Ind vs Pak: New bats for Sachin Tendulkar?

MOHALI: Sachin Tendulkar is known to prepare assiduously before any match. He never leaves anything to chance and covers all bases before getting into the thick of the battle. Now that India are just two wins away from one of his most cherished goals - the World Cup crown - the batting maestro must be preparing even harder.

On Sunday, one got a sneak peak into his plans for the semifinal against Pakistan, and possibly the final on April 2, when he brought to the ground a fresh supply of bats. Tendulkar is very fastidious about his willows and wants them to be in perfect shape so that he can heap maximum damage on the bowlers.

The gleaming new bats needed some breaking up so he, after doing a few knock-downs himself, asked the yoga trainer Manoj Kumar to give them some hits.

Thus, while Tendulkar played football with teammates, Kumar kept hitting balls with the bats for close to an hour.

Tendulkar came back to continue the routine himself before Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli also got a taste of the master's new weapons of mass destruction.

Will Tendulkar be employing one of these new bats in the semifinal against Pakistan? We will know shortly. Maybe, his 100th international century (he is just one short) will come through a brand new bat.

PCA officials go into hiding

The tickets for India-Pakistan matches always come at a premium but if it happens to be a World Cup match and that too a semifinal clash the stakes are bound to rise.

And with it rises the expectations from the host association to oblige as many people as it can. But as far as Punjab Cricket Association is concerned, it has thrown in the towel.

Such is the demand for tickets and passes that a majority of the PCA officials have gone into hiding for the past two-three days and are surfacing just to keep the operational activities going.

The mobile phones have been switched off for the last two days and hardly anyone knows from where they were operating during that time.

Expectant visitors to PCA joint secretary GS Walia's office are greeted by a huge lock. Unable to bear the pressure, PCA officials have gone to the extent of even requesting some of its members to voluntarily return the tickets so as to accommodate more number of guests and promised that they will be accommodated somewhere else. Not surprisingly, no one has come forward till now.

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Cricket Australia sets Ponting captaincy deadline

SYDNEY: Under-fire Australia captain Ricky Ponting was given just three days to decide his future on Monday as selectors said the next one-day squad would be announced on Wednesday.

Ponting, who let slip Australia's 12-year grasp on the World Cup last week - just three months after their heavy Ashes defeat - has already hinted that he may step down.

Cricket Australia said a squad for next month's three-match one-day tour of Bangladesh was expected to be announced on Wednesday, effectively setting a deadline for the veteran skipper.

Ponting, 36, returned home on Sunday following Australia's quarterfinal exit from the World Cup at the hands of India, saying he was considering his position this week.

"I'll have the opportunity over the next couple of days to reflect on where things are headed for me and certainly what direction I feel things are heading for the betterment of Australian cricket," the Test and one-day captain told reporters.

"I have to really decide what I think is right for me and the team going forward."

Australia play three one-day matches against Bangladesh on April 9, 11 and 13, with Ponting previously stating that he wanted to lead the team on the tour.

But Ponting has since suggested he could quit as captain, saying he was prepared to play on under the likely leadership of his deputy Michael Clarke and bat anywhere in the order.

"I see myself as a leader around the group, simple as that, whether I'm captain or not I still think I've got a lot to offer as far as leadership qualities go," he said.

Though heartened by support of teammates and senior officials, Ponting said he was "absolutely" prepared to drop down the order and step down as captain "if that's what they (CA) and I believe is the best way forward".

Ponting, who has been under attack since the 3-1 Ashes series defeat to England, scored a fighting 104 but it was not enough to prevent India from knocking the champions out in last Thursday's quarterfinal in Ahmedabad.

He has now presided over the end of Australia's 12-year run as World Cup champions after his third Ashes series defeat as captain to England.

Ponting, who has been captain for nine years, had a difficult World Cup, taking a reprimand from the International Cricket Council after smashing a dressing-room TV in a fit of fury after being run out against Zimbabwe.

He was also criticised for angrily throwing the ball to the ground after colliding with teammate Steven Smith during their victory against Canada, and for failing to walk in the group match defeat by Pakistan.

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India finally get things right

MOHALI: World Cups are usually won by teams which have a settled look about them. If a side is chopped and changed too often in the middle of a long-winding mega event, then you can be sure it's not the filly you are going to put your money on.

One major obstacle the Indian campaign in this World Cup was facing till the quarterfinal purported to the team combination. The eleven they fielded for most group games did not always inspire confidence. The logic behind picking up a certain player at the cost of another was also not passing muster. The up-and-down performance added fuel to the selection fire.

