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India's dream of a World Cup triumph at home is one step closer after their bowlers suffocated Pakistan's batsmen to set up a 29-run victory in the semi-final in Mohali. Saturday's decider will now be a battle of the hosts, and while Sri Lanka might have been surprised by the strength of India's bowling effort, they would also have taken note of a slightly lacklustre batting performance. In the end, India's 260 for 9 was enough as their bowlers did a fine job, but had Pakistan helped themselves, the target could have been so much more gettable. Sachin Tendulkar was dropped four times in his 85, MS Dhoni was put down once and while Wahab Riaz was extremely impressive in collecting five wickets, Umar Gul had one of his most forgettable days, wilting under the pressure of a World Cup semi-final. By contrast, India's display in the field was much more professional, and that was the difference in a match that lived up to the extreme pre-match hype. The decision to l

It is a known fact to almost every Indian fan that India has always defeated Pakistan in a World Cup match. And that unbeaten run could continue in coming semifinal on Wednesday at Mohali. This will be the fifth meeting of both the archrivals in World Cup cricket and so far their meetings have gone in the following way – 1) 1992 World Cup (Sydney) – India won by 43 runs. It was for the first time that both the teams played in a World Cup, and there was tension in the air. India won the toss and elected to bat first. The star of the Indian innings was the young Sachin Tendulkar, who under pressure remained not out after scoring a 62-ball 54, against an attack comprising of Wasim Akram, Imran Khan and Mushtaq Ahmed. Pakistan in reply to India’s 216, choked even as Javed Miandad fought hard for his 40. The match will be remembered for Miandad funnily imitating the over-enthusiastic and acrobatic Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More. 2) 1996 World Cup (Bangalore) – India won by 39 runs

Ricky Ponting  has stepped down as Australia's captain in Tests and ODIs following their quarter-final exit from the World Cup but will be available for selection as a batsman in both formats. Ponting made the announcement at the SCG on Tuesday, and backed Michael Clarke to take over the leadership of the team. Ponting said the World Cup exit had prompted his decision and that "no one has tapped me on the shoulder asking me to go." "I have resigned as captain of both the Test and one-day Australian teams. I will continue to play and am available for selection in both the one day and Test teams," Ponting said. "I have thought long and hard about what Australian cricket needs. Now is the right time for the next captain to assume the responsibility for both the Test and one-day teams. We have to be doing everything we can to win back the Ashes in 2013-14 and the World Cup in 2015. It is highly unlikely that I will be still playing so it is the right decision

An awe-inspiring Ricky Ponting dazzled and Sachin Tendulkar hit a delightful fifty but it was the imperious Yuvraj Singh who stole the show to lead India to an exciting semi-final encounter against Pakistan. On a dry pitch, aiding turn, India couldn't remove a wonderfully solid Ponting, but found a way around him to hold Australia to a competitive 260. Tendulkar set the base and the middle order threatened to choke, but Yuvraj played a blinder to charge India to a famous win. Sometimes, they say, one four can change things around. That cliché came alive today, in the final ball of the 39th over, with India needing 72 from 67 deliveries, when Yuvraj spanked Shaun Tait for a stunning four over backward point. It oozed of skill, impishness and dare under fire. Until then, in the preceding few overs, India choked and spluttered badly to almost hand the game to Australia. That Yuvraj hit over point sensationally turned the game on its head. The next over proved to be the game-breaker a

Sydney: Ricky Ponting could be in the final week of his nine-year reign as captain after a troubled build-up to the World Cup, a report said, citing a Cricket Australia official. The Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday said there was stiff opposition at boardroom level to the 36-year-old retaining the job for next month`s tour of Bangladesh, although his position as a player was not in jeopardy. "We need to be looking at the future. It`s time for us to make a change," the newspaper quoted the official as saying. Ahead of the World Cup, Ponting earned the dubious distinction of becoming the only Australian skipper to fail to win the Ashes three times, putting him under enormous pressure. He has also done himself no favours in India, taking a reprimand from the International Cricket Council after smashing a dressing-room TV in a fit of fury after being run out during Australia`s World Cup win over Zimbabwe. He was also criticised for angrily throwing the ball to the gro

