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Today – WordPress New Version 3.5 Released

December 12, 2012 1 comment

On December 11, 2012, WordPress Version 3.5, named for jazz drummer Elvin Jones, was released to the public. For more information on this enhancement and bug-fix release, read the WordPress Blog, and see the Changelog for 3.5

 

Highlights

  • New Media Manager
    • Beautiful interface: A streamlined, all-new experience
    • Create galleries faster with drag-and-drop reordering, inline caption editing, and simplified controls
    • Insert multiple images at once with Shift/Ctrl+click
  • New Default Theme – Twenty Twelve
    • Simple, flexible, elegant
    • Mobile-first, responsive design
    • Gorgeous Open Sans typeface
    • Uses the latest Theme Features
  • Admin Enhancements
    • New Welcome Screen
    • Retina-Ready (HiDPI) Admin
    • Hide Link Manager for new installs
    • Better accessibility for screenreaders, touch devices, and keyboard users
    • More polish on admin screens, including a new color picker
  • For Developers
    • WP_Comment_Query and WP_User_Query accept now meta queries just like WP_Query
    • Meta queries now support querying for objects without a particular meta key
    • Post objects are now instances of a WP_Post class, which improves performance and caching
    • Multisite’s switch_to_blog() is now significantly faster and more reliable
    • WordPress has added the Underscore and Backbone JavaScript libraries
    • TinyMCE, jQuery, jQuery UI, and SimplePie have all been updated to the latest versions
    • Image Editing API for cropping, scaling, etc., that uses ImageMagick as well as GD
    • XML-RPC: Now always enabled and supports fetching users, managing post revisions, searching
    • New “show_admin_column” parameter for register_taxonomy() allows automatic creation of taxonomy columns on associated post-types.

What’s New

Dashboard

  • Switch to prompt text in QuickPress to accommodate longer translated input labels
  • Button styles updated throughout Dashboard to more modern, rectangular shape
  • Help Text improvements throughout

Posts

  • Rename the “HTML” editor tab to “Text”
  • Prevent child categories from being visually promoted to the top level after Quick Edit

Media

  • Add oEmbed suport for SoundCloud.com, SlideShare.net, and Instagram.com
  • New Media Manager: Insert multiple galleries per post and independently order images

Accessibility

  • Add visible focus within admin screens for better accessibility.
  • Add “Skip to content” link to all screens in the admin.
  • Add “Skip to toolbar” accessibility shortcut in the admin.
  • Add ability to log out of user account without mouse input.
  • Add “tab out” of the plugins and themes editors textareas.

Links

  • Link Manager is hidden for new installs and for any existing installs that have no links (all sites with existing links are left as is). This can be restored with Link Manager Plugin
  • Display links in widget if no link categories

Appearance

  • Widgets menu is hidden if your theme hasn’t defined any sidebars
  • Improve display of available custom headers with jQuery Masonry

Plugins

Users

  • Display name defaults to first name and last name for new users
  • Force the user to explicitly choose between content deletion and reassignment when deleting users

Settings

Multisite

  • Multisite installs now work with WordPress in a subdirectory
  • Turn off ms-files.php by default
  • File quotas disabled by default on new installs 

 

Today RAJINI’S BIRTHDAY 12-12-12

December 12, 2012 2 comments
English: Rajinikanth at the audio release of E...

English: Rajinikanth at the audio release of Enthiran (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Superstar Rajinikanth celebrates his 60th birthday today and he will be spending the day with his family. Rajini’s birthday is no less than a festival for his fans the world over.

It is reported that his family and close friends have organized a Shashitabadapoorthi puja (60th birthday celebrations) at the famous Tirukkadiyur temple near Tiruchi. However, it should come to no one’s surprise that Rajini’s fans will be lining up for special poojas and welfare activities for their favourite idol.

Shivaji Rao Gaekwad was on December 12, 1949 and had very humble beginnings. He served as a ticket collector in a local shuttle bus in Bangalore when he was discovered by the legendary K. Balachander who renamed him Rajinikanth.

The year has been exceptional for Rajini. Breaking all box office records Endhiran has emerged as the biggest hit ever. There have also been two new additions to his family. Daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth, who is married to actor Dhanush gave birth to a baby boy and his other daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth got married to industrialist Ashwin Kumar.

selvabalaji.wordpress.com  wishes Rajinikanth a very happy birthday!

 

Top 10 Tamil Actor survive

October 4, 2011 Leave a comment
Tamil actor Surya Sivakumar photographed in Er...

Image via Wikipedia

டாப் 10 தமிழ் நடிகர்கள்: ஒரு அலசல்:

முதலில் எனது எந்த வலையுளகிற்கு வருகை தந்த
உங்களுக்கு எனது நன்றி கலந்த  வணக்கங்கள். எனது இந்த பதிவு பிடித்தாலும் பிடிக்காவிட்டாலும்,மாற்று கருத்து  இருந்தாலும் தயவுசெய்து பின்னூட்டம் இடவும் என தாழ்மையுடன் கேட்டு  கொள்கின்றேன்.

பொதுவா எனக்கு சினிமா சம்பந்தமான பதிவு எழுதுவதில் அதிக ஆர்வம் கிடையாது. ஆனால்  சினிமா அதிக அளவு வாசகர் வட்டம் கொண்டது என்பதால் அது தவிற்க முடியாததாகின்றது.

சரி விஷயதுக்கு வருவோம்: இந்த போட்டியில் ரஜினியையும் கமலையும்
சேர்க்கவில்லை.  ஏன் என்றால் அவர்களையும் சேர்த்தால் முதல் இரண்டு இடத்திற்கு
போட்டிகள் இருக்காது.அவர்கள் இரண்டு பேரும் எப்போதும் நம்பர் ஒன்.

