Shootout & Blast In Mumbai – November 26 2008

Mumbai, November 26, 2008: At least 90 people killed in fresh blast and firing in Mumbai.
People gathered on road and clapped, broke fire crackers, celebrate because Today India beat England by 6 wickets. But suddenly some terrorist attacks on people, They attacked on CST railway station, Taj hotel, Oberoi Hotel etc.

Blast affected area:

– Colaba Market
– Taj Hotel
– Nariman Point
– Vile Parle
– CST railway station
– Capital cinema
– Cama Hospital
– Oberoi Hotel
– Trident Hotel
– GT Hospital
– Nepeansea Road
– Metro cinema
– leopord Cafe
– Gateway of India

 

5th ODI India Vs England

India won 5th ODI by 6 wickets (with 38 balls remaining)

England 270/4 (50 ov)
India 273/4 (43.4 ov) Match over
India RR 6.25
Last 5 ovs 44/1 RR 8.80
England RR 5.40

Hours of play: 14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00 Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15
Current time: 22:20 local, 16:50 GMT

ODI career
Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 5 ovs Mat Runs Ave
*RG Sharma (rhb) 8 10 1 0 80.00 6 (7b) 8 (10b) 32 593 24.70
SK Raina (lhb) 54 53 8 0 101.88 21 (18b) 23 (14b) 55 1293 34.02

Bowlers O M R W Econ Current spell Mat Wkts Ave
*RS Bopara (rm) 6.0 1 42 1 7.00 (1nb, 1w) 1.4-0-17-0 33 5 48.00
GP Swann (ob) 7.0 0 56 1 8.00 (0nb, 2w) 6-0-35-1 15 18 28.38

Recent overs 1 . 1 1 4 W | 4 2nb . 1 1 1 4 | 1 1 . 1 . 1wd . | . 2lb . 4

Current partnership 23 runs, 2.4 overs, RR: 8.62 (Raina 11, RG Sharma 8)

Last bat MS Dhoni lbw b Swann 50 (61b 5×4 0x6) SR: 81.96
Fow: 250/4 (40.6 ov); Partnership: 94 runs, 17.5 overs, RR: 5.27 (Dhoni 50, Raina 43)

43.4 Bopara to RG Sharma, FOUR, very wide outside off, Rohit slashes it through cover for a boundary, and that’s 5-0 to India
43.3 Bopara to RG Sharma, no run
43.2 Bopara to RG Sharma, 2 leg byes, whistling down the leg side, Rohit glances it for two runs
43.1 Bopara to RG Sharma, no run, defended off the front foot
End of over 43 (4 runs) – India 267/4 (4 runs required)
SK Raina 54* (53b 8×4) GP Swann 7-0-56-1
RG Sharma 4* (6b) RS Bopara 5.2-1-38-1

42.6 Swann to Raina, no run, punched off the backfoot to extra cover
42.6 Swann to Raina, 1 wide, and a bouncer from the offspinner, thats so high that it’s called a wide
42.5 Swann to Raina, no run, punched off the backfoot to extra cover
42.4 Swann to RG Sharma, 1 run, driven to long-on for a single
42.3 Swann to RG Sharma, no run, tossed up, full and just outside off, Rohit digs it out towards cover point
42.2 Swann to Raina, 1 run, that was a short one outside off, Raina flatbats it down to long-off
42.1 Swann to RG Sharma, 1 run, worked down to long-on for a single
End of over 42 (13 runs) – India 263/4 (8 runs required)
SK Raina 53* (50b 8×4) RS Bopara 5.2-1-38-1
RG Sharma 2* (3b) GP Swann 6-0-52-1

41.6 Bopara to Raina, FOUR, Raina tickles it down the leg side for a boundary, and that brings up his half-century
41.5 Bopara to RG Sharma, 1 run, a bit of extra bounce for Bopara, Rohit guides it towards short third man for a single
India are making it look easy here, 13 needed off 50 balls now
41.4 Bopara to Raina, 1 run, overpitched and outside off, Raina drives that down to long-off for a single
41.3 Bopara to RG Sharma, 1 run, turned towards midwicket by Rohit, he gets off the mark
41.2 Bopara to RG Sharma, no run, length ball outside off, defended by Rohit towards backward point
41.2 Bopara to Raina, (no ball) 1 run, the dew is causing trouble here, the ball slips out of Bopara’s hand and comes out as a high full toss to Raina, who manges to get out of it’s way
41.1 Bopara to Raina, FOUR, drags it short, Raina doesn’t bother much with his footwork as he slams it to the midwicket boundary

———————-

SK Raina (lhb) 53 50 8 0 106.00 21 (18b) 28 (15b) hits another fifty
————-

India loose fourth wicket as MS Dhoni lbw b Swann 50 (61b 5×4 0x6) SR: 81.96! Need 21 more runs in 9 over.
England 270/4 (50 ov)
India 250/4 (41.0 ov) India require another 21 runs with 6 wickets and 54 balls remaining
India RR 6.09
Last 5 ovs 43/1 RR 8.60
Required RR 2.33
England RR 5.40

Hours of play: 14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00 Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15
Current time: 22:07 local, 16:37 GMT

ODI career
Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 5 ovs Mat Runs Ave
*SK Raina (lhb) 43 46 6 0 93.47 17 (14b) 21 (14b) 55 1282 33.73

Bowlers O M R W Econ Current spell Mat Wkts Ave
*GP Swann (ob) 6.0 0 52 1 8.66 (0nb, 1w) 5-0-31-1 15 18 28.16
A Flintoff (rf) 9.0 0 43 0 4.77 (0nb, 0w) 1-0-9-0 138 163 24.69

Recent overs 1 1 1 4 4 1 | . 4 1 4 . . | 1 . 1 1 4 W

Last bat MS Dhoni lbw b Swann 50 (61b 5×4 0x6) SR: 81.96
Fow: 250/4 (40.6 ov); Partnership: 94 runs, 17.5 overs, RR: 5.27 (Dhoni 50, Raina 43)

End of over 41 (7 runs) – India 250/4 (21 runs required)
GP Swann 6-0-52-1
SK Raina 43* (46b 6×4) A Flintoff 9-0-43-0

40.6 Swann to Dhoni, OUT
MS Dhoni lbw b Swann 50 (61b 5×4 0x6) SR: 81.96
40.5 Swann to Dhoni, FOUR, overpitched, and Dhoni crunches it down the ground, just to the left of the bowler for a boundary, that’s his half-century
40.4 Swann to Raina, 1 run, Raina comes down the track and flicks a full ball to midwicket
40.3 Swann to Dhoni, 1 run, strays onto leg stump, Dhoni swipes it behind square for a single
40.2 Swann to Dhoni, no run, length ball, Dhoni pushes it towards cover, there’s some confusion in the calling before the batsmen decide against taking the single
40.1 Swann to Raina, 1 run, pitched up, on middle and leg, worked to long-off for a single
Powerplay has been taken
——————————–

England 270/4 (50 ov)
India 243/3 (39.6 ov) India require another 28 runs with 7 wickets and 60 balls remaining
India RR 6.07
Last 5 ovs 38/0 RR 7.60
Required RR 2.80
England RR 5.40
Full scorecard

Hours of play: 14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00 Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15
Current time: 22:02 local, 16:32 GMT

Refresh scorecard
ODI career
Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 5 ovs Mat Runs Ave
*MS Dhoni (rhb) 45 56 4 0 80.35 11 (14b) 18 (16b) 125 3930 47.34
SK Raina (lhb) 41 44 6 0 93.18 5 (3b) 20 (14b) 55 1280 33.68

Bowlers O M R W Econ Current spell Mat Wkts Ave
*A Flintoff (rf) 8.5 0 43 0 4.86 (0nb, 0w) 0.5-0-9-0 138 163 24.69
GP Swann (ob) 5.0 0 45 0 9.00 (0nb, 1w) 4-0-24-0 15 17 29.41

Recent overs 1 1 1 2 1 1 | 1 4 2 . 1 . | 1 1 1 4 4 1 | . 4 1 4 .

