Sachin won't retire till he wins World Cup: Kapil

At 37, Sachin Tendulkar is definitely at the twilight of his career but the former India captain Kapil Dev thinks otherwise as he feels the champion batsman will carry on to play another World Cup unless India lay its hands on next year's quadrennial event.

Kapil, India's only World Cup winning skipper, said that if not for injury, Tendulkar will be a great asset to the Indian team in the mega-event.

"I feel talking about Sachin (Tendulkar) is an insult to him. He is such an important personal not only for India but for the world cricket. His performance gives strength to the team. He brings in abundance of experience in the team," Kapil said during a promotional event for the 2011 World Cup here on Thursday.

"Sachin is one player who brings crowd on to the ground. People say it is his last World Cup but I don't believe in this. We might see him play the next World Cup also. I feel until and unless he wins the trophy, he won't go," added India's 1983 World Cup-winning captain.

Since making his debut way back in 1989, Tendulkar has so far featured in five World Cups for India but the trophy has eluded him on all occasions with the closest being a runners-up finish in the 2003 edition of the tournament in South Africa.

And with age not on Tendulkar's side, next year's mega-event in the sub-continent might be his last World Cup.

And legendary West Indian Sir Vivian Richards said that the World Cup trophy would be the fitting farewell to the iconic batsman.

"That (the World Cup trophy) would be the icing on the cake for the man (Tendulkar)," Richards said.

Read more at: http://cricket.ndtv.com/storypage.aspx?id=SPOEN20100162729&nid=71599&cp

Hapless New Zealand swept away again

India 107 for 2 (Parthiv 56, Yuvraj 42) beat New Zealand 103 (Styris 24, Ashwin, 3-24, Yuvraj 2-5, Nehra 2-34) by eight wickets

New Zealand were at the receiving end of another humiliation as a hapless batting performance led to their lowest score against India and sealed a 0-5 whitewash, their first in a five-match series since 1984-85. On a dry pitch susceptible to the influence of the overcast weather, New Zealand were keen to make the most of initially favourable batting conditions, but their edginess against pace at the start of the innings, and capitulation to spin later on, ensured their misery in ODIs continued.

The pitch offered limited assistance to the bowlers and was not responsible for the domination that India showed; New Zealand's inability to survive perhaps was. The seamers were crafty enough to make use of the hint of swing and movement available early on, the spinners, led by R Ashwin, varied their lengths, pace and worked the angles well to prove more than a handful against the middle and lower orders.

Praveen Kumar's control and Ashish Nehra's quick recovery from a Brendon McCullum onslaught in his first over set up India. Praveen earned his prize straight away, beginning with three straight-ish deliveries before getting one to nip away and prompt a fatal poke from Martin Guptill. Nehra had a contrasting start, struggling for line and length, dragging one short to be dispatched over square leg and providing width to be slammed through the off side for two boundaries. McCullum's aggressive posture, characterized by his advances down the wicket as well as moving well across to look for scoring opportunities, promised an entertaining counterattack. But it caused his downfall instead, as he shuffled across to Nehra and was done in by the inswing to be caught on the pads, leaving New Zealand 14 for 2.

The pitch largely behaved itself for the duration of the innings and the Indian bowlers, for their part, provided reasonable opportunities to ease the pressure. Ross Taylor looked confident, piercing the field with some delicious drives past mid-off, but his stay ended with an instinctive attempt at a pull against Nehra, and the ball scraped the glove on the way to Parthiv Patel. Jamie How appeared on course to lend some respectability to what's been a miserable series with some lovely flicks off his pads and Scott Styris seemed determined to get the innings back on track, but the steadiness that they had painstakingly brought to the innings was obliterated by spin.

The slow bowlers were expected to play a prominent role as the day wore on and it didn't take long for Yuvraj Singh to step into the act. In the 17th over, after having built a stand of 43 with Styris, How tried to play across the line and was bowled as the ball straightened. Styris misread the length and played the sweep, almost as an afterthought, against Ashwin in the next over to be caught plumb. And Grant Elliott, included in the line-up to strengthen the batting, made no impact, failing to read the straighter one from Yuvraj to be lbw.

Three wickets in three overs, and the departure of Daniel Vettori to a catch at slip not long after indicated New Zealand were in a hurry to finish the game even before the weather, overcast and ominous, was given a chance to intervene. Sure enough, Kyle Mills' inability to read Ashwin's carrom ball and Tim Southee's gifting a catch to short leg marked a sorry end to a line-up that bats deep.

