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Younis Khan shies away in defeat

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Source: IANS
Image Source: AP



Mohali: One thing that is quite un-sportsmanlike with Pakistan cricket captain Younis Khan is that he shies away in defeat. The two back-to-back defeats for his side showed just that during the ICC Champions Trophy.


It was a "no-show" from the Pakistan skipper in the post-match media briefings after both the defeats here. Coach Bob Woolmer was in the firing line for questions from journalists after Pakistan's humiliating defeat in both matches.


The South African put up a brave face - he had nothing else to do after the miserable show by the Pakistani side - and even tried to be humorous at times. But that reflected his frustration even more.


When asked where the Pakistan side would go from here - after being bowled out for 89 runs against South Africa in their crucial match Friday - Woolmer smiled and said: "To the hotel, of course."

Yuvraj injured, Sachin hurt; India's task gets tougher vs Australia

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Source: HindustanTimes.com
Image Source: AP



Mohali: "Losing's not nice," murmured Rahul Dravid on Saturday, ahead of what will be India's biggest game in recent times.


Well, the world's not always a nice place and the Indian skipper, who seemed out of sorts (not surprisingly) while facing the media, will probably feel a lot worse on the morrow unless his players come up with something special.


And straight off, with the dramatic loss of Yuvraj Singh, last year's top run-getter in One-day cricket and a vital cog in any Indian plan, Dravid will be at a massive disadvantage.


For on Sunday, India meet Australia in a match that will see the winner move into the Champions Trophy semifinal, under conditions that will be more to the world champions' liking than their own.


The wicket they will play on is not the wickedly seaming one used in the Pakistan-South Africa game on Friday but, as Dravid said, the basic nature of a track cannot be changed.


The bounce and the carry will be there and if there is a fair bit of movement too on Sunday, then India, especially on form, will need at least one person to play an outstanding knock and a couple of others to back up in style to even think of a win.


It won't be easy unless Australia play out of character and collapse.


Otherwise, it never is while playing the world's most consistent team under any conditions. And then, as Ricky Ponting stated when the Oz juggernaut first landed in India, they want this crown quite badly.


The mini World Cup is the only trophy to have eluded Australia, who have otherwise swept all before them as they have marched across the world with a missionary zeal and some ruthless professionalism.


Incidentally, if India do not make it to the last four, then this will be the first time since the inaugural World Cup in 1975 that an Asian team has not made it to the semifinal of a major event. And ironically, it would be in the subcontinent.

Paki Film Songs
Mixed Pakistani Film Songs

Is Duniya Ke Gham
Singer/s: Nusrat Feth Ali Khan
Film: QSoor
Teri Ankhon Ne Loota Chain
Singer/s: Shazia Mansoor
Film: Jaan Jaan Pakistan
Lovely Lovely
Singer/s: Farooq Shad
Film: Jaan Jaan Pakistan
Kya Wrong Hai, Kya Hai Right
Singer/s: Shazia Mansoor
Film: Jaan Jaan Pakistan
Mere Dil Vich Tunka
Singer/s: Sara Naseem
Film: Jaan Jaan Pakistan
Dil Mere Dil Se Tu Jod
Singer/s: Tehsin Javed
Film: Jaan Jaan Pakistan
Dama Dam Mast
Singer/s: Tehsin Javed
Film: Jaan Jaan Pakistan
Hansti Rahein Yeh Ankhein
Singer/s: A. Nayyar
Film: Dharkan
Laga Dheere Dheere Gham
Singer/s: Reshma
Film: Dharkan
Mere Sanson Mein Teri Kushboo
Singer/s: Mehnaz, A. Nayyar
Film: Dharkan
Yeh Nashila Saman
Singer/s: Mehnaz, A. Nayyar
Film: Dharkan

Alaap
Singer/s: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Film: QSoor

Mera Dil Meri Jaan
Singer/s: shazia Mansoor, Sara Naseem, Farooq Shad, Chorus
Film: Jaan Jaan Pakistan

Australia beats india

Australia cruised to an easy victory against India to book their place in the Champions Trophy semi-finals and knock the hosts out of the tournament.

Ricky Ponting's side won by six wickets after racing to their target of 250 with four overs to spare in Mohali.

India compiled a modest 249-8 with Virender Sehwag scoring 65 and Rahul Dravid adding 52 off 63 balls.

But Australia's batting was too strong as Ponting (58), Shane Watson (50) and Damien Martyn (73 not out) starred.

Australia will play New Zealand in Wednesday's semi-final in Mohali, while South Africa take on West Indies in Jaipur on Thursday.

The last time there was no presence from a sub-continental country in the last four of a major tournament was the 1975 World Cup.

