DD vs DC : Resurgent Delhi Daredevils have Deccan Chargers in sight

Delhi Daredevils got a new lease of life in the Indian Premier league (IPL) with a morale- boosting win over Pune Warriors on Sunday and are now charged up against Deccan Chargers who have the monkey off their back, finally, with their first victory at home this season. The Daredevils got their campaign on track with a superb run- chase against Pune that will surely keep their detractors at bay, at least for some time.

On Tuesday, at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground, they face Deccan Chargers, who finally won a match at home after three seasons but apart from their sole win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Hyderabad outfit hasn’t looked very convincing.

But as the tournament has shown so far, none of the teams can be underestimated and every side now has a win against its name. Delhi’s floundering batting finally came good against Pune when they chased down an imposing score of 187 on Sunday. Openers Virender Sehwag and David Warner will again shoulder a majority of home expectations while Venugopal Rao’s form has come as another major boost for the side.

But the worrying aspect for the Daredevils would be the lack of consistent performance and bowling would be another area where the team needs to pull up its socks. Irfan Pathan is yet to fire and so far, he has failed to justify the millions of dollars that were spent on him by the franchise owner.

Apart from South African Morne Morkel none of the Delhi bowlers have looked penetrative and the domestic players haven’t been too impressive. Umesh Yadav and Ashoke Dinda haven’t been able to hit the top gear and with pacemen Ajit Agarkar and Varun Aaron waiting in the wings for their first matches, Delhi have the option to try the untested combo.

Morkel, who missed the last match on Sunday, looks to have recovered from the injury he sustained and did bowl at the nets during the team’s training session on Monday evening. But a final call on his availability will be taken only before the match.

All- rounder James Hopes, in all probability, is likely to retain his place ahead of Matthew Wade. For most of the teams, relatively unknown players from India’s domestic circuit have come good but for Delhi there hasn’t been any such player.

For Deccan Chargers, the going has been tough as well and they have won just one of their four matches. The team has some big names with captain Kumar Sangakkara being the most prominent of them all.

JP Duminy, Shikhar Dhawan and Bharat Chipli have had a decent run while the Deccan have a good bowling line- up with Dale Steyn leading their pace attack.

Besides, the Chargers also have the spinners like Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha who can exploit the Kotla wicket that is known for its slow and low nature. Despite the presence of good players, the 2009 champions haven’t been found a footing in the tournament. A major reason for their not- so- impressive start in the event is that the players haven’t fired in unison.

All- rounder Cameron White hasn’t had a game yet for the Chargers and it remains to be seen if the Australian finds a place in the playing XI against the Daredevils.

Surely going by their track record, Daredevils start as favourites against a struggling Deccan Chargers. But as the tournament has seen so far shown, no team can be taken lightly and a lot of team have paid heavy price for being complacent.

Daredevils are one of the prime examples of that when their under- fire batting went on to bring the high- flying Pune Warriors down to earth. But Deccan would certainly not be pushovers, especially against the Delhi side that has just Warner and Sehwag from their previous teams.

Yuvraj Singh will be the decisive factor in India vs Srilanka Final

After more than 10 years at the international level, Yuvraj Singh has almost seen it all. He might be in the form of his life in the on- going World Cup — having aggregated 341 runs in seven matches and 13 wickets in the bag — but Yuvraj isn’t ready to let the adulation get to his head.

While others have made him the toast of the nation, the claims of under- performance levied against him in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is etched in his memory.


Yuvraj was accused of underperforming after Kumar Sangakkara’s elevation to the captaincy of the Kings XI Punjab team and that apparently spurred him. His effort to throw light on his career- threatening knee and wrist injury was seen as a mere excuse.

But now that he is back with a vengeance, having claimed as many as four man- of- the- match awards in the showpiece event, his critics have definitely been shut.

Considered immensely talented yet inconsistent in his initial days at the toplevel, he was dropped from the squad in October 2001, before the then skipper Sourav Ganguly made it clear that his place was in the team and brought him back in the squad in March 2002. The last year was definitely the ultimate low in his otherwise illustrious ODI career.

“ The allegations of under- performance definitely hurt me. I have given my 100 per cent every time I have taken the cricket field and those claims were as bad as accusing me of match- fixing. Sadly I had just started recuperating from my wrist injury and although I couldn’t even hit the ball properly in the first few matches of the IPL, no one bothered to take my word,” he said.

