Cricket World Cup: Sri Lanka knock out jaded England

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By Babu Ram-ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 quarter-final: Sri Lanka v England, Colombo: Sri Lanka 231-0 beat England 229-6 by 10 wickets

ngland crashed out of the World Cup as Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga hit centuries to guide Sri Lanka to an emphatic 10-wicket quarter-final win.

Jonathan Trott's stubborn 86 provided the spine as England battled to a seemingly competitive total of 229-6.

But Tharanga and Dilshan made quick progress in the run-chase to take the game away from a tired England.

Dilshan ended with 108 and Tharanga 102 as Sri Lanka consigned England to only their fifth 10-wicket one-day loss.

This was an even more decisive quarter-final defeat than the one they inflicted on England 15 years ago, when another opener - Sanath Jayasuriya - clubbed 82 from 44 balls to set up a five-wicket win in Faisalabad.

However, in contrast to the 1996 tournament and the subsequent three global events, England can take something positive away from this World Cup.

"We've always been hopeful of showing up on the night, there's never been a clear plan. There's been confusion and a feeling of not knowing what our best XI is. We won the Ashes 3-1, brilliant. Now they have to admit they got the situation for the World Cup completely wrong. I remember in 2003 we complained about the schedule, in 2007 it happened again. In 2011 it happened again. It wasnt professional, The Ashes was."  Test match Special's Michael Vaughan

While they failed to consistently reach the standards expected of them - no more so than in Colombo - they were always worth watching.

For better or worse, Andrew Strauss' side have been the tournament's entertainers - participating in the kind of tense, narrow encounters the competition desperately needs to maintain public interest.

But unlike England's previous games this was disappointingly lacking in tension as openers Tharanga and Dilshan set about pursuing a target that appeared competitive at the break, but was soon shown to be inadequate.

No opening pairing has performed better at this World Cup than the two Sri Lankans, who added 282 against Zimbabwe in the group stage and were in similarly aggressive mood.

They had a few slices of luck on a surface that certainly offered some purchase to the spinners, but as the innings wore on rarely looked like being parted as they carried their side through to a semi-final showdown with New Zealand at the same ground on Tuesday.

Defeat brought an end to England's long winter, which peaked with victory over Australia in the Ashes in January but had been in steady decline since and a physically and mentally tired squad were unable to raise their game as the Sri Lankan batsmen drove relentlessly towards the finishing line.

Tharanga and Dilshan had 50 on the scoreboard before nine overs had been bowled and 100 up by the end of the 18th, whereas it took England until the end of the 27th over of their innings to reach three figures, by which time they had also lost three wickets, such was the gulf in class between the two sides.

Earlier, Trott had been the stand-out batsman for England with a defiant 86, while Eoin Morgan had chipped in with a typically busy 50, but both of these paled in comparison to the innings played by Sri Lanka's dynamic opening pair.

England made an uneasy start to their innings, with Strauss clearly uncomfortable against the off-spin of Dilshan, and it was no surprise when he was bowled for five, playing attempting an ugly swipe to leg.

Tharanga and Dilshan were the architects of Sri Lanka's victory

Ian Bell made a more promising start in his first match as an opener since 2008 but was back in the dressing roon after his captain following a mis-timed on-drive that was caught by Thilan Samaraweera off Angelo Mathews.

Trott and Ravi Bopara steadied the ship by adding 64 in 18 overs, but their partnership was ended by Muttiah Muralitharan, who trapped Bopara trapped lbw as he attempted to sweep a full delivery.

Trott though continued in typically stubborn fashion to elevate himself to the top of the tournament's high scorers list by passing the 400-run barrier, before being caught in the deep off Muralitharan in the penultimate over.

Prior to this, the South African-born batsman shared a stand of 91 with Morgan, who benefitted three times from dropped catches and also Sri Lanka's decision to eschew referring an lbw appeal that replays showed to be clear-cut.

However, the curse of the powerplay did for Morgan as Mathews made amends to catch him off the bowling of Mendis, who with his very next ball brought an immediate end to the experimental elevation of Swann to number six in the order.

A 22-run cameo from Matt Prior helped England to 229-6, but the total proved woefully short of what was required.