606: DEBATE
Surely Australia have to be the favourites now

RD
606: Have your say

Australia's openers Adam Gilchrist and Watson launched the reply with a stand of 61 before wicket-keeper Gilchrist fell for 23 from 24 balls.

Watson and Ponting took Australia through the 100-mark in just 14 overs and added 50 before Watson, who needed Gilchrist as a runner after suffering from cramp,was trapped lbw by left-arm spinner Dinesh Mongia.

Ponting eventually fell to a Sachin Tendulkar catch in the slips off seamer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth but Martyn, Andrew Symonds (20) and Michael Clarke (2 not out), had the luxury of guiding the Australians home.


Sehwag laid the early foundations with 65 for India

India's total was modest given the state of the pitch, and though they batted carefully, they were unable to hit top gear, with Australia taking wickets at the right times.

Veteran seamer Glenn McGrath was the pick of the Australian attack with 2-34 off 10, while fellow paceman Brett Lee, expensive in his first spell, fought back superbly for 2-54 and Nathan Bracken finished with 2-56.

India won the toss and Tendulkar and Sehwag began promisingly with a stand of 46 before Tendulkar, who took 13 balls to get off the mark, edged McGrath behind to Gilchrist for 10.

Mongia and Sehwag built on the good work but were foiled after a stand of 43 when Mongia edged Watson to Michael Hussey at slip for 18.

India's run rate slowed as Australia shuffled their bowlers, changing the angle of attack, but Sehwag crafted 37 with Dravid before he was trapped lbw by Mitchell Johnson in the 29th over.

Dravid kept the scoreboard ticking in a stand of 60 with Mohammad Kaif (30) before holing out to Clarke at mid-wicket off Lee.

And two overs later, Lee, who was back on song after conceding 43 runs in his first six-over spell, ripped through Kaif's middle stump.

India tried to hit the accelerator but Suresh Raina was caught in the deep by Watson off Nathan Bracken for 13 after adding 27 runs with Mahendra Dhoni.

McGrath struck again late on to remove Irfan Pathan (10), caught by Martyn, and Dhoni was out lbw to Bracken with the last ball for 28.

Waiting on for shoiab and asif

Asif and Shoaib are facing the prospect of a lengthy ban
Pakistan pace bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif must wait a few more days to find out whether they will be banned for failing a drugs test.
A Pakistan Cricket Board tribunal was due to announce a decision on Saturday.

But the three-man panel have extended the inquiry until Wednesday to obtain statements from coach Bob Woolmer and two members of his backroom team.

Shoaib and Asif were sent home from the Champions Trophy in India after testing positive for a banned steroid.

They have both accepted results which showed traces of nandrolone and have waived their right to have tests carried out on their "B" samples.

If found guilty, the pair could face a two-year ban, the minimum for a first offence under International Cricket Council doping rules, which would rule them out of the World Cup which takes place next March and April.

We don't know if they took it inadvertently or intentionally

PCB chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf

However, the Pakistan Cricket Board has said it will take its own decision because the tests were conducted internally.

Both bowlers were questioned for more than two hours on Saturday, having already recorded formal statements the previous day.

Woolmer, trainer Murray Stevenson and physio Darren Lifesun are likely to be the final witnesses called before the tribunal.

Former Pakistani president dies

Khan maintained political silence since he resigned in 1993
Former president of Pakistan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, has died after a long illness at the age of 91.
Khan died in the northern city of Peshawar on Friday morning. His family said he was suffering from pneumonia.

He became the president after former military ruler, Zia ul-Haq, was killed in a plane crash in 1988.

Khan resigned in 1993, when his controversial dismissal of the Nawaz Sharif government, and its restoration by the courts, created a crisis.

In a message of condolence, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf described Khan as "an honest, upright person", while Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said his contributions to Pakistan would be long remembered.

Controversial dismissals

Khan was born in the village of Ismailkhel in Bannu district in North-West Frontier Province in 1915, and graduated in chemistry before joining the Indian provincial civil service.

He served in various secretarial positions in India and Pakistan before and after partition.

During the regime of Gen Zia in the 1980s, Khan diversified into politics, becoming a federal minister and later chairman of the Senate.

But he is better known for his role as president when he dismissed two consecutive elected governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in 1990 and 1993.

Though both dismissals were controversial, the latter cost him his job when the military intervened and forced both Khan and Nawaz Sharif to resign.

Since then, Khan lived a quiet life in his Peshawar residence, making no public appearances and granting no interviews to the media.

Ash-Abhi Marriage Rumor a Publicity Stunt?
Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaGlitz [Saturday, October 28, 2006]



The rumor that has been done to death is doing the rounds once again. If a Kannada newspaper 'Vijaya Karnataka' is to be believed then Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan will be tying the knot in February next year and Ash may well be making a formal announcement on November 1st which happens to be her birthday.