10வது இடம் ஜெயம் ரவி: ஜெயம் படத்தின் மூலம் அமர்களமாக அறிமுகமாகி சன் ஆப்
மகாலச்சுமி என அடுத்தடுத்து இரண்டு ஹிட் படங்களை கொடுத்தவர். வேறு  இயக்குனர்களின் படங்களில் இவர் நடித்த படங்கள் சரியாக போகாத நிலையில் பேராண்மை மற்றும் சந்தோஷ்  சுப்ரமணியம் ஆகிய படங்கள் இவரை தூக்கி நிருத்தியது. நல்ல நடிகர். டான்ஸ், சண்டை  காட்சிகள், ரொமான்ஸ் என சகல துறைகளிலும் அசத்துவார். இவர் படங்களை குடும்பத்துடன்  சென்று பார்க்கலாம் என்பது இவரின் சிறப்பு. அதிக பெண் ரசிகர்கள்  கொண்டவர். இவரின் குடும்பமே சினிமா துறையில் உள்ளது இவரின் கூடுதல் பலம்

குறிப்பு: இவரை விட அதிக ஹிட் படங்களை கொடுத்த நடிகர் ஜீவா டாப் 10
நடிகர்கள் பட்டியலில் இல்லை என்பது எனக்கே கொஞ்சம் வருத்தமாக
இருக்கின்றது.(ராம்,டிஷ்யூம்,கற்றது தமிழ்,சிவா மனசுல சக்தி,கோ)

9வது இடம் புரட்சி தளபதி விஷால்: இவருடைய பட்டத்தை பார்த்தாலே பத்திகிட்டு
வருது. புரட்சி என்பதன் அர்த்தமே போய்விட்டது. பேர் சொல்லுர மாதிரி ஒரு படமும்
கொடுக்கவில்லை(அவன் இவன் தவிர). ஆனாலும் இவர் படத்துக்கு கமர்சியல் மதிப்பு இருப்பதாக  கூறிகொள்கின்றார்கள்.எனக்கு என்னமோ அப்படி தெரியவில்லை. இவர் நடித்ததில் எனக்கு  பிடித்தது செல்லமே,சண்ட கோழி,அவன் இவன் மட்டுமே. நல்ல நடிகன் மாதிரிதான் தெரியுது  ஆனால் மாஸ் என்கிற போதையில் தடம் மாறுவது போல் தெரிகின்றது. டாப் 10னில் நீடிக்க  வேன்டுமானால் நல்ல கதைகளை தேர்வு செய்ய வேண்டியது அவசியம்.

அவன் இவனுக்கு முன்னாடி இவர் நடித்த மூன்று படமும் படு தோல்வி.

8 வது இடம் ஆர்யா:
தமிழ் சினிமாவில் தற்போதைக்கு ஈகோ பார்காத நடிகர்.  பாலாவின் நான் கடவுள் மூலம் மறு அவதாரம் எடுத்துள்ளார். மதராஷ பட்டினம்,பாஸ் என்கிற  பாஸ்கரன் அவன் இவன் என தொடர்ந்து ஹிட் படங்களை கொடுத்துள்ளார்.இவரின் திறமையை இவர்  இன்னும் சரியாக பயன்படுத்தவில்லை என்றுதான் தோன்றுகின்றது.

இனிமேல் தான் இவருக்கு உண்மையான போட்டியே இருக்கின்றது.

நடித்ததில் பிடித்தது: நான் கடவுள், மதராச பட்டிணம்,பாஸ் என்கிற
பாஸ்கரன்,அறிந்தும் அறியாமலும்,அவன் இவன்.

7வது சிம்பு என்கிற S.T.R:

எனக்கு சுத்தமா பிடிக்காத நடிகர் வானத்துக்கு முன்னாடி வரையும்.வானம் படம்
பார்த்தவுடம் அவர் மீது ஒரு நல்ல மதிப்பு வந்தது உண்மை. அது நீடிக்குமா? நீடிக்காதா
என்பது இனி வரும் அவரின் படங்களை பொருத்து. இவர் படம் தானாக ஒடுனதைவிட ஓட வைக்கபட்டது என்பதே என்னுடைய கருத்து.இவருடைய உண்மையான ஹிட் விண்ணைதாண்டி  வருவாயா தான்.அடுத்து வந்த வானமும் ஹிட் என்பதால் இனி வரவுள்ள இவரின் படங்களுக்கு  எதிபார்ப்பு கூடி இருக்கு.இவர் தனது படங்களுக்கு நல்ல பப்ளிசிடி தேடி கொள்வதில்  திறமையானவர்.

திறமையானவர் தான் ஆனால் இவரும் மாஸ் போதையில் அலைவது தான்  வருத்தமான விஷயம்.

சமீப காலமாக அஜித் ரசிகர்களை தன் பக்கம் இழுக்க  குறிவைத்துள்ளார்.அஜித் ரசிகர்களே ஜாக்கிரதை…..

6வது இடம் தனுஷ்:
நல்ல வேலை இவருக்கு பட்டங்கள் எதுவும் இல்லை.இவரின் வெற்றி  இவரே எதிர்பாராதது.ஆனாலும் கிடைத்த வெற்றியை திறமையாக தக்க வைத்து  கொண்டவர்.
முதல் மூன்று படங்களுமே அதிரி புதிரி வெற்றி…இடையில் சின்ன  சறுக்கம் ஆனாலும் பொல்லாதவன் மூலம் மீண்டு வந்தார்.திறமையான நடிகர் மிகவும்  இளவயதில் தேசிய விருது பெற்றிருக்கிறார்.வாழ்த்துக்கள்.

இவர் சிம்புவுக்கு  போட்டி என்றாலும் ஹிட் பட வரிசையில் இவர்தான் டாப். இவர் நடித்த நல்ல கதை அம்சம்  உள்ள படங்கள் எல்லாம் நன்றாக ஓடின ஆனால் மசாலா படங்கள் அனைத்தும் சுமாரான வெற்றியே  பெற்றன.(திருவிளையாடல் தவிர)

இவர் நடித்ததில் எனக்கு பிடித்தது    :துள்ளுவதோ இளமை,
காதல்  கொண்டேன், பொல்லாதவன், ஆடுகளம், திருவிளையாடல் ஆரம்பம்.

5வது இடம் கார்த்தி:
ரொம்ப சீக்கிரத்திலேயே டாப் 10னின் இடம் பிடித்த  நடிகர்.இவர் நடித்த படங்கள் அனைத்துமே பாக்ஸ் ஆபிஸ் ஹிட்.கார்த்தி என பெயர்  வைத்ததால் என்னவோ நவரச நாயகன் கார்த்திகிற்கு பிறகு ஒரு துள்ளல் நடிப்பும் நல்ல காமெடி டைமிங்கும் இவரிடம் இருக்கின்றது. சிறப்பாக கதையை தேர்வு  செய்கின்றார்.தனது ஐந்தாவது படத்திலேயே இரட்டை வேடம் ஏற்று வெற்றி பெறவும்  வைத்தவர்.

