Tihar Jail was meant to house hardened criminals, thiefs, rapists, murderers, cheats and other gentlemen of similar caliber, and train them to become useful units of Society. But recent events in our country have brought eminent bureaucrats, leaders and corporate giants into Tihar Jail (or should I call it ‘Tihar Corrrectional Centre’) as M’me Kiran Bedi had aptly named it. 

The problems with the Tihar administrators have grown manifold. These new Five Star inmates have to be lodged in VIP Wing for which they were not fully prepared. To add to their woes, Tihar authorities were understaffed. They had to check and report what these inmates were doing on a day to day basis – for instance if Kalmadi was having tea with the Jail Superintendent then, this fact had to be reported to the Government as Government’s ‘further’ policies depended on these and other similar intel reports. 

An official there, who chose to remain anonymous, confessed that these VIP jail birds had very delicate feathers and had to be handled with utmost care, treated and fed well, and also kept at a safe distance from hardened criminals. And to compound their problems further, the administrators had to deal with a huge influx of VVIPs who were pouring in daily to meet these new ‘five star’ inmates. Due protocol had to be observed. No laxity in the ‘services’ permitted. 

Now with the 2G scam being blown out of proportions, the Tihar facility administrators do not know how many new blocks to be constructed for a separate VIP ward to accommodate those VIPs who are still in the queue to be sent to Tihar. It’s not the construction alone, these blocks will have to be furnished* properly and will have to be well equipped to provide facilities better than Five Star hotels. After all it is a question of taking proper care of our important ‘leaders’ and top officials. 

*These wards should have well furnished bedrooms, with attached baths, a visitor’s lounge, a living room, a colour TV – but no bar. The wards kitchen will have a multi-cuisine fare with hot and cold drinks, but as I have said, no bar.

That will save the authorities from dealing with drunken brawls, no throwing of microphones and furniture inside the Tihar as is their usual practice inside vidhan sabhas and similar venues. The provision of food and beverages can be outsourced to a Government run hotel. 

Then this new VIP facility inside Five Star Tihar should have a modern well equipped hospital also, as most of the leaders feign sickness as soon as they enter Tihar and are to be taken to AIIMS. Well equipped ICUs are also required as these elders start getting heart problems as these inmates have been deprived of spending their own hard-earned sack full of Dollars.

This medical facility would henceforth save the cost of security and transportation to AIIMS and other allied administrative difficulties.

The jail officials are also extremely scared that these new creed of jail birds may get bail quickly and may become Ministers again and come hard upon them with acts of vengeance. 

The biggest scare they have today is that their previous Boss, M’me Kiran Bedi, Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development, (who earlier held the post of Inspector General of Prisons) , may also be housed here on one pretext or another, as the Government is trying to rope her in, on charges of a DA case. M’me Kiren Bedi, an upright IPS officer had sought voluntary retirement from service and is now a Social Activist.

God only help Tihar Administration.

Ravi Matah.

Shammi Kapoor

Bollywood’s legendary actor passed away at the Breach Candy Hospital at 5.50 a.m. He had been suffering from chronic renal failure. 

The funeral for the Bollywood legend will be held today, August 15th. at 11 am at Ban Ganga crematorium, Mumbai. Shammi Kapoor’s son stated that they were awaiting the arrival of the icon’s grand-son Vishwapratap Raj Kapoor. 

Twitter  was the first to catch the sad news and  has again emerged as the fastest media.

Amitabh Bachchan was one of the first among all the Bollywood celebs to tweet about Shammi Kapoor’s death. He tweeted, “@SrBachann – Shammi Kapoor ji passed away this morning at 5:15 am .. Rushing there now .. the flamboyance and joi de verve of the Industry lost !” 

 This news caught the attention of @ikaveri, another tweeple, who tweeted – [@ikaveri - Shammi Kapoor is no more - #RIPShammiKapoor.], and then it spread like wild fire. 

Immediately the world new about it and it became a world-wide ‘trending topic’ on @twitter. Shammi Kapoor himself was very popular on twitter and used to tweet under the name/handle @shamsheraj. 

He was given the name Shamsher Raj Kapoor at his birth in Mumbai to film and theatre actor Prithviraj Kapoor. Shammi was the second of the three sons born to Prithviraj, the other two being Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor, both of whom were successful Bollywood actors. He spent a major portion of his childhood in Kolkata, where his father was involved with New Theatres Studios, acting in films.