The fact that he has already scored 432 runs in 12 ODI matches in the 2011 season as compared to the 349 runs he scored from 15 matches in 2010 shows that the knee and wrist injury actually took a toll on him.

He has claimed 18 wickets in 94 overs that he has bowled in the 2011 season so far and that only adds to the fact that he has turned out to be a match- winner with both bat and ball in 2011 after a sedate 2010.

He is back at his favourite position — backward point — a spot he made his own since his debut in 2000 before moving to mid- off in the previous season and that shows the left- hander is close to full fitness.

“ The decision to move from my favourite point position was taken by me as I felt the injuries decreased my agility and point is an important position. I had been asked not to run by the doctor and although I agree I had put on a bit of weight, it’s not that I put on 10 kgs,” he said.

Former India player Chetan Chauhan feels Yuvraj has been a revelation in the World Cup after a rather subdued 2010. “ He always had class, but multiple injuries didn’t help his cause much. But the maturity he has shown both with bat and ball in the showpiece event is worth applauding,” Chauhan said.

Poonam Pandey pics and story becomes more popular than the final itself

Poonam Pandey story of let go her clothes if India lifts the cup has become the talk of the nation and is growing even bigger. Now, after India has beaten Pakistan in the semi-final, for some people the job is done and it doesn't matter if Team India win the trophy or not but the ambition of this model has given a new boost to these people to see India win the cup and Poonam doing her thing.

All of 19 years of age, Poonam Pandey has already become an overnight national celebrity. Running riot on Twitter, this 5 feet 7 inches model whose only claim to fame so far was having taken part in India’s Pirelli—the Kingfisher Calendar hunt—has now entered happy hour conversation of every cricket buff.

Having vowed to strip naked in case India wins the World Cup, she has become a rather sexy symbol for the phrase ‘wait and watch’. Being an avid cricket buff herself and a patriotic Indian, Poonam says she will not go back on her word and her family will back her up completely in the moment of truth.

Just like the Twitterattis, most people stand divided on her bold declaration. Adman Piyush Pandey for one thinks it’s the worst sort of marketing gimmick.

“She is clearly just hankering for some cheap publicity. I really don’t think or rather hope not that she’d go through with this. What’s all that talk of people feeling proud of her? I, in fact feel embarrassed that she shares my surname,” he said. “And if she really was that big a fan, we would have known her just as much as we know the bearded guy who trails the Pakistani team or that young Sachin fan who paints his body.”

Atul Kasbekar, celebrity photographer, who met her during the Kingfisher hunt, says, “Though I didn’t interact much with her, considering she got eliminated rather early on, I do remember her as Plain Jane deluxe.

“She struck you as a kind of girl who’d get married and live happily in a small town. Simple and sweet, I never for once could imagine her to indulge in this Rakhi Sawant-esque behaviour. It’s amusing, but good for her. She is enjoying her Andy Warhol moment.”

Poonam’s 15-minutes of fame might fizzle out if she doesn’t take the plunge. Till then there are others who have decided to get their 2 minutes in the sun piggybacking off her.

For instance Suparn Verma, director of Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina tweeted on Thursday that he had directed a nude video of Poonam Pandey. He also went a step further and tweeted that it was he who had shot her nude video which he would upload on the Net if and once India won! Well, it turned out be an April Fool’s joke. He was later heard clarifying, “I don't know who Poonam Pandey is. But the joke seems to have worked. My inbox is full and the phone won’t stop ringing.”

Adman Prahlad Kakkar likes to differ on the harsh standpoint on the girl. “It’s absolutely great and gutsy. She is no Rakhi Sawant. She is a good looking girl with a hot body who wants to be noticed for perfectly right reasons.

“She might be accused of using wrong means to a good end, but that’s about it. How she’d pull it off concerns me more. In a nation where there is moral police behind every lamppost, it would be tough for her.”

Atul thinks it’s rather smart of her, as it would never really happen. “Considering she has put so many riders on her claim like BCCI giving her permission and all, it’s bound to never happen and that’s what clever about her claim.”