Chandrakant Swamiji, a well known astrologer who it is being said is also the family astrologer of Bachchans told the paper that he had asked the couple not to marry in the current year as 2006 adds up to 2+6= 8 which is unlucky for Aishwarya while 2007 is a lucky number for Rai.

The rumors of the impending marriage and the blossoming romance had surfaced when the duo had been shooting for JP Dutta's 'Umrao Jaan'. And now suddenly these rumors have resurfaced once again and that too right before the release of the same film 'Umrao Jaan'. So, is there heart in this romance or all this glib talk is nothing but a publicity stunt to add spice in a film that's hardly creating any curiosity. I have a gut feeling no announcement will take place on Ash's birthday and the conjectures will head towards another date for announcement. And the media circus will continue unabated.

Is it a case of media intruding in celebrity life or is the fodder coming from celebrities themselves to further their film careers (Aishwarya hasn't had a hit in ages)….The debate is open for discussion…Do let us know your thoughts…

'Don' game is as exciting as the movie itself - Shahrukh Khan
Joginder Tuteja, IndiaGlitz [Saturday, October 28, 2006]



DON ki talaash gyarah mulkon ki police kar rahi hain, lekin ek baat samajh lo, DON ko pakadna mushkil nahin, naamumkin hain… goes the legendary dialogue from the blockbuster thriller DON. A master at playing cat and mouse games with cops, DON, the suave and deadly big boss of international mafia, is on the run once again. Can you succeed in hunting him down where even the Interpol, with all its alacrity, has failed?

Producers of DON have tied up with a leading mobile entertainment company to launch Mobile Games on the popular movie and the first ever Multiplayer Online Game for any Bollywood movie.

The game was unveiled yesterday by Shah Rukh Khan in Mumbai, along with the film's producer Ritesh Sidhwani and the Director, Farhan Akhtar. Speaking at the launch, said Shah Rukh, an avid gamer himself, "I am a great fan of video games, and this DON game is just fantastic. I jumped at the very idea of this game and have already tried my hand at it... mind you, it's just as exciting as the movie itself but only here, you get to be part of all of the action, in fact, do all the action yourself," Shahrukh Khan said, while interacting with the media after releasing the game." But beware, Don ke dushman ki sabse badi galti yeh hai ki woh don ka dushman hai," Shahrukh warned, quoting one of the movie's famous dialogues flashing a wicked smile.

As per the people behind the game, "Our creative and gaming team visited Kuala Lumpur in May 2006 for the making of the movie. During which there were sessions with the Editor and Director to understand the flow and decide on Game Play. The team came back to India, worked on the concept and created a storyboard and later created the virtual game."

The Mobile game is available in two versions - one is the Race and Chase game on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, with the back drop of the world famous, Petronas Towers and the other is the role-playing game. The Race and Chase, as the name suggests, gives the player a chance to outfox the DON and capture him. In the other, the player has to help Shah Rukh find the secret Disc, which he desperately seeks to prove that he is not the DON, but a victim of a serious case of mistaken identity.

Whilst mobile games have been made before for Bollywood films, this is the first time a game will be launched on the Internet and that too in a multiplayer gaming environment. The game is being promoted as a real life multiplayer online strategy game while its graphics have been done at the same level as the quality of special effects in the movie to give it a contemporary look and the action sequences are just as slick and stylish as the movie itself.

India is the 4th largest Mobile and Internet market in the world. As the youngest nation in the world that is actively taking to mobile and online gaming, it is only appropriate that a movie like DON and an actor such as Shah Rukh be associated with this connect with their core audience, the youth. The new generation of film makers, Farhan and Ritesh have had as much of a role in this and for them the game was an integral part of their overall marketing strategy for the film.

"The creative team behind the game watched the movie rushes including car crashes in Kuala Lumpur, sky diving and some of the fight sequences and have incorporated all those hair-raising stunts in the game," said movie director Farhan Akhtar. "Shahrukh Khan, an avid gamer himself, also showed keen interest in the game's development and we are extremely happy that the movie's evolved as a terrific virtual reality too," he added.

Zaheer, Gambhir may return to Indian team

Monday, October 30, 2006

Source: PTI
Image Source: AP



Mohali: Baroda paceman Zaheer Khan was expected to stage a comeback when the the national selectors meet to pick the squad for India's tour of South Africa beginning November 13.



Zaheer, who has been on the sidelines for quite some time, may get a recall on the basis of his consistent performances in English county cricket and domestic matches here though the selecters were likely to retain the nucleus of the current team which has been going through a lean patch.


The form of some of the regular pacemen like Irfan Pathan and R P Singh have not been very good which has brightened the prospects of a comeback for the left arm speedster.