Thankfully, the much-celebrated and heavily-discussed victory over Australia not only put India into the semifinals, it also gave the eleven a virtually final shape, consequently giving the team management peace of mind. This is one big plus India will be taking into the semifinal against Pakistan, a clash which is being called 'the final before the final.'

Before the Australia clash, the Indian combination was looking like a work still in progress with a few players, notably Piyush Chawla and Yusuf Pathan, not really making it count despite getting several opportunities. Pacers Ashish Nehra and Sreesanth too flopped in their maiden appearances. Experiments regarding the batting order were not working either.

But the Ahmedabad triumph saw things fall into place even though it took longer than what MS Dhoni probably would have in mind -- you cannot keep experimenting with the team composition till it's knockout time.

There were two major gains for India in the quarterfinal tie - R Ashwin more or less settled the debate over who the second mainline spinner would be; and Suresh Raina's gutsy cameo made it almost certain that he would be the seventh batter in the team, who is slotted to come at No.7 but may come in earlier if need arises.

As things stand now, the only player from the Ahmedabad XI who looks a bit shaky is Munaf Patel, who has found the going tough in these conditions. But it is likely that he will be preferred over Nehra and Sreesanth unless the management decides to come up with a surprise.

The selection here will probably be based on who is likely to give away least runs and keep the pressure on and not on who can get wickets. Munaf had bowled some impressive spells in South Africa during the one-day series in January on pitches suiting his style of bowling. Mohali is known to help pacemen with bounce and movement. Maybe, Munaf will extract something from the track and make his presence felt at the PCA Stadium.

Having a settled side lessens the burden on the think-tank which can then spend its energies on other aspects of preparation and planning. It's better for the players too as they can prepare without any uncertainty clouding their minds.

The Indian squad which trained at the ground here on Sunday for about two hours looked a happy, animated bunch while playing football and volleyball.

This augurs well as the pressure is immense. And anything which helps lessen the stress must be welcome. The firming-up of the eleven would surely have helped.

Misbah is hoping bits-and-pieces Pakistan will come up trumps against the more star-studded Indians.

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‘Guru is not my solo hit’

Once hailed as the crown prince of Bollywood, the hits have lately dried up for Abhishek Bachchan, but that doesn’t stop the actor from denying that Guru, one of his biggest hits, was all about his acting.

Now with the Bachchan scion’s two back-to-back solo films, Game and Dum Maaro Dum, fans and critics alike are eagerly waiting to see whether the actor can come out of his bad patch.

Though there are other lead actors in the films (Game also features Jimmy Shergill while Dum Maaro Dum has Prateik Babbar and Rana Daggubati), the fact remains that Abhishek is leading from the front in each of these films.

However, the man himself is unwilling to get carried away with the theory that he alone will be shouldering the responsibilities of the films and instead challenges the notion behind a film being slotted as a multi-starrer or a one-star affair.

“People come and tell me that Guru has been a huge solo hit in my career. How can they say that? I don’t consider Guru as my solo hit,” Abhishek says despite the fact that the film has been his crowning glory over the years.

“You tell me. What’s the definition of a solo film? Is it one where there is one hero doing all the talking? Then how can you forget other great actors like Mithun Chakraborty and Madhavan in the film? It was the collective effort of everyone involved that made Guru a hit,” says Abhishek modestly.

Tell him that going by industry reports, the film is considered as his hit more than anyone else’s and he immediately shoots back, “If that’s the case then Dhoom as well as Dhoom 2 should also be called just my hits, right?”

Abhishek adds with a smile, “After all John and Hrithik were villains in these films and I was the hero so they should be called my solo hits, right? I am not saying they should be. All I am saying is that people need to decide the terminology they wish to use in order to differentiate between solo movies and multi-starrers.”

Ajay's the most bankable B'wood actor

This will definitely make everyone get up and notice this man. Ajay Devgn starrer Singham has been sold for approximately 12 crores! That too only in Bombay territory. And, with this development, Ajay Devgn becomes the costliest horse in the derby of Bollywood.

Another film by the rocking Golmaal 3 duo, Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty, it is bought by Rakesh Sippy's Raksha Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

Not going deep into the 'business' details of it, Rakesh Sippy says, "I would not like to comment on the price as it's a business call but yes, we have bought the film.

I have seen the original South Indian version of Singham. The combination Ajay Devgn and director Rohit Shetty works for me." To add, Salman Khan's Dabangg too was sold for the same price of 12 crores as Ajay's Singham.

With huge amounts riding on him, Ajay is seemingly the most bankable star in the industry. For one, 2010 is clearly a proof of this.