Current partnership 87 runs, 16.4 overs, RR: 5.22 (Dhoni 45, Raina 41)

Last bat V Sehwag lbw b Broad 91 (73b 15×4 1×6) SR: 124.65
Fow: 156/3 (23.1 ov); Partnership: 0 runs, 0.1 overs, RR: 0.00 (Dhoni 0, Sehwag 0)

39.5 Flintoff to Dhoni, no run, full delivery, on middle and off, defended back to the bowler
India are in a hurry to get this over with
39.4 Flintoff to Dhoni, FOUR, not much width for Dhoni to work with but he crashes it off the backfoot past point, superb timing on that shot
39.3 Flintoff to Raina, 1 run, short ball on off, played with soft hands by Raina towards cover point, batsmen pinch a quick single
39.2 Flintoff to Raina, FOUR, a bit wider than the previous one, Raina steers that behind point for a boundary, great placement from Raina
39.1 Flintoff to Raina, no run, starts off with a beauty, back of a length, just outside off, Raina’ tries to defend off the back foot but is beaten
Flintoff back into the attack, England need wickets

———————-

England 270/4 (50 ov)
India 189/3 (31.0 ov) India require another 82 runs with 7 wickets and 19.0 overs remaining
India RR 6.09
Last 5 ovs 28/0 RR 5.60
Required RR 4.31
England RR 5.40
Full scorecard

Hours of play: 14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00 Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15
Current time: 21:18 local, 15:48 GMT

Refresh scorecard
ODI career
Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 5 ovs Mat Runs Ave
*MS Dhoni (rhb) 16 26 1 0 61.53 6 (5b) 13 (13b) 125 3901 47.00
SK Raina (lhb) 17 21 3 0 80.95 11 (13b) 15 (17b) 55 1256 33.05

Bowlers O M R W Econ Current spell Mat Wkts Ave
*RS Bopara (rm) 4.0 1 24 1 6.00 (0nb, 1w) 3-1-17-0 33 5 44.40
A Flintoff (rf) 8.0 0 34 0 4.25 (0nb, 0w) 1-0-6-0 138 163 24.63

Recent overs 2 2 . 1 2 . | . 2 4 . . . | 1 1 . 4 . 4

Current partnership 33 runs, 7.5 overs, RR: 4.21 (Dhoni 16, Raina 17)

Last bat V Sehwag lbw b Broad 91 (73b 15×4 1×6) SR: 124.65
Fow: 156/3 (23.1 ov); Partnership: 0 runs, 0.1 overs, RR: 0.00 (Dhoni 0, Sehwag 0)

End of over 31 (10 runs) – India 189/3 (82 runs required)
SK Raina 17* (21b 3×4) RS Bopara 4-1-24-1
MS Dhoni 16* (26b 1×4) A Flintoff 8-0-34-0

30.6 Bopara to Raina, FOUR
30.5 Bopara to Raina, no run, slower ball, out of the back of the hand, Raina spots it late but manages to play it back to the bowler
30.4 Bopara to Raina, FOUR, lovely shot, length ball from Bopara, the extra cover drive was away from his body but the timing was wonderful and it races to the boundary
30.3 Bopara to Raina, no run, short of a length, angling across Raina, who defends cautiously
30.2 Bopara to Dhoni, 1 run, overpitched, just outside off, Dhoni drives it firmly down to long-off
30.1 Bopara to Raina, 1 run, driven off the back foot to deep cover

——————

MS Dhoni

India

Player profile

Full name Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born July 7, 1981, Ranchi, Bihar
Current age 27 years 142 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Bihar, Chennai Super Kings, Jharkhand
Also known as Mahi
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Fielding position Wicketkeeper

Batting | Bowling | Career Statistics | Profile | Notes | Cricinfo Picks | Latest Articles | Photos + | Latest Photos

Batting and fielding averages Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
Tests 33 53 6 1725 148 36.70 2716 63.51 1 13 200 32 76 17
ODIs 124 111 28 3885 183* 46.80 4268 91.02 4 24 306 92 125 40
T20Is 10 9 2 172 45 24.57 154 111.68 0 0 13 4 2 0
First-class 73 118 9 3877 148 35.56 4 27 184 33
List A 177 160 37 5793 183* 47.09 10 35 191 55
Twenty20 30 27 8 709 73* 37.31 530 133.77 0 3 61 27 9 0

Bowling averages Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10
Tests 33 1 6 13 0 – – – 13.00 – 0 0 0
ODIs 124 – – – – – – – – – – – –
T20Is 10 – – – – – – – – – – – –
First-class 73 36 33 0 – – – 5.50 – 0 0 0
List A 177 – – – – – – – – – – – –
Twenty20 30 – – – – – – – – – – – –

Career statisticsTest debut India v Sri Lanka at Chennai, Dec 2-6, 2005 scorecard
Last Test India v Australia at Nagpur, Nov 6-10, 2008 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut Bangladesh v India at Chittagong (MAA), Dec 23, 2004 scorecard
Last ODI India v England at Bangalore, Nov 23, 2008 scorecard
ODI statistics
T20I debut South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
Last T20I Australia v India at Melbourne, Feb 1, 2008 scorecard
T20I statistics
First-class debut 1999/00
Last First-class India v Australia at Nagpur, Nov 6-10, 2008 scorecard
List A debut 1999/00
Last List A India v England at Bangalore, Nov 23, 2008 scorecard
Twenty20 debut South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
Last Twenty20 Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals at Mumbai, Jun 1, 2008 scorecard

Profile

The spectacular arrival of Virender Sehwag was bound to inspire others to bat with the same mindset. But the odds of a clone emerging from the backwaters of Jharkhand, whose state side has consistently scraped the bottom, was highly remote. That was until Mahendra Singh Dhoni arrived.

He can be swashbuckling with the bat and secure with the wicketkeeping gloves. His neck-length hair adds to his dash. Though Dhoni made his first-class debut in the 1999-2000 season, it was only in 2004 that he became a serious contender for national selection with some stirring performances when the occasion demanded. With his two centuries against Pakistan A, in the triangular tournament in Kenya, that he established himself as a clinical destroyer of bowling attacks.

In just his fifth one-dayer, against Pakistan at Vishakapatnam, he cracked a dazzling 148 – putting even Sehwag in the shade – and followed that up with a colossal 183 not out at Jaipur against Sri Lanka in November, when he broke Adam Gilchrist’s record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper in ODIs. He made an instant impact on the Test level too, pounding 148 at Faisalabad, in only his fifth Test.

He was elevated to the vice-captaincy of the one-day squad for the tour of England and Ireland in 2007 and, soon after, was appointed captain of the Twenty20 squad for the World Championship in South Africa. A heady title triumph marked him out as a leader for the future and was handed over the reins of the one-day side in September 2007 after Rahul Dravid decided to step down as captain. It didn’t take too long for him to enhance his reputation, claiming India’s first tri-series triumph in Australia. He captained Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, losing out to Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals in a tense final. As a stop-gap Test captain, he was credited with leading India to their biggest ever win in terms of runs (320), against Australia in Mohali.
———————–

India lose third wicket V Sehwag lbw b Broad 91 (73b 15×4 1×6) SR: 124.65

England 270/4 (50 ov)
India 158/3 (24.0 ov) India require another 113 runs with 7 wickets and 26.0 overs remaining
India RR 6.58
Last 5 ovs 24/3 RR 4.80
Required RR 4.34
England RR 5.40

Hours of play: 14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00 Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15
Current time: 20:46 local, 15:16 GMT

ODI career
Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 5 ovs Mat Runs Ave
*MS Dhoni (rhb) 1 2 0 0 50.00 1 (2b) 1 (2b) 125 3886 46.81
SK Raina (lhb) 1 3 0 0 33.33 1 (3b) 1 (3b) 55 1240 32.63