Spice has just launched a new type of mobile phone at an affordable price it can project images on the screen. The Spice Popkorn Projector M9000 mobile comes with an inbuilt projector, allowing you to project the phone s contents on a large screen. You can therefore project presentations, movies, pictures or even live TV, thanks to the analog TV chip inside the phone, which can receive free terrestrially broadcast TV channels. The M9000 has a Document Viewer, which lets you view various office document formats such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and even PDF on the handset. The mobile also sports a laser pointer, which is very useful while making presentations, though we think that the projector and laser pointer cannot be used at the same time. Basic phone features include a 6 cm (2.36 inch) 262K color QVGA screen, dual GSM SIM, quad band capability, WAP, GPRS, EDGE, JAVA, 3.2 MP camera, support to play various video formats including 3GP, mp4, AVI, FLv, RM and R

Shoaib Akhtar  will retire from the international game at the end of Pakistan's World Cup, bringing to an end one of cricket's most compelling and mercurial careers. He told his Pakistan team-mates of the decision at the Premadasa Stadium on Thursday morning, during an emotional gathering in which he delivered a farewell speech and was embraced by fellow players and support staff. Privately, over the last few months, Shoaib had been looking at the World Cup as a final hurrah for a body increasingly unable to cope with the rigours of the international game. The tournament itself has been a mixed one for him: he was outstanding through ten overs in Pakistan's win over Sri Lanka. But after an impressive opening spell against New Zealand he was taken for 28 runs in his final over, bowling a succession of waist high full tosses at Ross Taylor as New Zealand changed the game. He was dropped for the subsequent Zimbabwe game - having earlier been rested in the game against Canad

TOKYO, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The National Police Agency said Tuesday that Friday's catastrophic quake and ensuing tsunami have left 4,164 people dead and 7,843 others unaccounted for in Japan by 6:00 p.m. (0900 GMT) Wednesday. A total of 2,207 deaths have been firmed in worst-hit Miyagi Prefecture, said the police agency, adding the figures stood at 1, 391 and 511 in Iwate and Fukushima prefectures. According to local media reports, around 430,000 evacuees are now living in shelters in eight quake-hit prefectures, including Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima. A lack of food, drinking water, medicine and fuel has been a common problem in quake-hit areas, where supplies of essential resources have been wiped out and communications infrastructures crippled. A 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific coastal areas of northeastern and eastern Japan, triggering enormous tsunami. Heavy casualties and extensive damage have been caused in the disaster.  

CHENNAI: The city has seen an aftershock of the Japanese tsunami. These weren't seismic tremors but mere rumors. The earthquake and the subsequent nuclear blast in Japan have started a series of rumors in the city asking people not to go out in the rain lest they get caught in radioactive showers which could cause skin cancers and other ailments. These rumors and chain mails started by unknown sources warn people from going out in the rain as "radioactive particles, which may cause burns, alopecia or even cancer, may be in the rain." The mails warn people to use raincoats, umbrellas and scarves even if there is only a light drizzle, as even some part of the allegedly radioactive waters could be harmful. Experts have rubbished these rumors saying there is no scientific or logical basis to these rumors. "There have been blasts but the amounts of radiation released are definitely not high enough to affect people in India," said Dr M Srinivasan, former associate