Of the six releases last year, Ajay delivered four hits with Golmaal 3, Raajneeti, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai and Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?.

Also, Rakesh Sippy reasons why Devgn rocks, "Ajay has not been stagnant. He has done different genres of films. I also distributed Golmaal 3.

Although Aakrosh was disappointing at the box office, Golmaal 3 and Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai did exceptionally well in Mumbai.

He is a dependable actor. He has even experimented in the genre of comedy with Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?, Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji and Golmaal 3."

Testimonials

Trade expert Taran Adarsh says, "When he started out, he was known to do only action films but if you look at his body of work over the years, he has proved his versatility. In fact, last year itself he proved that he is an all rounder and has the quality of a fine actor.

With Singham, Ajay is back in action, which is his forte, plus it is Rohit Shetty. I think it will be unbeatable! Ajay is going back to his roots after experimenting and being proved successful."

Opining on the return of the action flicks genre, Taran further adds, "Action films are back and they make a terrific start. Gone are the days when people said that action films would not work in multiplexes.

Dabangg did phenomenal in single screens as well as multiplexes and so will Singham. Now, when every actor is going towards action films, Ajay has already mastered the art."

Editor of Box Office India Vajir Singh says, "Singham is one of the hottest films in the trade today.

The formidable team of Rohit Shetty and Ajay has an unmatched box office record. The film was a blockbuster down South and Ajay is an apt choice for the film.

Rohit is known for his action sequences and together they will have a killer action film this year."

Speaking about Ajay, Vajir Singh added, "Ajay is one of the few intelligent actors in Bollywood. He understands the business and knows the ideal release periods.

He has comprehended the formula of making films within a stipulated budget and knows his audience. His box office record of last year proves that."

So directors and producers out there, it's time to go and grab this man!

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SL vs Eng: England elect to bat against Sri Lanka

NEW DELHI: England won the toss and chose to bat in the last of the World Cup quarterfinals against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa stadium on Saturday.

England kept the same side which beat the West Indies in their last Group B match, still keeping paceman James Anderson on the bench and playing with two off-spinners in Graeme Swann and James Tredwell.

Sri Lanka included left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for paceman Nuwan Kulasekara as the only change in the squad which beat New Zealand by 112 runs to give them three frontline spinners.

The weather could play a major role with rain expected in the evening.

Teams

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Mahela Jayawardene, Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Eoin Morgan, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Luke Wright, Chris Tremlett.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove (WIS) and Simon Taufel (AUS)

TV umpire: Tony Hill (NZL)

Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)

Pitch conditions: The R. Premadasa stadium pitch has tinge of grass and since it has been unused since the Pakistan-Australia match, it looks fresh. It is likely to help batsmen but will take slow turn as the match progresses.


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Armed forces, police close ranks for World Cup final

MUMBAI: The city police has discussed in detail security arrangements for the World Cup final match at Wankhede stadium on April 2 with the National Security Guard (NSG), the Air Force, the Navy and the Army. The security arrangement is said to be twice as tight as that during US president Barak Obama's visit last year.

The trigger for the stringent measures is an input from security agencies that terrorists could try and attack the event. The police are not ruling out the possibility of air and water strikes. Accordingly, the venue has been declared a no-flying zone during the match; the Air Force will be ready to shoot down any suspicious aircraft which violates the order. The Navy and Coast Guard, on their part, will monitor the sea.

NSG and Force One commandos will be posted at strategic positions near the stadium in ready position for counter-terrorism operation. Marine commandos (MARCOS), too, will also be on standby. The city police will engage choppers for the movement of security personnel. The police have requested all disaster cells of the government to be in a standby position during the match.

Rajkumar Vhatkar, deputy commissioner of police and Mumbai police spokesperson, said, "There is no specific terror input related to the match. But we have a general input that terrorists could try to disrupt the event. Therefore, we are adopting all security measures possible along with the Air Force, the Navy and the Army."

The police has decided to allow just 70 vehicles belonging to VVIP and VIPs inside the stadium parking on the day of the World Cup final. No police vehicles, even those of top-most officers, will be allowed.

Plainclothes policemen have been keeping a close watch on people visiting the area around the stadium since the past few days, and verifying the backgrounds of those they find suspicious.

Vhatkar said the police are ensuring that no suspect can enter the stadium with any kind of weapon or explosive. Policemen, who will be deployed on security bandobast duty inside and around the stadium, will be given a biometric identity card to ensure that no anti-national element can enter the stadium in a fake police uniform.

The city police recently received the fresh input regarding a terror threat. They started conducting surprise checks at various localities in Mumbai and its neighbouring districts since the past four days.