 It was in Kolkata only that he did his Montessory and Kindergarten. After coming back to Mumbai, he first went toSt. Joseph’s Convent (Wadala) and then, toDonBoscoSchool. Shammi Kapoor finished his schooling fromNewEraSchool, atHughes Road. 

Shammi Kapoor had a short stint at the Ruia College, after which he joined his father’s theatrical company “Prithvi Theatres”. He entered the world of cinema in 1948, as a junior artiste, at a salary of Rs. 50 per month. Kapoor stayed with Prithvi Theatres for the next four years and collected his last paycheck, Rs. 300, in 1952. He made his debut in Bollywood in the year 1953, when the film Jeevan Jyoti was released. It was directed by Mr. Mahesh Kaul and Chand Usmani was Kapoor’s first heroine. 

Shammi Kapoor was one of the most versatile actors of Hindi cinema and will be fondly remembered for his brilliant work in movies like ‘An Evening in Paris’, ‘Junglee’, ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’, ‘Teesri Manzil’ and many more. 

Even before the birth of internet, ‘Yahoo’ was the word shouted on the streets of India after the release of his movie ‘Junglee’ in the early ‘60s. 

Immediately after his death, actors Amitabh Bachan, Imran Khan, Anupam Kher, Farah Khan and industrialist Anil Ambani reached his residence, Blue Haven Society in Malabar Hill South Bombay, to pay their respects to the departed soul. 

Shammi Kapoor has always been active and has a final performance yet – in grand-nephew Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar. 

The legendary actor was due to jam with Ranbir Kapoor in Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar. Latest reports say Ranbir was obviously excited and had been rehearsing. In my younger days, I used to play the shehnai or would enact it to perfection. I think I can do it today, also,” Shammi Kapoor had said, of the scene in which he was to play the shehnai and Ranbir the guitar. 

Many Bollywood stars and filmmakers have expressed their profound grief on the demise of the veteran actor. Twitter was abug with tweets from many Bollywood celebs who said :-

Shabana Azmi – “Shammiji u will b remembered always. Thanku for d grt joy n entertainment u gave millions.seems like a grammatical error 2use past tense 4 u (sic).” 

Anupam Kher– “Shammi Kapoor ji was one of d 1st Youth Icons from Cinema. He liberated actors from being stereo types. Will miss his STYLE and SUBSTANCE (sic).” 

Priyanka Chopra– “sometimes no amount of kind words can compensate for a loss! bhole baba ki jai shammi maharajji.. he was our guruji..im at a loss (sic).” 

Deepika Padukone– “He was an inspiration not just for his style and the films he did, but also his attitude towards life…we will miss you Shammi uncle…#RIP.” 

Shekhar Kapoor– “The great iconic Shammi Kapoor who defined an era n influenced music, dance n song even today has passed away, leaving a hollow void (sic).” 

Karan Johar– “One of finest and strongest men I knew…we will truly miss you shammi uncle….RIP….” 

R Madhavan– “RIP Shammi Ji.  End of a legend” 

Celina Jaitley– “Shammi ji no one can take the place of all the “Yahoos” of our indian hearts who loved u .. u will be missed deeply by us all.” 

Dia Mirza – “The happiest, caring, kind and considerate man…You leave with us memories that are precious…@shamsheraj RIP Shammi Kapoor love u forever (sic).” 

Shamsher Raj Kapoor, widely known by his screen name Shammi Kapoor, was a flamboyant dancing star and it was in 1955 that he met Geeta Bali on the sets of ‘Rangeeen Rateen’ and later married her. They had a son Aditya and a daughter named Kanchan. 

While working on the sets of ‘Teesri Manzil’ he lost his wife who died of small pox in 1965. That was a very bad patch in his life and it took him 3 months to recompose himself and started working again on the sets, never giving away a glimpse of his hurted feelings. 

Awards won By Shammi Kapoor: 

* 1962 – Filmfare Nomination as Best Actor–Professor

* 1968 – Filmfare Best Actor Award, Brahmachari 

* 1982 – Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award, Vidhata

* 1995 – Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award 

* 1998 – Kalakar Awards – Special Award for “contribution in Indian Cinema” 

* 1999 – Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement 

* 2001 – Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award 

* 2001 – Anandalok Awards Lifetime Achievement Award 

* 2002 – Invaluable Contribution To Indian Cinema at the IIFA. 

* 2005 – Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bollywood Movie Awards 

* 2008 – Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian cinema at the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF). 

