Grand finale to Tirumala Brahmotsavam

The nine-day annual Brahmotsavam at the temple of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala concluded on a grand note on Friday with ‘Chakrasnanam'.

GRAND PROCESSION

The deities of Lord and his two consorts along with ‘Sudarshan Chakra' were carried in a grand procession to Sri Varahaswamy temple situated on the north-west bank of the temple Pushkarini in the small hours where they were performed ‘Snapana Thirumanjanam.' Amidst chanting of vedic hymns, the temple priests conducted the `thirumanjanam' to the deities with milk, curd, honey, sugar, along with the traditional ‘sahasradhara.'

‘CHAKRASNANAM'

After the completion of the formalities, the priests performed ‘Chakrasnanam', wherein the idol of Sudarsana chakra was dipped in the waters of the holy tank. Then tens of thousands of devotees, who till then waited patiently on the steps of the temple, had a dip in the tank waters. The temple administration deployed swimmers all along the massive tank to meet any exigency.

Andhra Pradesh Governor E. S. L. Narasimhan also took part in the ‘Chakrasnanam' along with his wife Vimala Narasimhan. Talking to journalists, the Governor said he would leave for New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He refuted reports in a section of the electronic media about his health and asserted that he was in good health.

Bangalore thump New South Wales, enter final

IN THE last two T20 games played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, 836 runs have been made in 78.3 overs. Fans of Royal Challengers, though, aren't worried by this appalling lack of challenge for batsmen. Their home team has now entered the final of the Champions League, chasing down 200-plus for the second game in a row.
New South Wales did most things right today after being inserted by Daniel Vettori. The Australian side imposed themselves on Bangalore's bowlers in making 203-2. David Warner's stunning 123 (68b) and his power-packed 146-run stand with wicketkeeper batsman Daniel Smith set the tone for the day.

In these times when bats are heavy, boundaries are short, and bowlers are masochistic creatures who exist only to be punished, a single act of defiance makes a huge difference. So it was today. RCB's Tillakaratne Dilshan bowled his four overs for just 10 -- a fine achievement in a game where 26 sixes and 34 fours were scored.
The theme repeated itself during Bangalore's chase, when Patrick Cummins' three wickets in four balls gave Bangalore a scare. Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli had their feet on NSW's throat. Gayle (92 off 41b, 8x6, 8x4) nearly became the first batsman to score four T20 hundreds, and added 141 off just 66 balls with Virat Kohli (84, 49b, 10x4, 3x6), who guided them home.
Young seamer Cummins, barely out of school, had conceded 22 in his second over. In his third, he removed Gayle with a marginal LBW, and then beat Saurabh Tiwary's high backlift with a fast yorker. He missed a hat-trick by a ball, dismissing Mayank Agarwal with a dubious caught-behind.
Cummins' first 16 balls went for 1-42; in his last eight balls he had 3-3. A couple of quiet overs went by, before Kohli shot Bangalore out of a panicky situation, taking 16 off Mitchell Starc's 18th over. It was easy thereon.
The disturbing thing about today's game is that most of the 26 sixes weren't small ones, especially during Bangalore's chase. Gayle and Kohli consistently hit them several rows back. In one case, Gayle cleared the roof.
Smith had plenty to say from behind the stumps as he had while batting. Sreenath Aravind gave him a mouthful as he walked off. During the chase, Gayle had to step in to break an argument between Smith and Kohli, who was extremely expressive today, celebrating his sixes and fours by punching the air.
Warner's brutal innings made it the first occasion of a batsman making back-to-back hundreds in T20 cricket. Three days ago in Chennai, his unbeaten 135 had knocked the defending champions Super Kings out of the tournament.
He had struck eight sixes and 11 fours there. Today, the short boundaries of the Chinnaswamy Stadium proved no challenge for him.
Warner's Australian counterpart Dirk Nannes and Aravind were singled out for punishment. Warner went after nearly everything they'd bowled at him. Nannes conceded 36 off 15 balls to him and Aravind 39 off 15.
The highlight of the innings, however, was the switch-hit off Raju Bhatkal. Warner spotted the slower one early, changed his stance and grip, and slogged the ball wide of midwicket. Or would that be extra cover?