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WC semi-final googly: Mumbai to Chandigarh air fares triple

MUMBAI: Air fares between Mumbai and Chandigarh shot through the roof since Thursday, following India's entry into the World Cup semi-final against Pakistan. A day after the Indian team beat the Aussies, fares to Chandigarh—the venue of the semi-final match—quickly tripled. India will take on Pakistan next Wednesday at Mohali, Chandigarh.

City-based tour operators have seen a sudden surge in demand for bookings to Chandigarh, an otherwise low-key sector. The usual one-way fare between Mumbai and Chandigarh is between Rs 6,000 and Rs 8,000. However, on the day of the match, the highest fare available is anywhere between Rs 18,000 and Rs 22,000. Mumbai has only three direct flights to Chandigarh and they are left with very few seats for the coming Wednesday. "Just after India's victory, I booked at least eight people to Chandigarh on a one-way fare of more than Rs 20,000," said Rajesh Rateria, managing director, Cirrus Travels. "The fares are high for Wednesday as most people want to fly out, watch the match and return on Thursday." Tour operators said the fact that there are few flights to Chandigarh from the city aided the fare rise.

"Compared to Delhi, Mumbai has only three direct flights to Chandigarh," said a Fort-based travel agent. "The fare between Delhi and Chandigarh is much lower because nine flights operate daily between these destinations. Also, people can drive down to Chandigarh in four hours."

Tour operators said there were still some reasonably priced flights to Chandigarh. However, they halt at two places before reaching the destination; their flight duration is more than 10 hours. "There are flights available via Indore and Delhi for Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000," said another tour operator.

Due to the high fares, tour operator Jay Bhatia has been asking his clients to book for Tuesday to Delhi instead, and then cab it up to Chandigarh. "There are more than 15 flights between Mumbai and Delhi at a reasonable Rs 3,000-5,000." Travel agents said fares have been high for places where India has been playing. "Just before the India-South Africa match in Nagpur, fare to Nagpur was around Rs 14,000 instead of Rs 5,000-7,000," Rateria said.

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Ind vs Pak: World Cup record in India's favour

MIRPUR: Team India is fancying its chances quite strongly against Pakistan in the semifinal to be played at Mohali on March 30, and their confidence obviously stems from their awe-inspiring track record against the arch-rivals. Since the 1992 Cup, India faced Pakistan four times and emerged winners on all occasions.

"We are happy that Pakistan are our opponents in the semifinals and we are ready for them. We have a good track record against them in the World Cup and we will draw a lot of inspiration from that. Even the last time we played them in the Asia Cup, we were able to beat them," an Indian player, who didn't wish to be named, said.

Notwithstanding this piece of record, India are not taking Pakistan lightly and respect the fact that they also played consistent cricket to reach the semis, like India. "We are not going to take any match lightly. The Australia win was very satisfying, but we have to move on and get ready for the Pakistan game," the cricketer said.

With the biggest game of the World Cup coming up, the celebration of annihilating Australia has been muted. "Pressure will be huge, but we are ready for it," a team source said.

Along with the batting, which is India's forte, the team is relieved that the bowlers have finally joined the party. "With Ashwin coming into the playing XI, the bowling unit now looks very good. Hope we can continue to do like this in the next two matches," a team source said.

Team India is likely to reach Mohali by Saturday and hit the nets right on Sunday to sharpen their game for the big battle. "The couple of days rest should do a lot of good before they begin their preparation for the big game," said the sources.

With five days remaining for the high-octane clash, India would like to cover up all the bases.

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SL vs Eng: Sri Lanka meet gritty England on home turf

COLOMBO: Without an iota of doubt, Sri Lanka will go into their quarterfinal match of the World Cup against England as out and out favourites.

They don't quite have a very superior pace attack as compared to England but Lasith Malinga adds a bit of edge. Not that England don't have quality spinners but Sri Lanka have Muttiah Muralitharan.

Without doubt England have a batting line-up that has shown some amount of resilience but Sri Lanka have Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who are kings in their own backyard.

England are a good team to have made it to the last eight but at the R Premadasa Stadium, on Saturday evening, they will be up against a side who know very well what it takes to win here and certainly have the right ingredients to make that happen.

If England can defy this odd and come out trumps, it is fair to say that they will go on to create a major upset in the subcontinent. The math is as simple as it can get for Andrew Strauss' men. Handle three bowlers - Malinga, Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis - well and get rid of two batsmen - Sangakkara and Jayawardene - as soon as possible. How well England manage this will eventually tell whether they're moving any further in this tournament or not.