நல்ல எதிகாலம் இருக்கின்றது.தனது இடத்தை தக்க வைக்க கடுமையாக உழைக்க
வேண்டும்
நடித்ததில் பிடித்தது: எல்லா படமும் பிடிக்கும். அனைத்தும் வெவ்வேறான  அனுபவங்கள்

4வது விக்ரம்:
வியக்க வைக்கும் உழைப்பு,விடாமுயற்சி, தன்னம்பிக்கை, இவை  இணைந்ததுதான் விக்ரம்.வியக்க வைக்கும் நடிகர் தனது அயராத உழைப்பின்  தமிழ் சினிமாவில் தனியிடம் பிடித்திருக்கின்றார். பீமா, கந்தசாமி,இராவணன் போன்ற  தொடர் தோல்விக்கு பிறகு ஒரு கமர்சியல் சினிமா நடிக்காமல் தெய்வ திருமகளில் நடித்த  அவரின் துணிச்சல் பாராட்ட பட வேண்டியது.தமிழ் சினிமாவில் இவருக்கான அங்கிகாரம்  சற்று குறைவு என்றுதான் எண்ணுகின்றேன்.

தமிழுக்கு சிறந்த நடிகனாக தேசிய விருது பெற்று தந்திருக்கின்றார்.இவர்  நடிக்கும் படங்கள் தரமானவை என நம்பி செல்லலாம்.தொடர்ந்து தமிழுக்கு நல்ல  படங்கள் கொடுப்பார் என நம்புவோம்.

நடித்ததில் பிடித்தது: சேது,காசி, தில், தூள்,அன்னியன்,சாமி,மஜா(எனக்கு பிடிச்சு
இருந்தது)மற்றும் தெய்வ திருமகள்.

3வது  இளைய தளபதி விஜய்:

விஜய் ரசிகர்களுக்கு இது கோபத்தை ஏற்படுத்தலாம்.மங்காத்தா  வெற்றின் தாக்கம் தான் விஜயின் இறக்கம்.வேலாயுதம் வந்தால் இந்த நிலை மாறலாம்.இனி  வரும் படங்கள் மீண்டும் விஜயை நம்பர் ஒன்னாக்கும் என நம்புவோமாக!!  பூவே  உனக்காக, துள்ளாத மனமும் துள்ளும்,காதலுக்கு மரியாதை, லவ் டுடே என மென்மையான  படங்களில் நடித்து திருமலை,கில்லி,சிவகாசி,திருப்பாச்சி,போக்கிரி என அதிரடி நாயகனாக  ரசிகர்கள் மனதி இடம் பிடித்த விஜய், வில்லு, வேட்டைகாரன்,சுறா என தொடர் தோல்வி
படங்களில் நடித்து இப்போது நான்காவது இடத்தில் இருக்கின்றார். ஒரு காலத்திற்கு
அப்புறம் மக்களுக்கு சலிப்பு வரகூடிய படங்களில் நடித்து வெறுப்பை சம்பாதித்து
கொண்டார்.பின்னர் சுதாரித்து காவலன் என்ற ஹிட் படத்தை கொடுத்தார். இப்போது இவர்  நடித்து கொண்டிருக்கும் படங்கள் எல்லாமே மிகுந்த எதிபார்பிற்குறிய படங்கள் என்பதால்  மீண்டும் இவர் பழைய இடத்தை பிடிப்பார் என நம்புவோமாக.

நடித்ததில் பிடித்தது: பூவே உனக்காக,துள்ளாத மனமும் துள்ளும்,காதலுக்கு
மரியாதை,கில்லி,திருமலை,போக்கிரி,சிவகாசி,குஷி

2வது இடம் அஜித்:
மங்காத்தாவின் அதிரடி வெற்றி இவரை இரண்டாவது இடத்தில் உக்கார வைத்திருக்கின்றது.  முன்னனி நடிகர்களில் அதிகமான தோல்வி படங்களில் நடித்தது இவராகதான் இருக்க  முடியும்.அதையெல்லாம் தாண்டிய இவரது தன்னம்பிக்கைதான் இவரை இந்த இடத்தில்  உக்கார வைதிருக்கின்றது. நல்ல நடிகர் மட்டும் அல்ல. நல்ல மனிதரும் கூட.. தைரியசாலி  தனது ரசிகர்மன்றத்தை கலைத்தது அதற்கான சான்று.
இவரின் இந்த முடிவு வரவேற்க  கூடியது. இவர் அல்டிமேட் ஸ்டார் பட்டத்தை துறந்ததும் ஒரு பாராட்ட படகூடிய  விஷயம் இன்று இருக்க கூடிய முன்னனி இயக்குனர்களுக்கு முதல் பட சான்ஸ் கொடுத்து  திறையுலகில் அறிமுக படுத்திய பெருமை அஜிதையே சாரும்.

கதை தேர்வில் கூடுதல் கவனம் தேவை என்பதே என்னுடைய எண்ணம்.

சரண்.எ.ஆர்.முருகதாஸ், சூர்யா, இயக்குனர் விஜய், என பட்டியல் நீளும்.
நடித்ததில் பிடித்தது: காதல் மன்னன்,அமர்களம்,வரலாறு,வாலி,பில்லா, தினா,
போன்றவை

முதல் இடம் சூர்யா:

தமிழ் சினிமாவின் தற்போதய ஹாட் கேக்.. பாக்ஸ் ஆபிஸ் ஹீரோ..
உழைப்பு மற்றும் ஈடுபாடு கொண்ட இயக்குனர்களின் நடிகன். இவரை வைத்து படம்
எடுத்தவர்களே மீண்டும் இவரிடம் இணைந்து படம் எடுப்பது இவருடைய ஈடுபாட்டுக்கு
சான்று. வரிசையாக பாக்ஸ் ஆபிஸ் ஹிட் கொடுத்தவர். மாஸ் மற்றும் கிளாஸ் படங்களை மாறி  மாறி கொடுப்பவர்.

இயக்குனர் பாலாவினால் வாழ்வளிக்க பட்டவர்களில் இவரும் ஒருவர்.இவரின் ஆரம்பகால படங்கள் இவருக்கு பெயரெடுத்து தராத நிலையில் இயக்குனர் பாலாவின்
இயக்கத்தில் இவர் நடித்த நந்தா இவருக்கு திருப்புமுனையாக அமைந்தது.அதை சரியாக
பயன்படுத்திகொண்ட அவர் படிபடியாக முன்னனி நடிகராக உயர்ந்து இன்று நம்பர் 1 அந்தஸ்தை  எட்டியிருக்கின்றார்.காக்க காக்க, பேரழகன்,பிதாமகன்,கஜினி,வாரணம்
ஆயிரம்,அயன்,சிங்கம் ஆகியவை பெயர் சொல்லும் படங்களாக அமைந்தது.