The early wickets of the in-form Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli were the only consolation as New Zealand succumbed to a 0-5 battering, with their World Cup preparations in disarray following a bitter experience in two recent assignments in the subcontinent. India, for their part, have been boosted by the successful return of Yusuf Pathan and the consistency of Ashwin, while consecutive fifties from Parthiv Patel have further spiced up the selection race for the World Cup.

Rampaging India look for series whitewash

The Big Picture

The fourth ODI hinted at a New Zealand revival. Their approach was certainly different and refreshing. It was visible in their batting and bowling, and they were just about pinned down only because of Yusuf Pathan's brutality. Their fans will hope that New Zealand continue with this positive approach in the final ODI. Despite being put into bat under overcast conditions in Bangalore, they weren't circumspect. They didn't focus on survival, as they had tried to do but failed earlier in the series, but chose to attack. It didn't feel like a desperate attempt either - they never swung wildly - but a positive strategy to turn their fortunes around. Their bowlers too, nearly did the job, but were shoved out of the contest by a violent knock. They haven't won an ODI in nearly four months and something had to give. This new approach might well be the right path to lead them out of the hole.

For their part, India are likely to view the top-order collapse in Bangalore as an aberration and revel in the fact that the situation produced the best out of Yusuf, and raised hope of removing a weak-link in the lower order. They might also see their death-over bowling woes in the last game - 63 runs in the last five overs - as an aberration as it was Ashish Nehra, normally their best bowler in such situations, who gave away 38 in his last two overs. And even then, just like New Zealand didn't account for Yusuf, India were blindsided by James Franklin.

Pitch and conditions

The good news is that Chennai, which had heavy rains earlier in the week, hasn't seen a downpour since Wednesday. The bad news, though, is that the forecast suggests that it might rain on Friday.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
India:WWWWW
New Zealand: LLLLL

Watch out for...

Is Martin Guptill on the cusp of breaking free from his old failing of throwing away his starts? Or is he still stuck in the same rut? He played a skillful knock in the previous ODI, using conventional shots as attacking options, but fell when set.

Ashish Nehra is no Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis, of course, but he is a capable bowler in the end overs of an innings. He is the man MS Dhoni turns to during both bowling and batting Powerplays, and in the final overs. If he had got complacent - there is no evidence to suspect that - the fourth ODI would have been a wake-up call.

Teams

New Zealand could focus on one change: Jamie How hasn't grabbed his chances and might be replaced by Kane Williamson, whose offbreaks provide another option. The case against Williamson, articulated publicly by former New Zealand batsman Craig McMillan, is that he is not a perfect fit for No. 3. The view is that Williamson slows down the run-rate as he is the type of batsman who needs time at the crease to get going. Is it just a perception? Can Williamson, given enough experience in that slot, change his game? Or is this not a good time to extend him that opportunity as the World Cup is around the corner? He could be pushed lower down the order, but would that role fit him?

New Zealand (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Jamie How/Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Scott Styris, 6 James Franklin, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Andy McKay

India, too, will probably make one change: they will most likely give Zaheer Khan a rest and bring back Munaf Patel.

India (probable): 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Saurabh Tiwary, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Stats and trivia

• Nehra conceded 70 runs in nine overs in the last game. It was the ninth time he had leaked more than 70 in an ODI and he holds the dubious record of doing it the most times.Three other bowlers - Waqar, James Anderson, and Naved-ul-Hasan - have given more than 70 runs seven times.
• Yuvraj Singh took his 75th catch to dismiss Guptill in the fourth game of the series. Only six other Indians - Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, and Virender Sehwag - have caught more.

Quotes

"We will look at it as we do every game - to win it. I know that's hard to say after losing so many games in a row but we still think we can do it. The batsmen showed how good they can be. If we get that performance again we hope our bowlers can do better."

