Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Once again DHONI....
LONDON: Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has pipped the likes of tennis superstar Rafael Nadal and iconic basketball player Kobe Bryant to be among 10 most marketable sportspersons in the world, according to the SportsPro magazine.
Dhoni, who hit the winning runs in the ICC World Cup and led the Chennai Super Kings to the 2010 Indian Premier League ( IPL) title, is 10th on the list.
The top spot goes to Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt and includes footballing sensations Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at third and fourth respectively.
Dhoni's teammate Yuvraj Singh also makes the list -- at the 49th spot -- after being named player of the tournament at this year's World Cup.
Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming makes the top 20 at 11th despite consistent injury problems.
"MS Dhoni's marketability has reached another new high in India in the aftermath of the cricket World Cup. Although he will never attain quite the Messianic status that Sachin Tendulkar has with the Indian population, Dhoni has undeniably become the number one choice for those looking to boost their brand in the south-eastern Asian country," SportsPro editor David Cushnan said.
The only female in the top ten is ninth-placed Caroline Wozniacki, who reached the top of the world rankings in 2010 despite not having won a Grand Slam.
Dhoni, who hit the winning runs in the ICC World Cup and led the Chennai Super Kings to the 2010 Indian Premier League ( IPL) title, is 10th on the list.
The top spot goes to Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt and includes footballing sensations Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at third and fourth respectively.
Dhoni's teammate Yuvraj Singh also makes the list -- at the 49th spot -- after being named player of the tournament at this year's World Cup.
Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming makes the top 20 at 11th despite consistent injury problems.
"MS Dhoni's marketability has reached another new high in India in the aftermath of the cricket World Cup. Although he will never attain quite the Messianic status that Sachin Tendulkar has with the Indian population, Dhoni has undeniably become the number one choice for those looking to boost their brand in the south-eastern Asian country," SportsPro editor David Cushnan said.
The only female in the top ten is ninth-placed Caroline Wozniacki, who reached the top of the world rankings in 2010 despite not having won a Grand Slam.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Caroline Wozniacki went down to the Former World No 1 Sharapova
ROME: Former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova will play Australia's Samantha Stosur in the Rome International final after their semifinal victories on Saturday.
Seventh seed Sharapova defeated world number one Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3 in a match littered with service breaks.
Earlier Stosur had steamrollered China's Li Na 7-6 (8/6), 6-0.
Sharapova rolled back the years with a performance of crisp power hitting to eventually prove too much for her Danish opponent.
She broke Wozniacki early on but when she led 4-3 there were four breaks in a row until the Russian finally held serve to take the set 7-5.
The service struggles continued at the start of the second set as four of the first five games went against the server.
That saw Wozniacki open up a 3-1 lead but Sharapova wouldn't let her consolidate and reeled off the final five games as she consistently found the corners with rasping ground-strokes.
The 27-year-old Stosur recorded her third straight sets win over Li and maintained her unbeaten record against a player ranked one place above her in the world.
Stosur also reached her first final since the 2010 French Open almost a year ago.
And she said that there was nothing unusual about Li's second set collapse.
"Sometimes when that happens, if you do win a tight first set then it can be a real boost to that person but for the other person that loses it can almost be a deflation and it's a big disappointment," she said.
"But I guess this is when you have to be tough enough to try and forget about it and start over again because obviously you have been playing well enough to play a tight first set.
"Sometimes it is probably more a question of the mentality of going into the second set because there must be something that's been going okay if you've had a tight first set.
"That does happen a lot in tennis, both men's and women's and I guess it is every player's job to not let it happen but sometimes it does."
The sixth seed got off to a flying start and broke Li in the opening game, working the Chinese wide to her backhand and forcing a short defensive return before steaming up to the net and powering away a forehand winner.
Stosur forced a set point on the fourth seed's serve at 5-3 but a deep first serve gave Li a short return to put away.
A series of deep crosscourt backhands setting her up for a forehand winner from close to the net saw Li fend off another set point soon after before she held serve.
That proved a vital hold as in the next game Li forced a break point and levelled up at 5-5 when Stosur went wide with a backhand.
The first mini-break in the tie-break went Li's way when she brought Stosur up to the net with a drop shot and then rasped a backhand pass crosscourt.
