Showing posts with label SPORTS. Show all posts

Monday, 24 March 2014

Steyn Fires South Africa to Victory !!!

It was needed and he delivered it : STEYN !!!

What a performance by the Champion Bowler or we can say world's best bowler !!!

Needed just 7 of the last over and Dale went for just a boundary , took two wickets and a run out by himself of the last ball, to bring 2-run confidence booster victory for the Proteas.

South Africa 170/6 (20 overs)

New Zealand 168/8 (20 overs)

Though the Man of the Match is JP Duminy for his brilliant [building + hard hitting] innings which helped SA to get through a defend-able total .

Still we can say he[Steyn] was the game changer.And kinda deserved the MOM award; With fantastic figures in a T20I match a bowler can get 4ovrs-17runs-4wickets-run out !!!

During Presentation :

Brendon McCullum: "Credit to SA for the way they hung in there, we probably should have won it easily, can't take it to the final over against a top bowler like Steyn. Little bit of luck and we'd have got across the line."

Faf du Plessis: " I was thinking all the time, Steyn is my trump card, I need to bring him back in the game. Fantastic effort from him.And that was one of the best innings I had seen from JP."

HERE is Scorecard :

	R		B	4s	6s	SR
Q de Kock	c Ronchi b Mills	4		8	0	0	50.00
HM Amla	c & b Anderson	41		40	2	0	102.50
F du Plessis	c NL McCullum b Southee	13		8	2	0	162.50
AB de Villiers	b NL McCullum	5		6	1	0	83.33
JP Duminy	not out	86		43	10	3	200.00
DA Miller	c & b Anderson	6		6	1	0	100.00
JA Morkel	b Southee	13		8	0	1	162.50
DW Steyn	not out	1		1	0	0	100.00
Extras	(w 1)	1
Total	(6 wickets; 20 overs)	170	(8.50 rpo)

Bowling	O	R	W	Econ
KD Mills	4	29	1	7.25
MJ McClenaghan	4	30	0	7.50	(1w)
TG Southee	4	46	2	11.50
NL McCullum	4	24	1	6.00
CJ Anderson	3	28	2	9.33
KS Williamson	1	13	0	13.00

	R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
MJ Guptill	c de Kock b JA Morkel	22	31	25	3	0	88.00
KS Williamson	c de Villiers b Steyn	51	63	35	5	2	145.71
BB McCullum	st de Kock b Imran Tahir	4	4	4	0	0	100.00
LRPL Taylor	run out (Steyn)	62	68	37	4	3	167.56
C Munro	c Amla b Imran Tahir	7	8	8	1	0	87.50
CJ Anderson	c Miller b Steyn	7	4	4	1	0	175.00
L Ronchi	c de Kock b Steyn	5	12	3	1	0	166.66
NL McCullum	c du Plessis b Steyn	4	3	4	1	0	100.00
TG Southee	not out	0	1	0	0	0	-
Extras	(lb 2, w 4)	6
Total	(8 wickets; 20 overs)	168	(8.40 rpo)

Bowling	O	R	W	Econ
JP Duminy	3	30	0	10.00
LL Tsotsobe	4	29	0	7.25	(1w)
DW Steyn	4	17	4	4.25
M Morkel	3	50	0	16.66	(1w)
JA Morkel	2	13	1	6.50
Imran Tahir	4	27	2	6.75	(2w)

LA LIGA : El Clasico...Messi "The Magician"

It took a football magician to overcome in-form Real Madrid , to set the title race wide open again.

A Lionel Messi hat-trick decided a La Liga Clasico filled with even more than usual incident and controversy as Barcelona won 4-3 at Real Madrid .

Referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco was a key figure in a game which saw three penalties, broken records, a red card and pretty much everything else .

Both coaches began the game with their expected line-ups, including all of their biggest stars. And Barca immediately set out to try and outnumber Madrid in midfield and dominate through keeping possession of the ball.

That plan appeared to be working to perfection inside eight minutes when an intricate passing move cut easily through the home back-line and Messi timed his final pass perfectly for Iniesta to wallop the ball high to the net.

Madrid looked dangerous on the counter, but could not get a hold of the ball with its midfield chasing shadows. Messi was sent clean through, but as the stadium gasped he pulled his shot across goal and wide.

The Argentine was soon involved again, sending Neymar free, but Madrid left-back Marcelo just about got back to block.