Daniel Vettori looks ahead to the fifth ODI

Kapil, Richards, Imran back India but Ranatunga bats for Lanka

NEW DELHI: Kapil Dev and Sir Vivian Richards feel that India are run-away favourites to win next year's ICC Cricket World Cup, but Imran Khan and Arjuna Ranatunga added a note of caution about their ability to soak in the pressure of playing at home.
That, in a nutshell, was how the former captains and legends in their own rights felt about how things will pan out in a couple of months' time as the marquee event starts on February 19.
"They are the No. 1 in the world (in Test matches) and have a volatile crowd behind them. They have something to defend. The team is going to South Africa where pitches will be different but it can prove to be helpful as they prepare for the World Cup," legendary West Indian batsman Richards, who was the member of the 1975 and 1979 World Cup winning squad, said.
'King Richards', however, wasn't too sure about how West Indies will perform although he admitted that the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard do have the talent to go the distance.
"Some prayer would obviously help," he said in lighter vein. "On a serious note, they do have the talent but they need to get things organised a bit. May be they need a catalyst who could inspire them like Arjuna did with the Sri Lankan team during the 1996 World Cup."
For Kapil Dev, the first step should be towards reaching the semifinal and taking it from there.
"If you want to win the World Cup, you need to play well in those 20-30 days. Also the fact that they are going to South Africa before that would be of great help like we had a tough tour of West Indies right before the 1983 World Cup. We played tough cricket in the Windies and subsequently in the World Cup.
"Similarly if the Indians do well in South Africa, it would be a great confidence booster. Even if they don't, they know they will be playing in front of the home crowd," Kapil said pointing out that the likes of Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir will play key roles.
About Harbhajan Singh's lean patch with the ball, Kapil said, "It's matter of time before he gets back to form. The only thing is that he needs to mentally feel that he can do it."
While Imran Khan termed India as favourites, he cited how West Indies and Pakistan were favourites in the 1983 and 1987 editions but buckled down under pressure.
"I remember going into the semifinal feeling confident. However, we made mistakes and couldn't handle the pressure. The same thing happened with West Indies in 1983. Just after Viv got out, they wilted under pressure," Imran said.
The iconic former Pakistan skipper also said that the key to winning World Cup lay in having two batsmen who can play well throughout the tournament and others building the innings around their knocks.
Sri Lanka's World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga termed his country as favourites and didn't forget to mention that Indians tend to crumble when they play in front of huge crowds in pressure cooker situation.
"I have seen the Indian team fail in pressure situations while playing in front of 100,000 people. There are times when the expectations are huge and it takes a toll," Ranatunga said.
The burly former skipper feels that Lankans have a potent combination with experienced players such as Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga, Muralitharan to name a few.
"However, I believe the team of 1996 had a better middle-order as we had players such as Aravinda D'Silva, Asanka Gurusinha, myself, Roshan Mahanama, Hasan Tillekratne."

கடற்புலிகளின் கப்பல்கள் இன்னும் இயங்குகின்றன: ஜப்பானிலிருந்து கப்பல் கொள்வனவு

கடற்புலிகள் தங்கள் கப்பல் போக்குவரத்தை விரிவுபடுத்திக் கொள்ளும் நோக்கில் ஜப்பானியக் கரையோரக் காவல் படையின் பழைய கப்பல்களை கொள்வனவு செய்த தகவல்கள் வெளிவந்துள்ளன.
புலிகள் அமைப்பு இயங்கிய காலத்தில் அவர்களிடம் சுமார் முப்பது கப்பல்கள் இருந்ததாக மதிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. அவற்றில் 13 கப்பல்கள் அழிக்கப்பட்டுவிட்டன.
அழிக்கப்பட்ட கப்பல்களில் பன்னிரண்டு இலங்கைக் கடற்படையாலும், இன்னொன்று இந்தியக் கடற்படையாலும் தாக்கி அழிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தன.
அதற்கு மேலாக எஞ்சியுள்ள 18 கப்பல்களும் தற்போதும் சர்வதேச கடற்பரப்பில் வணிகக்கப்பல்களாக போக்குவரத்தில் ஈடுபடுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளன என்று கூறப்படுகின்றது.
புலிகள் அமைப்பின் கப்பல்களை கே.பி மற்றும் அவருக்கு மேலதிகமாக ஒரு கட்டத்தில் சர்வதேச தொடர்பாளராக நியமிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த ஆனந்தராஜா ஆகியோர் கொள்வனவு செய்திருந்தனர்.
பெரும்பாலும் ஜப்பானியக் கரையோரக் கடற்படையின் பழைய கப்பல்களையே அவர்கள் கொள்வனவு செய்து, திருத்தியமைத்தபின் வேறொரு நாட்டில் பதிவு செய்து கொண்டு தமது நடவடிக்கைகளுக்குப் பயன்படுத்தியதாக தெரிய வருகின்றது.
அவ்வாறான பதிவைப் பயன்படுத்தியே புலிகளின் எஞ்சிய கப்பல்கள் தற்போதும் சர்வதேச கடற்பரப்பில் பயணங்களை மேற்கொண்டு வருவதாக கூறப்படுகின்றது.

