ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2012 Schedule

The dates and schedule for the upcoming T20 cricket world cup which is scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka has been finalized. All participating teams have been divided into four groups.

Group A               Group B              Group C               Group D
India                      Australia               Sri Lanka              Pakistan
England                 West Indies           South Africa          New Zealand
Afganistan              Ireland                  Zimbabwe             Bangladesh

Tue Sep 18           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	1st Match, Group C - Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota	N/A
Wed Sep 19           10:00 GMT | 15:30 local 15:30 IST	2nd Match, Group B - Australia v Ireland R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Wed Sep 19           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	3rd Match, Group A - Afghanistan v India R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Thu Sep 20           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	4th Match, Group C - South Africa v Zimbabwe Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota	N/A
Fri Sep 21           10:00 GMT | 15:30 local 15:30 IST	5th Match, Group D - Bangladesh v New Zealand Pallekele International Cricket Stadium	N/A
Fri Sep 21           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	6th Match, Group A - Afghanistan v England R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Sat Sep 22           10:00 GMT | 15:30 local 15:30 IST	7th Match, Group C - Sri Lanka v South Africa Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota	N/A
Sat Sep 22           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	8th Match, Group B - Australia v West Indies R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Sun Sep 23           10:00 GMT | 15:30 local 15:30 IST	9th Match, Group D - New Zealand v Pakistan Pallekele International Cricket Stadium	N/A
Sun Sep 23           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	10th Match, Group A - England v India R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Mon Sep 24           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	11th Match, Group B - Ireland v West Indies R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Tue Sep 25           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	12th Match, Group D - Bangladesh v Pakistan Pallekele International Cricket Stadium	N/A
Thu Sep 27           10:00 GMT | 15:30 local 15:30 IST	13th Match, Super Eights, Group 1 - TBC v TBC (C1 v D2) Pallekele International Cricket Stadium	N/A
Thu Sep 27           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	14th Match, Super Eights, Group 1 - TBC v TBC (A1 v B2) Pallekele International Cricket Stadium	N/A
Fri Sep 28           10:00 GMT | 15:30 local 15:30 IST	15th Match, Super Eights, Group 2 - TBC v TBC (D1 v C2) R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Fri Sep 28           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	16th Match, Super Eights, Group 2 - TBC v TBC (B1 v A2) R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Sat Sep 29           10:00 GMT | 15:30 local 15:30 IST	17th Match, Super Eights, Group 1 - TBC v TBC (A1 v D2) Pallekele International Cricket Stadium	N/A
Sat Sep 29           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	18th Match, Super Eights, Group 1 - TBC v TBC (C1 v B2) Pallekele International Cricket Stadium	N/A
Sun Sep 30           10:00 GMT | 15:30 local 15:30 IST	19th Match, Super Eights, Group 2 - TBC v TBC (B1 v C2) R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Sun Sep 30           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	20th Match, Super Eights, Group 2 - TBC v TBC (D1 v A2) R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Mon Oct 1           10:00 GMT | 15:30 local 15:30 IST	21st Match, Super Eights, Group 1 - TBC v TBC (B2 v D2) Pallekele International Cricket Stadium	N/A
Mon Oct 1           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	22nd Match, Super Eights, Group 1 - TBC v TBC (A1 v C1) Pallekele International Cricket Stadium	N/A
Tue Oct 2           10:00 GMT | 15:30 local 15:30 IST	23rd Match, Super Eights, Group 2 - TBC v TBC (B1 v D1) R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Tue Oct 2           14:00 GMT | 19:30 local 19:30 IST	24th Match, Super Eights, Group 2 - TBC v TBC (A2 v C2) R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Thu Oct 4           13:30 GMT | 19:00 local 19:00 IST	1st Semi-Final - TBC v TBC (Super 8 Group-1 1 v Super 8 Group-2 2) R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Fri Oct 5           13:30 GMT | 19:00 local 19:00 IST	2nd Semi-Final - TBC v TBC (Super 8 Group-2 1 v Super 8 Group-1 2) R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	N/A
Sun Oct 7           13:30 GMT | 19:00 local 19:00 IST	Final - TBC v TBC R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Source : cricinfo.com 

London Olympics 2012 : India Update

30th July : Day 3

• India opened its account of medals at London Olympics when Gagan Narang won Bronze medal in 10m Air Rifle event.

