The 'thick' friendship between cricketer Harbhajan Singh and actress Shilpi Sharma (of Jo Bole So Nihaal fame) is the talk of the town. News is that this budding friendship has already reached the next level, which for obvious reasons, the duo won't accept.

The news making the rounds is that Harbhajan has been continuously sending SMSs to Shilpi to come to South Africa and see him in action on the field. Shilpi maintains that he's 'just a friend' and not someone special.
"Yes, I don't deny the fact that we've been friends for almost a year and he wants me to come to South Africa to cheer for him and his team. Is there anything wrong with that?" she says.

Remind her that just a year ago, Bhajji was linked with another actress, Geeta Basra and she retorts, "What? I've never heard of such rumours." Ask her when she is planning to go to cheer for Bhajji, she replies, "I was to go but due to some prior commitments, I couldn't make it.

But if his team makes it to the final four, I definitely intend to go to cheer for him." "I'll be going to cheer for him with a bunch of friends.
not alone," she adds before signing off.

Lalit Modi


Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, has said there is a possibility that the

tactical time-out in the middle of each team's innings could be changed from

one interval of seven and a half minutes to two breaks of two and a half

minutes each for the semi-finals and final of the second season of the IPL.


"It's not frozen yet but we are looking at two aspects. There will be two two-

and-a-half-minutes break per innings, so the break in all during an innings will

be of five minutes," Modi told NDTV. "The first two-and-a-half-minute break

will be just after the Powerplay [6 overs] and the second to be taken by the

fielding side at any time.


"It happens in every sport, there is a strategy break and everything. But 7.5

minutes may look like a bit longer, so we are seeing how we can reduce it

down to five minutes" However, he said that the idea was yet to be ratified

by the tournament's technical committee.


The tactical time-out has played a part in shifting the momentum in the

Twenty20 games and has usually benefited the fielding team with the

batting side losing wickets in the overs immediately after the break. It was

criticised by Sachin Tendulkar, the Mumbai Indians captain who felt that the

breaks were "hampering the momentum of a team", Kings XI Punjab coach

Tom Moody and VB Chandrasekhar, Chennai Super Kings' head of cricket

operations. Other experts were also not certain of how much value it added

to the game.


Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Buchanan had called for the number of

overseas players in a XI to be increased from four but Modi said it was not

going to happen. "This is the Indian Premier League," he told the Indian

Express. "The focus is on getting local talent and I have shoved away the

idea of increasing the number of foreigners."

Lalit Modi


The Indian Premier League (IPL) on
Tuesday launched a controversial SMS

game asking fans to predict the scores of a live match. The winners will get

cash awards.


According to the rules of the game, the entrant will have to send the runs

that will be scored off every ball of the next over (for example 3 2 4 2 6 6,

like in a lottery ticket) and the people guessing six, five or four numbers in

the sequence correctly will get a percentage of the kitty generated by the

total number of people playing at that time. The minimum prize money for

every over is Rs 10,000 and will increase after that, depending on the entries

received, at Rs 5 per SMS.


While the early reaction from experts is that this is a form of online cricket

betting, which is illegal in India, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi denied it. "It's

only about texting. Anyway, there is a lot of texting going back and forth,

discussing the game. This is very similar to that, discussing the game

amongst friends," he said.


"The person in the stadium has no idea what the people are predicting. It's

very difficult to fix the outcome of an over. I think, maybe one in a million.

We have checked it out and looked at it very carefully. If that was to

happen, we would shut it out absolutely, without doubt."


When contacted on Tuesday evening, an International Cricket Council (ICC)

media officer said that the governing body had not heard about the game,

but would anyway have no say in the matter because the ICC "has no direct

involvement in the IPL". The BCCI had, prior to the start of the tournament,

refused to pay the $1.2m fees asked by the anti-corruption unit of the ICC,

and the second edition of the IPL is not under the surveillance of the game's

governing body.


The game, 6UP, will be available only to Indian mobile subscribers starting

from Wednesday's matches.

