2007

We will form a stable govt at the Centre: Modi

Colombo: You cannot miss Lasith Malinga. He is the Sri Lanka slingshot shock weapon with the fancy goldilocks highlights in his hair. He is also on up on the Australian pace trio of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson. Two World Cup hattricks on the Malinga CV makes him special and is why a battle of sharp-edged pace is expected to explode in Khettarama on Saturday night. This is...  

Gujaratis in London all praise for Modi

Colombo: Skipper Kumar Sangakkara couldn't thank Lasith Malinga enough after the slinger brought Sri Lanka's World Cup campaign back on track with a solid bowling performance in their group A match against Kenya here on Tuesday. Malinga, who missed the side's first two games due to fitness issues, took six wickets including a hat-trick to help the Islanders register an easy nine-wicket win at the Premadasa Stadium, and Sangakkara was...  

Anatomy of Modi wave: Why is he invincible?

Colombo: Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga became the first man to pick up two hat-tricks in World Cups when he skittled out three Kenyan tailenders in their Group A match on Tuesday. Malinga, who missed his side's opening two matches with a sore back, fired back with 6-38 including the wickets of Tanmay Mishra (0), Peter Ongondo (0) and Shem Ngoche (0) with successive, full deliveries - the latter two clean...  

Brand Modi conquers Guj, next stop Delhi

Bangalore: Ireland captain William Porterfield has urged his side to be "cricket-smart" when they face England in a World Cup clash here on Wednesday. The Irish, who knocked Pakistan out of the 2007 World Cup, were on course for another victory over a Test nation when they held Bangladesh to 205 runs in their opening match of this tournament. But a batting collapse saw a side featuring several players with...  

EC snubs me but not 'Italian daughter', says Modi

Colombo: Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene has taken legal advice over doubts raised on a state-run TV channel about the way he and another batsman performed in the World Cup defeat by Pakistan. Sri Lanka, who are one of the favourites to win the tournament, lost Saturday's Pakistan game by 11 runs as Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera were out for just two runs and one run respectively when the team...  

Rule Gujarat, but leave us in peace: Muslims tell Modi

Colombo: Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam warned Canada on Tuesday that his side is determined to finish top of Group A at the World Cup and will not be easing up when the two sides meet in Colombo. Having thrashed Kenya by 205 runs in their opening match, before spoiling the party for 35,000 home fans with an 11-run win over co-host Sri Lanka, Alam told The Associated Press that...  

Team BJP pats superstar Modi but cautions him too

Colombo: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Tuesday asked his team to be more consistent and make winning a habit if it hopes to go all the way in the ongoing cricket World Cup. Pakistan had a tumultuous build-up to their World Cup campaign, which was ridden by captaincy issues and a spot-fixing scandal. But once the World Cup kicked off, Shahid Afridi's men zoomed to top of Group A after...  

Dejected Cong says calculations went horribly wrong

Melbourne: Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will not be able to mentor the next generation spin talents Down Under because of prior commitments, which includes playing in the Indian Premier League in May. The veteran of 800 Test wickets was supposed to spend some time at Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane tutoring the budding spinners of the country. "Unfortunately, Murali will not be able to make it," said...  

Gujarati Americans hail Modi, mum on communal taint

Dhaka: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni might loathe it but Bangladesh players feel the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) comes in handy to at least make batsmen nervous even if the appeal is turned down. "You can always make the batsman nervous. In the Ireland game, I had an unsuccessful review against Kevin O'Brien. But I am sure it made him nervous," seamer Shafiul Islam said. Opener Tamim Iqbal said...  

BJP MLAs to elect Modi their leader on Monday

New Delhi: India opener Virender Sehwag is in the capital to consult his personal physician for a rib injury he suffered during a practice session last week. Sehwag took a day's break from training after being hit by a local bowler at the nets last Friday. He is, however, expected to fly back to Bangalore and join his teammates on Wednesday, according to sources. Though it is not a major...  

Rebel bubble bursts for Cong | The losers

CNN-IBN's cricket experts discussed the game between minnows Kenya and World Cup favourites Sri Lanka. ...  

2002 still etched in memory as Godhra votes for Cong

New Delhi: The International Cricket Council on Wednesday advised MS Dhoni to read the UDRS rules before questioning its implementation as the Indian skipper expressed his disappointment with the use of technology following the controversy surrounding Ian Bell's decision in the tied World Cup game with England on Sunday. Talking to CNN-IBN exclusively, ICC's General Manager, Dave Richardson, said Dhoni should be aware of the rules that assist in making...  

People of Gujarat fought for BJP, not me: Modi

The legendary English batsman also said that the Ind-Eng game was a good advertisement for 50-over cricket. ...  

Modi thumps his 56-inch chest with Gujarat win

New Delhi: Controversial West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels apparently rejected an offer to play in the World Cup as a replacement for injured Dwayne Bravo fearing that police officials might arrest him here over charges of match-fixing. Noted commentator and columnist Tony Cozier wrote in Trinidad Express that the 30-year-old Jamaican, who is coming out of a two-year ban on charges of match fixing, was in good form and was...  

Cong leaders protect Sonia from blame of loss

New Delhi: Dwayne Bravo's injury could well turn out to be a veiled blessing for a West Indies team which had to dump their original strategy for one which recognised spinners' enhanced role in the World Cup. Coach Ottis Gibson has admitted that losing paceman Bravo last week through a knee injury has upset the team's original strategy built around the talismanic player and fellow all-rounders Darren Sammy and Kieron...  

At the end of the day, it's worked for Modi

Sydney: Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan has pulled out of mentoring Australia's emerging spin bowling talents, after other commitments clashed with his visit Down Under, a report said Tuesday. The world's leading wicket-taker had been set to spend several weeks at Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane mentoring the nation's young spinners, Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported. "Unfortunately, Murali will not be able to make it," the cricketer's agent...  

Modi back in business is good business: Guj Inc

New Delhi: The ICC has cleared Devendra Bishoo to join the West Indies World Cup squad as a replacement for injured allrounder Dwayne Bravo. The ICC said in a statement on Tuesday that the tournament's technical committee had given West Indies the go-ahead to include the uncapped Bishoo in its 15-man squad after Bravo was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament with a left knee injury. Bishoo is...  

Modi win is a wake up call, say human rights groups

Colombo: Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga celebrated his first game of the World Cup with a hat-trick in a devastating six-wicket haul as the home side thrashed Kenya by nine wickets on Tuesday. Malinga showed no signs of the back strain which had prevented him from competing in Sri Lanka's first two games in Group A and his career-best figure of 6-38 shot out Kenya for 142 in 43.4...  

Mayawati's BSP fails to win a single seat in Guj elections

New Delhi: Indian bowlers, especially off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, need to re-think their strategy for the flat sub-continental pitches or the team's World Cup campaign could be derailed despite a strong batting line-up, feels former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar. "Indian bowlers tend to struggle on flat pitches. They need to re-think their strategy on such surfaces. Harbhajan Singh, especially, needs to find ways to get batsmen out on batting-friendly wickets," the former...  

The losers: 5 rebels who got knocked out

Bangalore: England's Ian Bell has hailed the influence of batting coach Graham Gooch, saying he'd wished he'd worked with the former Test opener earlier in his career. Bell, who made a composed 69 during England's thrilling World Cup tie with India here on Sunday before getting out going for a big shot under the influence of cramp, has long been regarded as one of the most technically gifted English batsmen...