எ.ஆர்.முருகதாஸ் இயக்கத்தில் இவர் நடித்து கொண்டிருக்கும் ஏழாம் அரிவு மிகுந்த எதிபார்பை கிளப்பி  இருக்கின்றது.

நடிப்பு,ஆக்சன்,ரொமான்ஸ் என அனைத்திலும் சிறந்தவர்.அகரம் பௌன்டேசன் மூலம் ஏழை  குழந்தைகளுக்கு கல்வி அறிவு கிடைக்க உதவி வருகின்றார்.

தனக்கு கிடைத்த மக்கள் ஆதரவை சரியான வகையில் சரியான திசையில் பயன்படுத்துவதாக  எனக்கு படுகின்றது.

(முதல் மூன்று இடங்களில் மாற்றம் எப்போது வேண்டுமானாலும் நிகழலாம்.அது அவர்களின்  பாக்ஸ் ஆபிஸ் வெற்றியை பொறுத்து)
எனக்கு தெரிந்த வரையில் நான் சரியான முறையில்  வரிசைபடுத்தி இருக்கிறேன் என நம்புகின்றேன். குறை இருந்தால் தயவுசெய்து தெரிய  படுத்தவும்.

குறிப்பு: டாப் 10 நடிகர்களில் அஜித்,விக்ரம் தவிர்த்து மற்ற நடிகர்கள் அனைவரும்
குடும்ப சபோர்ட் மூலம் சினிமா துறையில் நுழைந்தவர்கள்.

வந்தத வந்துடீங்க தயவுசெய்து உங்கள் ஓட்டையும் போட்டுட்டு போங்க….

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 – Crowning Glory for India

The 2011 Cricket World Cup tournament lit up our TV screens with high quality play, absolute rubbish, highlights, lowlights, pluck, timidity and a mass of other notables. Here are some of the things The Daily Maverick can praise, bewail and argue about.

Hosts winning

While we may be pretty serious fans of cricket, and sport in general, in South Africa, we are nowhere near as obsessive about it as India. The Indian team’s victory in the Final in front of their own blaring fans in their premier city is one of the most romantic scripts that could be written for the game. That they did it with a South African coach added to the gut-warming feeling we were permitted as the news channels broadcast one happy Indian fan after another.

Plucky cricket

Two teams at the tournament showed that talent isn’t the sole ingredient for success. New Zealand and Ireland both showed what a bit of grit, pressurising fielding and counter-attacking mentality can achieve. Ireland came from behind to beat England and chased down a massive Dutch score, and New Zealand knocked out South Africa when a betting man (who had never seen South Africa play in a knockout match before) would have put all of his money on the Proteas.

Umpiring

This was the first World Cup to feature the Umpire Decision Review System and has finally meant that we have statistical evidence to see which of the umpires are the best. In a show of initiative not seen since they last decided to disagree with whatever the BCCI said, the ICC actually removed the underperforming Asoka de Silva from important World Cup fixtures after he hashed a few games. Marais Erasmus, South Africa’s representative at the tournament, had a good run and, to our knowledge, only had one decision overturned.

Photo: Cricket fans celebrate in New Delhi, after India won the ICC Cricket World Cup final match against Sri Lanka, April 2, 2011. India sparked wild celebrations among their billion supporters after beating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the World Cup final at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. REUTERS/B Mathur.


The Bad


South Africa

It was a familiar sight to see South Africa return to Mzansi within a day of their first knockout fixture. After the farcical 1992 semi-final, the Proteas have managed to cock up the quarters in 1996, the tied semi in 1999, semis in 2009 and 2011. Add to that the fire-spittingly haemorrhaging 2003 “knockout” game against Sri Lanka and you’ll see why SA cricket fans have earned the right to government-subsidised anti-depressants.

The West Indies
We didn’t need a reminder, but we had confirmation that the swashbuckling days of swaggering batsmen and giant fast-bowlers are completely over. The West Indies folded meekly against South Africa, England, India and in the quarter-final against Pakistan. Watching Darren Sammy bowl his dibbly-dobblies at first change for the team that once produced skull- and toe-crunching bowlers like Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Curtly Ambrose was worse than sad.

The Final toss

The toss circus in the Final was a good indication that the odd batsman walking does not a dignified sport make, nor does the presence of a match-referee actually serve a purpose in a cricket match. If the game was what we wanted it to be, MS Dhoni could have just asked Kumar Sangakkarra what he had called and we all could have moved on. Had the match referee, the same one who wanted Sri Lanka batting in the dark in the 2007 Final, paid any sort of attention this could also have been avoided.

Photo: New Zealand’s wicket keeper Brendon McCullum (L) runs out South Africa’s AB de Villiers (R) during their Cricket World Cup quarter-final match in Dhaka March 25, 2011. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi.


The Unexpected


England

England usually fall over flat and die in the group stages of World Cups or they do very well throughout. England qualified for the Final in 1987 and 1992 (losing to Australia and Pakistan respectively) but then crashed out in the group stage of the 1996, 1999 and 2003 tournaments. This year’s Cricket World Cup had an England which managed to lose to Ireland and Bangladesh, beat South Africa, scrape a win against the Netherlands and tie with India. The Empire XI showcased one of the best batsmen of the tournament (Jonathan Trott), the innings of the tournament (Andrew Strauss’ 158 vs India), the bowling spells of the tournament (Stuart Broad’s 4/15 vs South Africa) and yet England were sent packing by Sri Lanka in the quarter-finals.

Robin Peterson

We humbly admit we had no faith in Robin Peterson when he was selected in the SA World Cup squad. We thought he had only been brought as cover for Imran Tahir and Johan Botha, and he would only get a game if one of them did themselves in. How incredibly wrong we were. With sporting pitches, Peterson was South Africa’s most successful bowler in the tournament, picking up 15 wickets at an average of 15, and he only went for 4.25 an over. Incredible stuff. He was the second most penetrative spinner and the fourth highest wicket-taker overall.