While ace spinner Anil Kumble was almost certain to come back for the Tests, left handed batsman Gautam Gambhir is also a strong contender for a berth in the sqaud. India will play five one-dayers and three Tests during their 46-day tour of South Africa.



This will be the first selection meeting under new chairman Dilip Vengsarkar who has all along asserted that form and merit would be the only criteria for selection.

An Exclusive Interview

Zara Sheikh

• Zara Sheikh has been one of the luckiest actresses in Lollywood as she had earned quite a name for herself even before her debut, Tere Piyar Main, was released. And by the time the movie hit cinema halls, she was already a star. Her stunning looks and polished style were refreshing and Zara had sufficient acting skills to please the audiences. • In no time she was flooded with offers, both acting and modelling which keep her pretty busy, leaving little time for other things. But the young lady makes sure life is not all work for her and there is some play and relaxation too. And one of the first things she likes to do whenever she gets the time is to watch a movie. • Yes, she is a complete movie buff. And she claims, "If I don't watch at least two movies in a week, I don't feel alive." Whenever she finds time, she makes it a point to watch any movie that she can get hold of. But she is highly specific when it comes to naming her all-time favourite movies. She says that this is the way she is — very careful and selective in her choices. • The two genres of movies that she is extremely fond of are horror and romantic. From Hollywood, she cannot think of any blockbuster other than Titanic that is worthy of naming as her favourite. "It has romance and tragedy put it together in equal proportions and my heart goes out to the separated lovers every time I watch this classic." • Although she didn't name any other movie from Hollywood, but said that she loves watching any movie that stars Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie. Zara is also a fan of commercial Bollywood cinema. The lavish sets, exquisite costumes and melodious music appeals to her greatly. • "All these ingredients can be found in Sanjay Leela Bansali's Devdas. It is a complete masterpiece if you look at it from the perspective of acting, music, story, et al," she declares. • Other than this she also likes Sanjay Dutt's performance in Vaastav. "His style and acting was the life of this film. I cannot imagine any other actor performing the role of a typical Mumbai gangster the way he did." After noting that she is so fascinated by the charms of Indian cinema, we ask her the obvious question: Would she like to be a part of it any time soon? • "You see many actors (we know who she is talking about) have gone there and come back without making any sort of impact. I don't want to do that. It is creating a bad impression for all of us here. In future, Indian moviemakers would think twice before casting any of our artists. This way whatever little respect we have right now will be simply lost. I will be twice as selective in Bollywood than I am in Lollywood." • When it comes to music, she is all praise of the king of qawwali, the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. She thinks no one else is even close to him when it comes to creating timeless melodies. She thinks that his re-mix songs like Pya Ray are still better than any of the recent pop or filmi numbers. She only listens to Lata Mangeshkar's old hits when it comes to old classical music. As far as the local pop music scene is concerned, she thinks that Fuzon is the best one around. • "Shafqat Amanat Ali is an artist in the complete sense of the word. He knows his art. Majority of other singers don't have much to offer. All they do is shout, which anyone can do," opines the lady. • She also thinks that String's latest song, Zinda, which features Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham, is a breath of fresh air. "I think Strings is producing a lot better music now than it used to do before," she discloses. She likes to listen to the very old tracks of Madam Noor Jehan and says, "I somehow only like the songs that she sang a long time back." • Among the international musicians, she picks Moby as one of her favourite. "He is a versatile musician who gained recognition in the early 90s for his contribution to dance and techno music. His music has a lot of depth and he has a unique style of his own. He is a very moody person just like me, and the same is reflected in his music. Music comes naturally to him and he can add tunes to his lyrics in a matter of few minutes," Zara states. • She also likes to listen to Eminem, Britney Spears, and Robbie Williams. From Bollywood, Sonu Nigam is the best singer according to her. "Do you see a pattern here? I only like artists who know their art. Sonu Nigam is one of them," says the actress. • The recent bollywood hit, Right Here, Right Now, featuring Abhishek Bachchan, has also caught her attention. • When it comes to books, Zarah likes to read anything which is based on reality. "I don't like fantasies and escapist stories that much. I like to read something that I can relate with my own life," discloses the young actress. • One particular book that is very close to her heart is Maut Ka Manzar. She started reading this book when she was just 13 but could not finish it. She picked up from the same point again after few years and this time continued till the last page. "This book is about the Day of Judgment and life after death. I have felt totally engrossed in it although it used to get a little scary at times. • Other than this I am also very interested in reading about historical events and the great rulers who have shaped the history of the world. These days I am only reading scripts and am myself a part of many stories," she says matter-of-factly. • Favourite Movie: Titanic and Vaastav • Favourite Actors: Sunjay Dutt • Favourite Singers: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Moby • Favourite Songs: Old Madam Noorjehan songs • Favourite Book: Maut ka Manzar