TOKYO — Hiromitsu Shinkawa was pushed out to sea while he clung to the roof of his home after a tsunami swept away his wife. For two days, he drifted off Japan's northeastern coast, trying to get the attention of helicopters and ships that passed by – to no avail. Finally, on Sunday, a Japanese military vessel spotted the 60-year-old waving a red cloth. He was about 15 kilometers (about 10 miles) offshore from the earthquake-ravaged city of Minamisoma, said Yoshiyuki Kotake, a Defense Ministry spokesman. Shinkawa told his rescuers that the tsunami hit as he and his wife returned home to gather some belongings after Friday's quake. His wife was swept away, Kotake said. "Several helicopters and ships passed by, but none of them noticed me," he was quoted by another defense agency spokesman, who refused to be identified by name, as saying. Japanese troops used a small boat to pluck him from the ocean. Military officials said Shinkawa was lucky that mild wea

An earthquake measuring 8.8 struck off the northeast coast of Japan on Friday, shaking buildings in the capital Tokyo, causing "many injuries", major tsunami damage and at least one fire. Damage from a 2009 earthquake in Makinohara, Japan. The latest quake in the country was measured at magnitude 7.9 and triggered a tsunami warning   Photo: AP 6:30AM GMT 11 Mar 2011 The  Japanese  public broadcaster NHK showed cars, trucks, houses and buildings being swept away by tsunami in Onahama city in Fukushima prefecture. Black smoke was seen billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country were halted. Television showed cars bobbing in water along side fishing boats. A 50 cm tsunami hit Japan's northern coast. "The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under their desks," Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said. "It was probably the worst I have f

Have you ever heard of a CEO, who is only 14 years old? Well here is a 14 years old girl, who loves to play like other kids, but she chooses to play with animation. Sindhuja Rajaraman, the ninth standard girl,CEO of Seppan,launched her Chennai based animation company in October 2010. She is the youngest digital caricaturist certified by Corel Corporation, India, fastest 2D animator in the country certified by Nasscom Animation and Gaming Conclave, 2010. Well, she had also made a Guinness Book record attempt for the fastest animation film. The film was on Exnora, a Chennai based non- profit organization. She made it to mark the occasion of 10-10-2010. She did a three minute animation film in ten hours. Now she is awaiting her results. Talking about how she got into the animation profession, she said "It all started five years back when I wanted to take my mind off studies and do something new. My father, who is a cartoonist, instilled in me the passion to do animation and taug

If the word 'passion' had a face to it, it would be Sudhir Kumar Gautam's. He is 30, lives in Muzzafarpur in Bihar and without doubt, is the biggest fan of Indian cricket and Sachin Tendulkar. Sudhir Kumar Gautam is a minor celebrity at the World Cup matches. Photo: Rahul Fernandes It's not difficult to spot him at a cricket ground. His dressing style and paraphernalia is almost trademark-worthy. Before every international match he spends three hours painting his face and torso in saffron, white and green. The shades may vary sometimes, but you'll always find two words and an iconic number marked boldly – Tendulkar, India and 10. Sudhir has a favourite barber near every stadium in the country. The day before a match he gets a haircut in the shape of the India map and carries the tricolour and a conch. The cameras almost always pan towards him when they have to capture a magic moment and he has become a bit of a mascot for Indian cricket. For a country that is pe

Ross Taylor hurt Pakistan with an explosive hundred after they let him off twice  © AFP Enlarge Related Links Features :  Good Ross, bad Ross Analysis :  How Taylor destroyed Pakistan News :  Vettori hurts right knee during New Zealand win Matches:  New Zealand v Pakistan at Pallekele Series/Tournaments:  ICC Cricket World Cup Teams:  New Zealand  |  Pakistan The fans who travelled through the hills to watch the first one-day international in Pallekele witnessed a Pakistan team in shambles: they saw a glut of extras, three dropped catches, the worst possible display of end-over bowling and a batting implosion from a shell-shocked team. They also saw a struggling New Zealand side take advantage of their opponent's extraordinary failings, slowly at first, before Ross Taylor launched an assault so brutal that Pakistan were gutted and rendered defenseless by the end of the innings. Stronger opponents would have made Pakistan regret their shoddy performance - in which Kamran Akm