It seemed Barcelona would pull away, but the equalizer arrived instead when Angel Di Maria skinned Dani Alves to cross and Benzema got up over Mascherano with a header that Victor Valdes got a hand to but could not keep out. And it was soon 2-1 to Madrid when Di Maria made the space to get the ball across and an unmarked Benzema controlled the ball and smashed home.

Barca was rocking, but Messi calmed it down. The Argentine came into midfield to exchange passes with Fabregas, then threaded the ball in to Neymar, who mis-controlled, but Messi had had kept running and he thumped ball low to net when it ran free.

There was still time for Benzema to again tower over the whole Barca defense and send a header just wide before half-time came and we could all breathe again. And remember that Messi’s goal made him the single all time Clasico goalscorer with 19.

Ronaldo had been quieter during the first half – except for regularly venting his frustration regularly at Undiano Malenco's decisions.

One went the Portuguese's way though when the official awarded a penalty after the contact with Alves was outside the box. CR7 didn't care. He picked himself up and made it 3-2.

It was Messi’s turn again, and he did not disappoint with an inch-perfect ball from midfield to send Neymar sprinting through. Ramos hared back and the referee saw enough contact to say penalty and a red card for the Madrid defender. Again the decision was debatable. And again the spot-kick aim was true.

Italian coach Ancelotti immediately withdrew Benzema to shore up his defence with Raphael Varane, and the ten men sat back to defend a point which would still keep them in control of the La Liga race.

Barca had 25 minutes to make their extra man count, and they made hard work of it. A Dani Alves piledriver hit the post, and Martino threw on attacking substitutes Pedro Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez.

But it took another penalty with just eight minutes left to settle the game as Undiano Mallenco pointed to the spot after Iniesta wriggled past Alonso inside the box and the Blancos midfielder slyly kicked his Spain teammate.

Messi hammered the penalty to the top corner for his hat-trick. And celebrated taking his clasico tally to 21 as eerie silence rang around most of the the Bernabeu.

Madrid's goose was cooked and Barca – despite its clear defensive failings being highlighted yet again -- was back to within a point of Madrid near the top of the table.

Los Blancos will likely lament the Ramos sending off, but it was Ancelotti's side's inability to deal with Messi which cost it the game.

The coach will come under pressure now, having lost both Clasicos, and taken only one point from two meetings with Atletico Madrid who, for now, move atop the La Liga standings on head-to-head record over its city neighbors.

BPL Fixtures Midweek (IST)

WEDNESDAY~ 26MARCH'14

01:15AM

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THURSDAY~ 27MARCH'14

01:15AM

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Midweek Fixtures of Barclays Premier League

Tuesday 25 March 2014

19:45

Newcastle v Everton

St. James' Park

This fixture was previously scheduled on Sunday 9 March 2014 at 21:30 but was rescheduled due to Everton's participation in the FA Cup 6th Round.

Wednesday 26 March 2014

19:45

20:00

Wednesday, 29 January 2014

F1 New Car Models Launched !!!

As the start of the 2014 season nears, every F1 fan knows one thing and that's that the new season cars are ready to be tested. The last week has been frantic especially on the F1 social media spaces as many cars were unveiled online.

Force India was one of the first to launch their cars on Twitter.

The other teams also did their launches shortly after that. In case you weren't able to see the cars, here are the 2014 F1 cars which look radically different than they did last year, thanks to the new rules.

The new rules are not just double points in the last race but also, a change in engines. The cars will not use the V8 engines that they did earlier but have V6 engines as part of the fuel saving exercise of the FIA.

This now means, that Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) will become very important to performance and turbocharging will be allowed for the first time since 1988.

Another change is the use of heat and kinetic energy in the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) with more powerful units being used.

This test at Jerez is very important as the new cars are made as per the rules and the designers insight into what will or will not work. Considering that, private testing has been banned and so the on track test here is very vital.

The cars look good and new, but how will they perform and which team has succeeded in cracking the rule book will be questions that will be answered only after the first few races. The F1 season of 2014 will start on March 16 in Australia .

NOW HAVE A LOOK AT THE CARS :

World champions Red Bull who will see Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo drive the new challenger as they seek double titles No5 in 2015.

