Dhoni said to media today. Dhoni, born 7 July 1981 is currently aged 30.

Dhoni made his test cricket debut against Sri Lanka in 2005 replacing Dinesh Karthik as wicket keeper. He has scored five test centuries with 148 against Pakistan in Faisalabad being the highest. This innings is the fastest century (From 93 balls) scored by an Indian wicket keeper. It was under Dhoni's captaincy India defeated Australia by 320 runs in 2008 which is the biggest win in terms of runs for India.

India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB Series of 2007–08, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2008 and 2010 against Australia 2–0 and 2011 World Cup under his captaincy. His Test, ODI record is best among all the Indian captains to date.

Sunil Chhetri AIFF Footballer of the Year 2011

2012-01-11T13:49:00.000+05:30

New Delhi, 10 January 2012: Indian footballer Sunil Chhetri has been awarded as the Indian Player of the Year 2011 by All India Football Federation (AIFF). The award was handed over to Chhetri in an event held after the exhibition match between German club Bayern Munich and Indian XI at New Delhi yesterday. The match was incidently the farewell match of Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia.

The Indian Footballer of the Year award carries a cash prize of Rs. 2 Lakh and a memento. He has 13 international goals and 11 club goals in his credit in the year 2011. He was also selected as the Man of the Tournament in SAFF cup.

This is the second time the footballer is receiving this award, he was also named as the best footballer in India during 2007. He currently plays for Mohun Bagan Kolkata in the Indian football league. At international level, Chhetri has represented India in the Nehru Cup, the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup.

Twitter Ban for Indian Cricketers

2012-01-10T05:45:00.002+05:30

New Delhi, 10 January 2012: Indian Team management has instructed the cricket players not to use social media networks like Twitter during the ongoing tour against Australia. This regulation follows after Indian batsman Vital Kohli was fined after showing middle finger to the crowd in the Sydey test.

Virat Kohli later explained his part using Twitter as "I agree cricketers don't have to retaliate. What when the crowd says the worst things about your mother and sister? The worst I've heard,"

Virat Kohli shows middle finger to crowd, fined India vs Australia II Test Sydney

2012-01-05T22:09:00.001+05:30

Mumbai, 5 January 2012: Virat Kohli, Indian cricketer who is currently on tour in Australia for test series has been fined 50 percent of the match fee for showing his middle finger to the crowd. The incident which occured in the second day of the second test between India and Australia at Sydney.

As per reports, Virat Kohli who was fielding near the boundary line was irritated by the comments of some people in the crowd eventually showed a unacceptable finger gesture to the crowd. After watching the video replays of the incident and the explanation by the player, the match referee Ranjan Madugalle announced the punishment.Kohli explained his version to his fans and media via twitter as follows:"I agree cricketers don't have to retaliate, what when the crowd says the worst things about your mother and sister, the worst I've heard,"

SCMM Mumbai Marathon 2012 Winners, Prizes

2012-01-04T17:33:00.002+05:30

New Delhi, 4 January, 2011: Mumbai Marathon 2012, the highest prize money offering Marathon in Asia will be held on 6th, 7th and 8th of January 2012.

The competition will be held at MMRDA exhibition grounds, Bandra Kurla complex in Mumbai. This year the prize money of the richest marathon has been increased by US $15,000 to US $340,000. Former Indian Tennis star Vijay Amritraj has been named as the event ambassador of the 2012 Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon.

A total of 38,775 runners has been registered for the event. Full Marathon amateur runners to start at 5.40 a.m

Various categories and Prizes for the Marathon include
General Marathon Category
Top Overall finishers
Indian Half Marathon finisher
Top Marathon open age finishers
Top Marathon senior veteran finishers
Top Marathon super veteran finishers

Half Marathon Category
Top Overall finishers
Top Half Marathon veteran finishers
Top Half Marathon Senior Veteran Finishers
Top Half Marathon Super Veteran Finishers

Monkeygate Scandal Ind vs Aus 2008: Sachin criticized by The Herald Sun

2012-01-02T20:03:00.001+05:30

New Delhi, 2 January, 2012: Australian newspaper 'The Herald Sun' today slammed Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar for backing Harbhajan Singh during the controversial 'Monkeygate scandal' during 2008 series between India and Australia. In a report published in 'The Herald Sun' authored by Malcom Conn, he says that the Australian players lost their respect for Sachin Tendulkar after the incident.