* 2009 – Phalke Legend Actor Award by theDadasahebPhalkeAcademy 

* Recipient of the prestigious Living Legend Award by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Indian entertainment industry. 

* Rashtriya Gaurav Award 

A tribute to Shammi Kapoor is incomplete if I don’t mention here that the songs of his movies became so popular that they were enjoyed and sung by one and all throughout the length and breadth of this country. Shammi Kapoor had a glorious association with Mohd. Rafi ji who sang his songs to perfection and ensured that the voice also matched the star’s dance moves on the screen. Though all his songs became very popular but today I would like to quote here – ‘Tum mujhe yoon bhulaa na paaoge’.

Very true Sir Shammiji, it is very difficult to forget you. 

And to sum it up in the end – ‘taareef karoon kya uski, jisne tujhe banaaya’ – RIP – Shammi Kapoor.

Ravi Matah.

Murli Vijai

Vijay and Hussey hit sparkling half centuries en-route to the 159-run opening stand and gave Chennai a quick start which laid the foundation of the mammoth score of 205. 

CSK had reached their 50 in 5.1 overs with a six from Murli and the score-board later went on to read hundred in just 10.3 overs. The 159-run opening partnership was broken when Hussey played a lofted shot off Syed Mohammad over long-on and was caught by Mithun. 

Dhoni scored 22 runs and then lit up Chepauk with his two sixes but he and Vijay fell to S Aravind in consecutive deliveries. Vijay 95, fell just five runs short of his century while Dhoni departed in quest of quick runs. Vijay stroked four boundaries and six towering sixes in his 52-ball knock.

For RCB, Aravind and Gayle picked two wickets apiece while Syed picked one. Bravo then hit a six off the last ball to take the total to 205 runs.

In reply to Chennai Super Kings score, RCB lost  wickets at regular intervals and half of their side was back in the dug-out after 10 overs, making it a totally one-sided final. Shadab Jakati bowled well in tandem with Ashwin to pick up his two wickets. 

Victory was in sight right in the first over when the Off-spinner Ashvin removed Chris Gayle for a duck. Gayle edged the moving-away ball into the gloves of Dhoni who carefully pouched it. Mayank Agarwal was soon bowled for 10 runs in the next over. 

India’s future – Virat Kohli, infused some life into the score of RCB which showed some sanity at 48 for3 in seven overs. He was later removed by Jakati who bowled extremely well. 

Jakati then added another wicket to his tally when he lapped up a top edge from Luke Pomersbach to leave the RCB innings in complete shambles. And to add fuel to the fire, part-time bowler Suresh Raina removed Virat Kohli for 35 runs. Kohli was given out lbw to Raina and RCB was in total disarray then. 

Later, de Villiers who played a few big shots was trapped by Shadab Jakati. 

Bangalore missed their opportunities and there were three instances of fielders succumbing to pressure and indulging in needless throws; one, from Saurabh Tiwary, even went to the boundary. Pomersbach could have done a better job in seizing that chance from Vijay in the 10th over. 

Aravind messed up an opportunity to run out Hussey in the 12th over. Vijay, the non-striker, had called Hussey for a risky single and Aravind, the bowler who picked up the ball at short mid-on, flung it wide at the non-striker’s end. There was another instance in the 11th over when the bowler, Mohammad, flung himself full stretch to his right but couldn’t hang on to a difficult chance offered by Vijay. 

Things just didn’t go right for Bangalore and everything went according to script for Chennai. 

Dhoni went on to win the IPL also immediately after winning the World Cup for India last month when CSK managaed to restrict RCB to a small score of 147 for 8 in the  allotted 20 overs. 

PRESENTATIONS. 

DLF Maximum Sixes – Murli Vijai – Rs. 1,00,000/- and a medallion. 

Karbonn Kamaal Catch – M.S.Dhoni – Rs. 1,00,000/- and a medallion. 

Max Mobile Man Of the Match – Murli Vijai – Rs. 10,00,000/- and a Trophy. 

City Bank Rising Star – Iqbal Abdullah – Rs.10,00,000/- and a medallion. 

King of Karbonn Kamaal Catches – Kieron Pollard – Rs. 1-,00,000/- (Nine Catches in IPL). 

Volks Wagon Individual performer – Paul Valthaty of Kings XI – VW Passat Car. 

Orange Cap Leading Scorer – Chris Gayle – Rs.10,00,000/- and a Trophy. 

Purple Cap Highest Wicket Taker – Lasith Malinga – Rs.10,00,000/- and a medallion. 

