India approves tax windfall for cricket World Cup

India has approved a proposal to exempt from tax part of the International Cricket Council's earnings from this year's World Cup tournament.

The exemption applies only to income raised in India, but does not include the lucrative earnings from global television and sponsorship rights.

The waiver is estimated to be worth about $10m (£6.2m).

India introduced a similar exemption in 2006 for the ICC Trophy cricket competition.

India often grants tax exemptions on ticket sales for popular movies, especially films which have a social or a patriotic message.

India will play Sri Lanka in the final of the tournament in the Indian city of Mumbai on Saturday.

Source: BBC

ICC Cricket World Cup: Mohali madness

It's the hottest ticket in town. With Mohali set to host the second semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup between arch rivals India and Pakistan on March 30, everybody who is somebody wants to get inside the stadium that day. On the last day of the Parliament’s Budget Session on Friday, Punjab Chief Minister Sukhbir SIngh Badal’s articulate MP-wife Harsimrat Badal was flooded with requests from fellow parliamentarians as well as VIPs from across the border for free passes. With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart set to watch the match live, many VIP seats have become unavailable due to security concerns. Some egos are certainly going to be left bruised at the end of the match, irrespective of the outcome.

Raja’s ghost

The ghost of the Spectrum scandal is haunting the India-Pakistan talks as well. India has been insisting to Pakistan that this round of talks cannot be termed as “composite dialogue”. So, another nomenclature, “comprehensive dialogue” was coined, but that seems to have been dropped as well. The Pakistan establishment then came up with a new nomenclature, “full spectrum dialogue” with the hope that this one would stick, but they were gently and informally told that the word “spectrum” has a negative resonance in the India these days. While Pakistan continues to use “full spectrum talks” in some of its official communications, the Indian side is happy just calling it “sustained engagement”, “dialogue” or just “talks”.

India Vs Pakistan semi final ICC Cricket World Cup

INDIA AND Pakistan, the two cricket crazy nations where cricket is like a religion, will meet in the second semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday, March 30.

An India vs Pakistan semi-final match of the World Cup 2011 will be the fifth encounter in a Cricket World Cup between the neighbouring countries since 1992 Cricket World Cup.

However, neither team has met in the semi-final or final of any of the previous World Cup matches. India has never lost to Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup so far.

In their first meet at Sydney Cricket Ground on March 4, 1992, during the 16th match of the Benson & Hedges World Cup, India won by 43 runs. In that match Sachin Tendulkar was named man-of-the-match for his all-round performance. He scored 54 runs and got the wicket of the dangerous left-handed batsman Aamer Sohail.

Both teams met for the second time in the second quarter final match of the Wills World Cup 1996 played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. India won that match by 39 runs and reached the semi final. Indian opener Navjot Sidhu scored 96 runs and Ajay Jadeja scored quick 45 runs in 25 balls in the last overs of the inning. Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble took three wickets each. Sidhu was announced man-of-the-match.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi finalist India and Pakistan met for the third time in the Super Sixes of the ICC World Cup 1999 at Old Trafford, Manchester. On that match India defeated Pakistan India by 47 runs. In that match Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Azharuddin played fifty-plus innings. Fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad was declared man-of-the-match because he ensured that five Pakistani batsmen went back to the pavilion.

For the fourth time, two arch rivals India and Pakistan met at SuperSport Park in Centurion, South Africa during the pool 'A' match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. With a quick fire knock by Sachin Tendulkar and a brilliant 50 by Yuvraj Singh, India won the match by six wickets. Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 98 runs, was awarded with the man-of-the-match.

In all the four previous ICC Cricket World Cup matches between India and Pakistan, the team that has won the toss, has decided to bat first. Out of the four matches, Indian captains have won the toss three times.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Live Stream Links

As you know the biggest event of Cricket World Cup 2011 has already began  with its grand Opening Event at Dhaka, Bangladesh (Photos) after some warm-up matches and now the tournament gonna start on 19th February 2011,see the Full Schedule & Live Updates here.It is also reported that ICC Cricket Teams may have face some terrorist threats because Worldcup hosted countries are not safe & secured so the Security Forces Prepared (Photos) for ICC Worldcup 2011.

In some countries viewers may not able to watch it live on air / TV so we are adding here ICC Cricket Worldcup Live Stream Links broadcast at various websites embedded from UStream,  Sopcast, Aliez, Stream Torrent, Tvants, Veeetle, Veedocast, Veemi, Espa, Boxlive, PPlive, PPstream, UUSEE, LimeV, Tvuplayer, Web (Flash), Mips .tv, Espa, Webcaston, freedocast, myp2p, p2p and viewlivesports.


All Cricket Streaming Channel links will time to time update here.

ICC World Cup Channel 1

ICC World Cup Channel 2 (Flash)

ICC World Cup Channel 3 (Ustream)

ICC World Cup Channel 4 (Flash)

ICC World Cup Channel 5 (WMP)

ICC sleeps over Cricket World Cup affairs

No other global tournament, much less a World Cup, can lay claim to such persistent tinkering. But it might be simplistic to lay all the blame at the doors of the administrators. True, they can be accused of knee-jerk responses and a certain lack of steadfastness and clarity, but, to a large degree, the ever-changing nature of the World Cup is a reflection of the churning the game has undergone in the last thirty years and the peculiar - and in many ways perilous - construct of the cricket economy.