Indian cricketer and former captain Rahul Dravid has broken the world record for the number of catches in Test matches by an outfielder.

When Dravid helped to dismiss the New Zealand batsman, Tim McIntosh, in Wellington, it was his 182nd catch in a Test career going back to 1996.

Dravid's landmark was reached on the fourth day of India's third Test match against New Zealand at Wellington. The previous record holder was Mark Waugh of Australia.

Dravid, 36, is now clearly ahead of Ricky Ponting (148 catches in 131 Tests), Jacques Kallis (147 catches in 131) and Mahela Jayawardene (142 catches in 102) among current players.

"Dravid has spent a lifetime in Sachin Tendulkar's shadow and the big batting records - centuries, number of runs scored - were never going to be his, but he is quite on his own in the slips," according to Sambit Bal, editor of a cricket website.

Last year, Dravid became only the sixth batsman in history to score 10,000 Test runs. He has compiled 26 Test centuries and 56 fifties, earning the nickname "The Wall" for his obdurate style of play.

Dravid, who was appointed the captain of the Indian team in October 2005, resigned from the job in September 2007.

He captained India in 25 Tests - winning eight, losing six and drawing 11 - and 79 one-day internationals.

Virender Sehwag was named the Wisden cricketer of the year and along with his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and two other Indians, the opener was included in this year's Wisden Test XI.

Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh are the two members of the Indian team who were included in the Test XI which will be captained by wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni.

The 146th edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, which was launched today, reflects on 12 months in which Twenty20 has continued to reshape the game and cricket, in general, has been forced to confront a range of major challenges.

Meanwhile, Claire Taylor, England's leading run-scorer in her team's successful World Cup campaign this year, has become the first woman to be named as one of the five cricketers of the year by the annual Wisden almanac.

The other four honoured are England pacer James Anderson, South African Dale Benkenstein, Mark Boucher and Neil McKenzie.

Proteas skipper Graeme Smth, who was narrowly eclipsed by Virender Sehwag for the leading cricketing award after both openers enjoyed epic years, was included in the Test XI as the second opener of the team.

The 2008 Wisden Test XI: Virender Sehwag, Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Kevin Pietersen, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Dale Steyn, Zaheer Khan.

Sunil Gavaskar

South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis became the eighth batsman in the history of Test cricket to score 10,000 career runs on the second day of the first Test match against Australia in Johannesburg on February 27, 2009. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was the first batsman ever to achieve this feat.

Gavaskar got to the landmark in the penultimate Test match of his career against Pakistan in March 1987 at Ahmedabad. Sunny is now the fifth fastest batsman in terms of innings -- 212 -- to get to 10,000 Test runs. He finished his Test career with 10,122 runs in 214 Test innings (125 matches) at an average of 51.12 with a highest score of 236*. Gavaskar scored 34 centuries and 45 half-centuries in his Test career.

Allan Border

Former Australian captain Allan Border was important to his team as much for his batting as he was for his leadership skills. Border took over when the Australian cricket team was going through a transition phase, and set the wheels in motion for the Baggy Greens' domination of world cricket under his successors -- Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

Border may not have been the most attractive batsman to watch, but he was a pugnacious customer, who put a huge value on his wicket, as can be seen by the fact that he played in 156 Test matches for his country and scored over 11,000 runs in his Test career. Border, who reached the landmark in his 235th Test innings, ended his career with 11,174 runs in 156 matches (265 innings) at an average of 50.56 with 27 centuries and 63 half-centuries and a highest score of 205.

Steve Waugh

It took exactly 10 years for the next batsman to join the 10,000 Test-runs club. And, fittingly, it was one of Allan Border's successors -- Steve Waugh -- who crossed the landmark in the 244th Test innings of his career in Sydney against England in January 2003. Waugh is remembered for putting a huge value on his wicket and withstanding hostile bowling with elan and courage even if it meant taking blows aplenty on his body. He has saved and won many a Test match for Australia with this attitude of his, and is easily one of the most courageous batsmen to have ever played the game.