ICC World Cup: Sri Lanka v England
Saturday, 26 March 2011 at Colombo RPS

Sri Lanka beat England by 10 wickets

England won the toss and decided to bat

England Innings 229 for 6 (50.0 overs)

Sri Lanka Innings 231 for 0 (39.3 overs)

England 1st Innings - Close

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Strauss		b Dilshan	5	19	0	0
Bell	c Samaraweera	b Mathews	25	32	3	0
Trott	c M Jayawardene	b Muralitharan	86	115	2	0
Bopara	lbw	b Muralitharan	31	56	1	0
Morgan	c Mathews	b Malinga	50	55	4	0
Swann	lbw	b Mendis	0	1	0	0
Prior	not out		22	19	2	0
Wright	not out		1	3	0	0
Extras		6w 3lb	9
Total		for 6	229	(50.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Malinga 10.0 0 46 1 Dilshan 6.0 1 25 1 Mathews 5.0 0 20 1 Herath 10.0 1 47 0 Mendis 10.0 0 34 1 Muralitharan 9.0 0 54 2

Fall of wicket 29 Strauss 31 Bell 95 Bopara 186 Morgan 186 Swann 212 Trott

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Sri Lanka 1st Innings - Close

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Tharanga	not out		102	122	12	1
Dilshan	not out		108	115	10	2
Extras		6w 9b 6lb	21
Total		for 0	231	(39.3 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Bresnan 8.0 1 40 0 Swann 9.0 0 61 0 Tremlett 7.3 0 38 0 Bopara 5.0 1 22 0 Tredwell 6.0 0 38 0 Wright 4.0 0 17 0

Fall of wicket

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Umpires: B R Doctrove, Taufel, J J Crowe, A L Hill
Sri Lanka: Tharanga, Dilshan, Sangakkara (C/W), M Jayawardene, Mathews, Samaraweera, Silva, Herath, Malinga, Muralitharan, Mendis
England: Strauss (C), Bell, Trott, Bopara, Morgan, Wright, Prior (W), Tredwell, Bresnan, Swann, Tremlett

Ind vs Aus: India beat Australia by 5 wickets to enter World Cup semifinal

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By Babu Ram-NEW DELHI: Yuvraj Singh (57 not out) and Suresh Raina (34 not out) helped India register five-wicket victory over Australia and booked a dream World Cup semifinal against arch-rival Pakistan in Mohali.

Yuvraj slammed eight fours, including the winning boundary, in his 65-ball innings whereas Raina hit a six and couple of fours in his 28-ball blitzkrieg.

After losing Dhoni and Gambhir in quick succession, Yuvraj revived the run-chase with Raina as they added unbeaten 74-run for the sixth wicket.

Brett Lee scalped Indian skipper Dhoni soon after Gambhir ran himself out in the 34th over.

Gambhir played a cautious innings as he hit just two fours in his 64-ball fifty. A miscommunication with Yuvraj Singh led to his departure after surviving similar mishap in the previous ball.

India lost Virat Kohli (24) after he added a valuable 49-run with Gambhir for the third wicket against Australia.

Kohli hit only one four in his patient 33-ball innings as he resurrected India's run-chase with Gambhir after Sachin's wicket. David Hussey dismissed Kohli in the 29th over.

Shaun Tait gave Australia a crucial and much-needed breakthrough when he got rid of Sachin Tendulkar after the little master edged out Kumar Sangakkara as leading run-scorer of the tournament.

Sachin, who hit seven fours in his steady 68-ball 53, scored his 94th fifty in the one-dayers and added 50-run with Gautam Gambhir for the second wicket.

The master blaster also reached landmark 18,000 runs in one-day internationals. Sachin has already scored two hundreds in this edition and is awaiting his 100th international ton.

Chasing 261-run target, India lost Virender Sehwag (15) in the ninth over after a good start. Sehwag and Tendulkar started Indian run-chase aggressively and added 44 runs for the first wicket.

Sehwag hit two fours in his rare slow innings of 15 off 22 balls before Shane Watson gave Aussies the crucial breakthrough.

Earlier, Ricky Ponting slammed fifth World Cup hundred to help Australia set 261-run target for India in the second quarterfinal.

Ponting hit seven fours and a six in his 118-ball 104 innings as he scored his 30th ODI hundred.

R Ashwin took the prize-wicket of Ponting in the penultimate over of the match. Ashwin finished the innings with 2 wickets for 52 in 10 overs.

David Hussey remained unbeaten for the champions on 38 off 26 balls. David hit three boundaries and a huge 85 metres six during his late charge against the Indian bowlers.

Zaheer Khan dismissed Cameron White (12) and Mike Hussey (3) to halt the Australian innings in the middle overs. Zaheer scalped White after the batsman added 40-run with his skipper Ponting for the fifth wicket.

