Fans letter to Maria Sharapova

Dear Maria,
What an inspiring story of a 7 yr old girl with poor father turned towards United states to chase dreams and being one of most recognizable athletes of 21st century and worlds highest earning female sportsman consecutively for 11 years...
In nation where Sport is synonym to cricket their creating a little space in heart for tennis may not get reflected in your stats. But you really helped the sport a lot to brought a lot of attention to it globally...
Getting out of all odds whether it was badpatch, injuries and controversies running behind. You dealt with patience composed nature and 'never say die attitude' on court... that's make you so special and so inspiring...
Things will change... tennis will evolve... but no one will replace you from special place in my heart!!!
Beauty of tennis bidding adieu to tennis...Lots of love... Be Unstoppable...
Yours,
Die hard fan from India

BMW Melbourne: Sachin Tendulkar’s Interview – On Facing Chris Cairns

Max Walker asked “How does one get up off the deck when things aren’t going well?” Sachin responds with a great story about facing NZ Black Caps bowler Chris Cairns.
An exclusive group of BMW Melbourne special vehicle customers and VIP’s joined us at ‪@‎bmwmelbourne_‬ for an unforgettable evening with Sachin Tendulkar, the former Indian cricketer widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. It was an immersive experience with luxurious surrounds, an enthralling interview of ‪@‎SachinTendulkar‬ by Max Walker and an exceptional sit down dinner.

Kane Williamson Continues Record-Breaking Run in Golden 2015

Kane Williamson had a fabulous 2015 as he piled on runs in all formats. However, his Test form has been remarkable and he is now the new world number one.

Supreme. Elegant. Run-machine. Solid. Assured. Calmness. All these factors symbolise Kane Williamson and his achievements in what has been a fabulous 2015. His run-scoring across all formats this year has been unprecedented. His batting has ensured that New Zealand continue their unbeaten run in Tests at home. It is thanks to his contribution that the team has lost only one Test series in the last four years. (Williamson Century Helps New Zealand Sweep Series Against Sri Lanka)
Following his match-winning century in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Hamilton on Monday, Williamson broke a string of records. Here is a list of his achievements. (Williamson Displaces AB de Villiers As The New King Of the Mountain in Tests)
# With his unbeaten 108 against Sri Lanka, Williamson notched up his fifth century in 2015. These are the most number of centuries by a New Zealand batsman in a calendar year.
# Williamson has scored 1172 runs at an average of 90.15 with five centuries and four fifties. These are the most number of runs scored by a New Zealand batsman in a calendar year. Before Williamson, Brendon McCullum had the record for most runs in a calendar year for the Kiwis with 1164 runs in 2014.
# Williamson is the fifth batsman to go past 1000 runs in Tests in 2015. Alastair Cook is on top of the pile with 1357 runs in 13 Tests while Joe Root, David Warner and Steven Smith are the others.
# With this century against Sri Lanka, Williamson now has 13 Test tons, level with Ross Taylor. He is only four centuries behind Martin Crowe's New Zealand record of 17 centuries.
# Williamson has scored 2633 runs across all formats so far in 2015. Kumar Sangakkara heads the all-time list with 2868 runs last year. He can still break the record as New Zealand will play three ODIs in 2015.
# This is the first time that Williamson has occupied the top spot in the ICC Rankings for Tests. Earlier in 2015, Steven Smith, Joe Root and AB de Villiers were the players who occupied the No.1 spot at certain intervals.
# New Zealand's 2-0 win has extended their unbeaten run in Tests at home. They have not lost a series at home since March 2012, when they lost 0-1 to South Africa.

 

India vs South Africa: Third T20I Abandoned Due to Wet Outfield

The calling off of the third T20I between India and South Africa again raised questions on the poor drainage system at the Eden Gardens. The ground was not covered properly despite predictions of rain.