Waugh, who also played a match-saving knock in his last Test against India in Sydney, scored 10,927 runs at an average of 51.06 from 260 innings in 168 Test matches. Waugh, who has a highest score of 200 in Test matches, also scored 32 centuries and 50 half-centuries in his Test career.

Brian Lara

Brian Charles Lara carried the West Indies' batting on his own for most of his international career. He had all the talent in the world, but it did appear at times that he chose style over staying at the crease, and that is probably the only reason he ended up a few runs short in his international career. That is the sole grouse, if at all, that his fans would have against one of the best-ever batsmen to play the game.

Lara, in fact is the fastest-ever to the 10,000 Test runs landmark, achieving the feat in only his 195th Test innings against England in Manchester in August 2004. Lara, who holds the record for the highest score in a Test innings -- 400* against England -- is one of the five players to score 10,000 runs in one-day internationals as well.

Lara scored 11,953 runs from 232 innings in 131 Test matches, including 34 centuries and 48 half-centuries, at an average of 52.88. In 299 ODIs, Lara scored 10,405 runs, including 19 centuries and 63 half-centuries, at an average of 40.48 with a highest score of 169.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

Tendulkar already holds many cricket records including being the highest run-scorer in Tests and one-day cricket, as well as having the maximum number of centuries in both those formats of the game. Tendulkar, who is the first batsman to cross the 12,000 Test runs landmark, is also the fastest-ever in terms of innings (195) along with West Indian batting legend to score 10,000 Test runs.

Tendulkar has so far scored 12,429 runs at an average of 54.27 from 256 innings in 156 Test matches with a highest score of 248*. He also has 41 centuries and 51 half-centuries to his credit in his Test career. In one-day interationals, Tendulkar has scored 16,440 runs, including 42 centuries and 90 half-centuries in 422 matches at an average of 43.95 with a highest score of 186*.

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid has been one of the mainstays of the Indian batting line-up for most of his 12 years in international cricket. He always has a calm presence while at the crease and this effect more often than not has rubbed off on his partner at the other end. Dravid has been struggling for runs in recent months, and is no longer a part of India's one-day international team, but his career record is right up there with the best.

Dravid, who reached the 10,000 Test runs in his 206th innings, against Chennai in March 2008, has so far scored 10,509 runs in 131 matches (227 innings), including 26 centuries and 53 half-centuries, and a highest score of 270 at an average of 52.28. Dravid has also scored more than 10,000 runs in ODIs -- 10,585 runs at an average of 39.49, including 12 centuries and 81 half-centuries, in 333 ODIs with a highest score of 153.

Ricky Ponting

Current Australian captain Ricky Ponting was earmarked for international glory by his coaches and teammates even before he made his international debut. Ponting took some time to maximise his inherent talent, but once he found his feet in international cricket, there has been no holding him back, and he has been Australia's rock at No 3 for most of the last decade, and his batting hasn't been affected too much by the additional burden of captaincy.

Ponting, who took only 196 innings to reach the 10,000 Test runs landmark, is currently the only real challenger to Indian master batsman Sachin Tendulkar's records in Test cricket. Ponting has so far scored 10,858 runs, including 37 centuries and 45 half-centuries from 217 Test innings (129 matches) at an average of 56.84 with a highest score of 257. In ODIs, he has scored 11,365 runs, including 26 centuries and 66 half-centuries at an average of 42.72 in 310 matches, with a highest score of 164.

Jacques Kallis

Kallis has to be one of the most under-estimated superstars of the game. He does have the 'greatness' stamp, but doesn't come automatically come to mind, when one thinks of the stylish batsmen to play the game. But what Kallis lacks in style, he makes up for with technique and temperament. As South African captain Graeme Smith said after Kallis reached the 10,000 Test runs landmark, "For a large part of his (Kallis') career he had to carry South Africa's batting and it is this longevity which is one of the signs of true greatness." On his part, Kallis had this to say about the feat: "It does mean a lot to me. But to be honest with you, the difference between 9,999 and 10,000 is one run. But it's probably something I'll look back on when I've finished the game and I'll appreciate it more than I do now."