2nd August : Day 6

• Saina Nehwal becomes the first Indian to reach semi-final in Olympics badminton after defeating Tina Baun of Denmark.

3rd August : Day 7

•  Vijay Kumar wins silver medal in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol shooting event. This was India's second medal in 2012 Olympics and fourth medal in shooting for India in Olympics history till now.
• Kolkata boy Joydeep Karmakar finished fourth in 50m Rifle Prone.
• Krishna Poonia qualifies for discuss throw final round.
• Saina Nehwal lost her match 21-13,  21-13 and will now play for Bronze medal.
• Vikash Krishnan storms into boxing quarter final.

4th August : Day 8

• Saina Nehwal wins Broze medal in Badminton : India's medal tally reaches 3.
• In boxing, Devendro Singh Laishram beats former world champion and Beijing silver medalist Serdambu Purevdori by 16-11 in pre-quarterfinal round.

M.C. Marykom wins 4th medal for India after winning Bronze medal.

11th August :

• Indian boxer Yogeshwar Dutt wins Bronze medal in men's 60kg freestyle wrestling.

12th August :

• Sushil Kumar won his first match in 66kg mens freestyle wrestling. He defeated Gold medal winner of Beijing Olympics, Sahin Ramazan.
• Sushil Kumar storms into the final. He becomes the first Indian individual to win a medal in successive Olympics.

4th ESPNcricinfo awards concluded on 14th Feb 2011

Sachin Tendulkar (One day Batting awards against South Africa 200 not out)
VVS Laxman ( Test batting award for 96 on seaming Durban pitch)
Dale Steyn ( Bowling prize for his 7for51 against India on a flat pitch )
Michael Hussey ( T20 batting award for his 60 not out against Pakistan in T20 World cup semi-final)
Umar Gul ( T20 bowling award )
Tim Southee ( for his 5 wickets in 9 bowls including a hattrick, first by any New Zealand player in T20 )

IPL-3 2010 Statistics

Maximum runs : Sachin Tendulkar(MI) - 618
Jacque Kallis (RCB) - 572
Suresh Raina (CSK) - 520

Maximum wickets: Pragyan Ojha (DC) - 21
Amit Mishra (DD) - 17
Harbhajan Singh (MI) - 17

Most catches : Andrew Symonds (DC) - 12
Murli Vijay (CSK) - 11
Suresh Raina (CSK) - 10

Highest team totals : Chennai Super Kings - 246/5
Rajasthan Royals - 223/5
Mumbai Indians - 218/7

Most sixes : Robin Uthappa (RCB) - 27
Murli Vijay (CSK) - 26
Yusuf Pathan (RR) - 24

Highest individual scores : Murli Vijay (CSK) - 127
Mahela Jayawardene - 110
David Warner - 107

Most fifties : Jacque Kallis (RCB) - 6
Sachin Tendulkar(MI) - 5
Sourav Ganguly (KKR) - 4
Suresh Raina (CSK) - 4
Andrew Symonds (DC) - 4

Player of the tournament : Sachin Tendulkar (MI)

IPL 2010

Preity Zinta

Shilpa Shetty With Husband Raj Kundra

Dia Mirza

Arjun Rampal and Mehr Jessia Rampal

Mugdha Godse

Gaurav Kapur

Lalit Modi

Anil Kumble with his family

Amrita Rao

Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan

Vijay Mallya

Vida Samadzai

Talat Aziz with his wife Bina

Siddharth Mallya.

Shamita Shetty

Sameera Reddy

Ronit Roy

Priyanka Chopra's parents, Ashok Chopra and Madhu Chopra

Sahara IPL Awards 2010

The Jury Awards:

Best batsman: Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians);
Best bowler: Pragyan Ojha (Deccan Chargers);
Best debut performance: Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians);
Best dramatic performance: Harbhajan Singh (Mumbai Indians);
Most consistent performer: Jacques Kallis (Royal Challengers Bangalore);
Best breakthrough performance 2008: Brendon McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders);
Best breakthrough performance 2009: Anil Kumble (Royal Challengers Bangalore);
Best fielder: AB de Villiers (Delhi Daredevils);
Best ground: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore;
Best stadium experience: DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.