Bowlers O M R W Econ Current spell Mat Wkts Ave
*SCJ Broad (rfm) 6.0 0 40 1 6.66 (0nb, 2w) 1-0-2-1 42 62 27.35
RS Bopara (rm) 1.0 0 7 1 7.00 (0nb, 1w) 1-0-7-1 33 5 41.00

Recent overs 1 . . 1 . 4 | 1 4 . . 1wd 1 W | W . . 1 . 1

Current partnership 2 runs, 0.5 overs, RR: 2.40 (Dhoni 1, Raina 1)

Last bat V Sehwag lbw b Broad 91 (73b 15×4 1×6) SR: 124.65
Fow: 156/3 (23.1 ov); Partnership: 0 runs, 0.1 overs, RR: 0.00 (Dhoni 0, Sehwag 0)

End of over 24 (2 runs) – India 158/3 (113 runs required)
MS Dhoni 1* (2b) SCJ Broad 6-0-40-1
SK Raina 1* (3b) RS Bopara 1-0-7-1

23.6 Broad to Dhoni, 1 run
Kevin Pietersen is screaming encouragement to his team-mates,
23.5 Broad to Dhoni, no run, beaten as he tries to drive, that was another ball that kept low
Dhoni takes strike
23.4 Broad to Raina, 1 run, a bit of width provided and Raina gets off the mark with a poke towards point
23.3 Broad to Raina, no run, much closer to the stumps, Raina defends cautiously
23.2 Broad to Raina, no run, well outside off, Raina lets that go
Suresh Raina is the new man in
23.1 Broad to Sehwag, OUT, Sehwag’s gone, that’s another massive wicket for England, Stuart Broad gets Sehwag lbw, that ball came into Sehwag, who tried to play it to down the ground off the back foot, he missed and the umpire thought that was out, that would have definitely been missed leg
V Sehwag lbw b Broad 91 (73b 15×4 1×6) SR: 124.65
Broad comes into the attack.
—————–

India loose second wicket as Yuvraj Singh c & b Bopara 6 (9b 0x4 0x6) SR: 66.66

England 270/4 (50 ov)
India 156/2 (23.0 ov) India require another 115 runs with 8 wickets and 27.0 overs remaining
India RR 6.78
Last 5 ovs 31/2 RR 6.20
Required RR 4.25
England RR 5.40

Hours of play: 14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00 Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15
Current time: 20:39 local, 15:09 GMT

ODI career
Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 5 ovs Mat Runs Ave
*V Sehwag (rhb) 91 72 15 1 126.38 5 (4b) 20 (15b) 196 6124 33.46

Bowlers O M R W Econ Current spell Mat Wkts Ave
*RS Bopara (rm) 1.0 0 7 1 7.00 (0nb, 1w) 1-0-7-1 33 5 41.00
SJ Harmison (rf) 7.0 1 38 1 5.42 (0nb, 2w) 2-0-10-1 54 76 30.65

Recent overs 1 . 1 1 1 1 | 1 . . 1 . 4 | 1 4 . . 1wd 1 W

Last bat Yuvraj Singh c & b Bopara 6 (9b 0x4 0x6) SR: 66.66
Fow: 156/2 (22.6 ov); Partnership: 20 runs, 3.1 overs, RR: 6.31 (Yuvraj Singh 6, Sehwag 13)

End of over 23 (7 runs) – India 156/2 (115 runs required)
RS Bopara 1-0-7-1
V Sehwag 91* (72b 15×4 1×6) SJ Harmison 7-1-38-1

22.6 Bopara to Yuvraj Singh, OUT, Yuvraj’s gone, Bopara strikes
Yuvraj Singh c & b Bopara 6 (9b 0x4 0x6) SR: 66.66
22.5 Bopara to Sehwag, 1 run, very close to offstump, Sehwag decides to steer it to third man anyway, picks up a single for his effort
22.5 Bopara to Sehwag, 1 wide, way down the leg side, Prior does a good job collecting that one
22.4 Bopara to Sehwag, no run, tries to slog that over midwicket, gets the toe end of the bat and it dribbles away to the off side
22.3 Bopara to Sehwag, no run, length ball on ball, Sehwag defends it into the covers
22.2 Bopara to Sehwag, FOUR, ooh, that was close, Sehwag gets an inside-edge as he goes for the big drive, it runs away to the fine leg boundary. and he moves into the nineties
22.1 Bopara to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, fullish, outside off, driven by Yuvraj to long-off
Ravi Bopara comes into the attack, Prior is standing up

—————————–
ODI no. 2783 England in India ODI Series – 5th ODI
India v England 2008/09 season

Played at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, on 26 November 2008 – day/night (50-over match)

England innings (50 overs maximum) R B 4s 6s SR
RS Bopara c Yuvraj Singh b Khan 24 33 3 0 72.72
AN Cook c Tendulkar b Khan 11 15 1 0 73.33
KP Pietersen not out 111 128 10 1 86.71
PD Collingwood c Khan b Harbhajan Singh 40 64 4 0 62.50
A Flintoff c Tendulkar b I Sharma 0 3 0 0 0.00
OA Shah not out 66 57 9 0 115.78
Extras (lb 14, w 4) 18

Total (4 wickets; 50 overs) 270 (5.40 runs per over)

Did not bat MJ Prior, SR Patel, SCJ Broad, GP Swann, SJ Harmison

Fall of wickets1-33 (Cook, 5.5 ov), 2-68 (Bopara, 9.5 ov), 3-157 (Collingwood, 29.6 ov), 4-158 (Flintoff, 30.4 ov)

Bowling O M R W Econ
IK Pathan 10 1 57 0 5.70
Z Khan 10 1 60 2 6.00 (3w)
I Sharma 10 0 54 1 5.40
Harbhajan Singh 10 0 47 1 4.70 (1w)
Yuvraj Singh 10 0 38 0 3.80

India innings (target: 271 runs from 50 overs) R B 4s 6s SR
V Sehwag not out 86 68 14 1 126.47
SR Tendulkar b Harmison 50 57 6 0 87.71
Yuvraj Singh not out 6 8 0 0 75.00
Extras (lb 2, w 6) 8

Total (1 wicket; 22.1 overs) 150 (6.76 runs per over)

To bat SK Raina, RG Sharma, MS Dhoni, YK Pathan, IK Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, I Sharma

Fall of wickets1-136 (Tendulkar, 19.5 ov)

Bowling O M R W Econ
SJ Harmison 7 1 38 1 5.42 (2w)
SCJ Broad 5 0 38 0 7.60 (2w)
A Flintoff 6 0 27 0 4.50
SR Patel 3 0 23 0 7.66 (1w)
GP Swann 1 0 21 0 21.00 (1w)
RS Bopara 0.1 0 1 0 6.00

Toss India, who chose to field first

Player of the match tba

Umpires DJ Harper (Australia) and AM Saheba
TV umpire SK Tarapore
Match referee RS Mahanama (Sri Lanka)
Reserve umpire UL Dubey

Match notes

England innings
England: 50 runs in 7.3 overs (48 balls), Extras 12
Power Play 2: Overs 10.1 – 15.0
Drinks: England – 81/2 in 15.0 overs (KP Pietersen 28, PD Collingwood 6)
England: 100 runs in 19.1 overs (119 balls), Extras 13
3rd Wicket: 50 runs in 87 balls (KP Pietersen 24, PD Collingwood 27, Ex 1)
KP Pietersen: 50 off 59 balls (7 x 4)
England: 150 runs in 29.1 overs (179 balls), Extras 17
Drinks: England – 178/4 in 35.0 overs (KP Pietersen 76, OA Shah 10)
Power Play 3: Overs 40.1 – 45.0
England: 200 runs in 40.4 overs (248 balls), Extras 18
5th Wicket: 50 runs in 69 balls (KP Pietersen 21, OA Shah 28, Ex 1)
KP Pietersen: 100 off 119 balls (9 x 4, 1 x 6)
OA Shah: 50 off 48 balls (7 x 4)
England: 250 runs in 47.3 overs (289 balls), Extras 18
5th Wicket: 100 runs in 109 balls (KP Pietersen 39, OA Shah 60, Ex 1)
Innings Break: England – 270/4 in 50.0 overs (KP Pietersen 111, OA Shah 66)
India innings
India: 50 runs in 7.5 overs (49 balls), Extras 4
1st Wicket: 50 runs in 49 balls (V Sehwag 31, SR Tendulkar 15, Ex 4)
Power Play 2: Overs 11.1 – 16.0
V Sehwag: 50 off 41 balls (10 x 4, 1 x 6)
India: 100 runs in 14.1 overs (89 balls), Extras 6
1st Wicket: 100 runs in 89 balls (V Sehwag 55, SR Tendulkar 39, Ex 6)
Drinks: India – 105/0 in 15.0 overs (V Sehwag 57, SR Tendulkar 41)
SR Tendulkar: 50 off 54 balls (6 x 4)
India: 150 runs in 22.1 overs (139 balls), Extras 8

—————–

India loose first wicket as Tendulkar (50).