Kallis has so far scored 10,015 runs from 217 innings in 129 Test matches at an average of 54.42 with a highest score of 189* at an average of 54.42. In one-day internationals, Kallis has scored 10,057 runs, including 16 centuries and 71 half-centuries in 287 matches at an average of 45.30 with a highest score of 139. He has also taken 252 wickets in Test matches and 246 in ODIs. Kallis' Test statistics are at the end of the first innings of the first Test match against Australia in Johannesburg which started on February 26, 2009.

The 2009 Indian Premier League will now take place in South Africa.

Security concerns in India forced organisers to seek an alternative host, with England a possible destination.

But IPL boss Lalit Modi opted for South Africa following talks with Cricket South Africa (CSA), ultimately because of the favourable weather conditions.

The tournament, which will feature 59 matches across six venues, will start a week later than planned, running from 18 April to 24 May.

The opening match will be played in Cape Town, while Johannesburg will stage the final, with Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London also venues for matches.

"We are very happy to confirm that South Africa will host the 2009 Indian Premier League tournament," said Modi.

"The South African public loves Twenty20 cricket and CSA successfully hosted the inaugural ICC World Twenty20. Both these factors weighed heavily in South Africa's favour."

CSA chief executive Gerald Majola expressed his delight, saying: "This is a great compliment to both CSA and our nation to be shown this confidence in our ability to hold one of the world's top sporting events at short notice.

"This event will strengthen the ties even further between South African and Indian cricket, as well as binding our nations even closer together.

Indians saddened by IPL decision

News that the second Indian Premier League cricket tournament will be staged outside India has come as a major disappointment across the cricket-mad nation.

In the end the Indian government decided it simply could not take the risk.

Holding the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the same time as the country's general elections was too complicated and too risky.

Over the course of a month, tens of thousands of paramilitary and police personnel have to be on duty for the elections - a massive logistical exercise.

And in the aftermath of the attack of the Sri Lankan cricket team in the Pakistani city of Lahore, no-one could afford to take security for the IPL for granted.

However awkward this decision seems to be, the potential alternative could have been worse.

If there had been an attack on an IPL match - and if security was shown to be deficient - that would have been even more damaging for India's image abroad.

Locally, it could have cost the government the general elections.

IPL 2009 will kick off at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town on April 18 while

the final will be held at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on May 24 according

to the new schedule.

The semi-finals meanwhile are to be held on May 22 and 23 in Pretoria and

Johannesburg respectively.

In a double header on the first day, last year's winners Rajasthan Royals will

take on the Bangalore Royal Challengers, Bangalore, while the Mumbai

Indians would clash with the first edition's runners-up Chennai Super Kings at

Cape Town.


In all, the 59 matches will be held in eight cities: Cape Town, Johannesburg,

Durban, Pretoria, East London, Kimberly, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth.

Kingsmead in Durban, which has a large number of South Asians, has been

allotted the lion's share of 16 matches while the Centurion Park in Pretoria will

host 12 ties.

The Wanderers in Johannesburg and Newlands in Cape Town will hold eight

matches each, with the latter playing host to four of these on the first two

days of the competition.

Seven matches are to be held in St George's Park in Port Elizabeth while

Buffalo Park in East London has been allotted four matches.

Two matches each have been handed over to Outsurance Oval in

Bloemfontein and De Beers Oval in Kimberley.


Matches will be held at 4 pm (12.30 pm local time) and 8 pm (4.30pm local

time) IST.

There are a total of ten double headers (two matches back to back at the

same venue) with Durban hosting half of these.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi revealed that official broadcaster Sony will

telecast the matches in three languages - English, Hindi and Bengali.