Yuvraj Singh was the pick of Indian bowlers with two wickets for 44 runs in his ten overs.

Yuvraj dismissed Michael Clarke (8) in the 31st over to check the Aussie innings.

Brad Haddin (53) scored a patient half-century and added a valuable 70-run stand with his skipper for the second wicket and slammed six fours and a six in his 62-ball innings before Yuvraj struck in the 23rd over.

Off-spinner R Ashwin provided India crucial breakthrough as he dismissed Australia's Shane Watson in the tenth over.

Openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin started off well as they gave Australia a steady start against India. The duo added 40 runs for the first wicket.

Earlier, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting won the crucial toss and decided to bat first.

In what is Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 100th ODI as India captain, there is one change to the side with Virender Sehwag coming in for Yusuf Pathan.

Australia have brought David Hussey in place of spinner Steven Smith.

Teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel

Australia: Ricky Ponting (c), Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, Cameron White, Mike Hussey, David Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Jason Krejza, Shaun Tait.

Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA) and Ian Gould (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

Pitch conditions: Usually proves an excellent batting surface so bowlers on both sides are set to have to be at their best to enjoy success.

Scorecard....

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UK funnels Rs 44 cr into anti-piracy effort

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By Babu Ram-The UK is loosening its purse strings to tighten the noose around Somali pirates who have been emboldened by a string of audacious hijackings in the Indian Ocean Region and the Gulf of Aden. British foreign minister William Hague has announced a £6 million (Rs 44 crore) package to improve maritime su


rveillance in the Indian Ocean and to increase prison capacity in countries such as Somalia, Kenya and Seychelles.
The UK will funnel £600,000 (Rs 4.44 cr) into providing optical imagery equipment to the Seychelles Coastguard to allow surveillance aircraft to take high quality videos and photographs, emulating an Indian Navy initiative to help the island nation build anti-piracy capacity.

A British High Commission spokesman said, “This will aid the capture of the pirates and provide valuable evidence in court cases. The fuel tanks of the aircraft will also be upgraded to enable them to fly longer distances.”

India has deployed a Dornier aircraft in Seychelles for surveillance and anti-piracy operations under a two-year commitment following a spurt in hijacking bids. Over and above a financial assistance of $5 million (Rs 22.5 crore), New Delhi has also pledged one Dornier Surveillance aircraft and two Chetak helicopters to boost Seychelles’ anti-piracy efforts.

The UK’s funding includes £5.3 million to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

(UNODC) counter-piracy programme to build regional capacity for piracy prosecutions and detentions in Somalia, Kenya and Seychelles. The UK hopes the move will help ensure that suspects are prosecuted and those found guilty of piracy are imprisoned.

There are currently around 820 Somali pirates either serving sentences or awaiting trial around the world. In a series of dramatic missions, the Indian Navy alone has captured more than 100 Somali pirates during the last three months in the Arabian Sea.

In its most successful anti-piracy operation on March 12, the Navy immobilised a pirate ship and arrested 61 Somali pirates who had been stalking merchant vessels in the Arabian Sea for more than three months. Thirteen crewmembers taken hostage by the pirates were also freed in the operation executed by two warships 1,111 km off India’s west coast.

The navy launched its biggest anti-piracy drive last November to sanitise the Arabian Sea after a spurt in piracy attempts reported by transiting merchant vessels. Helicopters and patrol aircraft are supporting the warships, with marine commandos onboard. Piracy incidents in the area have seen a 60% decline since December 2010.
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PM rubbishes 'cash-for-votes' charges in Parliament

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By Babu Ram-New Delhi: Rejecting as "wild" the charges that bribe was paid during the 2008 Confidence Motion, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took on the Opposition for creating hue and cry over diplomatic communications, saying it was a "dangerous" thing to do.

In an uncharacteristic combative manner, Singh particularly targeted L K Advani, saying the BJP leader thought becoming Prime Minister was his "birth right" and hence had never "forgiven me". He asked Advani to wait for three-and-a-half years for his chance.

Replying to a short duration debate in both Houses of Parliament over his statement on the WikiLeaks documents, first accessed by 'The Hindu' daily, Singh said the government could not verify the authenticity of correspondence between the US Embassy here and its government in Washington.

Referring to the probe by a Parliament's Committee in 2008 into allegations of 'cash-for-votes' scam, the Prime Minister said it had concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove that money was paid to purchase MPs.