Nadal, Ferrer advance to Japan Open quarters

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Milos Raonic of Canada on Thursday.

Nadal, ranked No. 2, will take on unseeded Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in the final eight. Giraldo beat Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 6-4, 7-6 (4) earlier.

In other matches, third-seeded David Ferrer of Spain advanced with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden

Ferrer will next face Radek Stepanek after the Czech beat Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-1.

Second-seeded Andy Roddick plays America’s Alex Bogomolov Jr. in a late match.

Trailing 6-5 and serving at 30-30 in the 12th game of the first set, Raonic double faulted to hand the Nadal set point. The Canadian then hit a forehand long to give the Spaniard the set.

In the second set, Nadal broke the big-serving Raonic in the sixth game to go up 4-2, then stayed on serve and closed out the contest in 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Nadal, the defending champion, got in 77 per cent of his first serves in the victory and Raonic was not able to gain a single break point against the 10-time Grand Slam champion in the match.

Raonic’s powerful forehand was impressive, but he also committed several unforced errors in the defeat.

Rain scuttles MI's hopes

Mumbai Indians will have to wait until Sunday for a chance to enter the semifinals of the Champions League T20 after inclement weather forced it to share points with Cape Cobras in their Group B fixture here on Friday.

Rapid knocks by Sarul Kanwar (45, 21b, 3x4, 5x6) and Kieron Pollard 58 (37b, 6x4, 3x6) had helped Mumbai post 176 in 20 overs before rain intervened at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

In fact the heavens opened up in the final over of the first innings, ground staff scurrying on with the covers the moment the last ball had been bowled.

Though it never really came down in torrents, a steady drizzle remained, scuppering the possibility of any further play. Match referee Roshan Mahanama officially declared the match abandoned a little after 11 p.m.

If Mumbai's top order had been guilty of misfiring earlier, there was little cause for complaint on this occasion. Twentytwo-year-old Kanwar, making his debut for the team in place of T. Suman, led off, picking Charl Langeveldt up over deep-midwicket (a shot he was to play twice more) in the second over.

At the other end, Aiden Blizzard — though not entirely comfortable against Dale Steyn's pace — took 10 runs off him. J.P. Duminy was brought on in the fifth over but went for 17; Kanwar followed up a sixer with two boundaries, driving Mumbai's total up to 50.

Delightful driving

Kanwar welcomed Robin Peterson with his fifth six, delightfully driving ‘inside out' over long off, but was caught attempting the same shot the delivery immediately after.

Blizzard fell in Peterson's next over and it appeared Cape Cobras had managed to put the skids on. Over a four-and-a-half over period — that also included Ambati Rayudu's dismissal — Mumbai had gone from 65 for no wicket to 78 for three, but Cobras had only been lulled into a false hope.

Pollard, promoted up the order ahead of Andrew Symonds, rose from the slumber he had seemingly been in earlier in the tournament, commencing his assault in the 12th over with two colossal hits over long-on off Duminy.

Peterson had returned two for 13 from his first three overs but James Franklin tarnished his pristine figures with consecutive sixes.

Pollard ripped into Langeveldt next, powering a ball from outside off-stump into the stands over midwicket before battering two fours.

However, the hulking West Indian proved he was endowed with more than just muscle, raising his half century in the 18th over with a delicately-guided boundary to third-man.

Desperate to stem the haemorrhage of runs, captain Justin Kemp had bowled himself an over earlier, and removed Franklin. Sixtynine runs (43b) had been added for the fourth wicket.

Pollard finally perished at the hands of Steyn — the most economical of Cobras' bowlers on the night — holing out to Owais Shah at long-off.

Mumbai would have wished for him to carry on, but Symonds ensured there was no let-up. The side would have fancied its chances of defending 176 but the weather gods had the final say.