No prizes at all for guessing what the wicket is likely to have in store for the two teams. A clean shave, less water, more roll. The ball is most likely to turn as soon as the match starts and slow while coming on to the bat - that is how the captains see it. However, unlike most similar subcontinent wickets, Premadasa's still a bit different. Chasing under lights is as tough as it can get and while Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss says that it has eased out considerably in the last two to three years, those even slightly foreign to the conditions here have a lot to worry about.

Afternoon onwards, the weather can get very sticky and sweaty here in Colombo and under lights, when the ball happens to be slow off the wicket and doesn't come on to the bat, things can get messy for those chasing.

A good example of the same was Sri Lanka's own defeat at the hands of Pakistan batting second. Bayliss, in fact, says Sri Lanka actually did well in reaching almost 260 runs under lights. Strauss certainly would've made note of that.

The one thing that will not trouble the batsmen and bowlers under lights is dew. It is the weather again that assists this factor and therefore, players with soft hands will make a huge difference when the going gets tough.

Expecting such situations, Strauss & Co are wary about Murali no doubt. "His record speaks for itself. He is still bowling well. In these conditions in particular, he will be a big challenge for us.

Quite a few guys have played him a fair amount now and we have got our own individual plans on how we are going to counter him," he says. How well England manage to live up to these words will decide their fate.

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Bookies make India hot favourite to beat Pakistan

MUMBAI: Indian cricket fans who are praying day and night for MSD's men to trump Pakistan in the 'mother of all battles' at Mohali on March 30, can take heart. Most global betting websites predict that India will put it across Afridi's resurgent boys.

Ladbrokes has tipped India at 4/7 (win 57 paise on every rupee bet), while giving Pakistan an 11/8 chance. On Betfair, India is favoured at 1.58, Pakistan is at 2.68. Bet365.com too backs the hosts, giving them odds of 8/15 against Pakistan's 6/4. Sri Lanka (4/9), meanwhile, is expected to beat England (7/4) easily in the last quarterfinal on Saturday.

The only glitch here that the game seldom follows the form-book.

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SA vs NZ: Oram, Ryder help Kiwis book berth in World Cup semis

MIRPUR: There is certainly no team in world cricket who can beat South Africa's consistency in traveling till the wire before giving up the ghost.

At the Sher-e-Bangla stadium on Friday, they proved that this characteristic is purely their preserve when Graeme Smith and his men, who were running to seal their place in the semifinals, got knocked out by New Zealand by 49 runs.

It was hard to believe that this was the same team that had won five matches in the group stage and lost only five matches in last 24 ODI outings. Batting first, New Zealand made 221 for eight and then bowled out the opposition with surprising ease at 172 in 43.2 overs. This was South Africa's sixth loss in the knock-out stages of the World Cup since 1992.

The road to New Zealand's victory was first laid by Jesse Ryder who made a fighting 83 off 121 deliveries and then Jacob Oram (4 wickets) and Nathan McCullum (3 wickets) put the skids under South African batting to hand them a humiliating loss.

In a pathetic batting display, all the top South African batsmen got off to good starts but except Jacques Kallis (47) and AB de Villiers (35) none of the others could translate the good starts into knocks of substance. On a low and slow wicket, Oram was rewarded for stump-to-stump bowling. He also moved the ball well and cleverly used the slower ball. He took the wickets of Faf du Plessis, Johan Botha, Robin Peterson and Smith.

Jacques Kallis' effort failed to lend much value to the total as he departed just as the South African innings began to rely more on the all-rounder's effort. de Villiers too departed in similar conditions, getting run out precisely at a time when his side needed him to stay at the crease. Plessis did try to swing the match South Africa's way, but in the end it wasn't enough.

In contrast, New Zealand did quite commendably on a pitch that had something for the spinners even with the new ball. However, Vettori's decision to bat first appeared to backfire when they lost both the openers early - Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill quite cheaply.

McCullum fell to his own greed while Guptill found the going tough and simply couldn't wriggle himself out. At 16/2 New Zealand looked in deep trouble, but a 114-run stand between Ryder and Taylor resurrected their innings.

Ryder, who has not been among runs, was a little shaky to start with, but as he grew in confidence with the time he spent at the crease. His first half-century comes as a boost to himself as well as the team ahead of the semifinal.

As runs were not easy to come by, the duo ran their singles and twos quite well and rotated the strike. Kane Williamson's smart 38 enabled the team to put a respectable total on the board.

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Ad rates up 350% for dream semis

MUMBAI: Team India lives another day to play the dream semifinal against Pakistan and that means advertisers, who banked on the 50- over World Cup, feel they have got a bigger bang for their buck than expected.

