1. Ravi Shastri is drinking a honey-lemon infusion to soothe his vocal cords.
2. John Buchanan is reading three books by Edward de Bono at the same time.
3. Sivamani thinks he may have tinnitus, doc.
4. Paul Collingwood is humming “Money for Nothing”.

for more click the below link
http://content.cricinfo.com/iplpage2/content/story/400085.html

Andrew Hughes has written this  fun filled article.

Harbhajan Singh
A true Nietchzsean, he believes we should not be bound by meekness. The superior man does not let Australians, ethics or the ICC Playing Regulations restrict him. And the weak and childlike are often deserving of a slap. Thus spake Harbhajan.

Virender Sehwag
Teaches us that the external world is illusory and that pitches, bowlers and cricket matches do not exist. The essence of Sehwagism is simple. If it moves, hit it. If it doesn’t move, hit it. If you can’t quite see what it is, hit it.

Sourav Ganguly
Like Machiavelli’s ideal ruler, the Prince of Kolkata understands that sometimes it is necessary to treat people badly for their own good and that it is better to be feared than to be loved.

for more click the below link
http://content.cricinfo.com/iplpage2/content/story/402130.html

Starring popular Morgan Freeman & Matt Damon(popular for the Linus character he played in Ocean’s 11, 12, 13, Bourne Identity/Ultimatum Series)

The celebrity quotient during the opening ceremony of the inaugural IPL may have been provided by biggies from Bollywood but the tournament’s shift to South Africa could lend it an international flavour this time around.

Reports suggest Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman – who are working on the Human Factor, a film on how Nelson Mandela used the 1995 rugby World Cup win to help heal post-apartheid race relations – are among the headliners at this year’s ceremony. If true, one of the organisers’ tasks will be to stop them from doing a Groucho Marx (asking “When does the game itself begin?” while watching the match). Pop star George Michael and alternative rock band Snow Patrol are other names being bandied about – though curiously no mention has been made of cricket’s biggest rockstar fans, Mick Jagger and his fellow Rolling Stones. Ah well, you can’t always get what you want…

World famous visitor attraction, Madame Tussauds London, has flown its new wax figure of Sachin Tendulkar over 7,000 kms to Mumbai for a “meeting” with the real cricketing legend. The record breaking “master blaster” is the first Indian sports personality to be portrayed and Tendulkar was delighted to come face to face with his likeness at the Taj Lands End Hotel today.

Sachin Tendulkar said: “I am very impressed with the figure and delighted to be honoured by Madame Tussauds,” commented the renowned batsman.

“It is the first time we have ever launched a figure overseas but we really wanted Sachin to see his likeness before it “meets” the public in the attraction,” said Liz Edwards, PR Manager at Madame Tussauds London. “The figure will now be returning to London to join the ranks of sporting greats past and present in our Sports Zone. There will also be a cricketing challenge around the figure where guests can test their skills against the ‘masterblaster’ and we know it will be a huge hit with fans.”

Tendulkar met with Madame Tussauds sculptors in hometown Mumbai earlier in the year to be measured and photographed for the creation of his figure and donated the cricket whites his striking wax double is wearing. He follows in the famous footsteps of Bollywood giants Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan.

The figure was created at Madame Tussauds studios in West London over a three month period. The first step is to craft a perfect clay sculpture from which the moulds are made to make an amazingly life like wax figure. Then it is over to a team of skilled hair and colour artists to insert the hair by hand and build up life like skin tones using layer upon layer of oil paint; every freckle, mole, dimple and wrinkle are accurately reproduced.

Sally Chatterjee, Interim CEO, Visit London said, “London and India share a great passion for cricket and we are delighted that Madame Tussauds has unveiled a figure of Sachin Tendulkar. With the ICC World Twenty20 coming to London this June more cricket fans will have the opportunity to come face to face with one of their sporting heroes.”

Ritushri Dhankher, Press & PR Manager for VisitBritain India said, “Getting your picture clicked with your favourite cricket and Bollywood star has become so much easier now you can buy your Madame Tussauds tickets here before you fly and also pay in rupees with VisitBritain.”