——————
England 270/4 (50 ov)
India 134/0 (18.6 ov) India require another 137 runs with 10 wickets and 31.0 overs remaining
India RR 7.05
Last 5 ovs 35/0 RR 7.00
Required RR 4.41
England RR 5.40

Hours of play: 14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00 Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15
Current time: 20:21 local, 14:51 GMT

ODI career
Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 5 ovs Mat Runs Ave
*V Sehwag (rhb) 77 61 13 1 126.22 7 (5b) 22 (15b) 196 6110 33.38
SR Tendulkar (rhb) 49 53 6 0 92.45 10 (7b) 11 (15b) 419 16421 44.38

Bowlers O M R W Econ Current spell Mat Wkts Ave
*SR Patel (sla) 1.6 0 18 0 9.00 (0nb, 1w) 1-0-9-0 11 11 28.54
A Flintoff (rf) 6.0 0 27 0 4.50 (0nb, 0w) 6-0-27-0 138 163 24.59

Recent overs . . . 4 . . | 1 1 4 4 2 1 | 1 . 1 . 1 . | 1wd 1 1 1 1 4 .

Current partnership 134 runs, 19.0 overs, RR: 7.05 (Tendulkar 49, Sehwag 77)

18.6 Patel to Sehwag, no run, charges down the track, looking to smash it out of the park, Samit drags it short and Sehwag can only play it back to the bowler
18.5 Patel to Sehwag, FOUR, Full ball on leg stump, Sehwag reverse sweeps that for a boundary
Samit Patel comes over the wicket
18.4 Patel to Tendulkar, 1 run, slower delivery, tossed up, Tendulkar makes room and drives that towards sweeper cover
18.3 Patel to Sehwag, 1 run, These two batsmen are happy taking the singles, there’s another one, driven to long-on
18.2 Patel to Tendulkar, 1 run, Samit persists with the leg-stump line, Tendulkar drives it down the ground and ambles through for a single
18.1 Patel to Sehwag, 1 run, On the pads, Sehwag drops it to the leg side and runs through for a single
18.1 Patel to Sehwag, 1 wide, way down the leg side
Patek into teh attack
———————-
V Sehwag blast again

England 270/4 (50 ov)
India 94/0 (12.6 ov) India require another 177 runs with 10 wickets and 37.0 overs remaining
India RR 7.23
Last 5 ovs 44/0 RR 8.80
Required RR 4.78
England RR 5.40

Hours of play: 14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00 Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15
Current time: 19:48 local, 14:18 GMT

ODI career
Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 5 ovs Mat Runs Ave
*V Sehwag (rhb) 55 42 10 1 130.95 20 (6b) 24 (17b) 196 6088 33.26
SR Tendulkar (rhb) 33 36 4 0 91.66 0 (0b) 18 (13b) 419 16405 44.33

Bowlers O M R W Econ Current spell Mat Wkts Ave
*GP Swann (ob) 0.6 0 21 0 21.00 (0nb, 1w) 1-0-21-0 15 17 28.00
A Flintoff (rf) 3.0 0 15 0 5.00 (0nb, 0w) 3-0-15-0 138 163 24.52

Recent overs . 4 4 . . 1 | 1 1 . 4 2 1 | 1 . . . 1 . | . 1wd 4 6 4 4 2

Current partnership 94 runs, 13.0 overs, RR: 7.23 (Tendulkar 33, Sehwag 55)

12.6 Swann to Sehwag, 2 runs
12.5 Swann to Sehwag, FOUR, comes down the track to try bring up his fifty with a six, doesn’t get hold of it but it still flies over mid-off for a four
What will Sehwag do with this ball?
Sehwag’s raced along to 49
12.4 Swann to Sehwag, FOUR, this was fuller from Swann, Sehwag gets his front foot out of the way and smashes it through cover
12.3 Swann to Sehwag, SIX, SHOT! in the slot for Sehwag, gets down on one knee and slams that over midwicket for a huge six
12.2 Swann to Sehwag, FOUR, again Sehwag backs away to given himself room and drives it through covers for a boundary
12.2 Swann to Sehwag, 1 wide, whistles down the leg side, he’ll have to bowl that one again
12.1 Swann to Sehwag, no run, turning in towards Sehwag, who back away and punches it to cover
Graeme Swann into the attack
———————–
India need 271 runs in 50 overs. England set a target of 271 for India in 5 th ODI in Cuttack
England 270/4 (50.0 ov)
India India won the toss and elected to field first

Innings break England RR 5.40
Last 5 ovs 42/0 RR 8.40

Hours of play: 14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00 Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15
Current time: 18:02 local, 12:32 GMT

ODI career
Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 5 ovs Mat Runs Ave
*OA Shah (rhb) 66 57 9 0 115.78 16 (11b) 28 (16b) 52 1288 30.66
KP Pietersen (rhb) 111 128 10 1 86.71 26 (20b) 14 (14b) 87 3047 48.36

Bowlers O M R W Econ Current spell Mat Wkts Ave
*IK Pathan (lmf) 10.0 1 57 0 5.70 (0nb, 0w) 3-0-21-0 105 148 29.95
Z Khan (lfm) 10.0 1 59 2 5.90 (0nb, 3w) 1-0-9-0 154 218 28.62

Recent overs 1 4 2 1 1 . | 1 1 1 1 1 4 | 1 1 1 1 4 .

Current partnership 112 runs, 19.2 overs, RR: 5.79 (Shah 66, Pietersen 45)

——————-

KP Pietersen hits century! and OA Shah hits Half century

England 242/4 (46.5 ov)
India India won the toss and elected to field first
England RR 5.16
Last 5 ovs 36/0 RR 7.20

Hours of play: 14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00 Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15
Current time: 17:48 local, 12:18 GMT

ODI career
Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 5 ovs Mat Runs Ave
*OA Shah (rhb) 51 47 7 0 104.25 28 (25b) 21 (14b) 52 1271 30.26
KP Pietersen (rhb) 100 119 9 1 84.03 20 (23b) 15 (16b) 87 3036 48.19

Bowlers O M R W Econ Current spell Mat Wkts Ave
*I Sharma (rf) 9.5 0 52 1 5.28 (0nb, 0w) 0.5-0-10-0 20 27 31.40
IK Pathan (lmf) 8.0 1 40 0 5.00 (0nb, 0w) 1-0-4-0 105 148 29.84

Recent overs 1 4 . 1 1 1 | 1 1 1 1 1 1 | . 1 1 1 1 . | . 4 4 1 1 2

Current partnership 84 runs, 16.1 overs, RR: 5.19 (Shah 49, Pietersen 34)

Last bat A Flintoff c Tendulkar b I Sharma 0 (3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Fow: 158/4 (30.4 ov); Partnership: 1 runs, 0.4 overs, RR: 1.50 (Flintoff 0, Pietersen 1)

46.5 I Sharma to Pietersen, 1 run

———————————————
England 200/4 (40.4 ov)
India India won the toss and elected to field first
England RR 4.83
Last 5 ovs 16/0 RR 3.20

Hours of play: 14.30 start, First Session 14.30-18.00 Interval 18.00-18.45, Second Session 18.45-22.15
Current time: 17:17 local, 11:47 GMT

ODI career
Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 5 ovs Mat Runs Ave
*OA Shah (rhb) 20 28 3 0 71.42 0 (3b) 9 (17b) 52 1242 29.57
KP Pietersen (rhb) 83 100 9 1 83.00 8 (6b) 6 (13b) 87 3019 47.92

Bowlers O M R W Econ Current spell Mat Wkts Ave
*Z Khan (lfm) 6.3 1 32 2 4.92 (0nb, 3w) 0.3-0-0-0 154 218 28.50
Harbhajan Singh (ob) 10.0 0 47 1 4.70 (0nb, 1w) 2-0-7-0 180 202 32.97

Recent overs . . 1 . 1 1 | . 1lb 1 1 . 4 | 1 . . 1 1 1 | . . .