இலங்கையில் லஷ்கர் ஈ தைய்பா முகாம்: விக்கிலீக்ஸின் இன்னொரு அதிரடி அம்பலம்

இலங்கையில் லஷ்கர் ஈ தைய்பா தீவிரவாதக் குழுவினரின் பயிற்சி முகாம்கள் பற்றிய இரகசியங்கள் உட்பட மற்றும் இன்னும் முக்கியமான இரகசியங்களை உள்ளடக்கிய அமெரிக்க இராஜாங்கத் திணைக்களத்தின் முக்கிய இரகசிய அறிக்கையொன்றை விக்கிலீக்ஸ் இணையத்தளம் அம்பலப்படுத்தியுள்ளது.
அமெரிக்க இராஜாங்கத் திணைக்களத்தின் அறிக்கையின் படி இலங்கையில் பயிற்சி முகாமொன்றை நிறுவிக்கொண்ட லஷ்கர் ஈ தைய்பா தீவிரவாதிகள் இந்தியாவின் கேரளா மற்றும் தமிழ்நாடு மாநிலங்களில் அவர்களின் நடவடிக்கை முகாம்களை அமைப்பதற்குத் திட்டமிட்டிருந்ததாக தெரிய வருகின்றது.
கடந்த வருடம் நடுப்பகுதியில் மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்ட கேபிள் தகவல் குறிப்பு அதனை உறுதிப்படுத்துகின்றது.
இந்தியா, பாக்கிஸ்தான், நேபாளம், இலங்கை போன்ற நாடுகளில் லஷ்கர் ஈ தைய்பாவின் வளர்ச்சி அச்சுறுத்தும் வகையில் அமைந்திருந்ததாகவும் அந்த அறிக்கை மேலும் குறிப்பிடுகின்றது.
அந்த அமைப்பின் தலைவர்களில் ஒருவரான ஷபீக் கபா என்பவர் இந்தியாவில் இரண்டு இடங்களில் தமது நடவடிக்கை முகாம்களை அமைத்துக் கொள்வதில் தீவிர கவனம் செலுத்தியதாகவும் அந்த அறிக்கை மேலும் குறிப்பிடுகின்றது.
இலங்கையிலிருந்து வெளியேறிய போத்தல ஜயந்த, அஷ்ரப் அலீ போன்ற பல ஊடகவியலாளர்களும் மற்றும் எதிர்க்கட்சி அரசியல் வாதிகள் பலரும் இந்த விடயம் பற்றித் தெரிவித்த கருத்துக்களை பொய் என்று உதறித்தள்ளிய அரசாங்கம், அதன் குற்றங்கள் தொடர்பான ஆதாரங்கள் ஒன்றன் பின் ஒன்றாக வெளிவந்து புயலைக் கிளப்பிக் கொண்டிருப்பது கண்டு தற்போது கையைப் பிசைந்து கொண்டிருக்கின்றது.

இலங்கையில் இடம்பெற்ற யுத்த குற்றங்களில் இந்தியா பாரிய பொறுப்பு வகிக்கின்றது: அமெரிக்கா

இலங்கையில் இடம்பெற்ற யுத்த குற்றங்களுக்கு இந்தியா பாரிய பொறுப்பு வகிப்பதாக, அமெரிக்க இராஜாங்க தகவல்கள் தெரிவித்துள்ளன. புதிதாக வெளியாகியுள்ள விக்கிலீக்ஸ் இணையத்தளத்தின் தகவல்கள் இவற்றை உறுதி செய்துள்ளன.
விக்கிலீக்ஸ் வழங்கிய தகவல் அடிப்படையில், த வோல் ஸ்ட்ரீட் ஜேர்னல் என்ற சஞ்சிகை இந்த தகவலை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.
ஏற்கனவே இந்தியாவின் ரோ மற்றும் இராணுவ புலனாய்வு துறையினரின் ஆதிக்கம் இலங்கையில் அதிகமாக காணப்படுவதாகவும் அதில் சுட்டிக்காட்டப்பட்டுள்ளது.
தமிழீழ விடுதலைப்புலிகளுக்கு எதிரான இறுதி யுத்தத்தின் போது, இலங்கை ஜனாதிபதி மகிந்த ராஜபக்ஸவும், அவரது அரசாங்கமும் பாரிய யுத்தக் குற்றங்களை மேற்கொண்டமை தொடர்பில், அமெரிக்க ஜனாதிபதி பராக் ஒபாமாவின் நிர்வாகம் நன்கு அறிந்துள்ளதாக தெரிவிக்கப்படுகிறது.
இலங்கையில் உள்ள அமெரிக்க தூதரகத்தின் இரகசிய தகவல் பரிமாற்றில் இந்த விடயம் தெரியவந்துள்ளதாக விக்கிலீக்ஸை மேற்கோள் காட்டி, அந்த சஞ்சிகை தகவல் வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.
ஜனாதிபதி மகிந்த ராஜபக்ஸவினால் கடந்த 2006ம் ஆண்டு ஜுலை மாதம் மீளவும் ஆரம்பிக்கப்பட்ட விடுதலைப் புலிகளுக்கு எதிரான யுத்தம், 2009ம் ஆண்டு மே மாதம் நிறைவடைந்தது.
இந்த காலப்பகுதியில் ஆயிரக்கணக்கான பொது மக்கள் மகிந்தவின் அரசாங்கத்தினால் கொலை செய்யப்பட்டதாக தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
இது தொடர்பில் விசாரணை நடத்த அமெரிக்கா பலமுறை வலியுறுத்திய போதும், இலங்கை அவற்றை முழுமையாக நிராகரித்ததாக தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