Fly Kingfisher Fair-Play Award – Chennai Super Kings – M.S.Dhoni received the Trophy. 

Golden Player of the Tournament – Ghris Gayle – Rs.10,00,000/- and a Trpphy. 

The Losing team players received the medals. 

The winning team players received the medals. 

M.S.Dhoni received the Winnner’s IPL Trophy and cheque for Rs.Ten Crores.

Ravi Matah.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The coffin of the 84-year-old was lowered in a grave during the nearly two-hour private ceremony at Sai Kulwant Hall, where the godman used to give “darshan” to his devotees and deliver discourses. The burial was in accordance with the practice for Hindu spiritual gurus.

A select gathering, including family members of the Baba, members and officials of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, politicians and top bureaucrats was present in the hall.
Thousands of devotees watched the last rites on giant screens outside while millions of devotees in India and abroad watched it live over television.

The Sai Kulwant Hall in Prashanti Nilayam, the Ashram from which Sai Baba ran a spiritual empire reverberated with hyma from the Vedas and Chants of “Om Sai Ram” as the last rites were performed.

Baba’s nephew R.J. Ratnakar performed rituals like the sprinkling of holy water on the mortal remains under the guidance of a priest. Later, the godman was laid to rest in a deep pit at a private ceremony behind curtains.

Half of the ceremony  was open to those present in the hall among chanting of mantras and the burial was performed by only a handful of close relatives and disciples in the presence of a group of priests.

The Battalion of Andhra Pradesh Special Police presented a 21-gun salute as mark of respect to the spiritual leader in whose respect the Chief Minister had declared a State funeral & four days of mourning.

Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Jewish priests read out their respective scriptures before the rituals began around 9 a.m. A group of disciples of Tibetan Buddhist leader Dalai Lama also attended the last rites, which were performed with full state honours.

A guard of honour was given by policemen who came in slow march and draped the national flag on the transparent casket, before the body was moved for the burial.

The buglers sounded the Last Post and policemen fired shots in a gun salute outside the hall. A general salute was also offered by the men in uniform.

After an hour-long burial ceremony, the curtains were moved to enable VIPs to sprinkle sacred ash on the grave and pay their respects.

Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and several ministers from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were also present and sprinkled ash and paid their last respects.

The devotees were allowed into the hall in the afternoon after the “samadhi” was ready.

Thousands of devotes had last darshan of Baba till Tuesday midnight. The spiritual guru died Sunday, 28 days after he was admitted to hospital with multi-organ dysfunction. The body was kept in Prashanti Nilayam to enable people to pay their last respects.

Sathya Sai Baba

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condoled Sathya Sai Baba’s death and said – “I express my sincere condolences to the millions of his followers, disciples and well wishers. His teachings were rooted in the universal ideals of truth, right conduct, peace, love and non-violence”.   

The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N.Kiran Kumar Reddy announced that the last rites of Sri Sathya Sai Baba will be performed on Wednesday with full State honors. He has also announced a full state mourning period of four days. 

According to sources close to Sathya Sai Trust, The President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are also expected to arrive to pay their respects to Baba. 

Lakhs of devotees continued to pour in the ashram of Sri Sathya Sai Baba at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh. Among them were top politicians including the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, Karnataka Chief Minister B Yeddyurappa, BJP President Nitin Gadkari, TDP president Chandrababu Naidu and Prajarajyam chief Chiranjeevi.

Sathya Sai Baba

Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was there to pay his respects as well. Sachin Tendulkar is expected to reach Puttaparthi later on Monday morning. Sai Baba’s body has been wrapped in a saffron-coloured cloth and kept in a glass casket in the ashram’s central hall.

Sathya Sai Baba had millions of followers all over the world. From ordinary believers to the President of India, his clout spread far and wide. 

Satya Sai Baba also became controversial for the miracles he performed. India had several god men but none could match his name and fame. 

He became famous by producing objects from thin air. He was often challenged by critics and rationalists who campaigned against him for his magic shows. 

Top-ranking politicians including prime minister, union ministers, governors, chief ministers, film stars, sportspersons, industrialists and virtually the ‘who’s who’ of the country rank among the high-profile devotees of the Baba. In fact, Satya Sai Baba’s influence had no barriers as his millions of followers spanned the globe. 

Born into an ordinary family as Satyanarayana Raju in the sleepy Puttaparthi village in the dry Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, on November 23, 1926, he was to later become Satya Sai Baba, the reincarnation of the saintly Sai Baba of Shirdi. 