In principle, the format of the last World Cup was perfect. It accommodated 16 teams, which meant slots for Kenya, Bermuda, Canada, Holland, Ireland, and Scotland, but there were four groups of four and the preliminary rounds comprised only 24 matches and spanned 12 days. So it was effectively a tournament of two halves; the Super Eights was meant to be the serious part, to be followed by semi-finals and the final. It could be said that the administrators had learnt from the mistakes of the 1999 and 2003 when, despite having fewer teams, it took an eternity to eliminate the lesser teams.

But what was a good idea in theory went horribly wrong in practice with Bangladesh and Ireland knocking out India and Pakistan in the first round, and condemning the Super Eights to a series of mismatches - and, far more significantly, knocking the bottom out of the financial model which was based on the assumption of India playing a minimum of nine matches. And so, the current abomination was born, designed solely to keep the game's breadwinner in the competition for as long as possible. But this also meant the first round, featuring mismatch after mismatch, would go on over a month.

And so the ICC, as if wise to its folly in advance, announced the change for the next World Cup even before the current one began. And even though the format hasn't been announced yet, it is more than likely that 2015 will be quite like 1992, although with one more team. In 1992, nine teams - the then Test teams plus Zimbabwe - played each other once and the top four teams qualified for the semi-finals.

Many regard it as the most evenly and keenly contested World Cup: Zimbabwe, who were granted Test status later that year, were no pushovers and the format allowed teams to recover from early reversals, as Pakistan, the champions, did. There were 39 matches, and it all ended in just over a month.

Inevitably, the ICC's decision has split opinion. As Graeme Swann, whose candour is as refreshing as his drifting and floating off spin, said poignantly before the tournament, the ICC's decision has taken the world out of the World Cup. Mahela Jayawardene, whose country steadily graduated to the top league after playing two World Cups as a non-Test playing nation, has added weight to the argument that denying the Associates their biggest stage will rob them of a major incentive to carry on playing and will be a huge setback to the spreading of the game. Allowing them to participate in the World Twenty20 isn't adequate compensation because the shortest form of the game is not the ideal means to develop true cricket skills.

The change need not be so drastic as to shut out those who can't match the might, either on the playing field or at the cash counter, of the elite nations.

Further, with the IPL and Champions League cornering a healthy chunk of the cricket calendar and most cricket boards making revenue their prime rationale for playing the game, even the tokenism of indulging the Associates with the odd ODI series has almost vanished. Ireland played only 11 ODIs against active Test nations after making it to Super Eights in the 2007 World Cup, while Kenya, who were at one point an intermittent participant in the limited-overs scene, have managed a mere two.

The other viewpoint, equally persuasive, is that the game's premier tournament should not be burdened, and consequently weakened, by the task of globalising the game. The presence of a huge number of weak teams leads to unequal and predictable match-ups, robbing the tournament of friction, intensity, competitiveness and spectator interest.

Cricket doesn't yet have the depth of football, and against the argument that even the football World Cup features weak teams is the fact that the length of the 50-over game amplifies the inequality of the contest.

Thank heavens for Ireland, who have injected uncertainty and life into Group B by their unbelievably magnificent upset of England; other Associates, barring the Netherlands in one innings, have however been uniformly miserable with the bat so far, and with Zimbabwe and even Bangladesh joining them it's mainly been, up to now, a weekend tournament. The most compelling aspect of this is a need for change.

However, the change need not be so drastic as to shut out those who can't match the might, either on the playing field or at the cash counter, of the elite nations. If there is willingness to consider it, a middle-ground exists to accommodate the Associates without diluting the World Cup or hurting the commercial interests of the broadcasters. This can be achieved simply making the first round of the World Cup effectively a qualifying tournament for the Top Ten.

Here's how it will work. The ICC is yet to decide how many teams will automatically qualify; this should be set at six. Which would mean four of the bottom-ranked teams among the ten Full Members - using this World Cup as an illustration it would mean New Zealand, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe - would join the top four among the Associates in a qualifier, the first round of the World Cup.

They could probably be split into two groups, with the top two from each group going into the second round - the Top Ten.

This will add to the tournament's length but these first-round matches can be played in a cluster of two or three a day and be finished within a week. It is now routine to play a few practice games before the tournament, and the top six teams can play their practice games concurrently.

This will give all the Associates the same number of matches they played in the 2007 World Cup; teams like Ireland will have a genuine chance to go to the next round; the contest in the second round will be far more even; the broadcasters will have a few more matches to televise; and for the viewers, even the first-round matches will carry meaning and context.