The Monkeygate incident occured during the second test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy held between January 2-6, 2008 at Sydney. Australia won the test which was controversial in many ways. The two umpires in the test Steve Bucknow and Mark Benson came up with several wrong decisions. Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh got in a row with Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds which was later rated as a racial abuse. Harbhajan was banned by the match referee Mike Procter for three tests, and Indian team threatened to pull out from the ongoing tour.

Sachin Tendulkar was of opinion that Harbhajan Singh did not use the word "Monkey" abusing Andrew Symonds, instead he used an Hindi word which sounded like "Monkey"

Ind vs Aus Boxing Day Test 2011 Melbourne

2011-12-26T10:40:00.001+05:30

India vs Australia
Border-Gavaskar Trophy - 1st Test
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia
26-30 December 2011

India team
V Sehwag, G Gambhir, R Dravid, SR Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, V Kohli, MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Z Khan, I Sharma, U Yadav

Australia 1st innings R B 4s 6s SR
EJM Cowan c Dhoni b Ashwin 68 177 7 0 38.41
DA Warner c Dhoni b Yadav 37 49 4 1 75.51
SE Marsh c Kohli b Yadav 0 6 0 0 0.00
RT Ponting c Laxman b Yadav 62 94 6 0 65.95
MJ Clarke b Khan 31 68 5 0 45.58
MEK Hussey c Dhoni b Khan 0 1 0 0 0.00
BJ Haddin c Sehwag b Khan 27 70 1 0 38.57
PM Siddle c Dhoni b Khan 41 99 4 0 41.41
JL Pattinson not out 18 54 2 0 33.33
BW Hilfenhaus c Kohli b Ashwin 19 32 3 0 59.37
NM Lyon b Ashwin 6 11 1 0 54.54
Extras (lb 21, w 2, nb 1) 24

Total (all out; 110 overs) 333 (3.02 runs per over)

India 1st innings R B 4s 6s SR
G Gambhir c †Haddin b Hilfenhaus 3 23 0 0 13.04
V Sehwag b Pattinson 67 83 7 0 80.72
R Dravid b Hilfenhaus 68 187 6 0 36.36
SR Tendulkar b Siddle 73 98 8 1 74.48
I Sharma c †Haddin b Hilfenhaus 11 69 0 0 15.94
VVS Laxman c †Haddin b Siddle 2 22 0 0 9.09
V Kohli c †Haddin b Hilfenhaus 11 21 1 0 52.38
MS Dhoni*† c Hussey b Hilfenhaus 6 8 0 0 75.00
R Ashwin c †Haddin b Siddle 31 35 3 1 88.57
Z Khan b Pattinson 4 6 1 0 66.66
U Yadav not out 2 16 0 0 12.50
Extras (w 1, nb 3) 4

Total (all out; 94.1 overs) 282 (2.99 runs per over)

India vs Australia 2012 ODI, Tests, T20 Schedule/Fixture

2011-12-16T22:30:00.000+05:30

India vs Australia 2012 ODI, Tests, T20 Schedule/Fixture

Thu Dec 15 - Fri Dec 16
05:30 IST Cricket Australia Chairman's XI v Indians
Manuka Oval, Canberra

Mon Dec 19 - Wed Dec 21
05:30 IST Cricket Australia Chairman's XI v Indians
Manuka Oval, Canberra

Mon Dec 26 - Fri Dec 30
05:00 IST 1st Test - Australia v India
Melbourne Cricket Ground

Tue Jan 3 - Sat Jan 7
05:00 IST 2nd Test - Australia v India
Sydney Cricket Ground

Fri Jan 13 - Tue Jan 17
08:00 IST 3rd Test - Australia v India
Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth

Tue Jan 24 - Sat Jan 28
05:30 IST 4th Test - Australia v India
Adelaide Oval

Wed Feb 1
14:05 IST 1st T20I - Australia v India
Stadium Australia, Sydney

Fri Feb 3
14:05 IST 2nd T20I - Australia v India
Melbourne Cricket Ground

Sun Feb 5
08:50 IST Australia v India
Melbourne Cricket Ground

Wed Feb 8
09:50 IST India v Sri Lanka
Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth

Sun Feb 12
08:50 IST Australia v India
Adelaide Oval

Tue Feb 14
08:50 IST India v Sri Lanka
Adelaide Oval

Sun Feb 19
08:50 IST Australia v India
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane

Tue Feb 21
08:50 IST India v Sri Lanka
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane

Sun Feb 26
08:50 IST Australia v India
Sydney Cricket Ground

Tue Feb 28
08:50 IST India v Sri Lanka
Bellerive Oval, Hobart

source: ESPN

Rahul Dravid's speech at the Sir Donald Bradman Oration, Australia

2011-12-15T11:45:00.000+05:30

Canberra, 15 December 2011: Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid became the first Indian to deliver the annual Sir Donald Bradman Oration in Australia. In the speech given yesterday Dravid said that all the three format of cricket, the test, ODI and T20 should be given equal respect and playing more international matches in any form of the game kills the standard of the game.

IPL 2012 Schedule, Auction, Format

2011-12-12T20:15:00.000+05:30

New Delhi, 12 December 2011: The 5th season of the Indian Premier Leauge 2012 will be held from 4th April 2012 with the inaugural match to be held at Chennai. This year the tournament format will be "home and away" similar to the first editions. Nine franchises will play 16 matches, followed by four play off matches with a total of 76 matches this season. The final to be played in Chennai on Sunday, 27 May 2012.

This year Kochi Tuskers franchisee whose contract had been terminated earlier will surrender its players for the player auction which is expected to be held during January 2012.

Each franchise will have an Auction Purse of $2m to spend on players in the 2012 auction.

For the 2012 & 2013 seasons, the maximum squad size will be increased to 33, and the cap on the number of overseas players in the squad increased to 11.