Team of the tournament


Absolutely the most contentious part of any World Cup review, this is our team of the tournament:

  • Sachin Tendulkar
  • TM Dilshan
  • Jonathan Trott
  • Kumar Sangakkara (c)
  • Yuvraj Singh
  • Mahela Jayawardene
  • Mohammad Hafeez
  • Shahid Afridi
  • Zaheer Khan
  • Tim Southee
  • Ray Price/Dale Steyn
  • 12th man: AB de Villiers

Tendulkar and Dilshan are no-brainer selections. Trott makes it in on sheer weight of runs, which he scored at a strike rate of more than 80. Yuvraj was man of the tournament as his scoring was up there with the best and he chipped in with 15 wickets with what look like left-arm spinners to us, but are evidently scud-missiles when one is holding a bat at 20m.

Photo: Sri Lanka’s captain and wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara speaks with Muttiah Muralitharan, who is playing in his last Cricket World Cup, after their team beat New Zealand in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final match in Colombo March 29, 2011. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte.

We know we left out Dhoni, the World Cup winning captain who turned the Final around India’s way, but his batting throughout the tournament wasn’t so hot. Sangakkara’s blade was far more consistent. He is paired in the middle order with Mahela Jayawardene who scored two centuries in the World Cup, including that delicious knock in the Final.

Mohammad Hafeez sneaks in ahead of Ajantha Mandis because of his superb economy rate of 3.5 and his ability to bat. He isn’t a great batsman, and his constant opening says more about Pakistan’s depth than it does about his skills. If we picked Mendis then Afridi would come in at number seven and we think that’s a place too early. We prefer Hafeez there.

Ray Price also sneaked in because of his economy rate, but his selection would be dependent on the wicket. If it suited pace bowlers Dale Steyn would come in for him. Price is an incredible player. He bowls left-arm spin with the new ball for a team that gets walloped every time it plays someone decent. To have an economy rate below 3.5 in any context is superb. While representing Zimbabwe, it is super-human.

Tim Southee and Zaheer Khan were far and away the top fast bowlers of the tournament. Southee has found an extra bit of pace which, coupled with his bounce, snagged him 18 wickets in eight games. To put that into perspective, he never took more than three wickets in a match – underlying his consistency. Compare that to Malinga – if you take away his six-wicket haul against Kenya he only took seven wickets at 33.


2015


A decent tournament recipe has finally been found. The complicated Super 6 and Super 8 varieties were tossed out and a round-robin format resulting in knockouts was adopted. If any tinkering were done further, we would recommend removing two of the minnow teams – Canada, Kenya and the Netherlands didn’t add much to the tournament – and hastening up the group stage by playing more than one fixture a day. The group stage in this tournament took longer than the entire FIFA World Cup did last year.

Only four years to go until the next one… DM

Sehwag ‘fully fit’ for World Cup

February 4, 2011 Leave a comment

Virender Sehwag missed the ODIs in South Africa to attend to the shoulder injured

Virender Sehwag, India‘s vice-captain for the World Cup, has said that he is “fully fit” for the tournament that begins on February 19. Sehwag missed India’s five-match one-day series following the Tests in South Africa to attend to a shoulder injury, but says his recovery is well on track.

“I was feeling some pain in my shoulder,” Sehwag told Indian news channel CNN-IBN. “So [I thought it was] better to quit the South Africa one-dayers. I didn’t want to get injured in South Africa tour and miss the World Cup. So I came back and went to Germany to see a couple of doctors. I got a couple of injections and now I’m fine.

“I am going to the National Cricket Academy [in Bangalore] and will spend a couple of days there, to check everything – if I can bowl and throw also but if I can’t, then I’ll let them know. But yes, at the moment I’m fully fit.”

Sehwag is wary of the opening game against Bangladesh, who had derailed India’s 2007 World Cup campaign with a shock win. “Because we’re playing the opening game against them in Bangladesh, Bangladeshi people are expecting them to beat us again. But this time we have to prepare well … You can say it is a revenge game for us and we won’t take the game lightly. We will give our best shot and we will come hard on Bangladesh.”

Sehwag was confident of India’s chances against the other major teams in Group B – South Africa, England and West Indies. “When we played against England last time, we won 5-0 and against South Africa we did well in South Africa and we have done well; when Sachin Tendulkar got the double hundred [in Gwalior], we won the series. West Indies have good players like Pollard and Gayle, if they click then maybe it’s difficult for us but India also have very good players.”

Raja, aides arrested in 2G spectrum scam

February 2, 2011 Leave a comment

Former Telecom Minister A. Raja was on Wednesday arrested along with his two former associates in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.

Mr. Raja arrived at the Central Bureau of Investigation headquarters on Wednesday morning, a day after his brother A.K. Perumal was questioned by the agency about alleged funding of some front organisations owned by telecom companies which had been allocated spectrum from October 2007 to January 2008, official sources said.

Mr. Raja, his former personal secretary R.K. Chandolia and former Telecom Secretary Siddartha Behura were arrested for allegedly abusing their official position and manipulating the tendering procedures to benefit certain telecom companies in getting the spectrum.

The arrest of 47-year-old Mr. Raja, who has been questioned four times by the agency, comes over two months after he was forced to resign in the wake of the spectrum controversy.

Mr. Raja, who was questioned earlier on December 24 and 25 last year and January 31, was called to the CBI office on Wednesday morning and quizzed before being arrested, the sources said.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP had been confronted with some questions and documents recovered from the computers seized during searches conducted by the investigation agency earlier at his premises, the sources said.

He was also asked about his conversations with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and the reasons for advancing the cut-off date of applying for license for spectrum allocation in 2007 by a week.

Mr. Raja was forced to resign on November 14 last year in the wake of the CAG report which held that the spectrum allocation at undervalued prices resulted in a notional loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the state exchequer.

The Supreme Court has asked the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to submit status reports on their investigations into the 2G spectrum case to it by February 10 when the case will come up for further hearing.

In its FIR, the CBI mentioned the loss in spectrum allocation as Rs. 22,000 crore based on Central Vigilance Commission findings which had referred the case to it.

The CBI has also questioned former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chief Pradip Baijal, a 1966 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, and former Telecom Secretary D.S. Mathur in connection with the case.

Welcome to ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

January 31, 2011 Leave a comment
ICC Cricket World Cup trophy replica which is ...

Image via Wikipedia

Welcome to Cricketworldcup2011.co.in – a complete website on the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. This website would update you about ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule, Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures, Cricket World Cup 2011 venue and Cricket World Cup 2011 teams.

