Muralitharan likely to retire before ’11 WC

Muttiah Muralitharan says he is no longer the dreaded bowler he used to be and might even retire completely before the 2011 World Cup.

The ace off-spinner, who has already announced his Test retirement after next year’s home series against the West Indies, said he may call it quits before the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent. Sri Lanka are currently trailing 0-1 in the three-match series with the final Test beginning December 2 in Mumbai.

“I am 37 and I can’t bowl as much as earlier because after 15-16 overs I get tired. I will try and play a little bit of one-day cricket where there’s only 10 overs to bowl. If I find everything is not going well, I might retire from both forms of the game before the World Cup,”

He said that he won't be too disappointed if he had to return home without a Test victory in India. "Every cricketer has to go through disappointments. Everything you want to happen in life won't happen; something will be missing".

I am not really focussing on finishing off my career taking 800 Test wickets. My focus is on winning matches. I don't believe in numbers. Eight hundred is just a number everyone will forget once you retire. It's a number to have in your mind. It is good if I get it but if I don't, still I will be happy and go out knowing I had a great career.

$6.7 million spent to safegaurd Kasab

Indian government has so far spent around 31 crore rupees for the Pakistani to secure him and execute a safe trial.

Per day the government almost spends 85,000 rupees for the 21 year old Pakistani terrorist.

A senior government official said that Kasab’s cell was built with great care.

"There was a huge expenditure on the construction of a special cell inside the high-security Arthur Road jail. It has been designed in such a manner that even if a truck laden with explosives were to ram into it, the cell would not be dented. Such safeguards are essential to protect Kasab's life - and to establish Pakistan's involvement in the attack"-- he said.

Beckham may lose millions after Dubai developer runs out of cash

Ace England midfielder could lose millions after buying up mega bucks apartments in Dubai.

Beckham and Premier League aces Michael Owen, David James, Joe cole and Kieron Dyer all reportedly invested in one million pound luxury villas on amazing islands shaped like a palm tree, but the developer, Nakheel, has run out of cash, saying it can no longer pay its debts and it is feared the builders will not be able to finish the ambitious Palm Jumeirah project. This could mean the players' luxury homes will then neighbour an ugly unfinished construction site - and plunge the property prices of their apartments

Vivek's worries

Vivek Oberoi has been getting nervous over Ram Gopal Varma’s Rakta Charitra. Why’s that now? It’s because he’s afraid of being sidelined. The actor, who plays the protagonist in the film, has two scenes with south Indian actor, Sudeep (remember him from Phoonk?).

And he feels that Sudeep is more prominent than he is in both the scenes. Like there is a scene where Vivek threatens Sudeep who only glares at him coldly and doesn’t respond.

Vivek feels the cold stare carried more impact than any dialogues and is now worried that Sudeep will be more noticed than him in the film.

Tiger Woods Injured

Woods was injured in a car accident early Friday outside his Florida mansion, and a local police chief said his wife used a golf club to smash out the back window and help get the world's No. 1 golfer out of the SUV.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Woods' vehicle hit a fire hydrant and a tree in his neighbor's yard as he pulled out of his driveway at 2:25 a.m.They said Woods was alone in his 2009 Cadillac Escalade when he pulled out of his driveway from his mansion at Isle worth, a gated waterfront community just outside Orlando.
The vehicle is the largest in Cadillac's lineup, with the largest EXT version coming in at a hulking 5,909 pounds. Extra heft that can prove valuable in a crash, especially in a collision against a smaller vehicle. Woods' was involved in a solo crash, however.
The Escalade has front airbags for the driver and front passenger, but also side curtain airbags for everyone in the vehicle -- all three rows. In Wood's case, the air bags reportedly did not deploy. Escalade is top-ratedd by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for passenger safety -- five stars across the board. But it only rates three stars for rollover protection.
Oh, and one more thing. Woods could have used the built-in OnStar system to call for help, although there was no immediate indication whether it came into play.
The patrol reported Woods' injuries as serious, although Woods spokesman Glenn Greenspan issued a statement that Woods was treated and released.
Woods, who has won 82 times around the world and 14 majors, attended the Stanford-Cal football game last Saturday, where he tossed the coin at the start of the game and was inducted into Stanford's sports Hall of Fame at halftime.
He won six times this year after missing eight months recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee. Even though he failed to win a major, Woods said he considered this a successful year because he did not know how his knee would respond.

James Cameron emerges from Titanic's wake with Avatar

Avatar: The Movie New 2nd Trailer
Director: James Cameron
Release: 12/18/2009
Genre: Action/Adventure
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Website: www.avatarmovie.com
In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture.

The $500 million question:

"Avatar" director James Cameron's cutting-edge movie technology carries a cost.

$310 millionCurrent production expenditures (which could grow when the final budget is tallied)

$150 millionThe potential cost of the movie's global marketing campaign

$1.8 billionEstimated amount Cameron's "Titanic" made worldwide. (Its production budget was $200 million.)

Gambhir unavailable for 3rd Test

India will be without the services of opening batsman Gambhir, who will be attending his sister's wedding, for the third Test against Sri Lanka in Mumbai.

Gambhir's spot is likely to be taken by M Vijay, the Tamil Nadu opener. Vijay made his debut against Australia in Nagpur last year

India squad for third Test: MS Dhoni*†,Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Virender Sehwag, Amit Mishra, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, S Badrinath.