It's not only the advertisers, the ICC World Cup is turning out to be a jackpot for the broadcaster ESPN Star Sports (ESS) as well. Media planners told TOI that ESS has hiked its advertising rates-the amount a brand pays to be seen on air-to as much as Rs 17-18 lakh for a ten second spot for the India-Pakistan semifinal scheduled to be played in Mohali on March 30. This is a huge jump from Rs 3.5- 4 lakh for a ten second spot the broadcaster charged before the start of the tournament.

ESS got on board brands like Britannia and Nike, which paid about Rs 8-9 lakh for a ten second spot during Thursday's quarterfinal encounter between India-Australia. "There are very few spots left. We are definitely looking at substantially higher rates as compared to what we were selling before the tournament started," said Sanjay Kailash, executive VP-ad sales & new media, ESPN Software India. Sports broadcasters usually keep about 10% unsold inventory to bag so that they can charm a premium for it at the last leg of the tournament.

"The World Cup has delivered impressive ratings and has proved to be an instant reach builder for all our clients. We are exploring some buys for the semifinal as well considering the kind of huge platform it will offer to advertisers," said Madison Media CEO Basab Datta Chowdhury. Most media planners said they will either look to buy more inventory for existing clients or get new advertisers on board, especially brands which are planning to launch new campaigns. Media agency Maxus, which bought spots for its clients Vodafone, Nokia, Hero Honda, Fiat, besides others, said the increased rates make sense. "If you paid Rs 3 lakh for a rating of 2 or 3, its OK to pay in the range of Rs 15 lakh for a 20 rating for an India-Pak match," said Ajit Varghese, MD, Maxus India.

American sports goods marketer Nike, which premiered its Bleed Blue campaign during the India-Australia game on Thursday, said it was a strategic move to come on during the knock-out stage. "With the build-up in place for the Bleed Blue campaign, we wanted to get onto the World Cup at this crucial stage. We were clear that we wanted to create the most impact and, therefore, chose to enter when the momentum is at its peak," said Sanjay Gangopadhyay, marketing director, Nike India.

Cola major PepsiCo India, a brand traditionally associated with cricket, launched "change the game" campaign aimed at building up the passion around the World Cup. Having learnt lessons from India's early exit in the 2007 tournament, the brand kept its campaign away from India's fortunes this time and instead focused on the changes that have been brought about in the game. "We believed that the World Cup is the premier cricketing event in the world. The results are very encouraging with very high top-of-the-mind association translating into consumption and share increase," said Sandeep Singh Arora, executive VP, marketing, PepsiCo India.

But things would have been different for Nike had India not progressed to the semifinal. where it now meets arch-rival Pakistan, "If India did not win, it would have been different. But its part of the risk which we took. But yes, although, the campaign would have been canned if we did not progress," added Gangopadhyay. According to Map, an overnight audience mapping agency, the India-Australia quarterfinal clocked a peak rating of 10 with as many as 53 million people watching it.

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From Motera to Mohali, and then Mumbai?

If you thought a bleeding Brett Lee summed up intensity on the cricket field, wait till Team India take on Pakistan in the semifinal at Mohali.

It's the match that fans, organizers and advertisers have been fantasizing about, and the fact that it will be Pakistan's first match on Indian soil since 26/11 lends an extra edge, if any was needed.

The bad news first: Pakistan are on a dream run. They thrive on confidence and momentum, and given current form look hard to beat. Besides, India have played Pakistan in ODIs twice at this venue in the past, in 1999 and 2007, and lost on both occasions.

But this is the World Cup, where India have never lost to Pakistan. Not once, over four pulsating encounters.

Interestingly, Australian captain Ricky Ponting, whose side lost to both the teams, backed India to beat Pakistan.

Imran Khan, the only Pakistani captain to lift the Cup, however believes the pressure of playing Pakistan at home may prove too much for India.

At first glance, it seems to be Pakistan's bowling vs India's batting. But ultimately, it could be about who wins the battle of nerves. Both sides are battle-hardened, and unlikely to blink first.

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Ponting predicts India will beat Pakistan in the semifinals

AHMEDABAD: Australian captain Ricky Ponting on Thursday predicted that India would beat Pakistan in the World Cup semifinal and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men are the strong favourites to win the coveted title after a gap of 28 years.

"India played well as a team today and deserved victory. Today we were not good enough (to win). Going forward they will be pretty hard to beat. They will beat Pakistan in the semifinal and go on to win the World Cup now," Ponting said at the post-match press conference after Australia were knocked out of the World Cup by India.