Cricket is considered as a religion in India and people are crazy about Cricket, especially in this part of the world. With ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 coming in the year 2011, the game would rise to new levels. If you are a Cricket fan searching for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule, Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures, Cricket World Cup 2011 venue and Cricket World Cup 2011 teams, then you need not to go elsewhere as you will get information on Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures, Cricket World Cup 2011 venue and Cricket World Cup 2011 teams and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule and every other info about ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 will be the 10th World Cup. Prior to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, 9 Cricket World Cups have been organized by ICC. Australia have emerged winner on the most occasions – 4. Closely following is West Indies, who won the inaugural and the very next World Cup. All the Indian Subcontinent teams – India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have won 1 World Cup each. Australia won in 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007. West Indies won on 1975 (the first World Cup) and 1979. India won the World Cup in 1983, Pakistan won the World Cup in 1992 and Sri Lanka won in 1996.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule and Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures: ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule and Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures are given below on our website.

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Welcome to ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

Welcome to Cricketworldcup2011.co.in – a complete website on the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. This website would update you about ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule, Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures, Cricket World Cup 2011 venue and Cricket World Cup 2011 teams.

Cricket is considered as a religion in India and people are crazy about Cricket, especially in this part of the world. With ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 coming in the year 2011, the game would rise to new levels. If you are a Cricket fan searching for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule, Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures, Cricket World Cup 2011 venue and Cricket World Cup 2011 teams, then you need not to go elsewhere as you will get information on Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures, Cricket World Cup 2011 venue and Cricket World Cup 2011 teams and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule and every other info about ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

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ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 will be the 10th World Cup. Prior to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, 9 Cricket World Cups have been organized by ICC. Australia have emerged winner on the most occasions – 4. Closely following is West Indies, who won the inaugural and the very next World Cup. All the Indian Subcontinent teams – India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have won 1 World Cup each. Australia won in 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007. West Indies won on 1975 (the first World Cup) and 1979. India won the World Cup in 1983, Pakistan won the World Cup in 1992 and Sri Lanka won in 1996.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule and Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures: ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule and Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures are given below on our website.

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Match Date Teams Venue
1 19 Feb India vs Bangladesh Dhaka
2 20 Feb New Zealand vs Kenya Chennai
3 20 Feb Sri Lanka vs Canada Hambantota
4 21 Feb Australia vs Zimbabwe Ahmedabad
5 22 Feb England vs Netherlands Nagpur
6 23 Feb Pakistan vs Kenya Hambantota
7 24 Feb South Africa vs West Indies New Delhi
8 25 Feb Australia vs New Zealand Nagpur
9 25 Feb Bangladesh vs Ireland Dhaka
10 26 Feb Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Colombo
11 27 Feb India vs England Kolkata*
12 28 Feb West Indies vs Netherlands New Delhi
13 28 Feb Zimbabwe vs Canada Nagpur
14 1 Mar Sri Lanka vs Kenya Colombo
15 2 Mar England vs Ireland Bangalore
16 3 Mar South Africa vs Netherlands Mohali
17 3 Mar Pakistan vs Canada Colombo
18 4 Mar New Zealand vs Zimbabwe Ahmedabad
19 4 Mar Bangladesh vs West Indies Dhaka
20 5 Mar Sri Lanka vs Australia Colombo
21 6 Mar India vs Ireland Bangalore
22 6 Mar England vs South Africa Chennai
23 7 Mar Kenya vs Canada New Delhi
24 8 Mar Pakistan vs New Zealand Pallekelle
25 9 Mar India vs Netherlands New Delhi
26 10 Mar Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe Pallekelle
27 11 Mar West Indies vs Ireland Mohali
28 11 Mar Bangladesh vs England Chittagong
29 12 Mar India vs South Africa Nagpur
30 13 Mar New Zealand vs Canada Mumbai
31 13 Mar Australia vs Kenya Bangalore
32 14 Mar Pakistan vs Zimbabwe Pallekelle
33 14 Mar Bangladesh vs Netherlands Chittagong
34 15 Mar South Africa vs Ireland Kolkata
35 16 Mar Australia vs Canada Bangalore
36 17 Mar England vs West Indies Chennai
37 18 Mar Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Mumbai
38 18 Mar Ireland vs Netherlands Kolkata
39 19 Mar Australia vs Pakistan Colombo
40 19 Mar Bangladesh vs South Africa Dhaka
41 20 Mar Zimbabwe vs Kenya Kolkata
42 20 Mar India vs West Indies Chennai
43 23 Mar First Quarterfinal Dhaka
44 24 Mar Second Quarterfinal Colombo
45 25 Mar Third Quarterfinal Dhaka
46 26 Mar Fourth Quarterfinal Ahmedabad
47 29 Mar First Semifinal Colombo
48 30 Mar Second Semifinal Mohali
49 02 Apr FINAL Mumbai
*To be confirmed. Most probably it would be played in M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru (Bangalore).

Once you bookmark this page you can view ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule and Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures anytime you like.

Cricket World Cup 2011 venue: With India as the main host of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Cricket World Cup 2011 venue includes stadiums of cities like Dhaka, Mumbai, Kolkata, Mohali, Colombo, Chennai, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, chittagong and Bangalore. Cricket World Cup 2011 venue also includes new venues like Pallekelle and Hambantota – both being in Sri Lanka.

Cricket World Cup 2011 teams: Cricket World Cup 2011 teams include 4 times winner Australia, 2 times winners West Indies, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Netherlands, Canada, Ireland, England and Kenya. Groups in which Cricket World Cup 2011 teams are divided:

Group A – Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya.

Group B – India, South Africa, England, Bangladesh, West Indies, Netherlands and Ireland.

Rana is Rajini’s Next Flim Title!

January 31, 2011 2 comments
Rajinikanth at an audio release function held ...