Viewers' Choice Awards:

Best catch: David Hussey (Kolkata Knight Riders);
Best batsman: Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians);
Best captain: Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians);
Best bowler: Pragyan Ojha (Deccan Chargers);
Best commentator: Ravi Shastri;
Most stylish player: Robin Uthappa (Royal Challengers Bangalore);
Most fan-friendly cricketer: Adam Gilchrist (Deccan Chargers);
Best fielder: Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings).

Statistical Awards:

Most economical bowler: Ravichandran Ashwin (Chennai Super Kings);
Fastest hundred: Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals);
Highest percentage of runs scored in boundaries: Virender Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils)

IPL Captains' Award:
Indian cricketing legend I would want in my team: Kapil Dev.

Champions of Australian Open 2010

Venue:

Melbourne Park, Australia

Duration:

Jan 18 to Jan 31 2010

Defending Champions of Australian Open 2009:

• Rafael Nadal (Men’s Singles)
• Serena Williams (Women’s Singles)
• Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi (Mixed Doubles)
• Bob and Mike Bryan (Men’s Doubles)
• Serena and Venus Williams (Women’s Doubles)

Champions of Australian Open 2010:

• Roger Federer beat Andy Murray (Men’s Singles)
• Serena Williams beat Justine Henin (Women’s Singles)
• Cara Black and Leander Paes beat beating E. Makarova and J. Levinsky (Mixed Doubles)
• Bob and Mike Bryan beat D. Nestor and N. Zimonjic (Men’s Doubles)
• Serena and Venus Williams beat Cara. Black and L. Huber (Women’s Doubles)

SACHIN TENDULKAR : THE REASON TO CHEER

Sachin Tendulkar's five best innings in Test cricket :

http://sports.in.msn.com/cricket/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3211508

Best quotes on Sachin Tendulkar :

Best quotes on Sachin Tendulkar by various cricket legends like Matthew Hyden, Don Bradman, Sunil Gavaskar, Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell, Glenn McGrath, Brian Lara and many others.

http://sports.in.msn.com/cricket/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3349169

ICC WORLD CUP 2011 FIXTURES

Sat Feb 19	1st match - India v Bangladesh Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Sun Feb 20	3rd match - Sri Lanka v Canada (Hambantota) Venue TBC
Sun Feb 20	2nd match - Kenya v New Zealand MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
Mon Feb 21	4th match - Australia v Zimbabwe Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Tue Feb 22	5th match - England v Netherlands Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur
Wed Feb 23	6th match - Kenya v Pakistan (Hambantota) Venue TBC
Thu Feb 24	7th match - South Africa v West Indies Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Fri Feb 25	9th match - Bangladesh v Ireland Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Fri Feb 25	8th match - Australia v New Zealand Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur
Sat Feb 26	10th match - Pakistan v Sri Lanka (Colombo) Venue TBC
Sun Feb 27	11th match - India v England Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Mon Feb 28	12th match - Netherlands v West Indies Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Mon Feb 28	13th match - Canada v Zimbabwe Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur
Tue Mar 1	14th match - Kenya v Sri Lanka (Colombo) Venue TBC
Wed Mar 2	15th match - England v Ireland M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Thu Mar 3	17th match - Canada v Pakistan (Colombo) Venue TBC
Thu Mar 3	16th match - Netherlands v South Africa Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Fri Mar 4	19th match - Bangladesh v West Indies Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Fri Mar 4	18th match - New Zealand v Zimbabwe Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Sat Mar 5	20th match - Australia v Sri Lanka (Colombo) Venue TBC
Sun Mar 6	21st match - India v Ireland M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Sun Mar 6	22nd match - England v South Africa MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
Mon Mar 7	23rd match - Canada v Kenya Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Tue Mar 8	24th match - New Zealand v Pakistan (Pallekele) Venue TBC
Wed Mar 9	25th match - India v Netherlands Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Thu Mar 10	26th match - Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe (Pallekele) Venue TBC
Fri Mar 11	28th match - Bangladesh v England Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong
Fri Mar 11	27th match - Ireland v West Indies Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Sat Mar 12	29th match - India v South Africa Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur
Sun Mar 13	30th match - Canada v New Zealand Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Sun Mar 13	31st match - Australia v Kenya M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Mon Mar 14	33rd match - Bangladesh v Netherlands Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong
Mon Mar 14	32nd match - Pakistan v Zimbabwe (Pallekele) Venue TBC
Tue Mar 15	34th match - Ireland v South Africa Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Wed Mar 16	35th match - Australia v Canada M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Thu Mar 17	36th match - England v West Indies MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
Fri Mar 18	37th match - New Zealand v Sri Lanka Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Fri Mar 18	38th match - Ireland v Netherlands Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Sat Mar 19	40th match - Bangladesh v South Africa Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Sat Mar 19	39th match - Australia v Pakistan (Colombo) Venue TBC
Sun Mar 20	41st match - Kenya v Zimbabwe Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Sun Mar 20	42nd match - India v West Indies MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
Wed Mar 23	Quarter Final - TBC v TBC Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Thu Mar 24	Quarter Final - TBC v TBC (Colombo) Venue TBC
Fri Mar 25	Quarter Final - TBC v TBC Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Sat Mar 26	Quarter Final - TBC v TBC Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Tue Mar 29	Semi Final - TBC v TBC (Colombo) Venue TBC
Wed Mar 30	Semi Final - TBC v TBC Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Sat Apr 2	Final - TBC v TBC Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