Schedule: All times IST (GMT + 0530)

April 18: Rajasthan Royals (RR) v Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) (4 pm) at

Cape Town; Mumbai Indians (MI) v Chennai Super Kings (CSK) (8 pm) at

Cape Town

April 19: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) v Deccan Chargers (DC) (4 pm) at Cape

Town; Delhi Daredevils (DD) v Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) (8 pm) at Cape Town


April 20: RCB V CSK (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

April 21: RR v MI (4 pm) at Durban; KKR v KXIP (8 pm) at Durban

April 22: DD v CSK (4 pm) at Durban; RCB v DC (8 pm) at Cape Town

April 23: KKR v RR (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

April 24: KXIP v RCB (4 pm) at Johannesburg

April 25: KKR v CSK (4 pm) at Cape Town; DC v MI (8 pm) at Durban

April 26: RR v KXIP (4 pm) at Cape Town; RCB v DD (8 pm) Port Elizabeth

April 27: KKR v MI (4 pm) at Cape Town; CSK v DC (8 pm) at Durban

April 28: DD v RR (4 pm) at Pretoria

April 29: MI v KXIP (4 pm) at Durban; KKR v RCB (8 pm) at Durban

April 30: DD v DC (4 pm) at Pretoria; RR v CSK (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 1: RCB v KXIP (4 pm) at East London; MI v KKR (8 pm) at Durban

May 2: RR v DC (4 pm) at Johannesburg; CSK v DD (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 3: MI v RCB (4 pm) at Durban; KXIP v KKR (8 pm) at East London

May 4: DC v CSK (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 5: DD v KKR (4 pm) at Durban; KXIP v RR (8 pm) at Durban

May 6: MI v DC (4 pm) at Pretoria

May 7: KXIP v CSK (4 pm) at Pretoria; RCB v RR (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 8: DD v MI (4 pm) at East London

May 9: DC v KXIP (4 pm) at Bloemfontein; CSK v RR (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 10: KKR v DD (4 pm) at East London; RCB v MI (8 pm) at Johannesburg

May 11: DC v RR (4 pm) at Bloemfontein

May 12: RCB v KKR (4 pm) at Pretoria; KXIP v MI (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 13: DC v DD (4 pm) at Durban

May 14: MI v RR (4 pm) at Durban; CSK v RCB (8 pm) at Durban

May 15: KXIP v DD (4 pm) at Kimberley

May 16: CSK v MI (4 pm) at Johannesburg; DC v KKR (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 17: RR v DD (4 pm) at Kimberley; KXIP v DC (8 pm) at Johannesburg

May 18: CSK v KKR (4 pm) at Pretoria

May 19: DD v RCB (4 pm) at Johannesburg

May 20: CSK v KXIP (4 pm) at Durban; RR v KKR (8 pm) at Durban

May 21: DC v RCB (4 pm) at Pretoria; MI v DD (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 22: Semi Final 1 at Pretoria

May 23: Semi Final 2 at Johannesburg

May 24: Final at Johannesburg

Tiger Woods came from five strokes behind to overhaul fellow American Sean O'Hair and win his 66th PGA Tour title by a shot at the Arnold Palmer invitational Orlando on Sunday.

Playing only his third tournament since returning from reconstructive knee surgery, Woods completed a record sixth victory at Bay Hill Club by dramatically sinking a 16-foot birdie putt on the final hole in fading light.

The American world number one, who had been sidelined for eight months following his previous Tour win at the US Open in June, matched his biggest final-round comeback on the circuit.

In 2000, he overhauled a five-shot deficit after 54 holes to win the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Woods finally caught the pacesetting O'Hair with a birdie at the par-four 15th and claimed the outright lead for the first time when his playing partner bogeyed 16 after hitting his approach into water.

Although Woods stumbled on 17, where his tee shot ended up under the lip of a greenside bunker, he calmly rolled in the 16-footer on the 18th green for a five-under total of 275.