Close sources of Superstar Rajini confirms that his next movie‘s title will be Rana. According to the sources, K S Ravikumar direct the movie and Rathnavel will handle the camera. Rahman is the music director of Rana.
Rajinikanth’s Next ‘RANA’ K. S. Ravikumar direction, Rajini playing triple role

International media house Eros International and Soundarya Rajinikanth’s Ocher Studios have joined hands to co-produce the next film of Super Star Rajinikanth to be directed by K. S. Ravikumar.
The film titled ‘RANA” is going to be another big multilingual that will be released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Scheduled to go on floor in March this year, Rana will be a live action magnum opus with Rajini playing triple role.
The film will have Music by A R Rahman, Cinematography is by Ratnavelu, Editing is by Antony and Art directed by Rajeevan. The technical & special effects director will be Soundarya Rajinikanth and Charles Darby of Eyeqube Studios, renowned visual effects luminary and an Emmy award winner will be the visual effects supervisor on the film. The film is scheduled to release early 2012.
Speaking on the development, Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International Media Ltd said, “We are extremely excited to join hands with Tamil industry’s most popular super star Rajinikanth for Rana and this time audiences will be treated with their favourite actor donning a triple role in the film. Rana is going to be far different from any of the recent Rajni films, a complete live action magnum opus with loads of entertainment for his fans”.
Soundarya Rajinikanth, Director of Ocher Studios Private Limited added, “We are very pleased to announce this partnership with Eros International for RANA. We hope to make a film together that will live up to the huge expectations of the movie-goers and reach out to maximum audiences across the globe”.
Superstar Rajinikanth next film is going to be trilingual which is being made in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi versions. It has been titled as ‘Rana’.  K S Ravi Kumar who did super hit films like ‘Muthu’ and ‘Narasimha’ with Rajini has once again directing him. Bollywood sizzling actress Deepika Padukone is likely to be the leading lady of the film. 

As per sources, Rajinikanth will be seen in triple role. The film will move onto sets in the month of March. It is co-produced by Eros International and Ocher Studios, the production house run by Soundarya Rajinikanth.

There is a buzz that this film might be Rajinikanth’s animated film which is being directed jointly by Soundarya Rajinikanth and K S Ravikumar. However, Rana filmmakers have clarified that this is a new script which is going to direct by K S Ravi Kumar with huge buget.

Academy Award Winner A R Rehman will score the music for the film. Ratnavelu, who worked as camera man for sensational ‘Robo’ is working as cinematographer.

Rana is scheduled to release early in 2012.

Nadal Caps Career Grand Slam

September 14, 2010 Leave a comment
Rafael Nadal

Image by James Marvin Phelps (mandj98) via Flickr

Rafael Nadal does, of course, share an era with Roger Federer, which has done the era plenty of good, but this season and this year’s United States Open now belong exclusively to Nadal.

There were times, in his earlier years, when it seemed too much to ask for Nadal to hold up the trophy in New York.

The courts were supposed to be too quick for his big forehand backswing. The balls were supposed to bounce too low for his extreme grip. The lack of an overwhelming serve made it too tough to win easy points. The combined weight of the early season, with all those inevitable clay-court victories and his hard-charging style, were too much for a body — even his body — to bear.

But Nadal, with his 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Novak Djokovic in Monday night’s rain-interrupted United States Open final, has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that there are no limits to his range or appetite.

Playing against an opponent who had beaten him in their last three matches, all on hardcourts, the No. 1-seeded Nadal prevailed in 3 hours 43 minutes in the face of inspired resistance to become, at age 24, the youngest man in the Open era to complete a career Grand Slam.

Nadal, the relentless left-handed competitor from Spain, did so by wearing down the third-seeded Djokovic with his phenomenal court coverage, consistent returns and improved serve, particularly the sliced serve to the ad court that forced Djokovic to release the second hand from his backhand and lunge in desperation on multiple occasions.

“More than what I dreamt,” said Nadal, when asked on court to put his first United States Open victory into words.

From start to finish — with a 1-hour-57-minute rain delay in between — this was not Nadal’s finest performance. He had not lost a set on his way to the final and had dropped his serve just twice.

Against Djokovic, he was broken three times and struggled with his timing from the baseline in some early phases of the match, mis-hitting ground strokes and also struggling to capitalize on his own break-point opportunities, failing to convert on 20 in total. That was in part because Djokovic continued to play remarkably bold tennis under pressure, just as he had in his five-set victory over Federer in Saturday’s semifinals.

But there can be no quibbling with the bottom line. Nadal, in his first United States Open final, was the more irresistible force: quite capable, when necessary, of summoning a higher gear than the player who will be ranked No. 2 when the new rankings are released on Tuesday.

“Right now he’s the best player in the world, and he absolutely deserves this title,” Djokovic said after Monday’s match.

Nadal earned it by transforming defense into offense in an instant, by putting 67 percent of his first serves into play and, above all, by forcing Djokovic to keep running and lunging and feeling the increasingly heavy obligation to come up with something extra.

“Rafa’s fortitude is just off the charts,” said Brad Gilbert, the veteran American coach. “He just doesn’t give up, whether or not it’s 40-love up or 40-love down. He just doesn’t take a point off.”

Djokovic did not take many vacations either. He countered Nadal’s baseline power effectively for much of the match, beginning with the extended opening rally, which set the tone for the corner-to-corner action to come. Djokovic actually came up with one more forehand winner (22 to 21) than Nadal, whose whipping forehand is his signature stroke.

But Djokovic’s serve, which has lost power in the last two seasons because of technical issues, kept putting him in danger, and Nadal kept making him work too hard to hold: putting 86 percent of his returns in play.

The cumulative effect proved too much for Djokovic, the 23-year-old Serbian who lost to Federer in the 2007 Open final but saved two match points on his way to beating Federer here.

Djokovic had the benefit of an additional day’s rest after rain on Sunday forced the final to be delayed, but Nadal still looked like the fresher, faster man down the stretch. Djokovic, who smashed a racket in anger in the first set, managed to even the match after returning from the rain delay, closing out the second set from 4-4, 30-30. But Nadal gave no hint of being demoralized, and Djokovic lost control for good early in the fourth set, when Nadal broke his serve in the third game.

“Maybe emotionally I was a little bit drained after the semifinal match, but I recovered,” Djokovic said. “I had two days, and I was motivated to win this match.”

Nadal now holds the French Open, Wimbledon and United States Open titles. When Djokovic’s last forehand sailed wide, Nadal dropped to the blue court, covered his head with both hands and then jogged toward the net and exchanged an embrace with his opponent.

“It’s just great for somebody who had so much success as he did, very young age, and to be able to continue motivating himself to perform his best each tournament, each match he plays regardless of who he has across the net,” said Djokovic, who is now 7-15 against Nadal over all.

Nadal has followed his own path from the beginning, with his uncle and coach Toni Nadal serving as his guide.