As a child he was very intelligent and at the age of 14 he declared himself as the reincarnation of Sri Sai Baba of Shirdi. He later emerged as the most popular godmen of modern times. 

In 1944, a small temple was built for Satya Sai Baba’s devotees at Puttaparthi and in 1950 a huge ashram was constructed there, called the ‘Prasanthi Nilayam’, making it his permanent abode. 

Few reports had also taken rounds about some scandals in his Ashram but were dismissed by him and his followers. In 1993 an atttempt was also made on his his life by his close aides in which six inmates were killed. 

His divine preaching apart, Satya Sai Baba pioneered many social service activities beginning with a tiny general hospital at Puttaparthi which has now transformed into the Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, a 220-bedded super-speciality hospital. 

The Satya Sai Central Trust manages all the service activities and also runs the Satya Sai University (formerly Satya Sai Institute of Higher Learning) at Puttaparthi. Besides, the trust also runs many schools and dispensaries in different states while it has also completed large water supply projects in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. 

Volunteers from the Satya Sai Seva Organisation are always found in the forefront carrying out relief and rehabilitation work during natural calamities not only in AP but also in other states. 

Satya Sai Baba established three primary mandirs (spiritual centres) in India – Dharmakshetra in Mumbai, Shivam in Hyderabad and Sundaram in Chennai. 

Since 2005, Baba used a wheelchair and his failing health forced him to make fewer public appearances. 

The Sai Baba Trust runs a state-of-the-art Hospital, University and several other institutions to serve the poor in over 160 countries. However, he himself reportedly visited only two countries – Uganda and Kenya.

His departure to his heavenly abode has left a question mark on the future of his Rs. 40,000 Crore (US $9 billion) empire. The Trust Board has high profile members like Ex Chief Justice P.N.Bhagwati and it is most likely that it will run smooothly. However some doubts are being expressed that the government might take over the Trust if there is a rift amongst it’s members.

Ravi Matah.

The victim, Lakhvindar Singh, had migrated to Australia in 2007 and was working as a helper in a farm near Melbourne. 

His family in Punjab states that – “We got a call and they told us that he died in his room. A man came from outside and when he opened his room door somebody hit him with a knife on his neck,” said Lakhvinder’s brother, Kulvinder Singh. They still don’t understand what really happened. 

“We just want that the murderer should be punished and the dead body should reach us as soon as possible,” said Lakhvinder’s grandfather, Balbir Singh. 

The Australian Police have arrested 37-year-old Thy Sok and charged him with Lakhwinder’s murder but they still can’t establish a motive. Sok is still being questioned. 

Thy Sok who has been remanded in custody until Wednesday, will be produced at Melbourne Magistrates Court. 

Lakhwinder is among the many Indians attacked in Australia in the past two years. Though some of the attacks were for robbery, in some cases the motive is believed to be racial. However he is the second person to be killed after Nitin Garg who was killed while walking through Park towards his place of work. 

The Deputy High Commissioner of Australia to India, Lachlan Strahan, on Saturday said that the killing of another Indian in Australia is a “tragic incident”. 

The 28 year old Lakhwindar Singh, who was stabbed to death in Rushworth, Victoria is a native of Rajpura city in Punjab. 

“We are satisfied that the law enforcement agencies acted swiftly and did what it is supposed to do,” Strahan told ANI. 

According to diplomatic sources, Australian authorities have contacted Lakhwinder’s wife, who is in India. 

“The victim was not a student. The Consulate has been in contact with the victim’s relatives and is providing assistance with funeral and other arrangements. Body is with coroner now,” a source said.

Ravi Matah.

M. S. Dhoni

It was the determined effort from Gautam Gambhir who scored 97 runs and a chanceless 91* from M.S.Dhoni which paved the way for India’s victory over Sri Lanka. This helped India overhaul the score of 274 set by Sri Lanka for India to win the title and it is the highest ever run chase in the World Cup final. 

For Sri Lanka Jayawardane scored 103* and Sangakara 48 runs. 

Dhoni had promoted himself up the order to No. 5 ahead of Yuvraj Singh just to prove his critics wrong regarding his batting performances. He slammed a chanceless 91* and when victory was in sight he hit 2 consecutive boundries and hit a six over long-on to send the spectators on the ground and millions across the country into raptures.

Yuvraj Singh

For the first time in a World Cup Final, the toss had to be taken twice as the umpire could not hear the call given by Sangakara. Then Zahir Khan sent down three consecutive maiden overs and it appeared that India had held Sri Lanka by the scruff of it’s neck.