Cricket World Cup to take a toll on Bollywood

As ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 reaches its last league, cricket euphoria has gripped the nation. While a billion fans are betting high on India's chances in the tournament, Bollywood has taken a defensive stance in this cricket-heavy season. With only four B-budget releases since the start of the World Cup in mid-February — Tanu Weds Manu, Yeh Dooriyaan, Phirr and Shagird – film producers are anticipating a lull in the multiplexes and playing it safe.

Not a single Bollywood film releases between March 12 and March 31, which sees the last phase of the league matches, quarter-finals and semi-finals of the World Cup being played out between teams.

Film trade analyst Komal Nahta said, “The cricket season is a lean period for the film industry. Attendance in the theatres falls by almost 25-30%. Hence, producers avoid the risk of releasing big budget films during this season size shrinks. Logically, there are fewer releases and almost no big-budget films. With the World Cup happening in India, this year is even drier. We've seen 18-20% occupancy since the tournament began, which will drop by another 2-3% as it progresses towards the end.” This period of drought will be broken by Vashu Bhagnani’s Faltu, Eros International's multi-starrer Game, and PVR's Teen Thai Bhai, which release on April 1, a day before the World Cup final. Ram Mirchandani, chief creative officer, Eros International said, “If India reaches the final, we lose 8 hours which is about 3 shows. But the other shows should not get affected as audiences who have been starved off film content for a month, will lap up whatever is offered to them. We expect Game to do a business of R45-50 crore in the first week.”
As many as 15 releases, including big-budget films like...

ICC Cricket World Cup: Australia seal quarter-final slot by beating Kenya

AUSTRALIA failed to bowl out a much-improved Kenya side, but still won by 60 runs to seal a quarter-final place.

Collins Obuya fell agonisingly short of a century on 98 not out as he and Tanmay Mishra (72) led the resistance for Kenya, who finished on 264-6.

But Kenya’s scoring rate never really threatened Australia, who made a daunting 324-6, helped by Mike Hussey’s key innings.

Hussey (54) and Michael Clarke (93) put on 114 runs for the fifth wicket.

“I thought the Kenyans did a reasonable job,” said Australia captain Ricky Ponting. “We were a bit rusty.”

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: 'Upsets' Bring 'Delight' in World Cup

iSporter Vipul Deshpande summarizes the World Cup and it's highs and lows so far. However, here is the question - would you call these world cup upsets, or world cup delights?

The World Cup is in its last week of league matches and is at the peak of excitement. We have witnessed some nail biting finishes which made our heart skip a beat or two, while others have been a complete one sided affair.

A lot has been said on whether the associate members deserve to play in World Cups, but it is these weaker teams who bring the surprise element in the tournament. Everyone enjoyed watching Kevin o'Brien score the almost unbelievable innings of 63 ball 113 against England which caused the first major 'upset' of this World Cup. While it was a big upset for England, Ireland were praised all over the cricketing world for their sheer determination in chasing down 327, the highest second innings total for a winning cause in the World Cup history, and Kevin o'Brien became an overnight hero.

Worse was yet  to come for England as just nine days later, they suffered another humiliating defeat at the hands of dangerous Bangladesh by two wickets, who themselves were bowled out for just 59 runs in their previous game. Captain Shakib Al Hasan himself played a crucial role in this pride salvaging win of Bangladesh.

Another surprise came in group A, when Pakistan, who were a completely messed up team entering the tournament, not knowing who their captain would be, defeated Sri Lanka, who have one of the most balanced side, filled with big names.

We also witnessed Netherlands and Kenya giving England and Australia a run for their money, though they could not reach the finishing line

It is such games, which produce the most unexpected results that give an interesting twist to what would have been a predictable and hence boring tournament, had it not included the associate members or other weaker test playing nations a chance to participate in World Cup.

Not much was expected from these 'weaker' teams other than giving a scare to the strong opponents in a match or two, but they have certainly performed a lot better than that and are certainly making ICC rethink their plan to field only 10 teams in the next World Cup. Had Ireland not been participating, we would have missed the brutal counter attacking innings by Kevin o'Brien.

It also must not be forgotten that teams like India and Sri Lanka were once one of the weakest One Day sides. India had lost all their league matches in the 1979 World Cup and in the very next edition, they were the World Champions. No one took Sri Lanka seriously until they stunned the world by lifting the Trophy in 1996. Had Sri Lanka been discarded from World Cups, labeling them as a 'weak' team, cricket would have never seen two of its greatest players, r, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan, cast their magic on the field. Bangladesh were criticized heavily for not raising their standard of performance, before they sent home India packing in the 2007 World Cup. Today they command equal, if not more respect from all opponents.

So, if One Day cricket, which has been under lot of scanner, has to survive and if ICC wants World Cups to be as interesting as they have been so far, associate members must be given a chance to participate so that cricket is the ultimate winner, as more and more world class players as well as teams will emerge.

Cricket World Cup: Ireland captain reprimanded by ICC

Ireland captain William Porterfield has been reprimanded by the International Cricket Council for his criticism of an umpire after they lost to West Indies.

Porterfield was angered by a reviewed decision to give Gary Wilson out lbw in Friday's 44-run defeat in Mohali.