Current partnership 38 runs, 9.5 overs, RR: 3.86 (Shah 20, Pietersen 17)

 

Indian Navy foils pirate attempt on Merchant Vessel

The Indian naval warship ‘Gomti’ foiled a pirate attempt on the Indian merchant vessel, M.V. Jag Arnav, around 60 nautical miles off east of Aden. After getting the SOS from the ship, the naval warship immediately rushed a rescue mission and fired at the Somali pirates, forcing them to flee from the spot. The incident occurred at 10.30 AM (IST) today.

 

नागपुर में विश्व चैंपियन धराशायी

हरभजन और अमित मिश्रा की घूमती गेंदों के आगे नागपुर टेस्ट में ऑस्ट्रेलिया ने घुटने टेक दिए. इसी के साथ भारत ने सिरीज़ पर 2-0 से क़ब्ज़ा कर लिया है.

जीत के लिए 382 रनों का पीछा करती हुई विश्व चैंपियन ऑस्ट्रेलियाई टीम चायकाल के ठीक पहले 209 रनों पर ढेर हो गई.

हरभजन की गेंद पर मिचेल जॉनसन के पगबाधा आउट होते ही भारत ने बोर्डर-गावस्कर ट्रॉफ़ी पर अपनी मुहर लगा दी.

संक्षिप्त स्कोर
भारत (पहली पारी)-441 रन
ऑस्ट्रेलिया – 355 रन
भारत (दूसरी पारी)- 295
ऑस्ट्रेलिया – 209 ऑल आउट
नतीजा – भारत 172 रनों से जीता

इसके साथ ही भारत ने आईसीसी टेस्ट रैंकिंग में दक्षिण अफ़्रीका को पीछे धकेल दूसरा स्थान हासिल कर लिया.

क्रिकेट की दुनिया से सौरभ गांगुली की विदाई इससे बेहतर तरीके से और क्या हो सकती थी.

नागपुर में मिली शानदार जीत

ये मैदान पर सौरभ का आख़िरी दिन था और मैच का भी निर्णायक पल. अचानक धोनी ने सौरभ से कुछ कहा और उसके बाद ऐसा लगा मानो दादा कप्तानी संभाल रहे हों.

वो खिलाड़ियों को दिशा निर्देश दे रहे थे और फ़ील्डरों को उनकी जगह बता रहे थे. ऐसा लग रहा था शायद दादा के सम्मान में धोनी ने उन्हें कप्तानी सौंप दी हो.

घातक गेंदबाज़ी

मैथ्यू हेडन और साइमन कैटिच ने बेहद आक्रामक अंदाज़ में पाँचवें दिन की शुरुआत की. सिरीज़ में 1-0 से पीछे चल रहे कंगारुओं के पास आक्रामक होने के अलावा कोई चारा भी नहीं था.

लेकिन ईशांत शर्मा ने शानदार तेज़ गेंदबाज़ी का नमूना पेश करते हुए कैटिच और माइकल क्लार्क को पैवेलियन भेज दिया. कैटिच ने 16 और क्लार्क ने 22 रन बनाए.

हेडन के विकेट ने मैच का रुख़ भारत की ओर मोड़ दिया

कप्तान रिकी पोंटिंग महज आठ रन बनाकर अमित मिश्रा के हाथों रन आउट हो गए.

तब लगा कि ऑस्ट्रेलियाई बल्लेबाज़ी दबाब में आ गई लेकिन हेडन और माइक हसी ने रन रेट पाँच से ऊपर रखते हुए ज़बर्दस्त बैटिंग की और एक समय भारतीय दबाव में नज़र आने लगे.

तभी चतुर महेंद्र सिंह धोनी ने अमित मिश्रा को गेंदबाज़ी की कमान सौंपी और उन्होंने हसी को 19 के निजी स्कोर पर स्लिप में कैच करा बड़ी कामयाबी दिलाई.

लेकिन हेडन का विकेट मैच का निर्णायक मोड़ साबित हुई. तेज़ी से रन बटोर रहे हेडन को 77 के स्कोर पर हरभजन ने पगबाधा आउट करा भारत की राह आसान कर दी.

हरभजन ने चार और अमित ने तीन विकेट हासिल किए. ईशांत ने दो शिकार बनाए.

चौथा दिन

चौथे दिन का खेल ख़त्म होने तक ऑस्ट्रेलिया ने बिना कोई विकेट गँवाए 13 रन बना लिए हैं. मैथ्यू हेडन पाँच और साइमन कैटिच आठ रन पर नाबाद हैं.

इससे पहले वीरेंदर सहवाग और मुरली विजय, उसके बाद कप्तान महेंद्र सिंह धोनी और हरभजन सिंह की अच्छी बल्लेबाज़ी की बदौलत भारत ने दूसरी पारी में 295 रन बनाए.

पहली पारी के आधार पर भारत को 86 रनों की महत्वपूर्ण बढ़त मिली है. पहली पारी में भारत ने 441 रन बनाए थे जबकि ऑस्ट्रेलिया ने जवाब में 355 रन बनाए.

दूसरी पारी में भारत की ओर से वीरेंदर सहवाग ने सर्वाधिक 92 रन बनाए, जबकि कप्तान महेंद्र सिंह धोनी ने 55 और हरभजन सिंह ने 52 रनों की पारी खेली. मुरली विजय ने 41 रन बनाए.

जबकि ऑस्ट्रेलिया की ओर से शेन वॉटसन और जेसन क्रेज़ा ने चार-चार विकेट लिए. अपना पहला टेस्ट खेल रहे क्रेज़ा ने पहली पारी में आठ विकेट लिए थे. इस तरह अपने पहले टेस्ट में क्रेज़ा ने कुल 12 विकेट चटकाए.

दूसरी पारी में एक बार फिर वीरेंदर सहवाग और अपना पहला टेस्ट खेल रहे मुरली विजय ने शानदार शुरुआत दी. सहवाग ने अपने अंदाज़ में बल्लेबाज़ी की तो मुरली ने संयम के साथ.

दोनों ने पहले विकेट के लिए 116 रन जोड़े. लेकिन मुरली विजय के 41 रन पर आउट होते ही एक बार फिर भारतीय पारी लड़खड़ा गई.

राहुल द्रविड़ फिर नाकाम रहे और सिर्फ़ तीन रन बनाकर आउट हो गए. लग रहा था कि वीरेंदर सहवाग इस बार शतक लगा ही लेंगे. लेकिन ऐसा नहीं हुआ. 92 रन के निजी स्कोर पर सहवाग ब्रेट ली की गेंद पर आउट हो गए.

बल्लेबाज़ी

भारत के तीन विकेट 142 रन पर गिर गए. इसके बाद लक्ष्मण और सचिन तेंदुलकर ने संभल कर खेलना शुरू किया. लेकिन दोनों खिलाड़ी काफ़ी दबाव में खेल रहे थे.

क्रेज़ा ने पहले टेस्ट में कुल 12 विकेट लिए

ऑस्ट्रेलियाई कप्तान ने काफ़ी अच्छी रणनीति बनाई और फ़ील्डिंग भी ऐसी लगाई कि दोनों खिलाड़ियों के लिए रन बनाना मुश्किल हो रहा था. दबाव में पहले टूटे वीवीएस लक्ष्मण. क्रेज़ा की गेंद पर वे क्लीन बोल्ड हो गए.