Now he has won everywhere that matters most in the game that he once chose over soccer. He is three years younger than Federer was when he rounded out his Grand Slam collection at last year’s French Open.

“Aside from the victory, what gives me a great deal of satisfaction is to see how much he has improved on fast courts,” said Toni Nadal. “It was a goal we had in mind never knowing for sure if we’d get there. But he’s returning better, serving a bit better and is closer to the baseline. The sliced backhand is much better. In the end, to see that is really satisfying.”

Though Nadal has now won 9 Grand Slam singles titles to Federer’s 16, there are a growing number within the game who feel that Nadal will eventually challenge Federer’s numbers.

“I think this victory says that we should stop talking about Federer being the greatest player of all time,” said Mats Wilander, the former United States Open champion from Sweden. “I truly believe that. We can say that Roger is, but there’s no point in doing that until Nadal is done. It’s already unfair to me to say Roger is because Rafa is beating him all the time on every surface and in the Slam finals.”

Soundarya Rajinikanth Wedding photos

September 3, 2010 1 comment
Hindu marriage ceremony from a Rajput wedding.

Image via Wikipedia

South Indian Superstar RajiniKanth’s younger daughter Soundarya will get married to Ashwin Ramkukar in Chennai today . The couple were recently engaged. Ashwin is a Chennai based businessman.

The high profile wedding ceremony took place at Meyammai Hall in Chennai today. The videos and new images will be uploaded here as soon as they are available.

Many celebrities were present at the event and the big names are as follows, Aishwarya Bachchan, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi and many more. Still many more guests are expected for this big wedding ceremony at Chennai.

It is reported that the fans of Rajinikath are requested to not attend for this ceremony. In an official statement Rajinikath said that though he wanted to invite all the fans to his daughter’s marriage, he was unable to do so because of space constraint and logistic reasons. But, he wanted their blessings for his daughter.

It is reported that the superstar gifted the new couple with a new apartment.
“Ashwin is too handsome”, said Rajini, as he gave a small talk on his would be son-in-law. A fun-filled Karaoke session added more colour to the evening.

Says a source, “Soundarya was looking her best in a dark blue salwar and the beautiful mehendi. When old Tamil hits were sung, Rajini joined in to sing ‘Adho andha paravai pola’, and made the event even livelier. A cocktail party was also thrown in for the guests.”

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes… That’s a goal.

Next up in our countdown to South Africa 2010 is an absolute stunner from German midfield maestro Torsten Frings in the World Cup 2006 opening game against Costa Rica at the Allianz Area, Munich. After an opening piledriver from Bayern Munich right-back Phillip Lahm in the 6th minute, Derby County ‘legend’ Paulo Wanchope gave the underdogs a shock equaliser, but joy for the Costa Ricans was to be short-lived as goal machine Miroslav Klose bagged a brace to put the Germans in a commanding position. Wanchope and the Costa Ricans were not to lay down however,  as the leggy striker matched Klose by netted his second goal of the game.

With the nervous hosts Germany needing one more assuring goal they would not have cared how it came, but Torsten Frings he had other ideas. With 87 minutes of the game already played Bastian Schweinsteiger, who without doubt has the most German name in history, stepped up to take a free kick just inside of the touchline, and the Costa Rican defence lined up expecting the ball to be whipped in towards Klose and co. It wasn’t to come, as Schweinsteiger spotted an advancing Frings and laid the ball across the Werder Bremen man, who without even controlling the ball lashed a howitzer home from 30 yards plus in to the top right hand corner with such power, precision and audacity that goalkeeper Jose Porras had absolutely no chance.

After defeating Costa Rica, Germany went on to win their remaining two group games against Poland and Ecuador to top the group, whilst Costa Rica were never to recover from the German defeat as they lost both of their remaining games to be eliminated without a point. Germany on home soil were to reach the Semi Finals in Dortmund when they bowed out to eventual winners Italy 2-0.

In conclusion, this goal can be described no better than Jonathan Pearce’s commentary  – “Oh what a bullet!”

Pathetic India finish 8th

March 13, 2010 Leave a comment

India’s campaign in the World Cup hockey ended on a bitter note when they were routed 2-4 by Argentina at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, here on Friday. The hosts thus finished eighth in the 12-nation competition.

Trailing by a goal at the half time, the hosts equalised through a penalty stroke conversion by Sandeep Singh in the 42nd minute only to find themselves at the receiving end when the visitors took advantage of a loosely knit Indian defence to strike three quick goals in five minutes.

To make the matter worse, there were unpleasant scenes after the match when a couple of Indian players got involved in heated exchanges with a section of the crowd, who hurled abuses at the home team for their poor performance.

Senior player Prabhjot Singh, who had an immensely forgettable outing, was seen gesticulating to the crowd before he was calmed down by others. Skipper Rajpal Singh also got into arguments with a few spectators.

A dejected Rajpal later said: “The defence really let us down. I didn’t find any improvement in our performance. Last World Cup also we won only one match. Our defence was weak and we conceded poor goals.

“In the last World Cup, we finished 11 th and this time we have taken the eighth spot. That’s the only satisfaction we have,” a frustrated Rajpal added.

The defence surely made all the difference. The Argentine defenders were good in positional play and quick to clear the ball while their Indian counterparts — Sandeep Singh and Dhananjay Mahadik — were simply pathetic.

Between the 43rd and the 47th minute, Argentina scored three goals through Martin Lucas Vila (2) and Facundo Calloni to break India’s backbone.

India did rally back through a goal from Shivendra Singh and then made some courageous efforts upfront but that could hardly influence the result of the match.

Earlier, Tomas Innocento Argento put Argentina in the lead in the 28th minute when he turned in a long ball into the circle from Oscar Fernando Zylberberg.

Chief coach Jose Brasa, who backed his wards, hinted he was looking for replacements for players like Prabhjot Singh and Deepak Thakur. “Both Prabhjot and Deepak are good players but sadly they didn’t perform as per the expectations. We have to see if there are other players who can take their position,” said Brasa.

Brasa said it was not a good idea to field youngsters in a tournament like World Cup.

“We tried out some junior players before the World Cup but found they were no better than the veterans. We decided to field the veterans as junior players would have found difficult to handle the pressure of playing in the World Cup”

In other classification matches, Spain defeated South Korea 2-0 to take the fifth spot, while New Zealand beat South Africa 5-4 in sudden death after the extra time ended in a 4-4 stalemate. The Kiwis finished ninth.