The third and final T20 International between India and South Africa was on Thursday abandoned without a ball being bowled because of a wet outfield, allowing the visitors to clinch the three-match series by 2-0 margin. (Virat Kohli says loss in T20I series a blessing in disguise)
The abandonment of the game, after just a passing evening shower, again showed the poor drainage system of the iconic Eden Gardens as the umpires called off the match post their 9:30 pm inspection, much to the dismay of the few thousands, who had come to the ground to watch in expectation of an exciting encounter. (South Africa begin series with a bang)
The failure to start the match even after seven hours also portrayed Cricket Association of Bengal in a very poor light as the match could not be started despite using three super soppers. Veteran curator Prabir Mukherjee's role has also come under scanner as the outfield was not covered despite the forecasts of a passing shower and knowledge of the stadium's dubious record in times of rain interruptions.
For the record, the Alipore Met office recorded 14.22 mm of rainfall between 1pm and 2.30pm and the CAB authorities had more than five hours time to get the ground ready.
"The rainfall at the Eden Gardens however can be less or more but we cannot ascertain that as we don't have any instrument there," regional Met director GC Debnath told PTI blaming the rainfall on the low pressure formation in Bay of Bengal.
But as it turned out after three rounds of inspections at every hour's interval beginning with 7.30 it was about delaying the inevitable -- another abandonment with little or no rain.
It was also an ominous start to the new CAB management under president-designate Sourav Ganguly after the demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya September 20 as their efficiency would be up for a serious scrutiny with the hallowed venue slated to host the final of the World Twenty20 next year.
Surprising as it may sound but only the match strip and the two practice pitches on both the sides of the dressing room were covered during the spell of rain despite the fact that the Eden has the option to fully cover the ground.
Minutes after the rain subsided in the afternoon, the former India captain and now CAB supremo Ganguly was seen taking a stock of the situation of the ground with his denims rolled up.
But the harsh ground reality remained that the Eden was staring at another washout, despite no or little rain as BCCI promptly wrote in their Twitter feed: "Despite the lack of rain of late, the umpires aren't happy."
The umpire duo of Anil Chaudhary and Vineet Kulkarni first inspected the ground at 7.30pm and it seemed that they were particularly unhappy of the practice pitch areas as the groundsmen were pressed into action with three super soppers, while some were seen sweeping the affected areas and even spreading sands to dry the dampness.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said: "Once there was a heavy shower although for an hour, I knew that it would be difficult to start the game."
The exercise went on for hours testing the patience of 25,000-odd crowd and to their utter shock the big display showed the next inspection would be at 8.30 which turned out to be an action replay of the earlier inspection.
As for the players, most of them from both the camps largely stayed away apparetly suggesting their unwillingness to turn out in the third T20I which had become a dead rubber after South Africa's back to back wins in Dharmasala and Cuttack.
With the five-match ODI beginning October 11 in Kanpur, the players would obviously be apprehensive about injuries.
The day brought back the memory of Bengal's 2013-14 season Ranji Trophy match against Baroda (October 27-30) which was called off after the groundsmen could not make the ground ready after two days' of rainfall.
The CAB had blamed the stadium's proximity to the Hooghly river for the ground to remain soggy but the detractors alleged that a Ranji match in 2013 against Baroda was alsp affected because of the state body's callousness.
During that match, not a ball was bowled on all four days despite bright sunshine as it had rained heavily for two days prior to that particular game.
"We're helpless as the Hooghly is about 100 metres from the stadium so the field is bound to remain soggy despite the bright sunny days," CAB joint secretary Subir Ganguly put up a weak defence as the T20 series will be remembered for the poor organisation skills of the two eastern units Odisha and Bengal.

India vs South Africa 2nd T20: Irate fans hurl water bottles, halt match

Angry spectators hurled missiles, mainly water bottles, into the cricket ground after India were skittled out for 92 against South Africa in the second T20 International at the Barabati Stadium here on Monday.
Put into bat, India were bundled in just 17.2 overs, to record their second-lowest total in T20I. Their lowest was 74 against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in February 2008.

Odisha government orders probe into crowd disruption during T20 match in Cuttack

The Odisha government on Tuesday ordered probe into the irregularities that led to crowd violence during the T20 international match between India and South Africa at Barabati stadium in Cuttack on Monday.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik asked home secretary Asit Tripathy to probe the incident and submit report in a month.

"The home secretary has been asked to probe as how water bottles were allowed inside the stadium despite restrictions," said an officer, who attended the meeting.
The second T20 match was disrupted twice as irate crowd hurled water bottles targeting players following India's poor performance in the match. The match was disrupted for almost an hour during the second innings.
The chief minister also expressed displeasure over the poor police arrangement during the match and warned authorities to be careful in future.

 

India vs South Africa, Dharamsala T20I, stats: Rohit Sharma second Indian to score a ton in all formats

Rohit Sharma's blistering century went in vain as South Africa began their long tour of India on a winning note by scripting a thrilling seven-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 International cricket match here today 

Statistical highlights of the first Twenty20 International between India and South Africa here.
# Rohit Sharma, with his first hundred in T20Is, has set an Indian record for the highest individual innings in this format – 106 off 66 balls. The only other Indian batsman to have posted a century being Suresh Raina – 101 off 60 balls at Gros Islet on May 2, 2010.
# Rohit is the second Indian after Raina and the ninth overall to hit centuries in all three formats.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-vs-south-africa-dharamsala-t20i-stats-rohit-sharma-becomes-second-indian-to-score-a-ton-in-all-formats/#sthash.dDAVHzxW.dpuf

Statistical highlights of the first Twenty20 International between India and South Africa here.
# Rohit Sharma, with his first hundred in T20Is, has set an Indian record for the highest individual innings in this format – 106 off 66 balls. The only other Indian batsman to have posted a century being Suresh Raina – 101 off 60 balls at Gros Islet on May 2, 2010.
# Rohit is the second Indian after Raina and the ninth overall to hit centuries in all three formats.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-vs-south-africa-dharamsala-t20i-stats-rohit-sharma-becomes-second-indian-to-score-a-ton-in-all-formats/#sthash.dDAVHzxW.dpuf

