Man held with Sachin Tendulkar's debit card

Mumbai: In what can be one of the most daring act of cloning and forgery pertaining to bank debit cards, a Mumbai youth was caught at an ATM carrying a number of fake cards, one of which included the name of national icon Sachin Tendulkar.

According to reports in a leading newspaper, the suspicious man, a resident of Mahim, was arrested from an ATM near Bharatmata Cinema. He has been identified as Shoyeb Doodhwala.

The patrolling policemen became suspicious of Shoyeb after he was seen taking unusually long time in withdrawing money from the ATM. Upon further questioning and frisking, they came across the name of Sachin Tendulkar on the card being used for withdrawal and are confirming whether the cricket legend’s card was indeed forged or stolen.

Investigations are on to know whether the accused has procured the data of the card belonging to the batting maestro to make a fake card.
The man was also lying about his true identity and carried on him, a set of fake debit cards and driving licence.

"Doodhwala said he got hold of the card from a bus stop in the central suburbs and thought to check it to withdraw money from ATM centres. But we do not believe his claim," said the investigators.

"The name on the Kotak Mahindra card showed Sachin Tendulkar," said Bhoiwada police senior inspector Vikram Patil. "We have sought the bank to provide details whether the card belongs to Sachin or whether the bank has ever issued such a card. We will get in touch with Sachin after we get the bank`s report. Meanwhile we are also getting details of whether he filed any complaint for loss of card," Patil said.

Police also found that Doodhwala had a fake driving license. "Initially Doodhwala claimed that he found the card lying at a bus stop. But later he said it is a dummy card that the bank has made and he managed to get hold of it. Probe is on whether he is part of a racket that steals data of the credit and debit cards with the help of skimming machine and uses it to make a fake card," the investigating officer said.

Sri Lanka’s Mendis working on new delivery

Kandy: He mesmerised Australia`s Twenty20 players and Sri Lanka spinner Ajantha Mendis is developing a new delivery which could emerge in the one-day series.

The unorthodox spinner claimed 6-16 - the first six-wicket haul in international T20 cricket - as Sri Lanka wrapped up a 2-0 series sweep with an eight-run win in Kandy on Monday.

Remarkably Mendis, 26, is trying to cement his spot in the Sri Lanka team after being snubbed for the recent tour of England and he`s wary of changing much for the five one-day matches against the touring Australians.
"I don`t intend to do many changes for the ODIs," Mendis told reporters.

"I just want to bowl line and length and do the various right (things). If I bowl well I know I can take wickets."

But worryingly for Australia`s batsmen, the hard-to-pick Mendis also confirmed he was in the process of adding another weapon to an arsenal which already includes his signature `carrom ball`, flippers, off-breaks, leg-breaks, top-spinners and googlies.

"I am developing a new ball," Mendis said.

"But I haven`t still tried that and hopefully it will come out soon."

Mendis said the England tour setback had probably contributed to his outstanding form.

"Missing out on England matches may have been one reason. I worked extremely hard to get back into the team."
"All the bowlers are doing well and you have to work extremely hard to get back to the side and I believe this was the effort of that hard work."

Mendis` captain, Tillakaratne Dilshan, is also keen to maintain the status quo and feels despite Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Xavier Doherty and Doug Bollinger joining the Australians for the one-dayers, that his team will still emerge victorious.

"The way we played the last two games if we continue we can win the ODI series as well," Dilshan said.

"True three senior players will be back in their side with Clarke, Ponting and Michael Hussey. But if we do the things that we do right, there`s no reason why we shouldn`t win the ODIs."

ODI, T20 squads announced for england tour

All India Senior Selection Committee of the BCCI at its meeting held today at Chennai selected the Indian team for the T20 International and One Day Internationals to be played against England.


M S Dhoni- Captain

Virender Sehwag- Vice Captain

Gautam Gambhir

Rahul Dravid

Sachin Tendulkar

Virat Kohli

Suresh Raina

Rohit Sharma

Zaheer Khan

R Ashwin

Praveen Kumar

Munaf Patel

Ishant Sharma

Vinay Kumar

Amit Mishra

Parthiv Patel

Broad picks up hat-trick in 2nd Test

Nottingham: Stuart Broad became the 12th England bowler to take a hat-trick in Tests when his late innings burst against India brought the hosts back into the second test at Trent Bridge on Saturday.
Broad took the wickets of India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and then Praveen Kumar on his home ground. India slipped from 267 for four to 288 all out in the evening session on the second day.

Broad took the wickets of MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar in consecutive balls.

Dhoni was caught at second slip for five, Harbhajan was lbw first ball though his reaction suggested an incorrect decision from umpire Marais Erasmus, which was confirmed by replays that showed an inside edge on to his pad.
Broad then scattered Kumar's stumps next ball. Ryan Sidebottom was the last England bowler to claim three wickets in as many balls in a Test, against New Zealand in 2008.

2nd Test: Double blow rocks England

Nottingham: Ishant Sharma and S Sreesanth got India off to a dream start in the second Test against England here at Trent Bridge on Friday by taking one early wicket apiece to put the hosts on the backfoot.
Sharma opened the bowling with Praveen Kumar in the absence of Zaheer Khan who failed to recover from his hamstring injury for the second Test.