Prahlad though doesn’t think it’s about whether it happens or not. He thinks the circus surrounding her is quite telling of the times we live in, “The whole nation is titillated by the thought but would still berate her for doing exactly what they hope she does. It’s plain hypocrisy. Maybe she should paint her body with the Tricolour. In which case, she’d only be held for contempt and deal with the police and not come out nude and deal with the moral police.”

For someone who claims to be that big a cricket fan that she’d strip if India win, Poonam surprisingly doesn’t have any favourites in the team. “ They are all my favourite”, she says in a practiced way. She also doesn’t have any cricketing advice, characteristic of a fan. “ They should play the way they are. They are doing so well,” she says.

On being asked if she’d actually do what she claims, she responds rather matter of factly, “ of course. As long as I get permission from BCCI and a ticket to the game. You know how tough it is to get one.” And we thought celebrities don’t have to work hard to get a pass to the final!

India vs Sri Lanka Final in ICC World Cup : An Injury Hit Game

Both the sides who have made to the final game of ICC world Cup 2011 is struggling with the injuries sustained to the key players of the team. Ashish Nehra after being hit by a ball got his finger fractured and now is virtually out of the final which is certainly a big blow to India. One would’ve thought the team would have been well served in playing the same combination as the semi-final, however it means Ashwin will slot right back in and the Indians will hope the pitch is a turner.

Gautam Gambhir also has a niggle and Yusuf Pathan is the ideal, and perhaps only, choice to come in. We would like to see Dhoni go down to number seven to finish the game, taking a chance with Pathan at number six.

On the other hand, Sri lanka have called up Chaminda Vaas and Suraj Randiv to be the replacement of injured key players like Muralitharan and Angelo Mathews, in case later fails to clear the fitness test. If the replacement is done, it will be a equal big blow to the Lankan side, however an ICC official confirmed that ICC hasn’t received any request from Sri Lanka cricket board so far.

Looking ahead to the final, I believe India have a distinct advantage, given Sri Lanka’s cushy run so far in the tournament. They were in the easier half of the draw, then in the quarter- final England hardly put up a fight, and in the semi- final, their frailties were exposed by a short period of brilliance from New Zealand. Their top four have been their biggest strength, scoring all their runs, and if even two of them fail, whether due to pressure or the law of averages, they will be at a disadvantage.

Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews did well to see them through the other day, but their lack of exposure in the middle will catch up with them, especially if India bowl and field the way they did against Pakistan and Australia.

In the two matches held at the Wankhede Stadium, it was clear that there was more bounce on the wickets than other centres. I honestly believe if India play normal cricket, they will win. The reason I say this is that the Indians are mentally in a much stronger position, given the difficulty of their run to the final. They have been challenged at every stage and, like gold, the more blows they have sustained, the stronger they have become.

I guess in Mumbai, the toss will play an important part in the result too, and India would do well to learn their lesson from the 2003 final and bat first, in case Dhoni gets lucky with the toss.

All eyes now set on India vs Pakistan Semi Final

Today millions of people would witness what happens when emotions meet excitement when passion and patriotism comes hand in hand during the second semi final of ICC world cup 2011 where arch rivals India and Pakistan play for the spot in the final to clash against another sub-continent nation Sri Lanka to take home highest honor in the game called Cricket.

It has already been declared as a half holiday in Pakistan and corporate offices in India have either set up big screens in offices or have declared an off to give their employees a treat to witness the most awaited game of the world cup. The Prime Ministers of both countries, Sonia Gandhi, A list crowd of celebrities from Bollywood and India Inc have already landed on the Chandigarh’s tiny airport to make their way to Mohali.

Crores of rupees are set to change hands in betting during the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, with crime branch sources saying the stake would be as high as Rs.500-600 crore. Although the crime branch has already busted 13 betting syndicates in the city and arrested 37 people, the Mohali match would be attracting many more punters in and around the city.

According to the police, stakes had been unusually high during the matches played by India. “Most of the betting syndicates we busted were those who were unusually active during the matches played by India. Since Wednesday’s is a knock-out match and involves Pakistan, the stakes are very high. In the last 10 syndicates busted the bookies have calculated the rates using the popular betting sites and software,” said a police official.

Going by the records of the persons arrested for betting this year, the police have reasons to believe that the universal rates of the bets through the websites would be followed by the bookies in Delhi.