Yusuf's blazing ton flattens New Zealand

India 321 for 5 (Pathan 123*, Patel 53)  beat New Zealand 315 for 7 (Franklin 98*, Pathan 3-49) by five wickets 

They said he couldn't perform in international cricket. They said he was good only for IPL and domestic cricket. He proved them wrong tonight. Yusuf Pathan engineered an improbable win for India with a violent hundred, his first in ODIs, and perhaps sealed a World Cup berth for himself. It looked grim for India when they were tottering at 188 for 5 in the 34th over, after the fall of Rohit Sharma, but Pathan pulled off a heist. One game doesn't guarantee a successful future of course, especially considering that this New Zealand attack wasn't potent enough to test his weakness against short balls, but Pathan left his past behind with a potentially career-changing innings on a drizzly Bangalore night.  His century overshadowed a superbly-crafted 98 from James Franklin that had allowed New Zealand to reach a daunting total.

Pathan declared his intent with two brutal shots. The first came in the 37th over, when play resumed after a one-hour rain break that didn't reduce any overs and left India needing 113 runs from 14. Yusuf launched a Daniel Vettori delivery into screaming fans beyond long-on and clubbed a length delivery from Kyle Mills over the roof at cow corner. A couple of quiet overs followed but Pathan roused himself in a violent 43rd over: he smashed Mills for three fours - a lofted hit overs cover and two flicks past short fine-leg - before crashing a length delivery for six over midwicket. And when he brought up his maiden hundred with a pulled six, off Andy McKay in the next over, the game was all but over. He found support in Saurabh Tiwary, who intelligently rotated the strike, and the pair gave India a 4-0 lead in the series.

It was an incredible effort considering India had lagged behind for a major part of the chase. McKay's twin strikes to remove Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli in the 10th over and Nathan McCullum's double-strike to dismiss Yuvraj Singh and Parthiv Patel, who hit his maiden fifty, had pushed India on the back foot. And when Tim Southee had Rohit Sharma hitting straight to mid-off, New Zealand would have been thinking about the win, but Yusuf crushed their hopes with a blinder.

As good as their batting was in the end overs, their death bowling nearly lost India the game. Franklin's knock provided the perfect climax to New Zealand's spirited approach; the openers attacked to take them to 91 for 2 in the 14th over and the middle-order adapted to the fall of wickets - rebuilding at a slower pace before Franklin's final flourish.

Franklin looted 22 runs in the final over, bowled by Nehra, with some wickedly entertaining big hits: he smashed the second delivery to the straight boundary, the third over long-off, the fourth to midwicket, and the fifth to the wide long-off boundary. It was not, however, a knock of such fury and adrenalin from the start. He had built his innings with conventional shots, such as the one in 47th over, when he was batting with the tail and was under some pressure. He sashayed down the track to Yusuf Pathan, who had just picked up two wickets, and nonchalantly flicked him wide of the deep midwicket fielder. No manic rush or desperation, he simply carried on with his style, sweeping the spinners and flicking and square-driving the seamers to get to his fifty. Only in the final two overs did he explode. It seemed he had done enough to win the game for his team, especially after India's top-order had collapsed, but Yusuf seized the day. 

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s PP1 PP2 PP3 Last 10 overs NB/Wides New Zealand 154 34 5 70-1 27-2 36-1 86-2 0/12 India 149 27 10 68-2 18-0 44-0 86-0 2/8