#RB10 A closer look from the front. #UnboltTheBull pic.twitter.com/zdZDnY89nF
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) January 28, 2014

Ferrari look like the strongest F1 driver's line up with Kimi Raikkonen returning to join Fernando Alonso at the team, a combine that has fans excited. The car was named by fans F14-T, here's the car:

Montezemolo: a renewed, committed team - now we need to focus. #F14T #ForzaFerrari http://t.co/a5qyyU2qF5 pic.twitter.com/lNWrQgKCPW
— Scuderia Ferrari (@InsideFerrari) January 25, 2014

At Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will be the old team combine and the duo will look to make their team work with the new car. Here's a look at the car:

The F1 W05 revealed #W05sup http://t.co/sFtbVcKfnw pic.twitter.com/1sX0MLWSbn
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) January 28, 2014

Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean, at Lotus will look to prove a point with this new car as the team will look to show that they can work well without Raikkonen. Here's a look at the car:

We just can't help it, here is another view of our new challenger #E22 #LotusF1Team pic.twitter.com/Y3L8Hdfx8m
— Lotus F1 Team (@Lotus_F1Team) January 24, 2014

Jenson Button will be joined by rookie Kevin Magnussen, at McLaren and have an all silver car. Here's a look at the car:

1.6 litres, 6 cylinders and a tidy 15,000 rpm. More #McLarenMP429 tech specifications here: http://t.co/QB8lkTgqYB pic.twitter.com/ATzg7Uyefs
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) January 24, 2014

Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez are the new faces at Force India and the new car is black with the team making comparisons to a panther on Twitter. Here's their car:

Exclusive for our #BestFans, the first image of our VJM07! Say hello to our 2014 contender #FeelTheForce #VJM07 pic.twitter.com/GlF38jHvTb
— Sahara Force India (@clubforce) January 22, 2014

Sauber will have Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez driving this car.

Like the Sauber #C33-Ferrari? Go to http://t.co/eluuMIrqYY now to see what Monisha, @EstebanGtz and @SutilAdrian say! pic.twitter.com/4DJUkhUot5
— Sauber F1 Team (@OfficialSF1Team) January 26, 2014

Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas will drive the all blue Williams.

Another pic of the #FW36, this time from a side angle... pic.twitter.com/m1PL0COB4P
— Williams F1 Team (@WilliamsF1Team) January 23, 2014

""HELL OF AN ACHIEVEMENT"" : Brendon McCullum

Captains Reactions After the 4th Match in ongoing INDIA vs NEW ZEALAND SERIES

New Zealand Beat India in 4th ODI to clinch series 3-0 with one more to go.

New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum says beating World Champions India in a One-day series was "hell of an achievement" and acknowledged crucial contributions with the bat by Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson in their "emphatic" victory.

New Zealand today hammered India by seven wickets to take a 3-0 lead in the five-match series, with only one game left to play at Wellington on January 31.

"This is a big moment for us. We are obviously proud with what we achieved in South Africa and England in those one-day series. But this series, they were the number one ODI team in the world when they arrived here and we knew how dominant their batting line-up. To have tipped them up and be sitting after the fourth game at 3-0 is a pretty good achievement for us," McCullum said at the press conference.

The host now target to win the last match as well.

"The last game is also very important and that 4-0 is what we want to strive for. But we won't let this opportunity to really enjoy what we have achieved pass us by either. I think it's a hell of an achievement what we have done tonight.

"We will worry about the next couple of days, tomorrow morning when we wake up. But we are obviously delighted at the moment and we should have another couple of guys who are fresh and ready to go in the next game as well," McCullum said.

"To beat a very, very good Indian team, especially in these conditions which I thought were more favourable to them, it was an emphatic win. We closed out the series which we have been talking about all through the summer, so we are really pleased with the effort tonight.

McCullum said the key to their win was execution of their batting plans.

"We continued the blueprint that we have shown with the bat built around Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson as seen in the last few games, and to execute that again tonight and get the rewards for it is incredibly satisfying. The boys are very, very happy at the moment," said McCullum.

Furious MS Dhoni urges Indian pacers to 'use their heads'

The only consistency shown by Indian pacers was in bowling short and wide against New Zealand - a weakness MS Dhoni feels cost his side heavily against New Zealand.

Hamilton: A dejected India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday, held the poor performance of his pacers responsible for the visitors' humiliating 0-3 ODI series loss against New Zealand.

Trailing 0-2, India lost the fourth ODI by seven wickets against New Zealand here on Tuesday to slump to their second consecutive series defeat overseas.