"India have a very good batting line-up. We played very competitive cricket tonight but I'm disappointed with the two successive losses (against Pakistan in their last league game and today against India)," he said after his side's five-wicket loss in a high-octane World Cup quarterfinal.

He said he would not be playing in the next World Cup but ruled out quitting one-day cricket.

"I am not quitting one-day cricket but this is probably my last World Cup game. I will be happy to look back after retirement that I made a century in my last innings in the World Cup," Ponting said

He also said that the talk of the end of an era in Australian cricket was misplaced.

"It's a bit premature to say it was the end of an era for Australian cricket, it was a pretty good game tonight. I do not think we were far away from winning the game against a very good Indian team on their home soil. I think it's a bit too early to say it's the end of an era," said Ponting.

Ponting said his side had the chances to win the game and they were devastated by the loss.

"We had great expectations from the game. We were a well organized group. We are devastated. We found it difficult to get momentum. Not performing at critical moments cost us the game. We did not grab our opportunities," he said.

"We were 15 to 20 runs short with the bat. 250-260 was a good total but we lost wickets at bad time and never got the momentum going. We did not execute the plans properly," said the 36-year-old Tasmanian who scored a superb 104 after having struggled in the earlier part of the tournament.

The Australian captain felt the schedule of the tournament could have been spread out better but said that that cannot be an excuse for his side's crashing out in the quarterfinals.

"The schedule did not help us. But that cannot be put as an excuse for the loss. Over the last ten days my team has played four games. It would have been nice to have them (games) evenly spread out," he said.

He sympathised with his key fast bowler Brett Lee who had made a great effort to get back into the team after a 14-month injury lay-off.

"Brett has given a lot for Australian cricket during his entire career and at times coming back after big injuries. He will be shattered as he has worked very hard to get here," he said.

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Ind vs Aus: Yuvraj, Sachin, Raina help Men in Blue avenge 2003 humiliation

AHMEDABAD: It was billed as the blockbuster and the quarterfinal, the second of the 2011 Cricket World Cup at the Sardar Patel Stadium at Motera on Thursday lived up to the expectations.

India survived a Ricky Ponting masterclass (104, 118 balls, 7x4, 1 x6) and some tense moments to beat four-time World Champions Australia by five wickets and 14 balls to spare to set up a potentially explosive clash with arch rivals Pakistan in Mohali on March 30.

The hosts rose to the occasion in style, first with a superb bowling and fielding effort, then the great master Sachin Tendulkar set the stage alight with glorious strokeplay to put the side on cruise mode before some quintessential Indian harakiri.

The Aussies sensing a chance changed colours, bowled with venom, sledged hard and even bled - Brett Lee getting a cut under his eye while fielding. They did it all but couldn't stop India from progressing.

There were many heroes for India as they set about their chase of 261, but Yuvraj Singh, yet again, emerged as the knight in shining armour coming up with a match-winning knock of unbeaten 57 runs besides picking up two wickets earlier. The effort earned the southpaw his fourth Man-of-the-match award in this World Cup.

Also rising to the challenge was young Suresh Raina with a gutsy unbeaten 34. Yuvraj and Raina realized 74 runs from 61 balls just when the Aussies had turned on the screws.

There was some intense drama before though courtesy a horrible mix-up between Gautam Gambhir (50; 64b, 7x4) and Yuvraj (their third in the span of five minutes) resulting in the run out of Gambhir. Yuvraj edged David Hussey to Cameron White at slip and even before Yuvraj could realize, Gambhir had dashed towards him from the non-striker's end and it was a point of no return.

Five overs earlier, Virat Kohli swatted a full toss straight down the throat of Michael Clarke at mid-wicket.

Skipper MS Dhoni cracked a thundering boundary, but another attempt off Lee saw Dhoni cut the bowler straight to Michael Clarke at point. The Indians had slid to 187 for 5 in 37.3 overs and seemed to be spoiling their own party till Yuvraj and Raina came into their own.

Of course, Tendulkar (53; 68b, 7x4) was on a different planet altogether as he caressed, punched, pulled, drove and also played the upper cut, the way only he can to raise hopes of the ton of tons.

IOC issues a warning

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has cautioned the Union Sports Minister that the proposed sports legislation could threaten India's participation in international events, especially the Olympic qualifiers and Olympic Games, if stipulations being imposed on the National Olympic Committee and National Sports Federations (NSFs) were not modified so as to respect the autonomy of the Olympic Movement.