India’s fielding had a totally different look as everyone was pouncing upon the ball with tremendous energy. Yuvraj Singh did a Jonty Rhodes at the point region when he flew in the air to pounce upon a shot by Sangakara which was sure to have fetched him 4 runs. 

Despite the fielding standards set by Indian eleven, Sri Lanka rose from 63 in the first power play to 274 for 6 and this was surely a fighting total. 

Lasit Malinga did the initial damage when he sent back Sehwag who was out lbw and Sachin Tendulkar caught by Sangakara and the Indian score read a pathetic 31 for 2. Sehwag was out only on the second ball he had faced. 

Since India lost two early wickets and and were 31 for 2, this match was not left for the weak hearted. The world was impatiently waiting for the Century of centuries from the little master on Saturday but that was not to be. 

Gautam Gambhir

But Gautam Gambhir and young Virat Kohli had other ideas. They were in no mood to surrender and together they took upon themselves the herculean task of rebuilding the innings brick by brick. Their third wicket contrition of 83 runs laid the foundation of India’s victory. Kohli fell on a personal score of 35 runs made from 59 balls and was caught single-handedly by Dilshan off his own bowling. 

In came Dhoni at the fall of Kohli ahead of Yuvraj Singh and together they contributed a 109 run stand. Gautam Gambhir was at 97 and was desperate to reach his first century in the World Cup encounters, but that was not to be. He stepped out to hid Perera and Sangakara did the rest. But by that time Gambhir and Dhoni had brought India to the door steps of victory. Gambhir had hit nine fours during his stay at the crease and his can be said to be a patient knock. 

 However, when Kohli was brilliantly caught by Tillakaratne Dilshan for 35, India were 124 for 3 after 25 overs, needing another 151 to secure the crown for the first time in 28 years. 

The decision to omit both Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath, whose combined efforts had been so effective against England and New Zealand, is one that will haunt Sri Lanka for years to come. 

In the final match of his career, Muttiah Muralitharan was held back until the 19th over, and though he started with a long-hop that was cut straight to point, he might have made the breakthrough from his second ball, as Gambhir galloped back for a second run to third man only for Sangakkara to fumble the shy as it bounced awkwardly in front of him. 

In the end it was 97 runs of Gautam Gambhir and a splendid knock of 91* from Dhoni  spelt doom for Sri Lanka and brought laurels to team India. 

M.S.Dhoni was declared Man of the match.

Yuvraj Singh was declared the Man of the tournament. 

During the presentations ceremony Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni silenced  the critics of his team, saying that the World Cup triumph has answered them. He said that a couple of decisions taken by him in Saturday’s summit showdown against Sri Lanka could have been criticised had his side not won the World Cup.

 ”I always wanted to give chance to to younger players by sending them up the order. Today, I thought I would take the responsibility myself. It was more like proving myself and not to others,” he said. 

“A few decisions I have taken today, including why I brought in S Sreesanth instead of Ravichandran Ashwin and why I promoted myself in the batting order ahead of Yuvraj who has been in great form. It could have been that the decisions cost the match,” he said at the post-match presentation after India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets. 

He praised Gautam Gambhir (97) and Virat Kohli (35) for keeping the team on track after the early dismissal of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar.

Ravi Matah.

But that was not to be as Sehwag got out on 38 runs played with his usual gusto and Tendulkar also helped in building up the Indian innings with lady-luck sitting on his right shoulder.

Tendulkar was on 60 with Virat Kohli on 9, and India had reached 140 for 2 at the halfway point of their innings, with 300-plus total in sight. Pakistan had only them to blame for Tendulkar’s good fortune, after Misbah-ul-Haq put him down at midwicket on 27 and Younis Khan spilled a regulation chance at cover when Tendulkar had 45. 

 He was droped on four occassions at 27, 45, 70 and 81 and finally Shahid Afridi caught him at covers off a full-blooded shot from him.

Riaz was the man who Afridi had to thank for keeping Pakistan in the contest after India made a strong start and reached 114 for 1 off their first 18 overs. After Gautam Gambhir was stumped dancing down the pitch against Hafeez, Riaz grabbed two wickets in two balls – Virat Kohli caught at backward point and Yuvraj bowled by a yorker length low full toss for a duck. 

Gautam Gambhir was stumped off the bowling of Mohammad Hafeez for 27 when he advanced down the pitch.