"I am convinced that taking the report as a whole, this is a correct inference," Singh said, winding up the debate during which he came under sharp attack from the Opposition which even questioned why he continued to be the Prime Minister if was "not aware" of developments involving his government.

"I leave it to the good sense of this House to decide for itself whether the report of the Committee in any way substantiates the wild allegations levelled by some Hon'ble Members of the Opposition," Singh said amid thumping of desks.

Raising questions over the authenticity of the American correspondence mentioned in the WikiLeaks website, the Prime Minister warned that believing in a communication sent by some official in an Embassy was a "dangerous thought".

He maintained that nobody from the Congress or the government was involved in any "transaction" during the 2008 Confidence Motion and neither had anybody been authorised to engage in any such transaction.

All About: Topnews, PM, Manmohan Singh, BJP, WikiLeaks, Cash for vote, Congress, Parliament's Committee, Opposition, US Embas
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Screen star Elizabeth Taylor dies, aged 79

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By Babu Ram-The Most Powerful Petrol Hatch in its Class.Blink it & You'll Miss it Cars.tatamotors.com/Vista90
Los Angeles, March 23 (DPA) Actress Elizabeth Taylor has died, her AIDS foundation announced Wednesday.

The British-born Hollywood star was 79 and was being treated in hospital in Los Angeles. She died of congestive heart failure, her publicist told CNN.

Taylor was born Feb 27, 1932, in London, of American parents. As well as being considered one of Hollywood's greatest stars of all time, she was married eight times - including twice to actor Richard Burton.

She won an Oscar for 'Butterfield 8' in 1960 and another for 'Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf' in 1966. One of her most famous roles, however, was Cleopatra - where she met and fell in love with Burton.

Cleopatra was also notable as the first time any actor or actress had been paid $1 million for a movie.

However, in her later years it was her charity work for AIDS awareness, where she set up the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation, for which she was better known - as well as her friendship with the popstar Michael Jackson.

A teen actress, most of Taylor's first films were unremarkable, but she became a box office star with 1944's 'National Velvet', the story of a girl who trains and rides her horse to victory in the Grand National.

Her sultry dark looks, wide eyes and iconic eyelashes went on to captivate many men - and cinema audiences worldwide. At times, her love life overshadowed her work as an actress, although it reinforced her stardom and celebrity.

In all she was married eight times - to seven men. They were Conrad Hilton, Michael Wilding, Michael Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton, Richard Burton (again), John Warner and Larry Fortensky.

Major film roles dried up in the 1980s, although she later appeared as a guest star on 'The Simpsons' and several TV movies whilst continuing her charity work.

She given the honour Dame Elizabeth Taylor by the queen of England in 1999.
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Pakistan crush West Indies, enter semi-finals....

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Sachin bowled returned unbeaten on to umpire

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By Babu Ram-Chennai .. Sachin Tendulkar to the millions of cricket fans on the eve of Holi "century of centuries of" the best chance of giving the gift, but he missed it.

Despite the great batsman not out of the crease, leaving the umpire excellent example of the spirit of the game presented. Tendulkar was declared not out the umpire Steve Davis, the West Indies fast bowler Ravi Rampaul rising fast ball over the edge of his bat was reached in the gloves of wicketkeeper Devon Thomas.
Tendulkar scored the two runs on four balls, but given not out despite the umpire turned to the Pavilion, which shocked the audience sitting in the stadium.

Tendulkar in the World Cup had so far appeared in good form and had started 2 centuries ago. The fans today were expected to Sachin Century 100.

Sachin ODI and 99 Test centuries have created a total combined. Sachin in Tests 51 and 48 centuries in ODIs have been patting itself. World Cup Sachin's 6th century, the century of which 2 are in the same World Cup. The World Cup, Tendulkar has scored centuries against South Africa and England, it was able to win both matches India.

Chennai's MA That Chepak Chidambaram Stadium is very important in many cases. This field's first Ranji Trophy match was played in 1934. 10 February 1952 on the same field in Test cricket, India had recorded their first win. In this match India beat England by innings and 8 runs.

Gavaskar record 30th century in the same field was created in December 1983. He was the unbeaten 236-run innings, which then from India in Test cricket's highest score was an innings. Century Sir Don Bradman Gavaskar then broke the record of 29 centuries.

It is fitting that now the highest individual innings in Test cricket, the Indian record is connected to the same field. Virender Sehwag 319 runs in 2008 against South Africa in Chepak innings was the bang. Even Tendulkar hit five Test centuries, but in one day did not even have been a century.
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