The Irish skipper pleaded guilty to a section in ICC's code of conduct which bans public criticism of officials.

But he avoided a fine as match referee Roshan Mahanama took into account that it was his first such offence.

Wilson was adjudged lbw but despite TV replays and the ball-tracking technology suggesting the decision should have been overturned, umpire Asoka de Silva refused to change his mind.

"The decision was crucial and cost us the game," said Porterfield shortly after Friday's defeat.

"When you have the technology and advantage of TV replays, that is supposed to eradicate mistakes."

The decision prompted Wilson to protest to the Sri Lanka umpire and West Indies captain Darren Sammy intervened to tell the Irish batsman to leave the field.

Wilson appeared to have pushed outside the line and got the pad outside the line of off stump, but the umpire stuck to his guns even after the Irish batsman asked for a second review.

TV replays seemed to show the batsman had offered a shot but de Silva's decision was apparently based on the view that Wilson had not done so.

Porterfield said the decision cost his side the game at a time when, at 199-5, they were well placed to chase the target of 276, with Wilson cruising on 61.

"The replays showed Wilson was trying to play a shot and that could be seen on the big screen (on the ground) as well," Porterfield added in a post-match interview on Friday.

"The game was at a crucial stage. If that decision was not made, we could have opted for the powerplays, but that wicket forced us to delay it."

Highlights - Smith ton crushes Irish hopes (UK users only)

ICC announces public ballot process for World Cup semi-finals, final tickets

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday announced the process for the public sale of tickets for the World Cup semi-finals in Colombo and Mohali, on March 29 and 30 respectively, and the final to be held in Mumbai on April 2.

When the tickets were initially programmed to go on sale on February 21 the demand was so great that the website was overloaded.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said that the ballot will open on Monday.

"It was most unfortunate and no blame should be directed at Kyazoonga, the ICC's official ticketing partner, as no one could have anticipated that tens of millions people would be trying to access the site an hour before it went live. In truth Kyazoonga have been an innocent third party in all the issues we have had with ticketing," Lorgat said.

"In conjunction with the hosts, we have now agreed that a ballot system is the best means of releasing any available tickets for the semis and final. The high demand clearly proves the massive attraction of the World Cup and format of 50 overs cricket," he added.

In dismissing media perceptions about a letter addressed to ICC President Sharad Pawar, Lorgat added: "To help resolve our ticketing challenges we have also engaged the offices of ICC President Pawar to assist us as he has done with several other issues related to World Cup planning."

Lorgat also reflected on the fact that two contractors had been arrested in Sri Lanka for selling tickets on the black market.

"We will support and encourage the actions of Sri Lanka Cricket in having such persons arrested for black market selling. It must serve as a warning that we will not hesitate to take action against anyone who abuses the system and sells tickets illegally," Lorgat said.

The ballot process is as follows:

STEP ONE:

You may apply for the 'Ticket Public Ballot' from February 28 to March 6.

You need to fill in a the Public Ballot application form at http://cwc2011ballot.kyazoonga.com

A ticket limit of two tickets per applicant applies. Only one application per person.

STEP TWO:

You will receive a Ballot Confirmation Number once you complete and submit your application. No up-front payment is required at this stage.

STEP THREE:

Please read and follow the instructions carefully before completing the form. If you break any of the rules all tickets you may be offered will be cancelled.

All Ballot applications must be submitted no later than March 6.

STEP FOUR:

The draw will be made by computer on March 10 and successful applicants will be informed by e-mail on March 11. If you have not heard from Kyazoonga by March 12, please assume that your application was not successful in the ballot.

STEP FIVE:

Successful applicants will be able to pay for their tickets through Kyazoonga's secure payment processing website where they will be shown the transaction amount and asked to pay online using credit card/debit card/net-banking. If your transaction is not successful, your place in the draw will be offered to the next polled applicant from the draw.

STEP SIX:

Upon successful payment completion, you will receive a confirmation page and email. Please print the page and keep the e-mail. You will receive your tickets from the third week of March. (ANI)

Cricket World Cup: Proteas score epic win after a long march against India

The first instance of these reactions to major pressure was reining in the Indian innings. It had threatened to run away into an unassailable score as Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag took advantage of a sloppy start by South Africa – including missing a standard chance off Morné Morkel’s third ball – and posted 142 in 17.4 overs. Gautam Gambhir came in after the departure of Sehwag and stuck with Tendulkar (who scored his 99th international hundred), pushing the score to 267 for 1 with 10 overs and a batting Power Play to come. It was quite conceivable at this point that South Africa could have been chasing more than 350, possibly even 400.
Johan Botha had earlier applied the brakes somewhat, pulling the run rate below seven an over with a superb spell of seven overs for only 24 after all the other bowlers had been clobbered. But as has happened throughout the tournament, the Power Play changed everything. India, having cruised to the 40th over, collapsed in the face of disciplined South African bowling and excellent fielding. Tendulkar tried to smash the first ball of the Power Play through the leg side and lobbed a leading edge to point. Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan and Yuvraj Singh also departed during the five overs, but the collapse continued. Virat Kohli popped a return catch to Peterson and then Dale Steyn destroyed the tail with five wickets in a Man-of-the-Match performance. By the end, India had lost nine wickets for 29 runs to post 296 – still a very good score, but South Africa went into the innings break feeling the match was back on their terms.
Graeme Smith captained the side well toward the end of the innings (coming back well after some really odd earlier decisions) by keeping the field up and starving the Indians of singles as Indian skipper MS Dhoni just couldn’t get on strike to build anything with the tail. It was a superb come-back – one of the best ever – but there was still serious work to be done in the chase on a dry pitch that was beginning to slow up.