Sehwag certainly looked at his best early, taking 21 off Umar Gul from the third over of the innings. India had chosen Ashish Nehra to replace R Ashwin.

In the end, India’s 260 for 9 was enough as their bowlers did a fine job, but had Pakistan helped themselves, the target could have been so much more gettable.

MS Dhoni was put down once and Wahab Riaz bowled very well and got five wickets. Umar Gul wilted under the pressure of a World Cup semi-final.

Indians displayed  a far more professional approach but for a moment it seemed that the decision of having three seamers and only one specialist spinner could backfire, but Ashish Nehra bowled superbly, particularly in the death overs where he gave away only one run and also took a wicket in an over.

Munaf Patel picked up two victims and Yuvraj Singh made up for his duck with a pair of wickets, but the most important breakthrough came when Harbhajan Singh bowled Umar Akmal for 29. It was a superb good-length delivery which sneaked through the gap between bat and pad and rattled the furniture.

Earlier, Akmal had struck a pair of sixes off Yuvraj, driving him over the sight screen and pulling him over midwicket, and anything was possible while he was at the crease. But Dhoni called on Harbhajan to replace Yuvraj, and with the first ball of his spell he came around the wicket and pushed one across Akmal, taking the off stump when the batsman played for the spin. Those were the few moments when it appeared that the match was in Pakistan’s grip.

But Shahid Afridi trying to accelerate the runs fell to Harbhajan when he skied a catch off a full toss, and it was only Misbah-ul-Haq left to take charge. He found it difficult trying top bat at both ends and was the last man out, caught on the boundary for 56 in the final over.

It was a disappointing end for Pakistan after their top order gave them hope. Mohammad Hafeez made an encouraging 43 before a string of eight dot balls from Munaf brought a brain-fade as Hafeez tried a premeditated paddle sweep from outside off stump and edged behind to Dhoni.

Soon after, the loss of Asad Shafiq brought the Mohali crowd to life, when he tried to cut a Yuvraj delivery and the middle stump was knocked back.

Every cricket lover was hoping to see the Century of centuries being made at MOhali ground by Sachin Tendulkar, but that was not to be. Tendulkar might be the finest batsman of his generation, but today he was the luckiest, being dropped four times. 

Before he had any of those lives, Tendulkar had survived two very tight calls on 23: an lbw decision that was given out by Ian Gould but on review proved to be spinning down leg, and a near-stumping the next delivery when he just got his back foot down in time after losing his balance reaching outside off. When Tendulkar was finally taken at cover by Afridi off the bowling of Ajmal, Pakistan’s relief was evident.

Nobody looked as fluent as the crease as Sehwag, who took 21 off Gul (0 for 69) from the third over of the innings. What looked like a 300-plus total in those early overs became 260 when Suresh Raina helped them recover from their middle-order failures.

Sachin Tendulkar was named the Man of the match.

Ravi Matah.

Yuvraj Singh

Despite Ponting’s century, Australia were able to score 260 runs only. R.Ashwin Harbhajan Singh did not give anything away to the opposition and Zahir Khan stuck at will.

For Indian batting, Tendulkar had made the base by his half-century required for the rest of the team to stand on but it was Yuvraj alone who stole the show. With his single handed determination India managaed to eliminate the Aussies in the quarter final. India has now  been set up with a spine-chilling encounter with Pakistan in the semi-final.

India was heading into the jaws of defeat upto the 40th over but by then Yuvraj had ensured the turn-around of things for the Indians. Suresh Raina gave him ample suppport and in the 41st over Bret Lee was bludgeoned to the fences for 14 runs.

Yuvraj’s glance through the slip cordon to the boundry line off a Bret Lee yorker was perhaps the best shot of the day and Bret Lee looked at him with total disbelief.

Had Yuvraj not taken over the reigns of the match, India were surely doomed in the 30th over when Virat Kohli was out caught at mid-wicket. Dhoni was stumped while attempting and missing a mighty heave and Gautam Gambhir was itching to go back to the stadium by committing suicide on three occassions. He was successful the third time when Yuvraj played the ball to the mid-wicket and Gautam ran off for a non-existent run and was stranded half-way.
 
The batting Powerplay was the final hurdle, but Raina, who gave admirable support to Yuvraj after Dhoni’s exit, walloped the first ball from Lee over long-on and Australia’s fight evaporated with that shot.