The scores: Mumbai Indians: A. Blizzard c Shah b Peterson 19 (24b, 1x4, 1x6), S. Kanwar c Shah b Peterson 45 (21b, 3x4, 5x6), A. Rayudu c Shah b Duminy 6 (7b, 1x4), J. Franklin c Levi b Kemp 18 (18b, 2x6), K. Pollard c Shah b Steyn 58 (37b, 6x4, 3x6), A. Symonds (not out) 14 (8b, 3x4), Harbhajan (not out) 3 (5b); Extras (b-2, w-11): 13; Total (for five wickets in 20 overs) 176.

Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-69, 3-75, 4-144, 5-165.

Cape Cobras bowling: Steyn 4-0-24-1, Langeveldt 4-0-45-0, Duminy 3-0-38-1, Philander 4-0-36-0, Peterson 4-0-29-2, Kemp 1-0-2-1.

Emphatic win keeps Knight Riders afloat

In a week building along nicely towards the Durga Puja festivities, Kolkata Knight Riders pepped up its fan-base with an emphatic nine-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in a Champions League Group B match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday night.

Skipper Gautam Gambhir (55 n.o., 31b, 3x4, 4x6) and Man of the Match Jacques Kallis (64 n.o., 47b, 4x4, 1x6) helped KKR stay afloat with two points from three matches while RCB suffered its second loss on the trot. Chasing RCB's 169 for nine, KKR scored 171 for one in 17.3 overs.

KKR set off eagerly with Brad Haddin dominating the opening partnership of 62 runs from 44 deliveries with Kallis. Haddin (42, 27b, 5x4, 2x6) tucked into S. Arvind and the left-arm seamer was straining to see where the ball had vanished while there was no time to savour his selection to the Indian One Day International squad.

Haddin failed to cash in on a reprieve as Tillakaratne Dilshan, who replaced an injured A.B. de Villiers in the RCB eleven, failed to stump him off Syed Mohammad. Haddin added two more runs and drove host skipper Daniel Vettori straight to Virat Kohli.

The pursuit suffered no hitches as Gambhir joined Kallis. The KKR captain watched a heave off debutant Raju Bhatkal pop out of a leaping Saurabh Tiwary's hands at long-off.

At the other end, Kallis whittled his runs with ease as a match-winning unbeaten 109-run second-wicket partnership took shape. And when Gambhir smote RCB's key bowlers — Vettori and Dirk Nannes — over mid-wicket, KKR was well on course to a much-needed victory.

Earlier, RCB's Chris Gayle (25) stayed quiet during Brett Lee's opening over. Lee bowled a shade outside the off-stump and a rare maiden was registered. Normal service was resumed in Lee's next over as Gayle clouted two sixes. Lee switched to around the wicket and pinged in a few yorkers and Gayle then swatted Kallis.

The rapid start was inexplicably followed by a slump. Kallis darted one into Gayle's stumps and Kohli's leading edge off Lee sailed to Gambhir. Dilshan and Tiwary then had a 42-run third-wicket partnership that primarily rode on singles.

The duo was dismissed in a span of eight deliveries and RCB was again searching for a fresh spark. Dilshan was out to a smart piece of glove-work as Haddin whipped the bails while the opener's feet was in the air for a split-second as he tried to poke at Rajat Bhatia's delivery that bounced a shade high.

Mayank Agarwal clattered two sixes but left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla struck twice. Agarwal and Mohammad Kaif returned to the dug-out and Gambhir briefly enjoyed the luxury of employing a slip and silly-point.

Suddenly RCB's gentle trot turned into a gallop as Vettori (44, 23b, 5x4, 2x6) reverse-hit, lofted and flicked Abdulla. The host skipper was not yet finished as he moved across and pulled Jaidev Unadkat twice over backward square-leg while Bhatkal also shone.

The duo's 61-run seventh-wicket partnership set the base for a score that at one stage seemed improbable for RCB.