"It feels really good," the 33-year-old said in a greenside interview after celebrating his victory by backing away with a sweeping fist pump before embracing his caddie Steve Williams.

"It feels good to be back in contention again and to feel the rush and to have to deal with everything coming down the stretch. It's been a while but it kind of felt good."

O'Hair, who had been bidding for a third PGA Tour title, had to settle for second place after closing with a 73 with 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson (69) a further two strokes back at two under.

The start of the final round was delayed by an hour and 45 minutes due to the threat of lightning after storms rolled into the area earlier than expected.

The drama surrounding the future of the second Indian Premier League is over.
The India government has left BCCI with no option but to shift IPL out of India.
England or South Africa will host IPL 2. While it’s disappointing for fans but
franchisees aren’t complaining. After all, there is lots at stake for them.

We give you reactions from the owners of Rajasthan Royals and Kings’ XI Punjab.
Shetty had recently acquired a stake in the Royals while Preity, along with her
millionaire beau Ness Wadia owns the Punjab team.

Says Preity, “Elections are the number one priority in this country.
We want to have this tournament to happen too so this is a good decision as every
fan will still get to see it at 4.00 and 8.00 pm. We will follow whatever the BCCI and IPL will ask us to do.”

Meanwhile, Shetty had this to say. “I am in London at the moment and the news that
we received at the owners conference is disappointing not just for the franchisees but also
all the Indian cricket fans, given the huge anticipation and excitement that exists for the IPL in India.
However, if the choice is no tournament, or the tournament in another country, then we clearly prefer the latter.
The locations and options presented are all viable, and we are working closely with the IPL,
as they formulate a decision over the next 24 hours.”

Fans or no fans, trust the two girls to be cheering loudly for their
teams when the IPL get rolling.

Dhoni has a new girl in his life, and it seems that it's love at last. Sakshi

Singh Rawat, a 20-year-old third year student of Hotel Management at IHM,

Aurangabad, who recently finished her training at the front office at Taj

Bengal, met MS Dhoni at the post-party of Race at Bipasha Basu's house.

She came as a guest of John Abraham's, a mutual friend. According to a

source from Mumbai, "She attends all his hair-cutting sessions.

Dhoni got his hair cut short because she likes short hair." Sources at the

Aurangabad institute reveal further about their relationship.

"She's a very sweet girl, she talks about nothing but Dhoni ;even her

cellphone wallpaper is Dhoni. Her status on Facebook is 'in a relationship.

' The two even took an auto ride together when Dhoni had come to meet her

here in Aurangabad. All that she talks about in college is Dhoni.

" The blogs are abuzz with quotes from people who have spotted the couple

together. One entry says, "I saw Sakshi Singh Rawat hanging around with MS

Dhoni on November 19 as it was her 21st birthday.

" The entry further goes on to say that "the two are getting married after

2010." and "all their friends know about it.

" In an interview with a TV channel, Sakshi's elder sister, Abhilasha Bisht, a

senior officer with the Uttaranchal Police confirmed that Dhoni is "great

friends" with their family but added Sakshi's marriage is a long way off since

she is currently studying.

History of Ping Pong - The game has its origins in England as an after-dinner amusement for upper-class Victorians in the 1880s.

Mimicking the game of tennis in an indoor environment, everyday objects were originally enlisted to act as the equipment. A line of books would be the net, a rounded top of a Champagne cork or knot of string as the ball, and a cigar box lid as the bat.

The popularity of the game led game manufacturers to sell the equipment commercially. Early bats were often pieces of parchment stretched upon a frame, and the sound generated in play gave the game its first nicknames of "whiff-whaff" and "Ping-pong."

A number of sources indicate that the game was first brought to the attention of Hamley's of Regent Street under the name "Gossima". The name "ping-pong" was in wide use before English manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901.

The name "Ping-Pong" then came to be used for the game played by the rather expensive Jaques equipment, with other manufacturers calling theirs table tennis.

Below are some photos of Table Tennis professionals doing what they do best.