Photo: India's Sachin Tendulkar (L) plays a shot during their ICC Cricket World Cup group B match against South Africa in Nagpur March 12, 2011. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash.
South Africa began the chase in usual fashion, electing to keep wickets in hand and have a thrash at the end – a tactic that would ultimately, yet marginally, prove successful. Smith, however, still looks remarkably out of form and his situation with Zaheer Khan is becoming Warne-Cullinanesque as he was dismissed by the bowler for the 13th time. Jacques Kallis joined Hashim Amla and the pair kept the innings steady in the face of commentators and fans alike whining about the lack of boundaries.
What many people fail to understand is that South Africa are absolutely superb in the middle overs of an innings. While many teams stagnate outside the initial Power Play overs, South Africa’s scoring rate, in general, actually increases – AB de Villiers is the best in the world at that point in an innings and Amla is third best, taking into account runs scored, strike rate and how often they go out. And it is this principle that applied once again as I think the number of twos we ran today was the major difference between the sides. Amla and Kallis raised the runs-an-over rate at about the same speed one turns a cruise ship, but it was indeed on the up when Harbhajan Singh dismissed Amla with one that spat off the deck and brushed his edge on the way through to Dhoni.
Kallis, who continued as the anchor, was then joined by De Villiers who injected the innings with exactly what he usually does – using his feet to the spinners, timing the ball superbly and exuding exactly the correct assertive body language required. His 52 off 39 balls sped the innings up and gave South Africa an excellent shot at victory before he was caught on the long-leg boundary and Kallis ran himself out.
JP Duminy was stumped off a wide after scoring 23 off 20 balls and it was once again left to the lower order, along with Faf du Plessis, to scrape the runs required for victory. Morné van Wyk came and went pretty quickly, and his selection as the reserve wicket keeper still mystifies me. Although he may be a better batsman on paper than Mark Boucher, Boucher is a better keeper, an excellent finisher, bats well with the tail and has the BMT of someone who’s returned from war.

Photo: India's captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni stumps South Africa's Jean-Paul Duminy (R) during their ICC Cricket World Cup group B match in Nagpur March 12, 2011. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash.
The fallen wickets had swung this yoyo of a match back in India’s favour, but then came the second big response to major pressure.
Johan Botha’s short, but sharp innings of 23 off 15 balls swung the momentum back the Proteas’ way. When he was out South Africa required 17 off the last two overs, and then 13 off the last. Robin Peterson wound up on strike for the last over, which was surprisingly bowled by Ashish Nehra when many of us expected Harbhajan Singh to be given the ball.
At this stage I would have said India were the favourites to win, particularly as Du Plessis, the better batsman was off strike. Peterson, however, kept a cool head on his shoulders. He swung so hard at the first ball of the over that the resultant wind may have changed the temperature in Nagpur, but his inside edge went down to the fine leg boundary for four. Nine needed off 5 balls.  Nehra (mystifyingly) bowled another length ball which Peterson swung at again and this time he connected - a huge six sailed over cow corner and the match clearly swung South Africa's way with 3 needed off four balls. A scampered two meant only one was needed and a smash to the cover boundary while, Indians and South Africans were hyperventilating, off the next ball sewed up the win.
While South Africa played well, India did let themselves down somewhat. Zaheer Khan has the ability to spear reverse-swinging yorkers in at will, but none of him, Munaf Patel or Nehra produced any. The outfielders also should have put more pressure on the South African running, with the amount of twos costing them dearly. The decision not to play Ravichandran  Ashwin or Piyush Chawla also hurt them today - 10 more overs of high-quality spin could have made a huge difference.
With fixtures against Ireland and Bangladesh to come, and only one victory required for a confirmed quarter-final spot, with renewed confidence South Africa look set to keep the momentum going.
And perhaps we’ll get a respite for a few days from those who screech “choke” after every South African loss. DM

---

India 296 off 48.4 overs (Tendulkar 111, Sehwag 73, Gambhir 69, Steyn 5/50) lost to South Africa 300/7 off 49.4 overs (Amla 61, Kallis 69, de Villiers 52, Singh 3/53).

India:
MS Dhoni (c & w/k), Virender Sehwag. Sachin Tendulkar, Guatam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel

South Africa:
Graeme Smith (c), Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers ,JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Morne an Wyk (wk), Johan Botha, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel
Main photo: South Africa's Faf du Plessis watches the ball after playing a shot during their ICC Cricket World Cup group B match against India in Nagpur March 12, 2011. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash.