SOCCER DIARIES

World Cups!

Year	Host Nation(s)	Final
		Winner	Runners-up
1930	Uruguay	Uruguay	Argentina
1934	Italy	Italy	Czechoslovakia
1938	France	Italy	Hungary
1950	Brazil	Uruguay	Brazil
1954	Switzerland	West Germany	Hungary
1958	Sweden	Brazil	Sweden
1962	Chile	Brazil	Czechoslovakia
1966	England	England	West Germany
1970	Mexico	Brazil	Italy
1974	West Germany	West Germany	Netherlands
1978	Argentina	Argentina	Netherlands
1982	Spain	Italy	West Germany
1986	Mexico	Argentina	West Germany
1990	Italy	West Germany	Argentina
1994	USA	Brazil	Italy
1998	France	France	Brazil
2002	South Korea & Japan	Brazil	Germany
2006	Germany	Italy	France

Lets look at the above chart in quiz form!

Q1. Which country has won maximum World Cups?
A : Brazil has won 5 World Cups followed by Italy who have won 4.

Q2. Which country has been runners-up at the World Cups the most times?
A : Germany has been runners-up the most times, numerically 4 times.

Q3. Which country hosted and won the first World Cup?
A3. Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2.

Q4. How many World Cups have been organized till date?
A : Eighteen

Q5. In which World Cup, there World Champions were declared without a final match being played?
A : The 1950 World Cup. The tournament winner was decided by a final round-robin group contested by four teams (Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden, and Spain). Uruguay's 2-1 victory over Brazil was the decisive match which put them ahead in points.

Q6. When was a World Cup match first televised?
A : 1954

Q7. From which World Cup onwards FIFA introduced an official mascot for the tournament? Which was the first mascot?
A : From the 1966 World Cup. World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the first World Cup Mascot.

Q8. How many countries have at least played a World Cup Match?
A : 75 countries have at least played in a World Cup. 7 countries(Brazil, Argentina, Italy, France, England, Germany and Uruguay) have won at least one World Cup.

Q9. How many countries have won consecutive World Cups?
A : Only Brazil and Italy have won consecutive World Cups.

Q10. Why was the World Cup not organized in 1942 and 1946?
A : Due to the World War!

Q11. Which country has played in every World Cup organized by FIFA?
A : Brazil

Q12. Where will the 2010 and 2014 World Cups be held?
A : In South Africa(the first African team to organize the World Cup) and Brazil respectively.

Q13. Where, when and who played the first ever international football match?
A : It was played in Glasgow between England and Scotland in 1872.

Q14. When was FIFA formed?
A : 1904

Q15. Which country is an exception to the unwritten rule of adding a star to its crest for each World Cup won?
A : Uruguay has four stars even though it has won only 2 World Cups. The other 2 stars are for the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics victories.

Q16. Which was the first World Cup Match ever played?
A : 2 matches ( France v/s Mexico and USA v/s Belgium) took place simultaneously on 18th July, 1930.

Q 17. Which FIFA president played an important role in setting up the first World Cup?
A : Jules Rimet. The World Cup trophy which was originally called the Coup de Monde was renamed after Jules Rimet as the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1970.

Q18. Who designed the new World Cup trophy after 1970.
A : The Italian designer, Silvio Gazzaniga.

Q19. How many countries are expected to attempt at qualifying for World Cup 2010?
A : 204

Q20. Which country has the most appearance in a World Cup Final?
A : Brazil and Germany, (7 each).