Police sources said that local bookies were clearly favouring India as favourites. “We had sent a decoy customer to know the ongoing market rates. We found out that the odds were placed at Rs.160-175 for every Rs.100 bet placed on India. At smaller levels, the odds are Rs.1.56 to Rs.1.75 for an Indian win,” said a senior police official.

“When it comes to Pakistan, the odds are Rs.3 for Rs.1 placed for their win or Rs.360-375. This is the average rate we got after talking to around 10 bookies. This will increase once the match starts.” The police said that the decoy customers, sent to many suspected bookies, were given a variety of options to play their bets on. “The bets were also placed on Yuvraj’s performance and the number of runs that would be scored in the first 15 overs,” said a crime branch officer.

India vs Pakistan Semi Final bigger than final of ICC World Cup 2011 ?

It seems that the semi final between arch rivals India and Pakistan is even bigger than the final of ICC World Cup 2011. After it was scheduled, the whole nation couldn't find anything else to talk about, some companies have declared holidays to give a treat to their employees and big names including politicians & tycoons are seeking permissions for their jets to land in Mohali to witness the mother of all clashes in this Maha Kumb of cricket.

With the scale of the match has gone so big, there is no wonder that the amount of money being bet is also huge. While bookies are refusing to hazard a guess as to the amount being wagered, sources said that the money bet on Wednesday’s match is easily more than all the money bet on India’s matches in the World Cup so far.

“This is big, India and Pakistan have not played for a long while, and so everyone is betting on it. Even those who don’t usually bet are calling the punters and putting in Rs.50,000 to Rs.5 lakh,” said a bookie on condition of anonymity.

The punters said that India was the overwhelming favourite to win the match and the rates reflect that. Bookies have slotted India at 58 paise while Pak is at Rs1.60. So if one bets Rs.100 on India and they win, one would get 58 paise on every rupee.

Similarly, if one puts Rs.100 on Pak and they win, one would get Rs.2.60 for every rupee. “These are home conditions, our batting is strong, we have been favourites from the beginning and the team has not disappointed.

“India has played well. Against England, they managed to tie a match that could have been lost. We played well against South Africa but lost the match in the last over.

“Pakistan, on the other hand, have not been challenged as strongly. They did win against Australia but it is not given much importance. Similarly, the win against Sri Lanka does not matter as they did not have Lasith Malinga in their team,” said a bookie.

Interestingly, he added that there are many ‘patriotic’ punters who would bet on India even if the team was not in a good position.

“There are many deshbhakt (patriotic) Indian punters who always bet on a match involving India and Pakistan. “It wouldn’t matter if India was playing on a docile wicket in Sharjah on a Friday or in a fast-bowler friendly wicket in Rawalpindi, they would still bet all their money on India if they were playing against Pakistan. That’s how it goes and that’s how it has always been,”said the bookie.

Dhoni in the match presentation ceremony against Australia mentioned that people would now be of the view that Team India shall win semi final and it wouldn't matter if they do not bring the cup home, but the skipper clarified that every game is equally important and there is no better thing than lifting the prestigious trophy of cricket.

Infamous stories of India Pakistan semi final fixed doing rounds

Some unpleasant stories for Indian cricketing fans are doing rounds on the news channels where it has been claimed that the biggest game of the ICC World Cup even bigger than the final has been fixed and team India will lose it as it has been fixed with millions of dollars are on stake.

Former Income Tax commisioner Vishwabandhu Gupta claimed it on a news channel that the game has been fixed and the heavy stake is on India which means that India will lose and bring in profits for the bookies. In the whole story, Delhi based bookie Pradeep Agarwal name has come up and was claimed that he was also seen at the team India dressing room in the India vs Netherlands game.

On the other hand, there is no need to tell members of Team India that the clash against Pakistan here on Wednesday is big. The expectation levels here have soared to astronomical levels, yet the Indian team seems insulated from all that. Part of it can be attributed to the captain, coach and senior players who know the fluctuation in the support of the Indian fans that accompanies unfavourable results.

The best way, according to them, is to simply shut out the outside world, including the media. Nothing said, no harm done.

As the Indians began preparation for the semifinal, their routine seemed in stark contrast to that of Pakistan. If their opponents huffed and puffed during the morning session, egging each other through loud cheers, the Indian took it like just another day.