लक्ष्मण ने 34 गेंद पर सिर्फ़ चार रन बनाए. अपना आख़िरी टेस्ट खेल रहे गांगुली ने पहली पारी में 85 रन बनाए थे लेकिन दूसरी पारी में वे बिना कोई रन बनाए पहली ही गेंद पर आउट हो गए.

सचिन भी अपने अंदाज़ में नहीं खेल पा रहे थे. उनकी कोशिश लग रही थी कि विकेट न गिरे. लेकिन एक रन लेने की कोशिश में वे रन आउट हो गए.

सचिन ने 55 गेंद पर 12 रन बनाए. इसके बाद कप्तान महेंद्र सिंह धोनी और हरभजन सिंह ने बिना दबाव आक्रामक पारी खेलना शुरू किया. दोनों ने तेज़ी से रन बटोरने शुरू किए.

धोनी ने अपना अर्धशतक भी पूरा किया लेकिन वे 55 रन बनाकर आउट हो गए. भज्जी और धोनी ने सातवें विकेट की साझेदारी में 108 रन बनाए. लेकिन साझेदारी टूटते ही भारतीय पारी फिर बिखर गई.

हरभजन सिंह 52 रन बनाकर आउट हुए. भारत की पूरी टीम 295 रन पर आउट हो गई. ऑस्ट्रेलिया की ओर से शेन वॉटसन और जेसन क्रेज़ा ने चार-चार विकेट लिए. ब्रेट ली को एक विकेट मिला.

 

मंगल ग्रह पर दल भेजेगा नासा

अंतरिक्षयात्री यान में ही अपनी फल और सब्ज़ियॉ उगा पाएंगे

अमरीकी अंतरिक्ष एजेंसी संस्थान नासा ने अगले कुछ दशकों में मंगल ग्रह पर एक मानव दल भेजने की रणनीति का विस्तृत विस्तृत ब्यौरा जारी किया है.

नासा इस दल को करीब 30 महीनों के लिए चार लाख किलोग्राम के अंतरिक्षयान में मंगल ग्रह पर भेजने के लिए विचार कर रही है.

जनवरी, 2004 में राष्ट्रपति जार्ज बुश ने 2020 तक मानव के चंद्रमा पर जाने और अनिश्चित तिथि तक मंगल ग्रह पर जाने के कार्यक्रम के बारे में एक कार्यक्रम की घोषणा की थी.

यह मंगल यान पृथ्वी की निचली कक्षा में स्थापित किया जाएगा. इसमें नए “हैवी लिफ़्ट लांच व्हीकल” का भी प्रयोग किया जाएगा जिन्हें नासा विकसित कर रहा है.

ये विहाकल तीन से चार वर्ग मीटर क्षेत्र के रॉकेट होते हैं.

योजना है कि फ़रवरी, 2031 में इसका प्रक्षेपण होगा. मिशन की यह यात्रा उन्नत क्रायोजेनिक ईंधन व्यवस्था से चालित अंतरिक्षयान में छह से सात महीने का समय लेगी.

एक अंदाज़ के अनुसार मंगल ग्रह पर मानव भेजने के इस मिशन पर क़रीब 450 लाख डॉलर का ख़र्च आएगा.

हालाँकि वहाँ रहने की व्यवस्था के लिए ज़रूरी दूसरा सामान दल के रवाना होने से पहले ही अलग से दिसंबर, 2028 और जनवरी, 2029 के बीच भेज दिया जाएगा.

उगाओ और खाओ

नासा की इस प्रस्तुति को बीबीसी ने देखा है. इसमें अंतरिक्षयात्री रास्ते में ही फल और सब्ज़ियाँ उगा पाएंगे.

वहाँ पहुँच कर मंगल ग्रह की ज़मीन पर अंतरिक्षयात्री 16 महीने तक गुज़ार सकते हैं. वे अपने आवास को बिजली देने के लिए नाभिकीय ऊर्जा का प्रयोग करेंगे.

अंतरिक्षयान को पृथ्वी की कक्षा में ही विकसित किया जाएगा

लेकिन कागज़ात संकेत देते हैं कि मिशन को समाप्त करने या मानव दल को नए सामान से सुसज्जित करने के विकल्प कम ही होंगे.

सामान की दोबारा आपूर्ति में समस्या आएगी और अंतरिक्षयात्रियों को असाधारण रूप से आत्मनिर्भर होना होगा.

उन्हें उपकरणों की देखरेख और मरम्मत की पूरी जानकारी और यहाँ तक कि नए पुर्ज़े बनाना भी आना चाहिए.

हवा और पानी

अंतरिक्षयान ख़ुद भी जीवन रक्षक प्रणाली से सुसज्जित होगा जिसमें हवा और पानी का फिर से इस्तेमाल किया जा सकेगा.

मानव दल के भोजन के लिए यान पर ही पौधे उगाए जाएंगे. इससे अंतरिक्षयात्रियों के मनोवैज्ञानिक स्वास्थ्य का भी ख़याल रखा जा सकेगा.

लेकिन एजेंसी की रोबॉटिक्स एंड ह्यूमन लूनर एक्सपीडिशंस स्ट्रेटेजिक रोडमैप कमेटी में बैठने वाले नासा के एक अधिकारी ब्रेट ड्रेक की रिपोर्ट कहती है कि अभी इस दल की सुरक्षित यात्रा के लिए बहुत सी चुनौतियाँ बाकी हैं.

 

Michael Dell

“There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don’t like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don’t spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities.”

Those are the words of a man who became an entrepreneur at a very young age of 12, made his first $1,000 by selling stamps, and later sold newspaper subscriptions for Houston Post, making enough money to buy a BMW at 16. This young and ambitious boy had his plans well on track by 19.
He went to college to study biology as his parents wanted him to be a doctor, but a year later, he gave up studies to follow his dreams.

Today, the world knows him as billionaire college dropout who converted a simple idea into a billion-dollar business.

Meet Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Inc, one of the world’s most successful IT companies. Forbes estimates Dell’s net worth to be around $17.3 billion.

 

Lok Sabha Speaker accepted resignation of JD(U) MPs

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee accepted the resignation of 5 JD(U) MPs – Prabhunath Singh, George Fernandes, Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lallan, Kailash Baitha and Meena Singh. The JD(U) MPs had resigned on November 7 to protest against Raj Thackeray’s anti-North Indian tirade and Rahul Raj shootout in Mumbai.

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan have called the resignation of JD(U) Lok Sabha MPs as a political stunt and accused the party of breaking the political unity in Bihar. Lalu dared Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to ask his MLAs, MLCs and Rajya Sabha MPs to resign if he is so concerned about Bihar’s interests. Interestingly, the resignation of JD(U) MPs hold little significance, as the next general elections are due in February 2009.

 

BJP in Madhya Pradesh

For voters in the forthcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, the central poll issue is not bijli (electricity) or sadak (road). It is paani (water).

The capital Bhopal gets fresh drinking water once in two days. The fast depleting Upper lake — the only source of water in the city — has ‘exposed’ the state government which may have done sterling work elsewhere but has failed to provide safe (or even unsafe) drinking water to the capital city and the rest of the state.

Irrigation continues to be a major challenge, and that the government is totally dependent on the monsoon is evident from this year’s shrinking wheat acreage. The government claims that it has brought an additional 480,000 hectares of land under irrigation. But agricultural potential continues to languish because of scanty rainfall.

“Government reservoirs are dry this year and the irrigation potential is likely to be down from 700,000 hectares to 400,000 hectares,” says Pravesh Sharma, principal secretary, Department of Farmer Welfare, Agriculture and Cooperatives. All major foodgrains reported negative to 5.33 per cent growth. The acreage of oilseeds has gone down by 1.89 per cent. The wheat acreage has gone down by 50 per cent this year in Malwa region, the latest state economic survey says.