When Dhoni visited Haryana state he had an opportunity to talk with few National Security Gaurds. One of the Comando’s asked Dhoni, “Whether it possible to hit 10 runs in one ball?”. Dhoni was puzzled for a second, then he with a cool head said, “Actor Rajinikant bats with a style. He smacks the ball. The balls splits into two. One half goes over the boundary for a Six and another rolls over the boundary for a four. So ten runs in 1 ball is a definite possiblity”. This was said with humour and fans of Rajini should not take this in the wrong sense.

People in Nothern parts of India believe Rajini as someone who can do impossible things. Dhoni’s comments is a reflection of this image of Rajini.

Chennai IPL Team’s Captain, MS Dhoni, was quoted saying the following about rajini during the IPL 2008 matches ”It would be a good thing. Here, he’s like a god. He’s a good person and a fine individual. He is amazing! If he’s in our team, it would be wonderful.”

I hope he has lot of respect for Rajini. I certainly don’t doubt his intentions.

“Learning Tamil to watch Sivaji, the boss” – M S Dhoni
When the IPL started in Chennai, MS Dhoni said in an interview that he is awestruck to see thepopularity that Superstar commands here and also said that Tamil Nadu sees him as a demi god. Now again in an interview to a local paper, he has said, “I am a big fan of Superstar. I am planning to watch Sivaji soon. To understand the dialogues, i am now learning Tamil. For that i have to watch tamil films continuously.”

He also added that Actor Vijay has invited him to watch his Kuruvi.
(Note that it is only Vijay invited him to watch. But Dhoni himself expressed his wish to watch Sivaji)

On the whole it seems Captain MS Dhoni seems to like our one and only Superstar Rajinikant.

Credits – onlysuperstar.com

Everyone following cricket will know the combat between Greg chappell and our Dada (Sourav Ganguly).  His dispute with then-coach Greg Chappell resulted in many headlines during 2005 and early 2006. Greg Chappell emailed the BCCI stating that Ganguly was unfit to lead India and that his “divide and rule” behaviour was damaging the team. This email was leaked to the media and resulted in huge backlash from Ganguly’s fans. Eventually due to his poor form and differences with the coach he was stripped of his captaincy and dropped from the team. However, 10 months later, during India’s tour to South Africa, Ganguly was recalled after his middle order replacements Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif suffered poor form.

Retirement from International Cricket

On 7 October 2008, Ganguly announced that the Test series against Australia starting in October 2008 would be his last and stated “to be honest, I didn’t expect to be picked for this series”. Ganguly played in every game of the four-Test series, repaying the selectors faith in him by amassing 324 runs at an average of 54.00. In his last innings, he was dismissed for duck off just one ball. India won the series 2-0, and in the final match, with India needing one wicket to secure a victory, the India captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, allowed Ganguly to lead the side in the field one last time.

On 18 April 2008

Ganguly led the Kolkata Knight Riders team owned by Shah Rukh Khan in the IPL Twenty20 cricket match to a 140 run victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers led by Rahul Dravid and owned by Vijay Mallya. Ganguly opened the innings with Brendan McCullum and scored 10 runs while his partner Brendan McCullum remained unbeaten blasting his way to a record 158* runs in 73 balls. On 1 May in a game between the Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals, Ganguly made his highest score of the season and his second T20 half century, scoring 51 runs off of 39 balls at a strike rate of 130.76. In his innings, Ganguly hit four 4s and two sixes, topping the scorers list for the Knight Riders.

On March 25, 2009

John Buchanan the coach of Kolkata Knight Riders came up with the multiple captains concept. Again a controversy!!! because of a Australian Coach. We all know the fact Ganguly is getting old. It would have been appropriate if John Buchanan had discussed this with SRK and Ganguly.

On March 26, 2009

Ganguly said that he is not fully convinced by Buchanan theory.

“Tomorrow I can jump out and say we need four batting coaches, four John Buchanans and Shah Rukh Khan can say we need six Andy Bichels,” Ganguly told NDTV. “These are all opinions; these are the way they are thinking how Twenty20 cricket can be played. We’ll have to wait and see because it’s completely new, it has never happened in sports.”

Ganguly said that he came to know of his team coach’s plans through the media. “On Tuesday, John mooted the idea to me,” Ganguly told Times of India. “All I can say is that I was not consulted on this. Frankly, it’s a new concept. It may work, it may not. There are no guarantees in sport.”