The football session, which has become almost as important as batting or bowling practice, went along with the Indian players, excluding Harbhajan Singh who had gone to Jalandhar to meet his family, joking and stumbling around.

Virender Sehwag, who is still vary of his knee that had swollen up and has given him discomfort for some time, took the goalkeeping responsibilities, keeping away from the tumbles and tackles. He didn’t do much good though, letting in two goals.

Sachin Tendulkar was seen knocking a new bat into shape, later asking a support staff to hit as many balls as possible with the bat in order to make it match ready. By the end, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina took turns to have a go with a Sachin bat.

After the cooling down session, the players took part in the batting and fielding drills before wrapping the session up. With a couple of more days to go for the epic encounter, all the fun and games are expected to be cast aside. The fitness of Sehwag aside, the rest of the team doesn’t have much issues and it will be only the details on which they would want to work on.

This would be the last World Cup for a few players from both sides and no one wants to go back empty handed and it is impossible to believe that players of standard as Sachin, Dhoni, Sehwag and Yuvraj would go into the ashamed activities of Match Fixing.

Sri Lanka vs England in the race towards Semi Final

Heading into the fourth quarterfinal of the World Cup, there can be no doubt as to which team is favourite. Sri Lanka have always been extremely difficult to beat at home, and for an England side that scraped through to the last eight by the skin of its teeth, the magnitude of the challenge at hand cannot be underestimated.


That the match is being played at the R Premadasa Stadium will also give a psychological advantage to the home side, for whom this has been a virtual fortress. Of the 81 matches they have played here, Sri Lanka have won 49 and lost just 26.

The match pitch is slightly darker in colour than its neighbouring strips, though it is expected to dry out. The only threat to this match comes from the weather forecast, which lists possible thunderstorms on Saturday.

As far as strategy is concerned, spin is expected to be the dominant force. The ground has had a reputation for being heavily loaded in favour of the side batting first in day- night matches, with only 24 wins out of 77 for the chasing team. Sri Lanka have been boosted by the news that Muttiah Muralitharan has shaken off the hamstring injury sustained during the match against New Zealand last week, and will lead the attack.

Murali, the highest wicket- taker at the venue, is expected to be joined in the XI by Ajantha Mendis, with skipper Kumar Sangakkara hinting that left- armer Rangana Herath, may also be included. However, with positions five, six and seven already struggling for runs and a good back- up spinner in firebrand opener Tillakaratne Dilshan available to them, they might not take that risk.

England, on the other hand, will have no doubt been affected by the sudden departure of leftarm spinner Michael Yardy, owing to depression. In addition to being a psychological blow, the fact that Yardy turns the ball the opposite way to their two off- spinners Graeme Swann and James Tredwell could have been handy for Andrew Strauss.

The experience of James Anderson may also be preferred over Chris Tremlett. Given England’s penchant for producing close games in the tournament so far, a lot could depend on the toss and the performance of England’s bowlers early on against the mighty Sri Lankan top order.

England are likely to abandon the Matt Prior experiment at the top of the order, with Ian Bell the favourite to join Strauss in opening the batting.

India Pakistan Semi Final tickets sold out already

India was willing to offer up to 5,000 visas to Pakistan, tickets for the high-voltage World Cup encounter have been sold out. Only a few hundred Pakistani fans may be able to land up in Mohali to watch the India- Pakistan semi-final next week.

In fact, government sources said all 16,500- odd tickets for the general public were lapped up by the time Pakistan’s berth in the Mohali semi- final was confirmed on March 23. It is unlikely that many Pakistanis applied for India visas in time or bought the tickets in advance because the country’s slot in the semi- final was not confirmed and Pakistan had earlier not played any World Cup match in India.

Home ministry officials made it clear that no visas could be granted now as 30 days are required to process an application from Pakistan.

“ The ICC does have 12,000- odd tickets for the Mohali match with it, but these would be reserved for sponsors, channel partners, clubs and associations affiliated to the BCCI, as well as guests,” a government source said on Friday.

Sources said India was not prepared to grant visas in a hurry and double-checked each application because Pakistanis had disappeared after coming to India for cricket in the past.