Statistical highlights of the first Twenty20 International between India and South Africa here.
# Rohit Sharma, with his first hundred in T20Is, has set an Indian record for the highest individual innings in this format – 106 off 66 balls. The only other Indian batsman to have posted a century being Suresh Raina – 101 off 60 balls at Gros Islet on May 2, 2010.
# Rohit is the second Indian after Raina and the ninth overall to hit centuries in all three formats.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-vs-south-africa-dharamsala-t20i-stats-rohit-sharma-becomes-second-indian-to-score-a-ton-in-all-formats/#sthash.dDAVHzxW.dpuf

Statistical highlights of the first Twenty20 International between India and South Africa here.
# Rohit Sharma, with his first hundred in T20Is, has set an Indian record for the highest individual innings in this format – 106 off 66 balls. The only other Indian batsman to have posted a century being Suresh Raina – 101 off 60 balls at Gros Islet on May 2, 2010.
# Rohit is the second Indian after Raina and the ninth overall to hit centuries in all three formats.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-vs-south-africa-dharamsala-t20i-stats-rohit-sharma-becomes-second-indian-to-score-a-ton-in-all-formats/#sthash.dDAVHzxW.dpuf

Statistical highlights of the first Twenty20 International between India and South Africa here.
# Rohit Sharma, with his first hundred in T20Is, has set an Indian record for the highest individual innings in this format – 106 off 66 balls. The only other Indian batsman to have posted a century being Suresh Raina – 101 off 60 balls at Gros Islet on May 2, 2010.
# Rohit is the second Indian after Raina and the ninth overall to hit centuries in all three formats.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-vs-south-africa-dharamsala-t20i-stats-rohit-sharma-becomes-second-indian-to-score-a-ton-in-all-formats/#sthash.dDAVHzxW.dpuf

Statistical highlights of the first Twenty20 International between India and South Africa here.
# Rohit Sharma, with his first hundred in T20Is, has set an Indian record for the highest individual innings in this format – 106 off 66 balls. The only other Indian batsman to have posted a century being Suresh Raina – 101 off 60 balls at Gros Islet on May 2, 2010.
# Rohit is the second Indian after Raina and the ninth overall to hit centuries in all three formats.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-vs-south-africa-dharamsala-t20i-stats-rohit-sharma-becomes-second-indian-to-score-a-ton-in-all-formats/#sthash.dDAVHzxW.dpuf

Statistical highlights of the first Twenty20 International between India and South Africa here.
# Rohit Sharma, with his first hundred in T20Is, has set an Indian record for the highest individual innings in this format – 106 off 66 balls. The only other Indian batsman to have posted a century being Suresh Raina – 101 off 60 balls at Gros Islet on May 2, 2010.
# Rohit is the second Indian after Raina and the ninth overall to hit centuries in all three formats.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-vs-south-africa-dharamsala-t20i-stats-rohit-sharma-becomes-second-indian-to-score-a-ton-in-all-formats/#sthash.dDAVHzxW.dpuf

Rohit Sharma is the second Indian after Suresh Raina and the ninth overall to hit centuries in all three formats. (Source: PTI) - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-vs-south-africa-dharamsala-t20i-stats-rohit-sharma-becomes-second-indian-to-score-a-ton-in-all-formats/#sthash.dDAVHzxW.dpuf

India vs South Africa Twenty20 International Highlights: JP Duminy Steals India's Thunder after Rohit Sharma's Brilliant Ton

JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien shared an unbeaten 105-run to guide South Africa to a seven-wicket win over India in first T20I. Catch all the highlights of the match here.

 

JP Duminy celebrates after guiding South Africa to victory.

South Africa defeated India by seven wickets in the first Twenty20 international in Dharamsala on Friday to take the lead in three-match series.

2256 hrs IST: QUOTES!
JP Duminy: One of my best innings. We knew it was a tough total to chase. The middle overs were crucial. I have enjoyed my time in India, love playing IPL. It's a good start for us on a long tour.
Faf du Plessis: Fantastic chase for us under pressure. Great game of cricket. We came back well.
MS Dhoni: 199 was close to par. We had to bowl well, but we gave away too many runs at phases. When some decisions don't go in your favour, it puts pressure: Dhoni on umpiring blunders. Execution is crucial and wicket was good enough to chase 200 runs. Duminy played well.
2238 hrs IST: South Africa win by 7 wickets with 2 balls to spare. Duminy is hero with 68 off 34 ball (7 sixes). 105-run stand between Duminy (68) and Behardien (32) nailed the Indians. Ashwin 1/26, Aravind 1/44. For the first time India have lost a match after posting 180-plus in their first innings. South Africa have done a fabulous job to chase down this big total. They got off to a flying start as de Villiers and Amla scored quick runs in Powerplay. De Villiers was dismissed as soon as he crossed his fifty and then du Plessis departed in no time.
2234 hrs IST: SA 190/3 after 19 overs, need 10 off 6 balls. Duminy 59, Behardien 31. Aravind bowling the final over of the match. SA need 10 to win with 7 wickets in hand. Aravind can become India's hero on his debut. Will SA choke?
2227 hrs IST: FIFTY! Duminy gets to his 50 off 28 balls with boundary No. 1. He has five 6s. SA 180/3 (18.1 overs)