India required 93 runs from 101 balls at that stage, but they slipped further into the abyss as MS Dhoni got out after looking edgy. He nearly got involved in a run out, had a big swing and a miss against Lee and perished next delivery, cutting to point to leave India needing 74 from 75 balls. It was then that Yuvraj decided to play the World Cup innings of his life.

Before Yuvraj, India’s chase revolved almost entirely around Sachin Tendulkar. It was a slow pitch, but Tendulkar played some shots that defied the nature of the track.  Tendulkar was going great guns but he edged a delivery from Tait to Hadin to do the rest. The Motera Stadium went into a stunned silence as everyone was expecting the Century of the centuries fron  the master-blaster.

Ponting played one of his best knocks but this will not be remembered for long because of the three times Champions defeat in the quarter-finals. The entire Aussies batting revvolved around him. He was cautious as well as aggressive and at times played his shots with utmost ease and at times he even controlled his aggression. Since the pitch was a slow one, he had shown great technique to encounter the spin of the India trio of Harbhajan, R.Ashvin and Yuvraj Singh.

Australia’s down-slide in the middle overs began with the shot from Michael Clarke, who top-edged a slog-sweep against Yuvraj to long-on in the 31st over. Zaheer dismissed Michael Hussey with the slower ball to leave Australia at 140 for 4 in the 34th over. Ponting and David Hussey took the batting Powerplay in the 44th over and added 44 vital runs without losing a wicket.

Ponting must have thought he had done all he could to ensure Australia remained in the competition and sailed to semis but he did not till then know the spellings of Yuvraj.

Yuvraaj Singh was named the Man of the match for his half century and two wickets.

Scores – India 261 for 5 (Yuvraj 57*, Tendulkar 53, Gambhir 50) and Australia 260 (Ponting 104, Haddin 53, Ashwin 2-52, Yuvraj 2-44)

Yuvraj Singh

India defeated Netherlands at the Feroz Shah Kotla with more than 14 overs to spare though the margin of victory couldn’t mask a lacklustre performance from the home side. The Indian bowling was just about tidy against some dour Netherlands batting, and their bunch of big hitters came unstuck for a while against the left-arm spin of Pieter Seelaar in a low-intensity match.

In the Netherlands batting, there were a couple of avoidable run-outs as well, but the dismissal that was most embarrassing for Netherlands was Alexei Kervesee’s; he swiped a long hop from Chawla, expertly picking out Harbhajan Singh at deep midwicket.

Sachin Tendulkar became the first man to reach 2000 World Cup runs with a hat-trick of boundaries in the fifth over, and Virender Sehwag backing that with three more fours in the sixth.

The hard hitting and lofty shots were enjoyed by the Delhi crowd, and when Sehwag carved Seelaar over extra cover for six and then hit him for  a four, India were 69/0 in the eighth over. The chase of 190 runs looked a lot easier at that stage as it appeared that India was already over the hill.

Seelaar, though, ensured that there was lot of excitement in the match for the spectators even though Sehwag was caught at the point boundry, and then he dismissed both Tendulkar and the promoted power-hitter Yusuf Pathan in the 10th over to rein in India.

Why did Dhoni have to promote Yusuf Pathan at one-down position? Sunil Gavaskar who was running the commentry then, said that this is a practice match and Pathan has been sent up to practice some batting and finish the match early. Not a mature statement, I must say. The moment he uttered this, Tendulkar was caught at long-on,Yusuf Pathan was caught and bowled and India were in dire straits at that moment. 

Virat Kohli didn’t last too long before being bowled by Peter Borren, but Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh steadied the innings. They added 40 runs before Gambhir was bowled round his legs.That was a superb delivery and that bowled round his legs seemed impossible to believe. It was left to Yuvraj and MS Dhoni, India’s finishers over the past few years, to steer India to victory with Yuvraj getting his third half-century in a row.

The Netherlands captain, Peter Borren, had spoken of playing brave cricket before this game, and it was his adventurous hitting that lifted his side towards 200. He warmed up by lashing Yuvraj for a couple of powerful fours in the 42nd over, before taking the batting Powerplay and damaging Chawla’s figures with a couple of muscular hits over long-on. Mudassar Bukhari joined the fun, swinging two sixes over the leg side before both he and Borren were dismissed by Zaheer in the same over to wrap up the innings.

Yuvraj Singh was declared Man of the Match for his two wickets for 43 runs and a brillianat and patient knock of half-century.

The win puts India top of the table, but they are through with their easy outings in the tournament, with only South Africa and West Indies remaining in the league phase before the knockouts.