Australia sent back home, Nation all set for India vs Pakistan in First Semi Final

India has taken their revenge from Australia of the bad memories of 2003 world cup and set up a date with Pakistan in the first semi-final of the ongoing world cup. Once again, YOuvraj Singh, the attacking left-hander has become a valuable cog in India’s success wheel and his evolution as a match- winner was once again decisively demonstrated in the crucial quarter- final clash against the three- time defending champions.


Yuvraj saw Gambhir and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni perish in quick succession but he remained unmoved and made sure he punished the Australian bowlers every time he got an opportunity on a two- paced Motera wicket. Ponting relied too much on his pacers and with just one frontline spinner in Jason Krejza, his options were limited. In Suresh Raina, Yuvraj found an able ally.

The two were involved in an unbroken 74- run stand for the sixth wicket, to see India through. Ponting finally ended his run drought with his 30th century, his first in over a year. But his brilliant knock was not enough against an inspired Indian team.

Chasing 261 for a win, Tendulkar looked in great touch. He looked good for his 100th international ton even as Virender Sehwag (15) was dismissed by Shane Watson. A push towards the cover off Brett Lee took Tendulkar past 18,000 runs in One- Day Internationals. The maestro completed his half- century off 61 balls.

The Sardar Patel Stadium, where he scored his maiden double century in Test cricket, looked set for another masterpiece until he was caught behind for 53 off Shaun Tait with India needing 176 runs more. Gambhir (50 off 64 balls) and Yuvraj Singh survived some anxious moments with some horrendous running between the wickets. Their lack of communication finally bore fruit for the Australians when Gambhir ran for a non- existent single and was run- out soon after reaching the50- run mark.

Earlier, after electing to bat, Ponting paced his innings to perfection and announced his return to form with his first century in over a year after his first five innings in the World Cup yielded just 102 runs. Ponting, 36, was well supported by wicketkeeper- batsman Brad Haddin (53 off 62 balls) and David Hussey (38 off 26 balls). The toss was always crucial, especially in a pressure game like this and Ponting had the luck on his side to call the coin correctly. The Tasmanian, however, did not get much support from his batsmen, some of whom were out to reckless shots.

He crafted his innings brilliantly, holding one end on a two- paced Motera pitch where his teammates found the going tough as India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni marshaled his troops really well – at least till the 44th over of the Australian innings.

It was a reverse hit, which isn’t too common with Ponting, off Ashwin that brought an end to his magnificent knock which was studded with seven fours and a six. But Ponting wasn’t the one to join them in the pavilion so soon and produced a special knock, which was not as authoritative as the one in Johannesburg in the 2003 World Cup final. But it still had brilliance stamped on it.

His century fetched him accolades and applause from the spectators, which later called him a “ cheat” for an appeal for a catch. The Australian captain claimed a catch off Gambhir but replays showed that the ball bounced before he took the catch and the batsman stood his ground. As expected, Dhoni opened the bowling with Ashwin and by the ninth over, it was spin from both the ends with Harbhajan joining in.

Shane Watson (25) and Brad Haddin were cautious to start with but Ashwin ended their resistance when he had Watson out bowled in the 10th over. Haddin’s calculated risks fetched him good results before Yuvraj had him caught by Raina, ending his 70- run stand for the second wicket with Ponting. Michael Clarke (8) didn’t give his captain the support he needed and perished cheaply.

Zaheer’s knack of getting wickets with the old ball again came to the fore when he dismissed Michael Hussey (3) and Cameron White (12). David Hussey gave Australia just the kind of impetus they needed at the end of the innings. Zaheer, Yuvraj and Ashwin got two wickets each.

Virender Sehwag availability will be decisive against Australia

Mahendra Singh Dhoni remains unperturbed by Australia’s open challenge of exposing his team’s susceptibility to short- pitched bowling but, by his own admission, opener Virender Sehwag’s availability for the key match will be decisive to his plans.

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson was convinced that Indian batsmen were not too comfortable against short pitched deliveries which, he insists, the hosts will be subjected to here on Thursday.

But Dhoni said his team was up for the challenge. “ It’s really good to have Sehwag opening the innings for you, because deliveries will be short and to the body. He’s the kind of batsman, if you are slightly wrong with it, he can make the most of that kind of bowling,” he said.

Sehwag, who missed India’s last match against the West Indies, has not recovered fully from an infection around his knee which has been troubling him ever since the start of the World Cup. It worsened after he took some injections and there was still swelling around the knee.

