Kevin Pietersen out of World Cup for hernia surgery

CHENNAI: England batsman Kevin Pietersen will miss the rest of the World Cup, with a team spokesman announcing Monday he would be returning home in the next 24 hours for a hernia operation. 

England have applied to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for Eoin Morgan to come in as a replacement player, the spokesman said. 

Pietersen, moved up the order to open during the World Cup, made a duck during England's dramatic Group B win over his native South Africaon Sunday, and it is now 27 one-day internationals since his last century. 

Team officials said Saturday that Pietersen would undergo an operation, but after the tournament, although he did say the injury would "no doubt impact my preparation" during the World Cup. 

However, the procedure appears to have been brought forward after he was clearly troubled during Sunday's six-run win at the Chidambaram Stadium and looked more of a threat with his part-time off-spin than with the bat. 

Pietersen's injury was diagnosed following England's 6-1 one-day series loss in Australia which came after the Test side's Ashes series triumph. 

The batsman's early departure from the World Cup raises questions over his future in the 50-over form of the game, with Pietersen having frequently complained about a crammed international schedule. 

Advancing the surgery might enable Pietersen to appear in this year's Indian Premier League. His original plan for a six-week course of treatment after the World Cup coincided with the lucrative event, which starts next month. 

Pietersen is due to earn around $650,000 (400,000 pounds) playing for IPL side the Deccan Chargers this season. 

However, England would like their star batsman to be well-rested ahead of a busy home season of international cricket, featuring series against Sri Lanka and India. 

The first Test against Sri Lanka starts in Cardiff on May 26. 

Former Ireland batsman Morgan would have been in England's original squad but for a finger injury. His replacement, Ravi Bopara, made a man-of-the-match winning 60 against South Africa in Chennai on Sunday. 

However, both Morgan and Bopara are middle-order batsmen which leaves England needing to find a new opening partner for captain Andrew Strauss. 

Either Jonathan Trott or Ian Bell could now be promoted up the order. 

England's victory over previously unbeaten group leaders South Africa revived a faltering World Cup campaign which has featured a stuttering win over the Netherlands, a tie with co-hosts Indiaand a shock defeat by Ireland. 

Their bid for a quarter-final spot continues with a group match against co-hosts Bangladesh in Chittagong on Friday.

Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Kevin-Pietersen-out-of-World-Cup-for-hernia-surgery/articleshow/7644360.cms

Preview: New Zealand vs Zimbabwe , 18th Match

This may not be the David vs. Goliath encounter that we have come to see many times over the past few days. New Zealand have endured torrid form off late, being walloped by Bangladesh, India and then Pakistan while Zimbabwe troubles too have not been much less. The African side however, need not look farther than the Ireland-England game for inspiration after the minnows' stunning win against the English. Canada too produced a superb performance to trouble Pakistan. Is another upset on the cards? 

New Zealand 

After rather disastrous World Cup preparations, New Zealand got off to a flyer, skittling Kenya out for an embarrassing 69 before romping home in just 48 balls. Hamish Bennett was the undoubted star in that match with some hostile bowling. In their next encounter, an emotionally charged battle against Australia, they lost to the rivals. Nathan McCullum was one of the few players to have a good outing with the bat, top scoring with a fifty while the rest struggled to come to terms with the pace Brett Lee and Shaun Tait produced. 

Their batting was woefully exposed against pace in that match, and Zimbabwe could do well to use that to their advantage. Their batting on recent occasions has depended heavily on the lower order or individual brilliance, but it would be the ideal opportunity for them to work as a team against Zimbabwe. 

Their bowling delivered the goods in emphatic fashion against Kenya but could not repeat the performance against a red hot Australia. They have a good mix of pace and spin to trouble the top teams, but are very inconsistent. Talisman and captain Daniel Vettori has often been the lone fighter for New Zealand with consistent performances and New Zealand will want the others bowlers to contribute too. 

Zimbabwe 

Zimbabwe will come into the game with more confidence than the Black Caps after they thumped the Canadians in the previous match with Tatenda Taibu, Craig Ervine and Ray Price doing the bulk of the damage for the African side. 

From the batting front, Zimbabwe seemed to have a settled line up with Brendon Taylor, Tatenda Taibu, Craig Ervine and captain Elton Chigumbura capable of taking the game away from the opposition. They will, however, have a much tougher task against NZ. 

