Poonam Pandey wants God to be on India’s side in the fifth One Day International

Poonam Pandey, the Indian model after failing to motivate team India to grab a victory in the ongoing one-day series against England by making provocative offers regarding her semi-nude pictures has finally turned to religion for help as she seeks the hand of God in the fifth and final match of the one-day series against England on Friday, 15, September.
Pandey while wishing the team good luck for the final match of the disastrous English tour tweeted, “Beautiful Phrase From Guru Granth Sahib :- "Teri kismat da likha tere toh koi kho nahi sakda... je usdi mehar hove te tenu o v mil jaega jo tera ho nahi sakda.."  Wish My Team shud win Tmrw!! so Want "Gods Mehar" on the Men in Blue :).”
Earlier, the 20-year-old self proclaimed cricket fan had stated that she would be gifting her provocative pictures to the Indian team by posting them on her twitter page after India’s win in every match during the one-day series.
However, the team has failed to beat the English, which has left the model irritated and annoyed and now it is the final chance for the World Champions to see the model in her skimps.
She has once again promised to share her happiness on twitter every time the Indian players achieve something on the field.
She also praised the heroic efforts by middle-order batsman Rahul Dravid who will be playing his last one-day international on Friday.
“Dravid saved Team India a million times, let’s give the man a million-dollar farewell tomorrow. The one man who makes Blue look Regal without trying too hard: Rahul Dravid. We will miss you,” she tweeted.
Pandey made headlines during the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2011, when she announced that she would strip for the national team if they lift the title.
However, due to the conservative Indian culture, she was not permitted to go ahead with her plan as her act was considered obscene by many circles in India.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also had its reservations on the matter and did not permit her to give the team a private show in their dressing room.

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni – A cricketer in the 2011 TIME 100 list

A person really needs to be something special, achieved something of real note, or, inspired an entire population, to be mentioned among Time Magazine’s Top 100 most influential people.

India’s World Cup winning captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has all of these traits, and then some.

Coming from a modest family, without little political affiliations that make the difference when it comes to being successful in the sub-continent, Dhoni defied the odds and made his way to the very pinnacle of international cricket.

Born on July 7, 1981 in Ranchi, not many could have known that Mahendra Singh Dhoni would one day go on to lead his nation to glory in the sport India follows religiously.

Making his debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2004 the wicket keeper batsman could not have had a worse debut. Run out on a duck, Dhoni left almost everyone, apart from those who knew his abilities, skeptical and critical of the batsman.

The player would go on to prove himself later on and become a stern fan favourite due to his unique, if somewhat flamboyant, choice of hairstyle and his superb displays with the bat. Dhoni became a regular for the side.

His personality and character seemed to impress, as Dhoni was appointed India’s One Day International (ODI) captain after Rahul Dravid resigned on September 8^th, 2007. It was the beginning of a new era for cricket in the nation as the side was slowly maturing into a major force on the world stage.

Dhoni proved his ability to adapt to changing situations in the blink of an eye and led India to the inaugural World T20 Championship in 2007 in South Africa. The dark horses of the tournament, few had given the transitional India side a chance, yet they went on to win the tournament beating bitter rivals Pakistan in the final.

The name Mahendra Singh Dhoni became an instant household name after that, as critics became admirers and his fan following multiplied.

There was more to follow in 2008 when he replaced the absent Anil Kumble, as India’s captain for the Test Series against South Africa. A year later and Dhoni had taken India to the number one ranking in Test matches for the first time in the nation’s history.

In the span of 5 years Dhoni had gone from being a nobody, with a questionable hair cut, to being the side’s ODI and Test captain leading them to a T20 World Cup trophy and the number one spot in Test rankings.

What was scary was that there was more to come from the inspirational leader. The inventor of the unorthodox ‘Helicopter shot’ would etch his name in history as the person, who won the World Cup for his nation after 28 years. Not only that, but Dhoni did so in front of his nation on home soil.

While his cricketing abilities are without a doubt among the best in the world, how often have you heard of a player winning the World Cup with a six, it was his personality and character that defined him.

Humble, modest, and, quick to give credit where credit is due, Mahendra Singh Dhoni the person, was just as popularly admired for who he was as much as how he played.

MS Dhoni gave his nation hope and made the dreams of its 1.21 billion people come true, and it is only fitting that TIME acknowledged the player for his contribution to the game and the world

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HARBHAJAN SINGH SAYS AMBATI RAYUDU HAS CAPABILITY TO JOIN THE INDIAN TEST SQUAD

The veteran Indian spinner, Harbhajan Singh believes that his Mumbai Indian team-mate and top-order batsman, Ambati Rayudu could land a spot in the Indian Test squad if he continued to perform consistently like Rahul Dravid and Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman.

While talking to media Harbhajan said, "He has special talent. He got lost in domestic cricket in between and we didn't hear much about him, but he's been playing really well for Mumbai Indians. Last season he was one of the main players who got us into the final, and I can see him playing for India."

Rayudu, who joined the Mumbai Indians in 2010 after cancelling his contract with the Indian Cricket League, has been instrumental for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

According to Harbhajan, "He's got the capability to fill the shoes of Rahul Dravid or VVS Laxman. That's what I think, in coming years you'll see him going a long way."

"It [the match] is an opportunity for youngsters like Rayudu and Rohit Sharma to face one of the world's best bowlers ever. Hopefully I'll get some time to talk to him about my bowling and about me going forward in international cricket," Harbhajan Said.