That the Bharatiya Janata Party government changed three chiefs ministers in five years hasn’t helped the situation.

Raghavji, finance minister of the BJP’s first chief minister Uma Bharti, had the daunting task of financing some populist measures put in place by her. Although she departed unceremoniously from the government and the party in August 2004, Raghavji was kept on as finance minister.

His management of finances was home-made and simple: curtail non-plan expenditure and put the surplus funds in development activities. Madhya Pradesh was rewarded by the Finance Commission twice as a result: Rs 363.06 crore was granted as debt waiver incentive in 2005-06, and an equal amount in the next financial year. His efforts to enact the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act in 2005 ensured his government another incentive of Rs 293.14 crore under debt swap and consolidation schemes.

Raghavji had to face more challenges when the chief minister changed. Bharti’s successor, Babulal Gaur, promised protection to small traders, professionals and industrialists. Incentives, self-assessment schemes, exemptions, concessions and sops to all categories became the order of the day.

The actual fiscal reforms were visible when Shivraj Singh Chouhan replaced Gaur in November 2005. The tax revenue, which stood at Rs 7769.71 crore in 2004-05, grew to Rs 8933.34 crore (revised estimate) in 2005-06. The state kitty swelled to Rs 10,029.46 crore (budget estimate) in 2006-07 and is expected to touch Rs 11,885.68 crore in the current fiscal (2008-09). The non-tax revenue, which slipped from Rs 4,461.86 crore in 2004-05 also grew to Rs 2,059.08 crore in 2006-07, is expected to touch Rs 3,017.70 crore in 2008-09.

By 2005, Madhya Pradesh had a revenue surplus budget. Although this was mainly due to a grant of Rs 2,749.36 crore which the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board returned to the state government, this increased non-tax revenue receipts. In 2008, Chouhan presented the last budget of the 12th assembly with a revenue surplus of Rs 2,839.78 crore.

The government has drastically reduced non-plan expenditure from Rs 1,382.99 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 383.46 crore (budget estimate) in 2006-07. It estimates the budget to go down to Rs 199 crore.

These are more than mere numbers because the BJP government’s performance in building new roads and managing the power situation has been better than the Congress’s. Of the total plan expenditure of Rs 15,634 crore (budget estimate) in Budget 2008-09, the BJP government earmarked an amount of Rs 2,270.01 crore for road-building to add 21,857 km of road in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12) besides constructing 20,000 km of roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna.

There are many pluses in the government’s report card on fiscal reform:

Revenue surplus was achieved for the first time after 13 years against a revenue deficit of Rs 25.49 crore for the year 2005-06 (revised estimate).

The state did not yield to the temptation of taking ways and means advances even for a day, even during the toughest financial year 2005-06 — something which the state achieved after a long gap of 32 years.

Tax revenue growth has gone up from 7.69 per cent in 2002-03 to 18 per cent (average) during 2007-08 and is expected to maintain the same pace.

But intelligent fiscal management has not changed the lives of ordinary people. The dropout rate among schoolchildren continues to hover around 70 per cent, especially among lower income categories. State economic survey data also reveal the growth rate in primary sector has been estimated at 2.80 per cent in 2007-08 against 4.17 per cent in 2005-06.

The number of unemployed youth registered in employment exchanges increased from 466,000 in 2005 to 1.9 million in 2007 (June). The International Food Policy Research Institute report recently revealed that Madhya Pradesh ranked between Ethopia and Chad on the hunger index, even after completion of 12 stages of Bal Sanjeevni Abhiyan — a drive to insulate eight million children against malnutrition with a huge fund allocation of Rs 633.28 crore in 2007-08.

The state government is silent on how it would address the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rates that are the highest in India, at 74 and 301 per 1,000, respectively.

Budget allocation of Rs 1,240.91 crore to improve power transmission and distribution and an additional allocation of Rs 1,371.40 crore for power sector reforms have failed to bridge the demand-supply gap of 1,000 MW. Age-old thermal power stations break down at regular intervals and daily power cuts are more than 10 hours in rural areas.

As many as 60 companies have queued up to invest in the power sector but poor governance has restricted them to project reports.

The law and order situation in the state is not satisfactory although Rs 500 crore was invested between 2004 and 2007 to modernise police forces. The number of cases of crimes against women has declined by a nominal 4.21 per cent during 2004 and 2005 and 2.7 per cent during 2005 and 2006, but the number is very high at 25,432.

 

Margaret Alva quites AICC

Margaret Alva has resigned as an All India Congress Committee general secretary. Alva resigned in the wake of her allegations over “sale” of party tickets in the Karnataka Assembly polls.

Alva, who is in-charge of the party in Mizoram, returned to Delhi from Aizwal late on Monday night and met A K Antony,chairman of the party’s desciplinary committee and handed over her resignation to him.

This is the first time that Alva has made such an allegation. It is believed that Alva’s son was denied a ticket during the state assembly elections which upset her and forced her to make the allegations.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was in Bhutan at that time, asked Antony to investigate and seek a clarification from the veteran Karnataka leader. When Antony met her, Alva offered to resign from the post of general secretary if the party did not give due weightage to her allegations and conduct a full scale probe.

According to party sources Alva is holding talks with Mayawati and former prime minister Deve Gowda. Senior party leaders conceded that Alva would be given a chance to explain before the party takes any decision.

 

India crush Australia

Sourav Ganguly (left) leads teammate Rahul Dravid onto the ground in his retirement game on the last day of the fourth and final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008 series between India and Australia at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium, Jamtha in Nagpur on November Monday.

Is it just me, or do you get the feeling that the morning papers have been surprisingly unimaginative in celebrating a 2-0 series win over Australia -the first such instance since Clive Lloyd’s marauders blanked Australia 3-0 in the late 1980s?

In Cricinfo, George Binoy looks at Ishant Sharma’s man of the series-winning performance and points at a sea change that has gone largely unremarked: India no longer has to rely on spin to win matches at home. It’s a good time for change: Anil Kumble is the last in a line of great Indian spinners who was unplayable in home conditions; India’s discovery that it can use seam, swing and pace as potent weapons even in Indian conditions could not thus have come at a better time.

The real advantage, which should become increasingly apparent in time, is that this makes India a strong unit at home and abroad: the playing squad will almost invariably comprise of four seamers and two spinners, giving the captain the option of going in with a 3 seam, one spin combination, or two-seam one-spin, or even three seamers and two spinners or no spinner at all in a four-man attack, depending on the conditions and the nature of the opposition.

Ishant comes in for high praise from Steve Waugh in the Hindu:

Ricky Ponting is run out by a direct throw from Amit Mishra. The Australian captain made just eight.

However, the true superstar in the making is Ishant Sharma. India has unearthed a superb bowler in him. He has incredible accuracy, is fast, has height and is a quick learner. He reminds me of Glenn McGrath in his accuracy and of Jason Gillespie in his hand speed.

Cricketing transition is on Suresh Menon’s mind, as he points out that in MS Dhoni and Amit Mishra, we have found the inheritors of the legacy of Anil the captain and Anil the bowler.

Steve Waugh underlines Ponting’s day four captaincy with this pithy comment:

“Winning the Test match is what mattered. You have just spent six weeks in the subcontinent. You just don’t take your foot off the gas.”

Peter Roebuck is none too enamored of the tactics employed by the Indians in pursuit of the win:

But India stooped to conquer. Only 21.3 overs were bowled in the morning session, a ruse designed to slow the scoring and to bring bad light into play in the event of the Australians putting up a sustained fight.

Fieldsmen dawdled, the drinks break lasted seven minutes, balls were thrown over bowlers’ heads, leather-flingers trudged back to their marks, an inexperienced captain took an eternity to set his field. Deliveries came along about once a week – an acceptable rate from Woolworths but not the stuff of positive cricket. In short, India went to the very edge of the laws of the game. Supporters may argue Australia have long followed this strategy but new champions must adopt the strengths of the deposed, not their faults.