On March 27, 2009

Buchanan says Ganguly knew about multiple-captain theory. When did they discuss? Last Season!!. Probably either one of them forget something.

Buchanan said, “I had detailed discussions with Sourav during last season’s IPL about his future role,” Buchanan told Anandabazar Patrika, a Kolkata-based daily. “The developments were not at all new to him. We had spoken about the importance of having alternative captains.” Buchanan’s remarks contradict the statements of Ganguly, who had said he had no idea about this strategy. “All I can say is that I was not consulted on this. Frankly, it’s a new concept. It may work, it may not.”

On March 31, 2009

After Ganguly met SRK on 31st it was announced Kolkata to have one captain and many ‘strategists’.

This move could be seen as a climbdown from coach Buchanan’s plan for more than one captain on the field but arguably the only difference now is that the term “captain” has been replaced by “strategist”.

“Needless to say the term ‘multi-captains’ has raised a few eyebrows and questions. The idea is to have a set of strategists as is always the case classically in cricket, who will form a team of 4 to 5 core experts in the field of fielding, bowling, batting and data, etc,” the statement read. “These coaches or strategists will assist the one captain on field with their viewpoints on the game-plan set earlier or shoot from the hip as the case maybe.”

SRK also came out in Buchanan’s defence. “John Buchanan is not Greg Chappell… the comparison is not fair. Dada is very dear to us and nobody is taking away the captaincy from him or taking him away from the team. John and Sourav are our mainstays and all decisions will be taken in tandem with them,” Shah Rukh Khan said.

On April 1, 2009

Vengsarkar said Multiple-captain idea is ridiculous.

“This is ridiculous. It is a mockery of the game with four captains telling the captain what to do and I’ll be glad to see [Sourav] Ganguly back at the helm of the Knight Riders,” Vengsarkar said. “Suppose there is one ball to go and six runs to be scored and then four guys come to advise. It can happen to Ganguly himself. I want Ganguly to go to Buchanan, whose idea it is, and ask him what to do.”

On April 3, 2009

Needless to say Ponting feels there are ‘Merits’ in multi-captain theory. “I think there is some merit in it. We’ll see how it works at the end of this IPL”. Going by that example, Ponting said, Buchanan deserved to be heard. “I don’t see there’s a lot of problems with it. The more experience you can get into a lot of guys as far as leadership goes can only benefit your group.”

He also indirectly attacks DADA with his comments.

Ponting said he was aware of Ganguly’s concern which, he said, was only fair. “”But it seems like it’s a bit more of a sensitive situation at the moment with Sourav being captain and maybe not wanting to give up that actual role, which you can understand as well,” Ponting said.

Just Imagine a battle between India and New Zealand with Shane Bond in the team. Just like Shewag is for India Shane Bond is for New Zealand. With Bond in the current Kiwi’s team, India might have to fight even harder than they have in the current series. 2nd Test Save at Napier would have been just a dream.——————————————————————————————————————————————————-

The New Zealand players involved in the ICL have received an e-mail from the tournament’s organisers stating that they will be released from their contracts if they request for a termination, New Zealand’s Sunday News has reported.

Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket (NZC), told the paper that if these players end their association with the unofficial league, they will be immediately available for selection to the New Zealand national side. Besides fast bowlers Shane Bond and Daryll Tuffey, the other active New Zealand players who are part of the ICL are allrounder Andre Adams and batsman Lou Vincent.

“We wouldn’t stand in the way of any players returning to the Black Caps if they aren’t tied to the ICL,” Vaughan said. “We’ve made it pretty clear from the start that while we can’t select players for New Zealand who are contracted to the ICL, if they end their ties with the league they would be immediately reconsidered for the national side.”

The ICL had cancelled its March-April international programme due to the deepening economic recession and non-availability of Pakistan players.

More in detail

Credits: cricinfo.com

Computicket is South Africa’s leading ticket booking site, a premier ticketing agent.

Finally IPL is confirmed. Though moving the tournament out of India has trigered lot of debate and some organization have filed case against this because it has raised questions over the Security of the Nation. Earlier India Government conveyed their concerns over the overlapping schedule of India Elections and IPL Tournament as a result of which IPL was planned to move either to England or South Africa. Finally South Africa emerged to be the favorites considering the weather factor. IPL starts from 18th April 2009 and goes on till 24th May 2009. To view the schedule online click here.