India have had three major batting collapses against top teams in the tournament so far, especially while going after the bowling during powerplays, and Dhoni agrees that aspect of the game needs to be improved.

“ It (collapse) has happened mostly when we wanted to accelerate and that is why we lost so many wickets. The way out is that while you need to accelerate, once you have lost those two or three wickets you need to bat 50 overs. Instead of aiming to get 40 runs more, you should look to get 20- 25 runs,” said Dhoni.

For his part, Australia skipper Ricky Ponting acknowledged that beating India on home turf would be a tough task. “ We are going to play in front of a packed house against a very good Indian team. It is a big game, a challenge for all of us,” he said.

The Australian skipper said his team has its strategies ready to counter the Indian game plan.

“ We have had a good look at how India are using Zaheer up front and he comes back at around 26th over when the ball reverses. We expect them to open with Zaheer and a spinner from the other end and we expect to play at least 30 overs of spin,” he noted.

On the prospect of this being the last World Cup match for either him or Sachin Tendulkar, Ponting said: “ The way Sachin is playing it seems he may play another World Cup! We’ll both probably be in wheelchairs by (2015)! But the World Cup is not about individuals.”

All eyes now on India vs Australia Quarter Final in ICC World Cup 2011

Ahead of a crucial World Cup quarter- final against hosts India, Australia captain Ricky Ponting might have wanted the discussions to focus only on the match. But his current form, which has very much been un- Ponting like, has added another dimension to it.

In his five innings so far in the tournament, Ponting has scored 102 runs at an average of 20.40 with his highest being 36 against Kenya. Ponting is not unaware about all the negative talk that is doing the rounds, especially from the Australian media, and admits that only a good knock can silence his critics.

“ I know I haven’t made any big score so far in the tournament and I am also aware that there have been a couple of negative articles in newspapers about me. But I can’t control what they write about me,” Ponting said.

“ My job is to play well. I can only control my play, how I bat, how I captain the side. So I think if I can play a good innings against India, that might keep them quiet for a while.” Ponting also feels that he was unlucky in a couple of games where he could have made it big. “ I have been unlucky in some matches. Like in the game against Kenya I should have scored more but I got out,” he said. “ Right now, my focus is on being relaxed and trying to get a good knock.” He also denied the fact that his poor form is getting the better of him, resulting in outbursts both on and off the field. “ There is no such thing. I think such incidents are being over- played,” he said.

Coming back to the quarter-final, Ponting took a dig at Yuvraj Singh who had said that the present Australian squad lacked the strength compared to past teams.

“ I don’t know why Yuvraj said that but in the ( 2009) ODI series against them we were without four to five top players but still we were able to beat a full strength Indian team. So we’ll see who comes out on top on the weekend,” Ponting remarked. He was also of the opinion that India, playing under home conditions, will be under more pressure than the Aussies. “ There would be greater pressure on India just because of the fact they are playing in front of the home crowd,” he said.

However, Ponting is not at all complacent against India though they have a better record against them in World Cups. “ The record isn’t really a true reflection of the current teams. Between World Cups there are four years and things can change dramatically in that period,” Ponting said.

“ Whatever has happened in the previous World Cup will not have a bearing on the next game. We have to play our best on the day and it is as simple as that.” Regarding any change for the upcoming game, Ponting said the team management would only take a decision based on the conditions.

“ We have to look at the wicket before making any change as one selection can make a huge difference in the game,” he said. “ David Hussey and Callum Ferguson have been terrific in the nets and also we are looking at some other options, which is good for us. If we are to make a change in the line- up, we have to be spot on.” When asked if the Aussies have been a bit scratchy against the turning ball, Ponting admitted that spinners bowling with the new ball have caused some trouble for his team.

England stay in the hunt with win

England needed to win the Group B match against the West Indies here on Thursday to keep their hopes alive to in this World Cup. The odds were not in favour of the Englishmen going into the match but they tilted the scales in their favour through sheer grit, eking out an 18-run win at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Defending a score of 243, England veered from the brilliant to listless but they held their nerve when it mattered the most. Picking two off-spinners, of similar style, against a left-hander laden West Indies line-up paid off as World Cup debutante James Tredwell (4 for 48) and Graeme Swann (3 for 36) kept the Windies in check and kept Group Bopen.