IPL 2012 Schedule/Fixture

8-Apr-11 20:00 1st Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 1st IPL Chennai
9-Apr-11 16:00 2nd Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals, 2nd IPL Hyderabad
9-Apr-11 20:00 3rd Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 3rd IPL Kochi
10-Apr-11 16:00 4th Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians, 4th IPL Delhi
10-Apr-11 20:00 5th Pune Warriors vs Kings XI Punjab, 5th IPL Navi Mumbai
11-Apr-11 20:00 6th Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers, 6th IPL Kolkata
12-Apr-11 16:00 7th Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils, 7th IPL Jaipur
12-Apr-11 20:00 8th Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians, 8th IPL Bangalore
13-Apr-11 16:00 9th Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings, 9th IPL Mohali
13-Apr-11 20:00 10th Pune Warriors vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 10th IPL Navi Mumbai
14-Apr-11 20:00 11th Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 11th IPL Hyderabad
15-Apr-11 16:00 12th Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 12th IPL Jaipur
15-Apr-11 20:00 13th Mumbai Indians vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 13th IPL Hyderabad
16-Apr-11 16:00 14th Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 14th IPL Chennai
16-Apr-11 20:00 15th Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab, 15th IPL Hyderabad
17-Apr-11 16:00 16th Pune Warriors vs Delhi Daredevils, 16th IPL Navi Mumbai
17-Apr-11 20:00 17th Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals, 17th IPL Kolkata
18-Apr-11 20:00 18th Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Chennai Super Kings, 18th IPL Kochi
19-Apr-11 16:00 19th Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers, 19th IPL Delhi
19-Apr-11 20:00 20th Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals, 20th IPL Bangalore
20-Apr-11 16:00 21st Mumbai Indians vs Pune Warriors, 21st IPL Mumbai
20-Apr-11 20:00 22nd Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 22nd IPL Kolkata
21-Apr-11 20:00 23rd Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals, 23rd IPL Mohali
22-Apr-11 16:00 24th Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 24th IPL Kolkata
22-Apr-11 20:00 25th Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, 25th IPL Mumbai
23-Apr-11 20:00 26th Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab, 26th IPL Delhi
24-Apr-11 16:00 27th Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians, 27th IPL Hyderabad
24-Apr-11 20:00 28th Rajasthan Royals vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 28th IPL Jaipur
25-Apr-11 20:00 29th Chennai Super Kings vs Pune Warriors, 29th IPL Chennai
26-Apr-11 20:00 30th Delhi Daredevils vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 30th IPL Delhi
27-Apr-11 16:00 31st Pune Warriors vs Chennai Super Kings, 31st IPL Navi Mumbai
27-Apr-11 20:00 32nd Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Deccan Chargers, 32nd IPL Kochi
28-Apr-11 20:00 33rd Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 33rd IPL Delhi
29-Apr-11 16:00 34th Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, 34th IPL Jaipur
29-Apr-11 20:00 35th Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Pune Warriors, 35th IPL Bangalore
30-Apr-11 16:00 36th Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Delhi Daredevils, 36th IPL Kochi
30-Apr-11 20:00 37th Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab, 37th IPL Kolkata
1-May-11 16:00 38th Rajasthan Royals vs Pune Warriors, 38th IPL Jaipur
1-May-11 20:00 39th Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers, 39th IPL Chennai
2-May-11 16:00 40th Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab, 40th IPL Mumbai
2-May-11 20:00 41st Delhi Daredevils vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 41st IPL Delhi
3-May-11 20:00 42nd Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 42nd IPL Hyderabad
4-May-11 16:00 43rd Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, 43rd IPL Chennai
4-May-11 20:00 44th Pune Warriors vs Mumbai Indians, 44th IPL Navi Mumbai
5-May-11 16:00 45th Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 45th IPL Kochi
5-May-11 20:00 46th Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils, 46th IPL Hyderabad
6-May-11 20:00 47th Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab, 47th IPL Bangalore
7-May-11 16:00 48th Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings, 48th IPL Kolkata
7-May-11 20:00 49th Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils, 49th IPL Mumbai
8-May-11 16:00 50th Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 50th IPL Bangalore
8-May-11 20:00 51st Kings XI Punjab vs Pune Warriors, 51st IPL Mohali
9-May-11 20:00 52nd Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings, 52nd IPL Jaipur
10-May-11 16:00 53rd Deccan Chargers vs Pune Warriors, 53rd IPL Hyderabad
10-May-11 20:00 54th Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians, 54th IPL Mohali
11-May-11 20:00 55th Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 55th IPL Jaipur
12-May-11 20:00 56th Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils, 56th IPL Chennai
13-May-11 20:00 57th Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Kings XI Punjab, 57th IPL Indore
14-May-11 16:00 58th Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 58th IPL Bangalore
14-May-11 20:00 59th Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers, 59th IPL Mumbai
15-May-11 20:00 60th Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils, 60th IPL Dharmasala
15-May-11 20:00 61st Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Rajasthan Royals, 61st IPL Indore
16-May-11 20:00 62nd Pune Warriors vs Deccan Chargers, 62nd IPL Navi Mumbai
17-May-11 20:00 63rd Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 63rd IPL Dharmasala
18-May-11 20:00 64th Chennai Super Kings vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 64th IPL Chennai
19-May-11 20:00 65th Pune Warriors vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 65th IPL Navi Mumbai
20-May-11 20:00 66th Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals, 66th IPL Mumbai
21-May-11 16:00 67th Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers, 67th IPL Dharmasala
21-May-11 20:00 68th Delhi Daredevils vs Pune Warriors, 68th IPL Delhi
22-May-11 16:00 69th Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings, 69th IPL Bangalore
22-May-11 20:00 70th Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians, 70th IPL Kolkata
24-May-11 20:00 71st Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings, Qualifier 1 IPL Mumbai
25-May-11 20:00 72nd Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Eliminator IPL Mumbai
27-May-11 20:00 73rd Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians, Qualifier 2 IPL Chennai
28-May-11 20:00 Final Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challenger Bangalore, Final IPL Chennai

Sehwag 219 (Video Highlights) Double Century against West Indies

2011-12-08T18:45:00.001+05:30

V Sehwag c sub (A Martin) b Pollard
Runs 219
Balls 149
Fours 25
Sixes 7
Strike rate 146.97