Ray Price, a bowler who has a run up that matches menacing fast bowlers at times, is Zimbabwe's most attacking option. The left armer bowls with great discipline and is at his threatening best when bowlers try to go after him. Zimbabwe will be reliant on the spinner to give them quick wickets as they aim to get their second win under their belts. 

Head to Head 

New Zealand and Zimbabwe have played each other 28 times before and the Kiwis have come out on top on 19 occasions and have been part of a tie once. Zimbabwe have won 7 times. One match was called off. 

Quotes 

Ross Taylor: As a batting unit we need to step up and score about 300-330 which is the par score in this tournament. We are all very talented. We are getting out there in the middle and just getting ourselves out. It's frustrating but we know we are not far away from that one good performance. 

Ray Price : It is very important for us (the win against Canada). But you try not to think too much of that because in cricket if you think about the results then you forget about what you are supposed to do and control the areas you are supposed to bowl at.

Source:-http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/37536/preview:-new-zealand-vs-zimbabwe--18th-match/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+CricbuzzFeed+(Cricbuzz:+Cricket+Scores+and+News)

World Cup scores with music fans

CHENNAI: Some love cricket, others music. A few have combined their love for both to create songs dedicated to the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. A host of unofficial songs on cricket are flooding the Internet and a few have got numerous hits and downloads. 

"Friends have been calling up to say we did a good job with 'Abke le aa oo'," says Bangalore-based management student Bruce Obenin. He directed a full-fledged music video with the help of classmates Angad Singh, Supriya Kumar and Bala and released it online last week. 

Bruce and his friends were sitting around and discussing how to cheer for the Indian cricket team and join in the World Cup celebrations. "We composed and recorded the song in a studio. When it came to the video, we decided to shoot on location as most videos on youtube had just old cricket footage," he says. 

For Chennai-based part-time musicians Eshwar Ravishankar and Deepesh AK, it was a challenge to get all their friends to ready 'Jeet Ki Junoon'. "All of us have two passions - cricket and music, but we are scattered across the world," says Eshwar, who is preparing for the Common Admission Test. 

Once they decided to do a song, Sajeev in Mumbai wrote the lyrics, Eshwar composed and Deepesh sang it. They got lead guitarist Anoop Menon in France and back-up vocalists Kuhu in Mumbai and Tara Balakrishnan in the US to record their portions and send them to Eshwar for the final mixing at his house. Once Vinod KV created a video, it was released online on February 22. 

"We have got close to 1,000 hits on youtube. The song is also listed on Airtel's Hello Tunes list," says Vinod. 

Not everyone is on a tight budget. A few like 'Play! For The Game' are mega collaborations. "Since the World Cup is happening in Asia, we decided to make a multi-lingual song with artistes from five different Asian countries," writes Salim Parvez, president of Bangla Youth Association, Dubai, on a website. 

Another song, 'Jaago Re' from Bangladesh has become widely popular. "We made the song for the Twenty20 World Cup around two years ago," says Shaikh Shaijad Matthew Islam, head of Profusion Records. "So we kept it for the Bangladesh team for the ODIs." The patience paid off. "On February 1, we released our song for free over the Internet and to all local FM and Bangladeshi online radio stations," says Matthew. "We have got more than 2 lakh hits on soundcloud.com and approximately 1 lakh downloads. Caller tune adoption has also been strong," he says. 

Eashwar and friends are singing for India. "We can't get on to the field and play for them. But this is our way of showing our solidarity for the Indian team," says Eashwar.

Read more: World Cup scores with music fans - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/off-the-field/World-Cup-scores-with-music-fans/articleshow/7616181.cms#ixzz1FVkbYEcA

World Cup: Bangladesh beat Ireland by 27 runs

MIRPUR: Bangladesh spinners, so ineffective against India, rediscovered their magical touch on Friday to fashion an exciting 27-run win over Ireland in a low-scoring Group B match of the 2011 World Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here. 

It was a torturous win for Bangladesh, who were bowled out for a meagre 205 after frittering away a blistering start, but it kept the co-hosts firmly in contention for a berth in the knock-out stage. 

Ireland batsmen, who had no inkling about how to play the play the turning ball, were easy pickings for wily Bangla spinners, who bundled them out for 178 in 45 overs with some help from pacer Shafiul Islam, who passed a fitness test in the morning. Shafiul, who grabbed three of the last four Ireland wickets, finished with figures of 4/21. 