Venues where IPL matches will be played

1. Newlands, Cape Town – 8 Matches

2. St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth – 7 Matches

3. Kingsmead, Durban – 16 Matches

4. SuperSport Park, Centurion – 12 Matches out of which 1 Semi-Final(1st)

5. Buffalo Park, East London – 3 Matches

6. New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg – 8 Matches out of which 1 Semi-Final(2nd) and 1 final.

7. De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley – 3 Matches

8. OUTsurance Oval, Bloemfontein – 2 Matches

• Total 56 league matches, 2 Semi-Finals, 1 Final. No Reserve Days.

• 37 Match are scheduled Day/Night which starts at 4:30 P.M for Indian Viewers

• Semi-Finals and Finals are scheduled Day/Night

• Remaining 19 matches will start at 12:30 P.M

The matches will be held at 12.30 pm and 4.30 pm local time (4.00pm and 8.00pm IST; 10.30am and 2.30pm GMT).

Teams in the order of the which teams plays first

1. Chennai Super Kings

2. Mumbai Indians

3. Bangalore Royal Challengers

4. Rajasthan Royals

5. Delhi Daredevils

6. Kings XI Punjab

7. Deccan Chargers

8. Kolkata Knight Riders

]]> http://raptor.in/2009/03/29/download-ipl-2009-fixtures/feed/ 0 http://raptor.in/2009/03/29/kps-dance-show-request/ http://raptor.in/2009/03/29/kps-dance-show-request/#comments Sun, 29 Mar 2009 14:50:08 +0000 admin http://raptor.in/?p=324 Players leave tours for plenty of reasons, a common one being the birth of a child, but Kevin Pietersen had a novel one for wanting to leave the Caribbean during the Test series against West Indies. The Sunday Telegraph reported that Pietersen had asked for permission to return home between the third and fourth Tests in order to watch his wife Jessica Taylor, a former Liberty X singer, take part in the television show Dancing on Ice.

He only wanted to go home for 48 hours but his request was refused by the team management. “It was deemed best that he stayed on tour,” said an ECB spokesman. Perhaps it contributed to Pietersen being at the “end of his tether” by the time the ODIs arrived.

Wedding Secret Revealed, a rewind back to 30th December 2007

The flamboyant batsman had tried to keep details of his wedding to Liberty X star Jessica Taylor a secret.

But news leaked out as teammates, including England captain Michael Vaughan and his wife Nichola, and celebrity friends began showing up at St Andrews Church in Castle Combe, Wiltshire, while villagers hung sparkling lights from windows nearby.

The Napier Test has not yet been saved, but Gambhir has been instrumental in India taking that big step towards doing it, and he has made sure he is there to try and take the final steps as well. That, after having batted more than seven hours for only 102 runs, scoring 88 runs in 242 balls today, and only 19 in the final session.

Gambir was on 83 and to move on to 84 took an hour’s time after tea! Sachin was doing all the scoring.

What is often not seen when people look at Gambhir’s “natural” batting in the one-dayers, and even in Tests, is that he is a tough character. “A tough little kid,” Dravid calls him. His friends remember how he cheats while playing videogames, because he hates to lose. It wasn’t really surprising that he was prepared for the battle of the mind.

“There were phases when both of us were challenging each other,” Dravid said. “There are periods when you are batting a long day – it is mentally draining – when your concentration does waver a bit. Hats off to Gautam. He stuck it out. He batted the whole day. Lots of character and temperament. He will learn a lot from this innings, probably more than any he has played in his career.”

The rest of the Test world will learn a lot about Gambhir from this innings, more than they have done from any he has played in his career.

Credits – cricinfo.com

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is the highest run getter in both forms of cricket (Test and ODI). He is a gifted cricketer to have millions of followers.

Devoted fans create icons of the cricketer as the religion’s monkey god Hanuman in the Indian capital, Delhi.

Artist Gautam Bhatia says: “He (Sachin) is truly a god to millions of people who worship this sport.”

Andrew Symonds much really understand that this (Hanuman, Hindu Monkey God) has got nothing to do with racisim but an accolade to true talent.