Speaking about Mumbai’s fielding, which has received a lot of praise during IPL, Harbhajan said, "Jonty Rhodes always pushes us to work really hard on our fielding. We all know that fielding is an area in which we can always improve. If you ask me, we won against Chennai because we fielded brilliantly and not because I took five wickets."

Harbhajan, who played an important role for India in the recently concluded World Cup 2011, explained that Indian pitches are slow and in Twenty20 format of game, the spinners have to work hard to prevent runs.

"We [Mumbai] are doing well as a bowling unit. Even someone like Kieron Pollard, who is not purely a bowler, is capable of getting us three or four wickets on a good day. On a good day, anyone can win a game for us, that is what matters."

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Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab

The batting gurus of Rajasthan Royals include Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor, Shane Watson and Johan Botha.

Rahul Dravid

Dravid, who has ruled the world of cricket for so many years, has a rock-solid defence with an extremely strong technique. With a combination of outstanding cricketing strokes all around the wicket, Dravid has the quality to rotate the strike well in the limited-over cricket. The Batsman has scored tons of runs in international cricket and his experience allows him to play well in every format of the game.

Dravid is considered to be one of the classiest batsman India has ever produced. Although, the veteran campaigner has a strike rate of under-43 in Test cricket, Dravid has the quality to convert his game according to the situation. With a strike rate of almost 120 in Twenty20 games, Dravid has scored 1288 runs in his 57 game.

Ross Taylor

The Kiwi is one of the most brutal batsmen in modern-day cricket. With an ability to destroy any bowling attack on his day, Taylor has emerged as a dangerous limited-over player. An aggressive middle-order batsman, Taylor is fully capable to take up the challenge against top-class bowlers. Taylor’s strongest scoring area is the leg-side where he hits mighty sixes. With his powerful hitting, the Kiwi can change the course of the game within few moments. However, he hasn't shown much of his class so far in the ongoing tournament.

One can remember his marvellous knock of 131 from just 124 balls in the ICC World Cup 2011 group match against Pakistan, where he single-handedly snatched the game away from the opposition. Having played 106 Twenty20 matches, the Kiwi batsman has scored 2687 runs at an awesome strike rate of almost 150.

Shane Watson

Watson is an experienced and talented Aussie all-rounder, who is known as the most devastating cricketer in the today’s cricket. His recent innings of 185 not out against Bangladesh is regarded as one of best innings of one-day history. With an outstanding command on multiple strokes, Watson does not allow bowlers to settle down and loves to take the charge from the very first ball of the innings.

After missing opening IPL matches due to the Australia-Bangladesh one-day series, Watson reached India with huge expectations. However, the batsman has not yet capitalized the situation, failing to make big scores in the previous two matches. A player of his calibre can turn the game anytime with his destructive batting. He has played 57 Twenty20 matches, scoring 1418 runs at a fabulous strike rate of almost 150.

Johan Botha

Although the Proteas all-rounder is known for his controlled spin bowling, he has improved his batting a great deal over the last few years. Botha’s cricketing career is an interesting case; he started playing cricket as a medium-pacer but then turned himself into an off-break bowler.

Botha showed a little glimpse of his batting talent by scoring a fantastic half-century in his first season IV game. In his 71 Twenty20 matches, Botha holds a strike rate of over 115. With his hard hitting low down the order, Botha will surely be one of Rajasthan’s players to watch out for.

Comparing the two batting line-ups, it is evident that both teams have experienced and skilled batsmen in their set-up.

The venue, Mohali Stadium, has a marvellous batting track. Thus, a high scoring match can be anticipated. With some quality batsmen in both teams, the show will definitely be entertaining. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see that how these batting masters use their expertise to take their side to the glory.

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MICHAEL HUSSEY DETERMINED TO CONTINUE HIS INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Australia’s Michael Hussey has recently stated that he has no intentions to retire from International cricket.

Hussey, who strongly urged the former captain Ricky Ponting to continue playing even after stepping down from the post, said that he will keep on playing for as long as he could, even under the captaincy of Michael Clarke.

"It took me so long just to get one game, I think it took over 10 years, so I want to try to play as many games as I possibly can," Hussey said.

Hussey while talking about the Australian team said that it has nice combination of experienced and talented young players. While favouring the presence of Ponting in the team, Hussey stated that Ponting is one of the world’s best batsmen and a key member of the team.

Hussey commented that he got a tremendous amount of inspiration from the Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who have been giving splendid performances in cricket for the last couple of years.

Tendulkar, the 37-year-old cricketer, holds a number of world records in his long career and still maintains an exceptional batting form. He has also been a vital part of the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011, won by India.

Hussey had two important targets, the first one is the Ashes and the second was the World Cup. Unfortunately he was not included in the recently concluded mega event, but later was called into the squad to replace Doug Bollinger who sustained an injury during the tournament.

"When I was actually able to go over and play in the World Cup, I was quietly quite proud really, because it took a lot of hard work to get myself back into a fit state," Hussey said.

Currently Australian team is playing a three-match One Day International series against Bangladesh. The Aussies are leading the series 2-0, while the third match will be played between the two teams today at Dhaka. In the first match, Hussey scored 33 runs off 51 balls including one four.

After the completion of this tour, Australia will tour Sri Lanka in August. The left-handed batsman said that he has never been to Sri Lanka and that he is ready to give his best for the team and his goal is to put in a good performance on the field.

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