Ironically, it was part-timer Mohammad Ashraful's innocuous off-spin that turned the match Bangladesh's way after frontline spinners Abdur Razzak, skipper Shakib Al Hasan made the initial breakthroughs. Playing in place of Mahmudullah, Ashraful, who had earlier played a horrendous shot to get out cheaply, made amends by dismissing the experienced duo of Ed Joyce (16) and Andrew White (10), fooling both with a clever variation of pace and trajectory. 

Ireland's hopes of sneaking an improbable win under the lights rested on the O'Brien brothers, Niall and Kevin. While Niall, looked more compact of the two, Kevin showed he had the big shots. They contributed 38 and 37, respectively, but threw away their wickets after having played themselves in. 

Joyce's soft dismissal to Ashraful showed why he failed to win an England Test cap and skipper William Porterfield's unshakable faith in gangly pacer Boyd Rankin was hard to fathom, particularly as he struggled with both length and direction right through the Bangladesh innings. 

In the end, it was a crucial 23-run ninth-wicket partnership between Naeem and Razzak, that made all the difference. Bangladesh, who got off to a rousing start through their openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes, ought to have posted a total in excess of 250 after Shakib elected to bat. 

Tamim, who top-scored with 70 against India, looked to be in super touch as he cut, drove and flicked Rankin and Trent Johnston to log 44 off 43 balls that won him the Man-of-the-Match award. With Kayes also joining the party with a brilliantly square-driven boundary off Rankin, Bangladesh raced to 50 off 5.4 overs. 

A smart leg-side stumping off a wide, effected by wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien to send Kayes packing, and Joyce scoring a direct hit from mid-off to catch Junaid Siddique short of the crease, brought Ireland back in the game. 

Alarm bells started ringing in the Bangla dressing room when Tamim played a lazy cut off Andre Botha shortly afterward and was held by Porterfield at point. Shakib began with a flourish, but refused to mix caution with aggression despite being dropped by Porterfield at point off Rankin when he was on 15. He paid the price for pushing early at a Botha delivery as the ball popped up for nicely for the bowler to hold. 

Mushfiqur Rahim and Rokibul Hasan rebuilt the Bangladesh innings with a sensible 61-run partnership for the fifth wicket before the former had a rush of blood and departed, top-edging an intended sweep off left-arm spinner George Dockrell. And with Mohammad Ashraful departing much in the same fashion two overs later, early 'dinner' was on cards. However, Roqibul (38), Naeem (29) and Razzak (11) ensured that Bangladesh spinners had something to bowl at.

Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/World-Cup-Bangladesh-beat-Ireland-by-27-runs/articleshow/7576580.cms

Revenge is foremost on India's mind

It's revenge time for India. The unexpected defeat at the hands of Bangladesh during the 2007 World Cup is still fresh in the minds of most Indian players and avenging that loss will be on top of their must-do agenda as they clash with the co-hosts in the opening match of the World Cup in Dhaka on Saturday.

That defeat was instrumental in sending India out of the tournament in the first round itself and the hurt can still be felt in the Indian camp. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni just doesn't want to talk about it. "Never even thought about it because we don't want to repeat what happened in 2007," he said on the eve of the big game that millions of people are looking forward to. In several ways, the result of the day-night encounter at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium could set the tone for the 14-nation, 45-day tournament. If it turns out to be a closely fought encounter, it will be a good advertisement for the 50-over format - which some people feel is under threat from Twenty20 - and will make investors/advertisers and some others smile.

Already, an anonymous punter has put a bet of £82,000 bet - the biggest ever laid on a one-day game - with a London bookmaker on India winning the World Cup. But Dhoni would again not like to think about it, otherwise it would add to the pressure on him. Bangladesh have managed to eke out only two wins in 22 matches against India in more than 22 years of bilateral ODI history, but the one they managed on March 17, 2007, was the most telling. And when Dhoni, who failed to score in that game but took three catches, goes out for the toss, his mind would surely go back to that defeat.

He may have given a new name to pressure, "added responsibility", but he can't just shrug it away from his mind. One consolation for India is that pacer Mashrafe Mortaza, who bagged four wickets and was man of the match in that game, is not in the team. Seven of the 11 players who lost that game are still in the Indian team and would be itching to avenge that embarrassment.