In a letter to Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge), Ajay Maken, on Tuesday, the NOC Relations Director of the IOC, Pere Miro, stated that it was not the IOC's intention to interfere directly in the process of legislation formulation by the Government of India.

However, he pointed out, organisations of the Olympic Movement in India — the NOC and National Federations in particular — would be “directly impacted and affected by this new sports legislation.”

Miro stated that the internal operations (including the composition of the bodies, decision-making mechanisms, holding of meetings, election process, age limit, if any, number of terms for the elected office-bearers, mechanisms for resolving disputes etc.) should come under the jurisdiction of the sports organisations.

Ind vs Aus: Sehwag doubtful for quarterfinal against Australia

AHMEDABAD: Uncertainty remained on the availability of dashing opener Virender Sehwag for India's make-or-break World Cup quarterfinal match against defending champions Australia on Thursday, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Wednesday.

"We will take a call on Virender Sehwag late this evening or tomorrow morning before the start of the game. All the others are fit and available for selection," Dhoni said at the match-eve media conference at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera.

Sehwag, who lit up the tournament with a breathtaking 175 against Bangladesh in the opening match at Mirpur on February 19, missed India's last Group B tie against the West Indies at Chennai on March 20 after aggravating his old knee problem during the course of the tournament.

He played last against South Africa at Nagpur on March 12, scoring a half century.

Dhoni said the Indian team would certainly miss Sehwag if he is unable to play on Thursday against the world's top-ranked ODI outfit.

"It's really good to have Virender Sehwag opening the innings. He can play an aggressive game. He can change the course of the game in the first five overs, give the team the kind of momentum that is needed," said Dhoni.

On Tuesday, the Delhi dasher did not take part in the warm-up session but later joined the team in the batting practice for half an hour.

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Pak vs WI: West Indies blown away by Pak spin

MIRPUR: With every passing game, Pakistan's form is looking more ominous. Their skipper Shahid Afridi has led from the front and been devastating with his leg-breaks, ensuring that from dark horses before the tournament, Pakistan are now one of the favourites.

On Wednesday, they pulverized past a hapless West Indies to sail convincingly into the semifinal, fashioning a 10-wicket win after spinning out Darren Sammy's men for a mere 112 at the Shere-e-Bangla stadium.

They now await the winner of the India-Australia game in Ahmedabad on Thursday. This is the sixth time in 10 World Cup campaigns that Pakistan have booked a place in the last four. A combination of effective spin bowling and dismal technique did the Windies in.

Afridi was again at the forefront, grabbing 4/30 to destroy any hopes of a batting recovery after Mohammad Hafeez prised out two early wickets.

Once Chris Gayle fell early, the Windies fell apart, and it was obvious some veterans in the team were also past their prime. They simply failed to get the scorecard moving after being reduced to 16/3 before Afridi came to the party and wrecked their hopes further.

At one point, Afridi was on the verge of a hat-trick when he dismissed Kieron Pollard and Devon Thomas off successive deliveries. Chanderpaul played a lone hand, remaining unbeaten on 44, but he too did not look his best. The Windies lost out on everything but the toss.

Hafeez followed up his impressive bowling display with a fluent, unbeaten 61 when Pakistan chased, notching up his maiden World Cup half-century and the Man of the Match award in the bargain. The Windies were so dispirited after their batting effort they failed to dislodge Kamran Akmal too.

The West Indies will return with a bagful of worries. Their team composition needs a rethink, and their batsmen must learn to cope with spin. Four of their batsmen were trapped in front of the wicket. Overall, the team struck only seven boundaries while Hafeez himself notched up ten fours.

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We will keep Sachin on 99 tons: Ponting

AHMEDABAD: Apart from aiming to do everything right with a view to pull off a coup against hosts India at the Motera on Thursday, Australian captain Ricky Ponting also has a prayer on his lips that Sachin Tendulkar does not get his 100th hundred against them.

"Sachin has had an amazing couple of years. His last 15 months have been unbelievable. It's absolutely inspirational for everyone, but we only hope the 100th ton doesn't come on Thursday. He'll be doing everything to make sure he gets it, and we'll be doing everything to make sure he stays on 99 for a bit longer," said the Australian captain.

All Ponting is concerned at the moment is Thursday's match and nothing less than a win.

"It doesn't get any bigger, playing India in the quarterfinal in India. It's one of the biggest games I have played as captain. It's going to be enjoyable and exciting. Like us they too will be a bit anxious about the outcome of the game as well," he said.

"Thursday's match will not be about individuals, not about Ponting and Sachin. India are one of the favourite teams, and if we want to win the World Cup we have to win on Thursday."

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