India complete 100th Test win

India 642 (Gambhir 167, Dravid 144, Sehwag 137, Herath 5-121) beat Sri Lanka 229 (Mahela 47, Sangakkara 44, Sreesanth 5-75) and 269 (Samaraweera 78*) by an innings and 144 runs

India achieved their biggest victory against Sri Lanka and in the process clinched their 100th Test win on the fourth day of the second Test in Kanpur. India's previous best against their neighbors was a victory by an innings and 119 runs in 1994 and they bettered that record with ease today. Thilan Samaraweera hit an assured fifty to provide some resistance but it was always going to be just a matter of time before India wrapped up the game.

India's only concern would be Zaheer Khan's no-ball problems (12 in this game and 21 in the series) but he did start the day well, dismissing Angelo Mathews in his first over. Mathews had crashed three fours in a row, which included a pull, and Zaheer placed a man at deep square-leg and tested Mathews with more bouncers. The first was fended off in an ungainly manner and the next was top-edged to backward point where Rahul Dravid took a lunging catch.

Samaraweera, who then added 73 runs with a determined Ajantha Mendis to frustrate India, was rarely troubled during his stay, the highlight of which was a whippy on-drive to a delivery on off and middle stump line from Sreesanth. He has had a stellar 2009 and he played yet another pleasing knock. He rarely looked hurried, tackled the spinners and seamers well and unfurled many pleasing on drives. The caravan now moves to Mumbai for the third Test that starts on December 2.

2011 World Cup group and scheduling

Group A: Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya
Group B: India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands.

Sat 19 1st match - Bangladesh v India Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Sun 20 2nd match - Sri Lanka v Canada MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Sun 20 3rd match - New Zealand v Kenya Venue TBC
Mon 21 4th match - Australia v Zimbabwe Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad
Tue 22 5th match - England v Netherlands Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
Wed 23 6th match - Pakistan v Kenya Venue TBC
Thu 24 7th match - South Africa v West Indies Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi
Fri 25 8th match - Australia v New Zealand Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
Fri 25 9th match - Bangladesh v Ireland Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Sat 26 10th match - Sri Lanka v Pakistan Venue TBC
Sun 27 11th match - India v England Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Mon 28 13th match - Canada v Zimbabwe Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground (old), Nagpur
Mon 28 12th match - West Indies v Netherlands Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi
Mar-2011
Tue 01 14th match - Sri Lanka v Kenya Venue TBC
Wed 02 15th match - England v Ireland M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Thu 03 16th match - South Africa v Netherlands Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Chandigarh
Thu 03 17th match - Pakistan v Canada Venue TBC
Fri 04 19th match - Bangladesh v West Indies Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Fri 04 18th match - New Zealand v Zimbabwe Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad
Sat 05 20th match - Sri Lanka v Australia Venue TBC
Sun 06 21st match - India v Ireland M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Sun 06 22nd match - South Africa v England MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Mon 07 23rd match - Canada v Kenya Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi
Tue 08 24th match - Pakistan v New Zealand Pallekele, Kandy
Wed 09 25th match - India v Netherlands Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi
Thu 10 26th match - Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe Pallekele, Kandy
Fri 11 27th match - West Indies v Ireland Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Chandigarh
Fri 11 28th match - Bangladesh v England Chittagong Divisional Stadium, Chittagong
Sat 12 29th match - India v South Africa Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
Sun 13 30th match - New Zealand v Canada Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Sun 13 31st match - Australia v Kenya M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Mon 14 33rd match - Bangladesh v Netherlands Chittagong Divisional Stadium, Chittagong
Mon 14 32nd match - Pakistan v Zimbabwe Pallekele, Kandy
Tue 15 34th match - South Africa v Ireland Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Wed 16 35th match - Australia v Canada M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Thu 17 36th match - England v West Indies MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Fri 18 38th match - Ireland v Netherlands Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Fri 18 37th match - Sri Lanka v New Zealand Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Sat 19 39th match - Pakistan v Australia R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Sat 19 40th match - Bangladesh v South Africa Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Sun 20 41st match - Zimbabwe v Kenya Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Sun 20 42nd match - India v West Indies MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai


Wed 23 1st Quarter Final - TBD v TBD Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Thu 24 2nd Quarter Final - TBD v TBD R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Fri 25 3rd Quarter Final - TBD v TBD Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Sat 26 4th Quarter Final - TBD v TBD Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad
Tue 29 1st Semi Final - TBD v tbd R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Wed 30 2nd Semi Final - TBD v TBD Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Chandigarh


Apr-2011
Sat 02 The Final - TBD v TBD Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

International Cricket Council's (ICC) World Cup Organising Committee, headed by former cricket board president Sharad Pawar, on Tuesday decided to shift the 2011 World Cup secretariat to Mumbai from Lahore, after Pakistan was stripped of their 2011 World Cup hosting rights by the ICC earlier this month due to security concerns.

India will host the final and one semi-final of the 2011 World Cup while Sri Lanka will stage the other semi-final, the tournament's organising committee decided in Mumbai on Tuesday. India will host 29 of the 49 matches across eight venues, Sri Lanka will host 12 in three venues while Bangladesh will stage eight at two grounds as well as the opening ceremony on February 18, 2011.

Bangladesh would host the opening ceremony of the 2011 World Cup as well as eight matches, which would be played on two venues, Lorgat said.

The 14 matches originally scheduled to take place in Pakistan have been redistributed with eight going to India, four to Sri Lanka and two to Bangladesh. The quarter-finals will be shared India and Sri Lanka one each while Bangladesh hosting two.

The ICC's decision has left India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as the three sub-continental co-hosts of the mega event.