Cricket World Cup: Bangladeshis toast win over England

For those who were at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhdury stadium in Chittagong, or even those watching on television, there were no dull moments.

The World Cup match between co-hosts Bangladesh and visitors England on Friday was a dramatic and nail-biting game that changed colours like a chameleon.

Bangladesh had gone in to face one of the strongest teams in the tournament on the back of a humiliating defeat by West Indies when their entire battling line-up could only manage 58 runs - the lowest score by a Test nation in a World Cup match.

The stark contrast here, along with some sensational performances by the local boys, made the match a memorable one for Bangladeshis.

Skipper Shakib al Hasan decided to bowl first after winning the toss, despite the fact that he was bitterly criticised by former players when he put India into bat first in the tournament's opening match, which they lost by five wickets.

But his bowlers, dominated by the spinners, responded well in a do-or-die match for Bangladesh, sending three top order English batsmen to the pavilion with only 53 runs on the board.

Speaking to the BBC, former national team captain Khaled Mashhud even praised the decision of opting to field first.

"Sending the England team to bat first on a pitch like this was a very good decision and it resulted in some early wickets," he said.

But then Jonathon Trott and Eoin Morgan stood tall on a sluggish track and it looked like the match was about to slip out of Bangladesh's hands.

However, Naeem Islam struck with his spin and removed Morgan to end a 109-run partnership.

England could manage only 225 and Bangladesh's hopes of victory - and the dreams of 160 million people eager to see their team reach the quarter-finals - were still alive.

The home team, in reply, started well with a 50-run opening partnership and at that point it seemed they were going to beat England easily.

But the colour changed quickly. Three wickets fell with the score at only 73, before captain Hasan and opener Imrul Kayes applied the emergency brake.

The team, however, faltered again. Kayes tried to take a second run that was not there, ending an assuring partnership for Bangladesh.

They were collapsing in a heap - eight wickets down with 57 runs still needed.

"I thought we had lost the game," Hasan said after the match.

But then came a turn-around like nothing seen since the country was given Test status a decade ago. When the eighth wicket fell, spectators booed the players and started to leave the stadium. Those who left missed one of the greatest finishes Bangladesh have ever taken part in.

A few fortunate ones rushed back to the galleries as number 10 batsman Shafiul Islam hit a six off Ajmal Shahzad.

"Finally it's a dramatic win," said former Bangladesh captain Raquibul Hasan after Mahmudullah hit the winning run. "Bangladesh deserved it."

Bangladesh's tendency to collapse under pressure is well-known, so England had a real chance to win the match.

"That didn't happen because of the 50-plus run partnership between Shafiul and Mahmudullah," Raquibul added. "They handled the pressure well, they were courageous."

The spectacular win sent thousands of fans into wild jubilation, both in the stadium in Chittagong, in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka and across the country.

"I'm so excited that I cannot talk now," said Mahbubul Alam, a capital market investor, as he left the stadium.

Shipping executive Syed Mohammad Tarique said it was his most memorable day because Bangladesh had beaten the country that invented cricket. "Unbelievable," he told the BBC.

Among the spectators was Eva Nafees, the sister-in-law of Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal. She said she would never forget the day.

"People's love and prayers helped the team win," she said. Dhaka residents were just as excited with the win. Dhaka University campus, where several thousand people had watched the match on giant screens, was the centre of celebrations.

Girls and boys waved flags from motorbikes, banging drums and blowing vuvuzelas in the middle of the night as people shouted: "Bangladesh, Bangladesh … Shafiul is the real hero."

It is not common for girls to celebrate on Dhaka streets in the middle of the night but one who came out declared: "I cannot express how good I'm feeling now.

"The win is sweeter for me because I was frustrated at one point when the wickets were falling like anything."

Those who could not come out celebrated at home. One man wrote on his Facebook page: "My kids went to the rooftop and screamed at the tops of their voices. The sound of vuvuzelas even sounded sweeter tonight. Bravo Tigers."

Bangladeshi fans are often criticised for their extreme acts. After the defeat by West Indies, a section of angry fans stoned the visiting team's bus believing it belonged to the Bangladesh team. Captain Hasan's home was also stoned.

But after the England match, both teams were stranded at the stadium for around four hours as thousands of cheering fans turned up for an impromptu carnival, blocking traffic in the roads leading to the teams' hotel in the process.

ICC Cricket World Cup: DMD music to be released at cricket stadium

Nagpur, Mar 12 (IBNS): Cricket clearly seems to be the overwhelming flavour of the season as producers of the music of upcoming flick ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ have decided to launch the soundtrack during the interval of the India-South Africa clash at Nagpur.

The music will be launched in between the two innings, within the stadium.

“In Nagpur! India vs South Africa! D whole Dum Maaro Dum team is here! 2 launch our music at the stadium between the innings! Exciting day ahead!,” actor Bipasha Basu tweeted.