"Frankly, our bowling was quite disappointing. This was a kind of wicket where one thing you don't want to do is to bowl short and wide. I think we consistently did that with the new ball and the older ball. We often complain about the five fielders outside the circle, but when you bowl short and wide it doesn't matter. I think the fast bowlers gave away too many runs. Talking about spinners, they bowled well and hit the right areas," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Chasing 279 for victory, New Zealand reached 280 for three in 48.1 overs with Ross Taylor hitting a match-winning 127-ball unbeaten 112 to take the hosts home with 11 balls to spare and take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match rubber.

This was India's second consecutive series defeat on the foreign soil after the South African tour.

Dhoni said lack of partnerships did them in as they lost wickets at "wrong time".

"We struggled at the top. I think the last game we got some kind of start going but this time game again we struggled. Once 10 overs are gone, we lost couple of wickets.

"We have to get some kind of partnership going, we did get some kind of partnership going late in the day but we lost wickets at the wrong time which means it puts pressure on the middle-order and that frustrates you because then you fail to get those extra 15-20 runs for par plus score," he said.

The skipper praised the New Zealand bowlers for hitting the right areas and not allowing the Indian batsmen free their arms.

"I think they bowled well. They put pressure on our batsmen to play those big shots and at times it did not pay. In the end, we were left doing the catching up job," Dhoni said.

Dhoni asked his batsmen to take up more responsibility and do well in the fifth and final match of the series in Wellington.

"We'll take it one game at a time. We have not done well in the series especially the batsmen. Most of our batsmen have got starts but they were not able to push on. It's important that people who get start they keep on building it. But that has not been the case in the series. Most of our batsmen got starts, but they were not able to hang on to it."

After wrapping up the series 3-0 in their favour, a visibly satisfied New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum expressed happiness over his team's performance, saying: "you don't blank the No.1 team too often".

"The conditions were tough tonight. Conditions suited India more than us and we lost the toss and gave them far too many runs in the end. We are going to enjoy this one and you don't blank the No.1 team too often and we will look to do that," McCullum said.

McCullum praised Ross Taylor and pacer Kyle Mills for setting up the comfortable win with their fine performances.

"We knew someone had to bat well and get a big hundred and Rosco (Taylor) did that. Mills is outstanding, it was good to give someone else an opportunity on a horses for courses thing on a quicker wicket. The blueprint of the batting shouldn't change. It was great that Rosco got a match-winning hundred and we're very happy," he said.

Man-of-the-match Taylor said he was happy to deliver the match-winning knock for his team in a crunch game.

"It was nice to go out there and put that hard work in nets and throw-downs to good use. I've been known as a bottom hand player and it was good to show this side of my game too," he said.

Wayne Rooney to have new Manchester United deal worth 65 million pound !!!

Rooney 'agrees new long-term United deal'

Ace striker Wayne Rooney has agreed for a new long-term Manchester United deal worth 65 million pound to stay with the club till 2019.

Rooney, who has been linked with a move away in recent times to Chelsea, has committed to play for United.

According to talkSPORT, the 28-year-old striker will now stay at Old Trafford until 2019.

Rooney has been with United for a decade, and helped the club to a succession of major triumphs, including five Premier League titles and the 2008 European Cup.

Speculation on Tuesday suggested the 28-year-old will now stay with the champions until 2019.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired last year, United have found life tough under new boss David Moyes.

However, this Rooney news, along with the surprise signing of Juan Mata from Chelsea, will give the Reds an enormous boost ahead of the final few months of the season.

The relationship between Rooney and Ferguson was a fractious one indeed, and it has become apparent that the striker is a lot happier under the new manager.

Despite the problems at the club – the Reds are 14 points off the top of the Premier League and have been knocked out of both domestic cups this month – a team including Mata, Rooney and Robin van Persie could well still make a decent challenge for a place in the top four.

IPL 2014 Auction Update

IPL'14 : Sehwag, Yuvraj attract top base price of 2Cr each

For the upcoming player auctions of the Indian Premier League 2014, a list of 233 capped players from across 10 countries have been distributed to all eight franchises, with 46 Indians being valued at top base price (of Rs 20 million or Rs 2 Crore each). According to a report, the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Pragyan Ojha and Yusuf Pathan are some of the names who have been valued at top base price.