Interestingly, India and Bangladesh could be in different mindsets as they returned contrasting results just before the World Cup. While India lost the five-match ODI series 2-3 in South Africa last month, Bangladesh blanked New Zealand 4-0 at home and then thrashed Zimbabwe 3-1 in December and would be high on confidence.

For India, pace spearhead Zaheer Khan is suspected to be a doubtful starter due to an injury. But Dhoni was confident he would play. "Zaheer is fit as of now. I have not spoken to the physio. If there is something, I will let you know," he said. Left-armer Zaheer bowled at the nets on Friday evening, but did not go full throttle. Maybe, Dhoni wants to preserve him for the more important matches coming ahead. Maybe, the bowler is still not 100 per cent match fit. The answers will be known on Saturday afternoon when Dhoni exchanges the team sheets with his Bangladesh counterpart Shakib Al Hasan at the toss.

Dhoni said spinners could play a big role in the tournament as pitches in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka largely support slow bowlers. Bangladesh too would depend largely on spinners, who happen to be their strength, especially on home turf.

The India skipper too acknowledged this. "All three Bangladesh spinners are good. They have got two good part-timers who can bowl off-spin and leg-spin. It's a good side. In the sub-continent, they rely a lot on their spinners because here they get more assistance than anywhere else," he said.

Shakib was gung ho about Bangladesh's prospects. "Our bowlers are in good form, the batsmen have been doing their job and our fielding has improved a lot," he said, looking confident.

"This tournament is not only about playing India. We have six league matches to play and we have to perform in all of them. If we get our basics right, we will do well."

Bangladesh will no doubt receive wholehearted support from vociferous home fans. But the experienced Indian players are not new to playing and winning in adverse conditions. And they are expected to do the same on Saturday.

Source:-http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/130298/top-stories/world-cup-team-india-seeks-revenge-for-2007-defeat.html

Revised cost for Tripura power project gets nod

Agartala, Jan 28: The revised cost estimate of Rs 623.44 crore for Tripura’s 100 MW thermal power project has got the green signal from the union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), officials said here on Friday.

“The CCEA headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in its meeting held in New Delhi Thursday approved the revised cost estimate of gas-based power project being implemented by the state-owned North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) at a cost of Rs 623.44 crore,” a Tripura Government official told reporters.

The power project to be commissioned at Monarchak in Sonamura, bordering Bangladesh, is scheduled to start generating electricity within 36 months of the starting of actual work. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will supply natural gas. The official said the power project would contribute to the economic development of the northeastern states by providing 100 MW power and direct and indirect employment to the local population.

“Being a combined-cycle power station using natural gas and water, the plant shall be of high efficiency and also an environmentally compatible project, with negligible emission,” the official stated. According to the official, this power plant would mitigate the problem of power shortage in the northeastern region and the consequent need for import of power, particularly during the winter seasons.

“The power project would improve the hydro-thermal mix in the northeastern region and the country,” the official pointed out. (IANS)

Source: The Sentinel

A 10,000cr fuel black market killed Yeshwant Sonawane

New Delhi: A thriving black market in kerosene, estimated at Rs 10,000 crore a year, killed additional collector Yeshwant Sonawane. A litre of kerosene sold at ration shops is often costlier than a bottle of packaged water. Most of this ‘‘poor man’s fuel’’ is pilfered and sold in the black market for a price two-three times higher. 

Sonawane tried to meddle with this lucrative illegality and paid with his life. Actually, most enforcement officers make peace with the fuel mafia and get some crumbs from it. It would appear Sonawane didn’t. 

The oil ministry has tried to work out the maths of this black market. According to its estimates — said to be conservative — as much as 40% of kerosene supplied for the poor is siphoned by ‘‘organized gangs of mafia proportion’’. 

State-run oil companies annually supply 9-10 million tonne of the fuel for sale through ration shops; 40% of that means almost 4 million tonne — or about 5200,000,000 litres of kerosene — is flowing into the parallel market. At around Rs 31 per litre in the open market, this trade is worth Rs 16,120 crore. That’s why the official estimate (done in 2006) is said to be conservative. 

‘‘Even at government-capped price, the value of this diverted kerosene will be huge. Add the money made by selling it in the black market for more than twice the controlled price, and you will get a really large trade involving thousands of people,’’ said a senior marketing executive of IOC, the largest fuel retailer. 4-5 million kilolitres of kerosene is diverted every year 

An interim report by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) had in 2005-06 said nearly 4-5 million kilolitres of kerosene was being diverted every year. It had put the stakes at Rs 10,000 crore at the time when consumption levels were hovering a tad higher at 10-11 million tonne a year. 