Ishant Sharma celebrates taking the wicket of Michael Clarke (22) on Monday.

If this is the best Test cricket has to offer, then it is not worth the bother. For all the weight it carries, it is still a game. Slow over-rates are a blight and an insult to the paying public. Hereafter, lunch must be taken not at a set time but once 30 overs have been bowled, with play to resume on schedule. That’ll hurry things along.

I am not personally a fan of this 30-overs-a-session-regardless theme that has cropped up in the wake of the Nagpur Test. To mandate 90 overs a day is not just fair but necessary, and while on that, Steve Waugh has a point when he says it is time to crack down on the practice of batsmen whistling up drinks at will, under the pretext of getting a new pair of gloves or whatever-if the argument is that slow over rates bore fans, then imagine how it feels for the spectator to sit in the blistering sun watching a bunch of layabouts slowly sipping energy drinks out in the middle, about 10 minutes before a scheduled break in play.

But to insist that a team bowls 30 overs each session is to deny captains the proper use of the new ball. There is an electricity to watching fast bowlers with the shiny ball steaming in off a long run and letting fly; the contest between new ball-wielding fast bowler and opening batsmen is part of cricket’s circadian rhythm and IMHO should not be disturbed. True, savvy captains will then manipulate the rules to bowl their overs slowly in, say, a situation where the opposition is likely to declare in course of the day-but that can be legislated against without creating an absolute session cap.

Greg Baum argues that by going micro in its thinking, Australia stifled its own imagination and with it, its chances.

Mathew Hayden plays a shot on the fifth and final day of the fourth and final Test on Monday.

Process is everything in modern sport. You don’t kick a goal, you go through the process. You don’t hit a cover drive for four, you go through the process. You don’t consciously aim to shape a seven-iron left to right around a tree and stop it on the green, pin-high, you go through the proper damned process.

The theory is that if you follow process correctly, the result will look after itself. It is valid only to the extent that sport can be seen as a mechanical exercise: press this button, pull that lever, get a result. No instinct, no emotion, nothing visceral.

But sport at its best is organic, not mechanical. It is an experience, not a process, powered and animated as much by mental dexterity as muscle memory. When the Australian cricket team was at its best, it followed process, but also hunches and inspiration.

In concentrating all its thinking on its incredibly slow over rate on Sunday night, Ricky Ponting’s team appeared to obsess itself with crossed Ts and properly dotted Is and neglected the essence of its mission in India. It failed where it was once infallible, in its imagination.

Gideon Haigh argues that a game of cricket needs to be judged in totality, and not on arbitrary statistical measures such as X overs per session or Y runs scored equals boredom. An extended clip:

Saturday’s first session contained only 46 runs, but once the Indian tactics and Australian response were clear, each ball was loaded. A wicket or two would change everything. On the stroke of lunch, a reverse-swinging yorker from a toiling fast bowler in the eighth over of a persevering spell; an hour later, an acrobatic save and return by a tyro on his Test debut.

For the rest of the afternoon Australia’s batsmen were like all the king’s horses and men after Humpty-Dumpty’s fall.

For the media to complain about the entertainment value on the basis of the runs scored was like a complaint against Picasso for using too few brush-strokes.

It betrays an unconscious imbibing of the crude assumptions behind Twenty20 : that cricket is only exciting when fours and sixes flow in endless profusion, and that people are too dumb to know better.

Sunday’s final session turned the Test upside down, then inside out. Australia had chipped away at India in the afternoon and retrieved the initiative.

Amit Mishra (right) celebrates with teammate Harbhajan Singh after taking the wicket of Brad Haddin. The spin duo spun a web of deceit to skittle the Australian batting.

This they proceeded to hand back by referencing something beyond the boundary – the playing conditions of the International Cricket Council , which hardly anyone need trouble to consult, but a small elite must know.

Onlookers felt the pressure escape like steam from a leaking valve. We were also granted an insight into the extraneous factors that play on a captain’s mind, which require from him instant decisions, and expose him to blame and ridicule.

The criticism now came from a quite different quadrant – the notion that Test cricket is a matter of national honour and sporting pride; that one must risk defeat, or at least be prepared to incur expense, in order to win.

Here is a tension. We are anxious that Tests justify themselves as spectacle, but can’t abandon the idea that more is at stake. It is a neurosis rooted in Twenty20’s intimidating popularity, and Test cricket’s abiding hold on our imaginations. In fact this Border-Gavaskar Trophy has given great value. Two exquisitely-matched teams with a lot of history and good cause to distrust one another have shown a ton of courage, skill and even civility.

Simon Barnes reframes the question: Are crowds or the lack thereof the true measure of the popularity of Test cricket?

Jason Krejza (4) is stumped by MS Dhoni off the bowling of Amit Mishra on Monday.

The only thing that has marred the series has been the absence of anyone watching it at the grounds. These fraught matches, the frenzied appeals, the furious blows, the stupendous efforts have taken place against an eerie silence, the ball rocketing in among empty seats and the occasional abandoned bottles of the Indian soft drink Thums-Up.

It is like the tree that falls in the deserted forest: does it make any sound at all if there is no one there to hear it? I have no idea, that’s the point of the question. The question of the primacy of Test cricket, then, is nothing to do with public demand. It is, as much as anything, a question of player demand.

Most players are agreed that the complexity and infinite variability of Test-match cricket make it the highest form of the game. It’s just that fewer spectators are interested in the higher form of the game, at least as a paying spectacle. The primacy of Test cricket is being maintained, but it is for reasons other than spectacle or money.

Is it legitimate to run a professional sport for the pursuit of excellence? Is this pursuit more important than the pursuit of money? Is player satisfaction more important than the gratification of your clients? Do the beliefs of your core constituency matter more than the fleeting thrills of the floating voters? After England have played the one-day matches in India, they will play a Test “series” – two matches – which will be be much richer and more satisfying. It will also be poorly attended.

And that larger thought is the perfect grace note to end the Nagpur segment of this round-up with, and to move on to another: the exit of Sourav Ganguly .

Sourav Ganguly waves as teammates carry him on their shoulders as they give him a send-off in his final Test.

The front page of The Telegraph yesterday that goes well with this Soumya Bhattacharya piece on the ultimate Bengali icon; an extended interview in Outlook magazine; a collection of the best Ganguly articles published on Cricinfo; a rare VVS Laxman article celebrating his mate, circa 2004; and a post from Great Bong I remember from way back, that to my mind underlined the schism Sourav’s arrival caused in India’s cricket following public and more importantly, the media, which was divided into those who dared to criticize the player and captain, and those who would brook no criticism and who, at the slightest attempt to query, would launch into a defense based on cultural tropes coupled with a series of ad hominem attacks on the critic. To my mind, that was the essential irony of Sourav’s cricketing career: On the cricket field and in the dressing room, he was in his prime the unifier India badly needed; off the field, within the media and the public, he was the divisive figure. The former was entirely his doing; the latter is in no way his fault.

I was tempted to write an addendum to this post. It is the fashion to rate captains on the basis of their win-loss record, but IMHO that is to take a narrow view of captaincy. MSD has just become the first Indian captain to win three straight Tests; add that to his ODI and T20 wins, does that make him our best captain ever? Not by a long chalk, not yet at all events.

The statistical measurement ignores the ‘leadership’ aspect of captaincy-and IMHO that is the most important-and lasting-attribute. A captain can have a good record, but the best of records will be subsequently broken by others. To my mind, the truly great captains bring an intangible to not just their teams, but to their country’s cricketing mindset-something they alone are uniquely fitted to provide; something that gets enshrined in the dressing room, and is emulated, and even built on, by their successors.

Ganguly and captain Dhoni share a light moment after the win over Australia.

In that sense, Sourav Ganguly’s contribution was way more than those of other Indian captains I’ve followed, dating all the way back to Ajit Wadekar and including Azhar, Sachin, Rahul and Anil.

I could elaborate on that theme-but I had done a piece on this aspect when it was most fresh, and I’d rather leave you with that one, than recreate it all over again.