Among the international stars, success in previous edition of the IPL and the Ashes 2013-14 has landed Mitchell Johnson in the same bracket as a Sehwag or Yuvraj. Along with him are his teammates, Brad Haddin and Steven Smith. Even though the likes of Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes are giving the tournament a miss after their 5-0 drubbing against arch-rivals Australia, their swashbuckling teammate Kevin Pietersen could see multiple franchises flex their financial muscle for him. Pietersen's teammate Jos Buttler, who is known for his big-hitting, is surprisingly missing from the auction list, according to an ESPNCricinfo report.

Latest big-hitting sensation from New Zealand, Corey Anderson and the current No.1-ranked batsman in T20s, Alex Hales, could also spark a vigorous bidding war. However, in Hales's case, a clause in the agreement with his County Nottinghamshire says he can participate in the IPL only if he secures the most lucrative deal possible.

Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, who has been a part of the IPL in all of the previous six seasons, will not be seen during this year's tournament. Teammate Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Angelo Mathews will be part of the auctions and will be interesting to see where they attract interest from, owing to the fact that they will not be available towards the end of the tournament due to international commitments. Australian skipper Michael Clarke too has decided to stay away, in a bid to extend his international career despite a persistent back problem. (Virat Kohli wants Yuvraj Singh at RCB?)

Among the older lot of players, recently-retired Jacques Kallis, who tasted IPL success with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012, finds himself in the top-bracket while Australia's Brad Hogg and Muttiah Muralitharan have been valued at Rs. 15 million and Rs. 10 million, respectively. (IPL 2014 player retention: Contrasting team strategies and intriguing mentalities on offer)

The IPL player auctions will be held on February 12 and 13 in Bangalore. Indian currency will be used in all transactions for the first time. (How IPL teams retained their favorites)

Following players have been valued at maximum base price of Rs 2 crore each: Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Robin Uthappa, M Vijay, George Bailey, Brad Haddin, Brad Hodge, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, James Pattinson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Alex Hales, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Jacques Kallis, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Marlon Samuels.

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

GOOD NEWS FOR Manchester United Fans

David Moyes has confirmed Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie trained on Monday morning and could return for Manchester United's Barclays Premier League encounter with Cardiff at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Rooney has been missing with a groin strain since the New Year's Day defeat by Tottenham, whilst Van Persie suffered a thigh problem in the Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk last month.

However, both are in contention to face Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men, along with £37.1million new-boy Juan Mata, who is set to make his debut.

"They have all trained today," said Moyes.

Moyes could also have midfielder Marouane Fellaini back after wrist surgery.

Meanwhile, the United boss has dismissed rumors of a big-money bid for teenage sensation Adnan Januzaj from Paris St. Germain.

"I think you have been listening to too much speculation," said Moyes to a question about Januzaj's future.

"Adnan is very much part of what we are doing and it will continue to be that way."

Meanwhile, Moyes has side-stepped questions over the future of Rooney, whose contract expires in 2015 but has been linked with a massive extension, that could net him £300,000 a week.

"It is one I have left with (executive vice-chairman) Ed Woodward and Wayne and his advisers," said Moyes.

"We will give you an update on it at the right time. Right now I would prefer to talk about his performances."

Moyes might find himself in rather a strange situation on Tuesday given the reception for the opposing manager is going to be far more enthusiastic than his own given the depth of feeling for Solskjaer at Old Trafford.

Yet the Scot feels such accolades are fully deserved.

"He deserves it because of what he has done here," said Moyes.

"He won the Champions League and was a great ambassador for Manchester United."

Reference : foxsports.com

BPL Fixtures !!!

Week 23

Tue-01/28vs.2:45 PM ET

Tue-01/28vs.3:00 PM ET

Wed-01/29vs.2:45 PM ET

Saturday, 11 January 2014

When 2 Great meets : FedeX and Laver

Melbourne :

Two of the greatest ever tennis player, Rod Laver and Roger Federer, trade a few shots for the first time on Wednesday, with the usually unflappable Swiss champion admitting he was nervous.

Australian legend Laver, the only man twice to have won all four grand slam tournaments in a calendar year, surprised 17-time grand slam tournament winner Federer at the charity event in Melbourne.

The 75-year-old took to the Melbourne park court named in his honour wearing a vest, shorts and tennis shoes.

He briefly traded shots with Federer before the Swiss player took on Frenchman Tsonga in an exhibition match. Federer admitted he was nervous about rallying with Laver. He said : "The racquet feels a little heavy right now, I must say".

The Swiss famously showed his deep respect for Laver when he burst into tears after winning the 2006 Australian Open, with Laver watching on the winners dais.