But she gave it up immediately with a double fault.
Li brought up a set point with a forehand winner down line but couldn't take it when she put the same shot into the tramlines on the next point.
Stosur was not so generous when she was presented with a set point moments later, hitting a powerful serve out wide and following it up with a forehand winner.
The world number seven got off to a quick start in the second set as well as Li double faulted on break point in the second game.
And the Chinese player's game crumbled from there as Stosur cantered through the rest of the set
Seventh seed Sharapova defeated world number one Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3 in a match littered with service breaks.
Earlier Stosur had steamrollered China's Li Na 7-6 (8/6), 6-0.
Sharapova rolled back the years with a performance of crisp power hitting to eventually prove too much for her Danish opponent.
She broke Wozniacki early on but when she led 4-3 there were four breaks in a row until the Russian finally held serve to take the set 7-5.
The service struggles continued at the start of the second set as four of the first five games went against the server.
That saw Wozniacki open up a 3-1 lead but Sharapova wouldn't let her consolidate and reeled off the final five games as she consistently found the corners with rasping ground-strokes.
The 27-year-old Stosur recorded her third straight sets win over Li and maintained her unbeaten record against a player ranked one place above her in the world.
Stosur also reached her first final since the 2010 French Open almost a year ago.
And she said that there was nothing unusual about Li's second set collapse.
"Sometimes when that happens, if you do win a tight first set then it can be a real boost to that person but for the other person that loses it can almost be a deflation and it's a big disappointment," she said.
"But I guess this is when you have to be tough enough to try and forget about it and start over again because obviously you have been playing well enough to play a tight first set.
"Sometimes it is probably more a question of the mentality of going into the second set because there must be something that's been going okay if you've had a tight first set.
"That does happen a lot in tennis, both men's and women's and I guess it is every player's job to not let it happen but sometimes it does."
The sixth seed got off to a flying start and broke Li in the opening game, working the Chinese wide to her backhand and forcing a short defensive return before steaming up to the net and powering away a forehand winner.
Stosur forced a set point on the fourth seed's serve at 5-3 but a deep first serve gave Li a short return to put away.
A series of deep crosscourt backhands setting her up for a forehand winner from close to the net saw Li fend off another set point soon after before she held serve.
That proved a vital hold as in the next game Li forced a break point and levelled up at 5-5 when Stosur went wide with a backhand.
The first mini-break in the tie-break went Li's way when she brought Stosur up to the net with a drop shot and then rasped a backhand pass crosscourt.
But she gave it up immediately with a double fault.
Li brought up a set point with a forehand winner down line but couldn't take it when she put the same shot into the tramlines on the next point.
Stosur was not so generous when she was presented with a set point moments later, hitting a powerful serve out wide and following it up with a forehand winner.
The world number seven got off to a quick start in the second set as well as Li double faulted on break point in the second game.
And the Chinese player's game crumbled from there as Stosur cantered through the rest of the set
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Statistical highlights: Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings
# Chennai Super Kings' superb victory by 63 runs is the second biggest by runs margin in the IPL 4, behind Bangalore's 85-run win over Punjab at Bangalore on May 6, 2011.
# Chennai Super Kings, for the first time, have recorded three consecutive victories over Rajasthan in the IPL.
# Chennai's victory is their third biggest by runs margin in the IPL overall - their two largest being by 92 runs against Bangalore at Port Elizabeth on April 20, 2009 and by 78 runs against Deccan at East London on May 4, 2009.
# Chennai's tally of 33 victories is the highest in the IPL - winning % 58.77 (Lost 23 and Tied 1) out of 57 played.
# Suresh Raina (2/0) has become the first bowler to claim two wickets without conceding a single run in the IPL.
# Raina's figures are his best in the IPL. # Raina's tally of 320 at an average of 32.00 in eleven matches is the second highest for Chennai in the IPL 4.
# Raina's overall tally of 1695 (ave.36.84) in 57 matches is a record in the IPL.
# Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay put on 77 for the first wicket - Chennai's best against Rajasthan in the IPL, eclipsing the 62 between Vijay and Hayden at Chepauk on April 3, 2010.
# Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41 not out) completed his 1200 runs in the IPL, aggregating 1232 at an average of 37.33 in 54 matches, including six fifties.
# Ajinkya Rahane (52 off 36 balls) recorded his third fifty in the IPL - his first in the present tournament.
# Chennai's 196 for three is the highest by any team against Rajasthan at Jaipur in the IPL.
# Michael Hussey (46) has managed 388 at an average of 55.42 in nine innings, including three fifties. His tally is the second highest in the IPL 4, next only to Virender Sehwag (424).
# Murali Vijay's excellent 53 off 40 balls is his second fifty in the IPL 4 - his eighth in Twenty20.
# Doug Bollinger (3/22) has produced his best bowling performance against Rajasthan.
# Bollinger has completed his 50 wickets in Twenty20 in 43 matches at an average of 21.82 and 25 at 15.12 runs apiece in 16 matches in the IPL
# Albie Morkel has extended his record for most wickets for Chennai - 54 at an average of 25.88 in 49 matches.
# The top three Chennai bowlers in the IPL 4 are - Bollinger (13), Morkel (13) and Ravichandran Ashwin (12).
# Shane Warne has now registered seven ducks - the most by a batsman in the IPL.
# Chennai Super Kings, for the first time, have recorded three consecutive victories over Rajasthan in the IPL.
# Chennai's victory is their third biggest by runs margin in the IPL overall - their two largest being by 92 runs against Bangalore at Port Elizabeth on April 20, 2009 and by 78 runs against Deccan at East London on May 4, 2009.
# Chennai's tally of 33 victories is the highest in the IPL - winning % 58.77 (Lost 23 and Tied 1) out of 57 played.
# Suresh Raina (2/0) has become the first bowler to claim two wickets without conceding a single run in the IPL.
# Raina's figures are his best in the IPL. # Raina's tally of 320 at an average of 32.00 in eleven matches is the second highest for Chennai in the IPL 4.
# Raina's overall tally of 1695 (ave.36.84) in 57 matches is a record in the IPL.
# Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay put on 77 for the first wicket - Chennai's best against Rajasthan in the IPL, eclipsing the 62 between Vijay and Hayden at Chepauk on April 3, 2010.
# Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41 not out) completed his 1200 runs in the IPL, aggregating 1232 at an average of 37.33 in 54 matches, including six fifties.
# Ajinkya Rahane (52 off 36 balls) recorded his third fifty in the IPL - his first in the present tournament.
# Chennai's 196 for three is the highest by any team against Rajasthan at Jaipur in the IPL.
# Michael Hussey (46) has managed 388 at an average of 55.42 in nine innings, including three fifties. His tally is the second highest in the IPL 4, next only to Virender Sehwag (424).
# Murali Vijay's excellent 53 off 40 balls is his second fifty in the IPL 4 - his eighth in Twenty20.
# Doug Bollinger (3/22) has produced his best bowling performance against Rajasthan.
# Bollinger has completed his 50 wickets in Twenty20 in 43 matches at an average of 21.82 and 25 at 15.12 runs apiece in 16 matches in the IPL
# Albie Morkel has extended his record for most wickets for Chennai - 54 at an average of 25.88 in 49 matches.
# The top three Chennai bowlers in the IPL 4 are - Bollinger (13), Morkel (13) and Ravichandran Ashwin (12).
# Shane Warne has now registered seven ducks - the most by a batsman in the IPL.
Rayudu, Badrinath likely to be selected for Windies tour
NEW DELHI: Young Ambati Rayudu and veteran Subramanium Badrinath are two players who are likely to be rewarded with national call-ups for their good show in the ongoing IPL when the selectors meet in Chennai on Friday to decide on the ODI squad for the tour of West Indies.
Pune Warriors leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, who has had an astonishing economy rate of less than six through 10 matches, is likely to be another beneficiary.
It is still not clear as to how many seniors apart from Virender Sehwag who will undergo shoulder surgery will be rested for the shorter version.
Sachin Tendulkar, who nowadays only plays selective matches in the shorter version and veteran speedster Zaheer Khan may want to give their tired bodies much needed rest after a rigorous World Cup and an equally arduous IPL campaign.
Even skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is reportedly keen to take a break before the Test series in the Windies followed by an important two and half month long tour of England.