Directed by Rohan Sippy, the film ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ features B-town stars like Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Aditya Pancholi and Deepika Padukone.

Popular music director Pritam has composed music for this movie.

The film is expected to hit the silver screen on Apr 22, 2011.

Sri Lanka one win away from Cricket World Cup quarter-final

March 8, 2011 (Island Cricket): Co-hosts Sri Lanka are one win away from entering the quarter finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Kumar Sangakkara’s men have two matches, against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, remaining in the group stages of the tournament to qualify.

Currently with five points from four matches, Sri Lanka will look to seal the deal on Thursday, when they take on Zimbabwe at the Pallekele Stadium.

In the event Zimbabwe spring an upset, the 1996 World Cup winners will be left with their group match against New Zealand in Mumbai to qualify.

The loss against Pakistan and the rain abandoned match against Australia have pushed the pre-tournament favourites into a tight spot, requiring them to win one of their last two remaining matches or face a shocking early exit.

However, Sri Lanka will remain hopeful of knocking over light-weights Zimbabwe, who have never defeated them either in the subcontinent or in a World Cup fixture before.

But memories of that devastating loss to Kenya in the 2003 World Cup, coupled with the pressure of qualifying for the next round, will mean that Sangakkara’s men will find themselves under pressure.

Watch India vs Netherlands live - streaming icc cricket world cup 2011

More than 20 million watch Americans India vs Netherlands have multiple ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Social Security numbers online (SSNs) associated score with their highlights name in commercial records according to a new study announced in December from ID Analytics, Inc. The study found that rather than serving as a unique identifier, more than 40 million SSNs are associated with multiple people.

6.1 percent of Americans have at least two SSNs associated with their name. More than 100,000 Americans have five or more SSNs associated with their name.

Dr. Stephen Coggeshall, chief technology officer, at ID Analytics said. “Most of these cases of duplication are likely due to simple data entry errors as opposed to deliberate falsification. Nevertheless, organizations expose themselves and their customers to risk if they solely rely on the SSN to verify an individual.”

India vs Netherlands

Watch Cricket World Cup 2011 online live - stream here

ID Analytics analyzed 290 million Social Security numbers, and found that 1 in 7 are associated with more than one name. Anywhere from 3-4 million names are directly used to commit fraud.

MSNBC reported the same study showed 140,000 SSNs are connected to 5 or more people and 27,000 SSNs are connected to 10 or more people.

Some of these secondary SSNs are the result of typos where an administrator may incorrectly enter a digit and then that secondary SSN is now connected to a person’s credit going forward.

In other cases it is deliberate fraud. When the same person is shown using multiple Social Security numbers on purpose then a flag is raised.

Consumers often find out their SSN is compromised as a result of being denied credit or when bill collectors call them for non payment.

Cricket World Cup: Ireland brought back down to earth by hosts India

IRELAND failed to spring another shock at the Cricket World Cup as Yuvraj Singh inspired India to victory in Bangalore.

The all-rounder took five wickets, including the scalp of danger man Kevin O'Brien, for just 31 runs as the Irish were limited to 207 in the Group B clash.

Singh then hit an unbeaten 50 with the bat as the hosts reached their total for the loss of five wickets with four overs to spare.

Zaheer Khan gave India a terrific start by dismissing Paul Stirling and Ed Joyce for the loss of just nine runs. But Irish skipper William Porterfield (75) steadied the ship with Niall O'Brien (45) before Singh turned on the style.

He ripped into the Irish batting line-up and dismissed O'Brien - the hero of Wednesday's stunning victory over England - for just nine runs.

India started their innings nervously, losing Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, but Sachin Tendulkar put them on the front foot with a knock of 38.

Mahendra Singh and Virat Kohli also chipped in before Singh and Yusuf Pathan (30 not out) steered India home.

Cricket World Cup: Rush for tickets leads to violence

Police in Nagpur have been involved in confrontations with cricket fans queuing for tickets to see India's match against South Africa on 12 March.

On Tuesday the police charged crowds outside the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium with sticks.

Fans had been waiting since Monday evening and some are said to have broken barriers and rushed the ticket offices, prompting the action.

There have been reports of minor injuries in the Indian press.

The ICC would not comment on the matter, while the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could not be reached for comment.

It is not the first time there have been such scenes in India, after similar violent clashes between spectators and police occurred in Bangalore on 24 February.

On that occasion tens of thousands of fans had camped outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to purchase tickets for the match between India and England that took place on 27 February.

There was violence when they were told the 7,000 tickets allocated for the public had all been sold, so the police responded with baton charges.

The stadium has a capacity of 38,400.

The rest of the tickets were distributed among the ICC and clubs affiliated to local cricket associations.

Demand for tickets has been particularly high whenever India, the co-host along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, have been playing. The final and semi-finals have also attracted huge interest.

The website selling 1,000 tickets for the World Cup final crashed when 10 million hits were recorded in only 20 minutes. A ballot system was subsequently set up to manage demand.

The Group B game with India will be important for South Africa, who are still hoping to finish top of England's group.

India, however, are the favourites to lift the trophy in April. 