Federer won the exhibition match with Tsonga 6-7(5-7), 6-3, 7-5. He came from a break down in the final set, although had to serve twice for the match to clinch it, indicating there were some nerves despite the clash, part of a charity fundraiser, being played in a casual atmosphere.

PEPSI IPL 2014 : The RETENTION GAME !!!

PEPSI IPL'14 : The IPL RETENTION LIST

A total of 24 players have been retained by their respective franchises

Twenty four players have been retained, including fourteen Indian players (of which three are uncapped) and ten overseas players:

Chennai Super Kings	Ravichandran Ashwin	India
	Dwayne Bravo	West Indies
	MS Dhoni	India
	Ravindra Jadeja	India
	Suresh Raina	India
Kings XI Punjab	David Miller	South Africa
	Manan Vohra	India (uncapped)
Kolkata Knight Riders	Gautam Gambhir	India
	Sunil Narine	West Indies
Mumbai Indians	Lasith Malinga	Sri Lanka
	Kieron Pollard	West Indies
	Ambati Rayudu	India
	Rohit Sharma	India
	Harbhajan Singh	India
Rajasthan Royals	Stuart Binny	India (uncapped)
	James Faulkner	Australia
	Ajinkya Rahane	India
	Sanju Samson	India (uncapped)
	Shane Watson	Australia
Royal Challengers Bangalore	AB De Villiers	South Africa
	Chris Gayle	West Indies
	Virat Kohli	India
Sunrisers Hyderabad	Shikhar Dhawan	India
	Dale Steyn	South Africa

Ranjib Biswal, Chairman IPL, commented: “The regulations were drafted taking into account franchise, player and fan feedback. Continuity of the core players in the teams is very important and the retention of these twenty four players, coupled with the “rights to match” (RTM) to be used in the auction, is a good sign. I am very pleased to see three uncapped Indian players in the list of players retained. The IPL is a great platform for young talent.”

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Monday, 24 March 2014

It was needed and he delivered it : STEYN !!!

What a performance by the Champion Bowler or we can say world's best bowler !!!

Needed just 7 of the last over and Dale went for just a boundary , took two wickets and a run out by himself of the last ball, to bring 2-run confidence booster victory for the Proteas.

South Africa 170/6 (20 overs)

New Zealand 168/8 (20 overs)

Though the Man of the Match is JP Duminy for his brilliant [building + hard hitting] innings which helped SA to get through a defend-able total .

Still we can say he[Steyn] was the game changer.And kinda deserved the MOM award; With fantastic figures in a T20I match a bowler can get 4ovrs-17runs-4wickets-run out !!!

During Presentation :

Brendon McCullum: "Credit to SA for the way they hung in there, we probably should have won it easily, can't take it to the final over against a top bowler like Steyn. Little bit of luck and we'd have got across the line."

Faf du Plessis: " I was thinking all the time, Steyn is my trump card, I need to bring him back in the game. Fantastic effort from him.And that was one of the best innings I had seen from JP."

HERE is Scorecard :

A Lionel Messi hat-trick decided a La Liga Clasico filled with even more than usual incident and controversy as Barcelona won 4-3 at Real Madrid .

Referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco was a key figure in a game which saw three penalties, broken records, a red card and pretty much everything else .

Both coaches began the game with their expected line-ups, including all of their biggest stars. And Barca immediately set out to try and outnumber Madrid in midfield and dominate through keeping possession of the ball.

That plan appeared to be working to perfection inside eight minutes when an intricate passing move cut easily through the home back-line and Messi timed his final pass perfectly for Iniesta to wallop the ball high to the net.

Madrid looked dangerous on the counter, but could not get a hold of the ball with its midfield chasing shadows. Messi was sent clean through, but as the stadium gasped he pulled his shot across goal and wide.

The Argentine was soon involved again, sending Neymar free, but Madrid left-back Marcelo just about got back to block.

Barca was rocking, but Messi calmed it down. The Argentine came into midfield to exchange passes with Fabregas, then threaded the ball in to Neymar, who mis-controlled, but Messi had had kept running and he thumped ball low to net when it ran free.

There was still time for Benzema to again tower over the whole Barca defense and send a header just wide before half-time came and we could all breathe again. And remember that Messi’s goal made him the single all time Clasico goalscorer with 19.