Around the same time, a study by National Institute of Public Finance and Planning (NIPFP) said government subsidy gave kerosene an undue price advantage against other fuels and created ground for diversion. The NIPFP study also said kerosene and cooking gas subsidies benefit semi-urban and urban consumers more, respectively, rather than the rural poor. ‘‘Decades of subsidies have failed to shift the fuel consumption patterns away from biomass in rural areas.’’ 

Oil company executives said about 20% of the total kerosene supplied to the ration shops are used for adulteration of diesel and lubricants used by truckers. 

Now a substantial quantity is smuggled to Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan as the fuel is priced much higher in those countries. ‘‘When the studies were being conducted, kerosene was even being smuggled to Sri Lanka. But it may not be the case now,’’ the IOC executive said. 

Oil company executives say that about a third of the diverted kerosene is used as fuel (no doubt, by the poor at a hefty premium). The remaining quantity is used for adulteration or is smuggled out of the country. Usually adulteration with diesel is done in the ratio of 30:70 but in cases it can go upto almost half. ‘‘It all depends on how quick a buck the adulterator wants to make or on the diesel supply position,’’ one executive said.

Source: Article Window

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A Rs 10,000cr kerosene black market killed Yeshwant Sonawane

NEW DELHI: A thriving black market in kerosene, estimated to be worth Rs 10,000 crore every year, killed additional collector Yeshwant Sonawane. A litre of kerosene sold at ration shops is often costlier than a bottle of packaged water. Most of this "poor man's fuel" is pilfered and sold in the black market for a price that's two or three times higher.

It's really money for jam. Sonawane tried to meddle with this lucrative illegality and paid with his life. Actually, most enforcement officers make peace with the fuel mafia and get some crumbs from the mafia. It would appear Sonawane didn't.

The oil ministry has tried to work out the maths of this black market. According to its estimates — said to be conservative — as much as 40% of the kerosene supplied for the poor is siphoned off by "organized gangs of mafia proportion". But even going by this estimate, the illegal trade is humungous.

Here's a quick calculation. State-run oil companies annually supply 9-10 million tonne of the fuel for sale through ration shops; 40% of that means almost 4 million tonne — or about 5200,000,000 litres of kerosene — is flowing into the parallel market. At around Rs 31 per litre in the open market, this trade is worth Rs 16,120 crore. That's why the official estimate (done in 2006) is said to be conservative.

"Even at the government-capped price, the value of this diverted kerosene will be huge. Add to that the money these fuel gangs would be making by selling it in the black market for more than twice the controlled price, and you will get a really large trade involving thousands of people," said a senior marketing executive of biggest fuel retailer IndianOil Corporation said.

An interim report by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) had in 2005-06 said nearly 4-5 million kilolitres of kerosene was being diverted every year. It had put the stakes at Rs 10,000 crore at the time when consumption levels were hovering a tad higher at 10-11 million tonne a year.

Around the same time, a study by National Institute of Public Finance and Planning (NIPFP) said government subsidy gave kerosene an undue price advantage against other fuels and created ground for diversion. The NIPFP study also said kerosene and cooking gas subsidies benefit semi-urban and urban consumers more, respectively, rather than the rural poor. "Decades of subsidies have failed to shift the fuel consumption patterns away from biomass in rural areas."

Oil company executives said about 20% of the total kerosene supplied to the ration shops are used for adulteration of diesel and lubricants used by truckers. Now a substantial quantity is smuggled to Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan as the fuel is priced much higher in those countries. "When the studies were being conducted, kerosene was even being smuggled to Sri Lanka. But it may not be the case now," the IOC executive said.

Oil company executives say that about a third of the diverted kerosene is used as fuel (no doubt, by the poor at a hefty premium). The remaining quantity is used for adulteration or is smuggled out of the country. Usually adulteration with diesel is done in the ratio of 30:70 but in cases it can go upto almost half. "It all depends on how quick a buck the adulterator wants to make or on the diesel supply position," one executive said.

Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/A-Rs-10000cr-kerosene-black-market-killed-Yeshwant-Sonawane/articleshow/7368515.cms