The scores:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: C. Gayle b Kallis 25 (16b, 3x6), T. Dilshan st. Haddin b Bhatia 18 (21b, 2x4), V. Kohli c Gambhir b Lee 0 (4b), S. Tiwary c ten Doeschate b Yusuf 19 (18b, 1x4, 1x6), M. Agarwal c Yusuf b Abdulla 13 (7b, 2x6), Md. Kaif lbw b Abdulla 5 (9b), D. Vettori c Ahmed b Unadkat 44 (23b, 5x4, 2x6), R. Bhatkal c Yusuf b Lee 25 (18b, 2x4, 1x6), Syed Mohammad c Yusuf b Unadkat 8 (4b, 2x4), S. Arvind (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (lb-7, w-5): 12; Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs): 169.

Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-29, 3-62, 4-71, 5-81, 6-91, 7-152, 8-163, 9-169.

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Lee 4-1-34-2, Kallis 4-0-28-1, Ahmed 1-0-10-0, Yusuf 2-0-10-1, Bhatia 3-0-25-1, Abdulla 3-0-20-2, Unadkat 3-0-35-2.

Kolkata Knight Riders: J. Kallis (not out) 64 (47b, 4x4, 1x6), B. Haddin c Kohli b Vettori 42 (27b, 5x4, 2x6), G. Gambhir (not out) 55 (31b, 3x4, 4x6); Extras (b-2, w-8): 10; Total (for one wkt., in 17.3 overs): 171.

Fall of wicket: 1-62.

Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling: Nannes 3-0-40-0, Arvind 3-0-37-0, Syed Mohammad 3-0-26-0, Vettori 4-0-27-1, Bhatkal 2-0-20-0, Gayle 1-0-6-0, Kohli 1.3-0-13-0.

Keywords: CLT20, Champions League T20, Royal Challengers, Kolkata Knight Riders

Tendulkar's Smashing New Home

On the first day of Navratri, Sachin Tendulkar has moved into his new home in Bandra — a five-storeyed bungalow at 19-A, Perry Cross Street.
It has reportedly cost the world's richest cricketer a whopping Rs 39 crore (about $7.9 million at today's prices).
IANS reports:
A battery of media-persons clicked away furiously as Sachin, clad in a simple striped T-shirt and trousers, took his first formal step into the bungalow with a glow of happiness on his face.
"I am really thrilled and happy today, especially for my mother and my family members," gushed Sachin on the occasion.
His family members, mother, wife and children also followed suit and then everybody started admiring the cricket maestro’s ‘dream home’ in every nook and corner.
Sachin spent his early childhood in Sahitya Sahawas Colony, Bandra east, and later honed his batting skills in the famous Shivaji Park grounds when he lived in Dadar.
After scouting around all over Mumbai, he had zeroed in on and purchased the Bandra west property to construct his ‘dream home’ a few years ago at a whopping Rs.39 crore. He got it rebuilt from scratch and finally moved in there Wednesday.
According to eyewitnesses at the ‘griha-pravesh,’ the bungalow includes two levels of basement parking with a capacity of more than four dozen vehicles.
One of the floors will be dedicated only to storing and displaying the hundreds of medals, cups, honours and citations that the batsman has received during his two-decades-plus glorious cricket career.
Local cricket fans had put up a special banner welcoming the distinguished new guest to the quiet neighbourhood and many people waited for a glimpse of their favourite cricket star.
A couple of years ago, Sachin had sought easing of certain norms to enable him construct a private gymnasium in his bungalow, but it was rejected by the authorities.

Blackberry Torch 9860: An all new touch experience

It took them long, but then they did launch a complete touch screen phone. Blackberry phone maker Research in Motion (RIM) launched its much awaited BlackBerry Torch 9860 in India, which will be available for Rs. 28,490. The mobile phone is one among the most advanced smartphone range offered by the brand in India till date.






The BlackBerry Torch 9860 runs on the new BlackBerry 7 operating system, which features the next generation BlackBerry browser, voice-activated searches and has the ability to manage personal content separately from corporate content, as well as additional personal and productivity applications out-of-the-box.


But has Blackberry pulled off a gamechanger in its latest phone?