Ronaldo had been quieter during the first half – except for regularly venting his frustration regularly at Undiano Malenco's decisions.

One went the Portuguese's way though when the official awarded a penalty after the contact with Alves was outside the box. CR7 didn't care. He picked himself up and made it 3-2.

Italian coach Ancelotti immediately withdrew Benzema to shore up his defence with Raphael Varane, and the ten men sat back to defend a point which would still keep them in control of the La Liga race.

Barca had 25 minutes to make their extra man count, and they made hard work of it. A Dani Alves piledriver hit the post, and Martino threw on attacking substitutes Pedro Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez.

But it took another penalty with just eight minutes left to settle the game as Undiano Mallenco pointed to the spot after Iniesta wriggled past Alonso inside the box and the Blancos midfielder slyly kicked his Spain teammate.

Messi hammered the penalty to the top corner for his hat-trick. And celebrated taking his clasico tally to 21 as eerie silence rang around most of the the Bernabeu.

Madrid's goose was cooked and Barca – despite its clear defensive failings being highlighted yet again -- was back to within a point of Madrid near the top of the table.

Los Blancos will likely lament the Ramos sending off, but it was Ancelotti's side's inability to deal with Messi which cost it the game.

The coach will come under pressure now, having lost both Clasicos, and taken only one point from two meetings with Atletico Madrid who, for now, move atop the La Liga standings on head-to-head record over its city neighbors.

19:45

Emirates Stadium

This fixture was previously scheduled on Saturday 8 March 2014 at 20:30 but was rescheduled due to Arsenal's participation in the FA Cup 6th Round.

19:45

Old Trafford

This fixture was previously scheduled on Saturday 1 March 2014 at 20:30 but was rescheduled due to live broadcasting on Sky Sports

19:45

St. James' Park

This fixture was previously scheduled on Sunday 9 March 2014 at 21:30 but was rescheduled due to Everton's participation in the FA Cup 6th Round.

19:45

Boleyn Ground

This fixture was previously scheduled on Saturday 8 March 2014 at 20:30 but was rescheduled due to Hull City's participation in the FA Cup 6th Round.

20:00

Anfield

This fixture was previously scheduled on Tuesday 11 March 2014 at 01:30 but was rescheduled due to Sunderland's participation in the FA Cup 6th Round. This match will remain live on Sky Sports.

Wednesday, 29 January 2014

As the start of the 2014 season nears, every F1 fan knows one thing and that's that the new season cars are ready to be tested. The last week has been frantic especially on the F1 social media spaces as many cars were unveiled online.

Force India was one of the first to launch their cars on Twitter.

The other teams also did their launches shortly after that. In case you weren't able to see the cars, here are the 2014 F1 cars which look radically different than they did last year, thanks to the new rules.

The new rules are not just double points in the last race but also, a change in engines. The cars will not use the V8 engines that they did earlier but have V6 engines as part of the fuel saving exercise of the FIA.

This now means, that Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) will become very important to performance and turbocharging will be allowed for the first time since 1988.

Another change is the use of heat and kinetic energy in the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) with more powerful units being used.

This test at Jerez is very important as the new cars are made as per the rules and the designers insight into what will or will not work. Considering that, private testing has been banned and so the on track test here is very vital.

World champions Red Bull who will see Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo drive the new challenger as they seek double titles No5 in 2015.

Captains Reactions After the 4th Match in ongoing INDIA vs NEW ZEALAND SERIES

New Zealand Beat India in 4th ODI to clinch series 3-0 with one more to go.

New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum says beating World Champions India in a One-day series was "hell of an achievement" and acknowledged crucial contributions with the bat by Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson in their "emphatic" victory.

New Zealand today hammered India by seven wickets to take a 3-0 lead in the five-match series, with only one game left to play at Wellington on January 31.

The host now target to win the last match as well.

"The last game is also very important and that 4-0 is what we want to strive for. But we won't let this opportunity to really enjoy what we have achieved pass us by either. I think it's a hell of an achievement what we have done tonight.

"We will worry about the next couple of days, tomorrow morning when we wake up. But we are obviously delighted at the moment and we should have another couple of guys who are fresh and ready to go in the next game as well," McCullum said.

"To beat a very, very good Indian team, especially in these conditions which I thought were more favourable to them, it was an emphatic win. We closed out the series which we have been talking about all through the summer, so we are really pleased with the effort tonight.

McCullum said the key to their win was execution of their batting plans.