Govt exempts custom duty for cricket World Cup

NEW DELHI: With India hosting the lion's share of cricket World Cup matches, Sports Minister Ajay Maken today said his department has exempted custom duty on the import of equipments and consumables necessary for the smooth conduct of the tournament.

While replying to a question during a question-hour session in the Lok Sabha Maken said, "Government has given custom duty exemption for temporary imports of sports equipments and import of sport consumables required for the World Cup ."

"Venue related assistance such as security and other logistic support is being extended by the state governments concerned," the minister added.

Maken also apprised the parliament about the number of matches being held in India and informed the house that the India-England tie on February 27, which was originally scheduled to be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, had to be shifted to Bangalore because of the veue's unpreparedness.

"BCCI has informed that 14 countries are participating in ICC CWC 2011. There are 29 matches in India at eight venues. 12 games are in Sri Lanka and eight games in Bangladesh," he said.

Timeline of the ICC World Cup problems

The Cricket World Cup has been plagued with problems in the build-up and during the Feb. 19-April 2 event which only started in India on Saturday.

Here is a timeline on the problems which have cropped up in the tournament so far.

Jan. 27: Eden Gardens is stripped of its only match involving the host nation (India vs England on Feb 27) because the International Cricket Council do not feel it will be ready in time after undergoing a construction facelift.

Feb. 18: Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium is given a scare ahead of its preparation to stage the April 2 World Cup final, when the city's top fire chief says "the renovated stadium has many loopholes in its fire safety mechanism" and refuses to approve it.

Organisers hastily fix the problems and it is declared safe days later.

Feb. 21: KyaZoonga -- the official website selling World Cup tickets -- crashes before the site even goes live for the sale of 1,000 tickets for the final. The ICC later says that 10 million tried to access it in 20 minutes.

Feb. 24: Police launch a baton charge on fans who have spent the night queuing for tickets for the India-England match at Bangalore.

A leaked ICC letter criticises the Indian governing body, the BCCI, over its ticketing policy. It says that the competition sponsors are beginning to become concerned about the hitches. The BCCI responds that "these things happen in India".

March 2: BCCI writes an open letter to the ICC criticising its "inadequate" umpire decision review system and attacking the governing body's general manager Dave Richardson for comments about Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

March 8: Police launch baton-charge in Nagpur on fans seeking tickets for the India vs South Africa match on March 12. The police action is defended by Dhoni: "They (police) should not be projected in a bad light all the time."

Cricket World Cup: Botha set for comeback, but Johnston faces race against time for Windies battle

There was good and worrying news yesterday as Ireland prepared for their must-win fourth match at the ICC World Cup against West Indies on Friday.

The good news is that Andre Botha is expected to be fit after recovering from the groin strain which kept him out of Ireland’s last two matches, but Trent Johnston is a major doubt because of a badly bruised right knee and he is not expected to resume training until Thursday at the earliest.

However, it was Niall O’Brien who was inadvertently dragged into the spotlight when his bats failed to arrive at the team hotel in Bangalore before the squad left for the airport in mid-morning to get their flight to Chandigarh, where they will spend the next five nights.

The protocol at major tournaments is for the players’ kit and luggage to be transported separately from the ground to the hotel, but on Sunday night, after the defeat to India, one bag was missing, the one containing O’Brien’s five Gray Nicholls bats and another he had received as a gift from India’s Suresh Raina, one of the four squad players not involved in Sunday’s action.

O’Brien’s sponsor has agreed to replace the bats, but the one which the Northamptonshire player has used in this World Cup — in which he has scored 113 runs — has been his No. 1 choice for the last eight months.

“Every bat has a different feel and you get used to a particular bat and you never want to change it, especially if you are scoring consistent runs,” said O’Brien.

“I only had Raina’s bat in my possession for about 10 minutes when I put it in the bag. Let’s hope they eventually turn up.”

It was Niall’s brother, Kevin, who was the centre of attention at the airport yesterday, besieged by autograph hunters and Indians wanting their picture taken with the player who hit the fastest century in World Cup history to help beat England last week.

Meanwhile, Ireland physio Kieran O’Reilly gave an update on the injury list which could yet deal a serious blow to the team’s chances of reaching the quarter finals. They will have to win two of their last three games against West Indies, the strong South Africa side and the Netherlands.

O’Reilly indicated that Johnston will need a lot of rest if he is to be ready for the next match.

“His knee was immobilised to fly and he is a doubt for the West Indies game, but we will take a decision on that in three days time. He is on anti-inflammatory pain killers and he won’t be doing anything until Thursday. Another 48 hours will give us a good idea of his chances of facing the West Indies,” he said last night.

There was much more encouraging news on Botha.

“He is very good, a big improvement from yesterday. We will reassess him tomorrow but he should have no problem being ready for Friday,” added O’Reilly.

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Canada posted their first win of the 2011 World Cup, beating Kenya by five wickets in their Group A clash in Delhi yesterday.

The North American side bowled Kenya out for 198, with Henry Osinde taking four for 26.