Whatever be the scenario, Rayudu who has so far scored 349 runs from 10 games with a strike rate of nearly 120 has a good chance to board the flight to Caribbean.
"His (Rayudu) wicketkeeping abilities is another advantage for him. With Robin Uthappa not doing well, Rayudu's case is even more stronger. Whether Dhoni takes rest or not, Rayudu can be considered a second 'keeper in shorter versions as Indian teams over the years have always had a second option while touring the Caribbean," a BCCI source said.
For Badrinath who had a fantastic Ranji season scoring a whopping 922 runs at an average of 131 followed it up with 294 runs in the IPL so far at a strike-rate of 135.
The talking point in the cricket fraternity has been how Badrinath who was known for his dogged approach has brought an attacking flair in his style of batting. He along with Michael Hussey has been one of the batting mainstays.
Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary who is also in good form this year having scored 277 runs is another candidate but he can be termed as 'dark horse'. Manoj's selection however depends on how many among the seniors back out for the ODI and T20 series.
Among the bowlers Praveen Kumar is an automatic choice and if Ashish Nehra fails to recover in time, Ishant Sharma will form the core of the pace trio that will also have Munaf Patel.
While off-spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin select themselves, it is unlikely that leggie Piyush Chawla will be able to retain his place. Chawla's show in the IPL has been as disappointing as was his World Cup campaign.
The lanky Punjab lad Rahul who has been a revelation is the favourite after his big-hearted show against superior batsmen. His economy rate of 5.16 over 10 matches has been brilliant to say the least.
If the selectors prefer a left-arm spinner then pint-sized Iqbal Abdulla will fight it out with experienced Pragyan Ojha.
While Ojha has been disappointing in the IPL, Abdulla has carried his good all-round form for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy into the IPL with 13 wickets with average of 6.10 runs per over.
Pune Warriors leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, who has had an astonishing economy rate of less than six through 10 matches, is likely to be another beneficiary.
It is still not clear as to how many seniors apart from Virender Sehwag who will undergo shoulder surgery will be rested for the shorter version.
Sachin Tendulkar, who nowadays only plays selective matches in the shorter version and veteran speedster Zaheer Khan may want to give their tired bodies much needed rest after a rigorous World Cup and an equally arduous IPL campaign.
Even skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is reportedly keen to take a break before the Test series in the Windies followed by an important two and half month long tour of England.
Whatever be the scenario, Rayudu who has so far scored 349 runs from 10 games with a strike rate of nearly 120 has a good chance to board the flight to Caribbean.
"His (Rayudu) wicketkeeping abilities is another advantage for him. With Robin Uthappa not doing well, Rayudu's case is even more stronger. Whether Dhoni takes rest or not, Rayudu can be considered a second 'keeper in shorter versions as Indian teams over the years have always had a second option while touring the Caribbean," a BCCI source said.
For Badrinath who had a fantastic Ranji season scoring a whopping 922 runs at an average of 131 followed it up with 294 runs in the IPL so far at a strike-rate of 135.
The talking point in the cricket fraternity has been how Badrinath who was known for his dogged approach has brought an attacking flair in his style of batting. He along with Michael Hussey has been one of the batting mainstays.
Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary who is also in good form this year having scored 277 runs is another candidate but he can be termed as 'dark horse'. Manoj's selection however depends on how many among the seniors back out for the ODI and T20 series.
Among the bowlers Praveen Kumar is an automatic choice and if Ashish Nehra fails to recover in time, Ishant Sharma will form the core of the pace trio that will also have Munaf Patel.
While off-spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin select themselves, it is unlikely that leggie Piyush Chawla will be able to retain his place. Chawla's show in the IPL has been as disappointing as was his World Cup campaign.
The lanky Punjab lad Rahul who has been a revelation is the favourite after his big-hearted show against superior batsmen. His economy rate of 5.16 over 10 matches has been brilliant to say the least.
If the selectors prefer a left-arm spinner then pint-sized Iqbal Abdulla will fight it out with experienced Pragyan Ojha.
While Ojha has been disappointing in the IPL, Abdulla has carried his good all-round form for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy into the IPL with 13 wickets with average of 6.10 runs per over.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
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