Had they lost, the West Indies, India and Bangladesh would have qualified for the quarterfinals.

But with this win, England are on seven points and now it’s up to Bangladesh, by beating South Africa, and India, by defeating the West Indies, to rock their boat.

West Indies began the chase in top gear. Chris Gayle seemed in a hurry, smashing 43 off 21 balls. He, however, fell leg before to World Cup debutante James Tredwell after adding 50 for the opening stand with Devon Smith in less than five overs.

Smith followed suit, falling over and getting stumped by a fumbling Matt Prior. Tredwell had his third victim of the night in the form of Darren Bravo, who edged him to skipper Andrew Strauss at slips.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy had been under some pressure to fire with the bat and he attempted to blast his way to form. That strategy didn’t last long as he lost his stumps to the part-time medium-pacers of Ravi Bopara for 41, off 29 deliveries .

Inexperienced keeper batsman Devon Thomas too fell to Bopara’s irritating medium pacers, inside edging one as the scorecards read 118 for five.

Pollard batted the way he is expected to, clearing the ground twice. But he failed to make the most of a dropped chance by Ravi Bopara and Swann finally had his man, trapping him leg before.

Andre Russell (49 off 46) smashed a few at the end as the game seemed out of grasp for the Englishmen but Tredwell trapped him leg before from round the wicket to revive his team’s hopes with 22 runs still to get. Swann then removed Ramnaresh Sarwan and Kemar Roach one spiteful over as the wheels began to fall off.

Jonathan Trott was earlier denied a catch off a rampant Russell, with 40 runs needed and four wickets remaining, as he caught the batsmen at long on but the third umpire gave it as a six with his shirt, seemingly, touching the boundary.

It seemed only fair that it was Trott who swooped in at third man and threw the ball back to keeper Prior who ran Sulieman Benn out for the final blow.

Earlier, fast bowler Russell took four wickets and debutante leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo picked three as England were restricted to 243 in 48.4 overs.

Jonathan Trott hit 47 off 38 balls and Luke Wright ended the innings in a flourish with 44 as the Englishmen posted a competitive score.

Openers Andrew Strauss and Prior took their time to assess the wicket and added 48 runs in the first nine overs before West Indies got their first success.

Prior played all around an Andre Russell delivery and the pacer knocked out the England wicketkeeper’s middle stump.

Russell pegged them back further in his next over, getting rival skipper Strauss to miscue a pull and Gayle took a tumbling catch running back at midwicket.

Diamond traders funding cricket fixing

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the cricket match- fixing racket in 2000 had traced the involvement of a syndicate of Mumbai- based diamond traders with the match- fixing operations run by Dawood Ibrahim's mafia operating out of Dubai and London since 1993.

The CBI in close coordination with the Mumbai Police, Enforcement Directorate ( ED) and Customs and Excise department has unravelled the route of financing of the match- fixing racket to a powerful syndicate of diamond exporters operating out of Mumbai.

ED sources currently peg the tainted funds pumped into the racket by this diamond exporters syndicate to be around Rs 10,000 crore.

It is learnt that the syndicate which has a nexus with certain powerful politicians in the country use the legal channel by misusing the export- import schemes to launder tainted funds to Antwerp and Brussels and then route it out to tax havens in erstwhile east European nations. These funds are then re- routed to tax havens like Mauritius, Singapore, Macau, Dubai, from where they pumped into match- fixing rackets.

" It is estimated that more Rs 25,000 crore circulates in the betting racket which is directly linked to match- fixing out of which around Rs 10,000 crore is contributed by the diamond exporters' syndicate. Some politicians too are believed to use this syndicate to finance the match- fixing racket. In 2000, some of the illegal bookies who spilled out of the net of the revenue enforcement agencies who were assisting the CBI in the match- fixing probe, were handling the directly funds for the diamond exporters syndicate who are closely knit and have direct nexus with politicians. In fact, a couple of the Indians whose names figure in the list of 18 persons who have stashed their tainted funds in Germany's LGT Bank, are suspected to be linked to some of the politicians connected with cricket in India. These persons had routed their tainted funds to LGT Bank via Brussels where they have front companies to transfer tainted funds to tax havens around the globe," claimed a ED official.