Ishant Sharma celebrates with his teammates after dismissing Alastair Cook in the second Test at Trent Bridge

AP Photo

An overcautious start by the England openers led to the downfall of Alastair Cook (2) who, after surviving the first close shout against Sharma, was given out on the second one against the same bowler after India skipper MS Dhoni decided to bowl first.
Sreesanth, brought in as first change, was hit for a four by Strauss off the very first ball of his return to Test cricket. But he more than made up for it by taking out England No. 3 Jonathan Trott (4), who edged an outswinger straight to VVS Laxman in the slips, in the same over.
India made a couple of changes in their team that lost the first Test at Lord's. Other than Zaheer, Gautam Gambhir also failed to recover form his elbow injury suffered in the first Test.
Yuvraj Singh and Sreesanth replaced the injured duo. Rahul Dravid is most likely to open the innings in Gambhir's absence.
On the other hand, England made just one change from the team that won the first Test as the injured Chris Tremlett was replaced by fellow paceman Tim Bresnan.
With England already 1-0 up in the four-Test series following their convincing win at the Lord's, the pressure is on India. A two-match victory margin for England in the series will see them leapfrpog India to the No. 1 Test ranking.
Teams:
England: Andrew Strauss(c), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, James Anderson
India: Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, S Sreesanth

Drop Harbhajan, play Mishra: Akram

New Delhi: India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday came under severe criticism from Wasim Akram for his performance at Lord`s with the former Pakistan captain calling for the inclusion of leg-spinner Amit Mishra in his place.

The cricketer-turned-commentator was critical of tweaker`s effort in the series opener saying it was high time the Indian team management looked at another option.

"Harbhajan looked off-colour at Lord`s. He got very little spin, his line was also very bad. On the other hand, Graeme Swann bowled beautifully. He showed a lot of variation," Akram said.

"I do not remember one occasion when he bowled a bad ball. I think it`s about time that Mishra came in. English batsmen have traditionally been poor against leg-spinners. Besides, Mishra is a very intelligent bowler. I saw him bowling in the IPL and he impressed me a lot.”

"To cut it short, Mishra should play in the next match," the former speedster said.

Harbhajan bowled 56 overs in the match but returned with just one wicket, adding yet another poor performance to his wretched run.

The offie has been in poor form of late, underlined by just the three fifers in the last 27 outings.

The bowling great also insisted that India should not risk a half-fit Zaheer Khan for the second Test at Trentbridge starting July 29.
India`s pace spearhead could only bowl 13.3 overs in the first Test against England because of a hamstring injury, which proved to be a decisive factor in team`s massive 196-run defeat.

"I do not think Zaheer should play at Trent Bridge if he is not fully fit. India missed him dearly in the Lord`s Test. There is no point in going in with an unfit player. There is a warm-up coming up against Northants after the second Test and he should eye that.”

"If he bowls without any pain, he should return to the eleven for the third Test," Akram insisted.

Former skipper batted for Sreesnath`s inclusion in the team in place of Zaheer saying India would be better off playing the temperamental bowler instead of Munaf Patel, keeping in mind the swinging conditions at Trent Bridge.

"Both bowlers are good. Munaf gets a lot of nip and bounce because he is tall and he is also very accurate. Sreesanth, on the other hand, swings the ball a great deal but everyone knows that at times he can be wayward. But I would still go for Sreesanth because he is aggressive and can make the most of the swinging conditions," Akram said.

Zaheer still doubtful; Tendulkar, Gambhir declared fit

 

                                     The prospects of India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan playing in the second Test at Trent Bridge seems to be remote.

"He has shown a considerable improvement and we would take a call on him on the eve of the match in consultation with the team physio," stated team manager Anirudh Choudhary.

But anyone who witnessed Indian team`s training session knew that the manager statement was far from convincing.

Zaheer bowled 13-odd overs at the Lord`s before a strain in the right hamstring forced him to sit out and severely handicapped the Indian bowling attack as England thrashed India by 196 runs.

As soon as Zaheer arrived at the training session with his teammates, the prying eyes of the Indian media contingent was on the injured speedster.

Long after almost all the Indian players had their nets, Zaheer came out in company with team physio Ashish Kaushik.

He did a few rounds of lap of the ground; did some sprints under the physio`s observation and then picked up his jumper, only to disappear again inside the dressing room.

His bearing wasn`t the one of man who is looking to bowl for India in 48 hours.

Ishant Sharma didn`t bowl a delivery in anger and it was apparent he had a few other personal issues to handle like shaving off his flowing hair which have been much like his personal statement in the last four years.

His new look created a huge buzz among the electronic media.

Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were two of the other notable cricketers who had fitness issues during the Lord`s Test.

Tendulkar, unlike his second innings appearance, was crisp and smartly shaven and was one of the first ones to walk to the nets. Gambhir too look eager to have a hit even though the bowling on offer wasn`t great shake.
Ishant didn`t bowl at all and neither did Munaf and Sreesanth, after bowling a few serious overs.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, certainly rattled by his recent batting failures, indulged himself in some furious hitting down the ground. Abhinav Mukund, the young opener, later tried to brush up his fielding. By the looks, he would be at point during the second Test and not forward short leg where he hasn`t, truth be told, distinguished himself.

England boss, but India avoid follow-on

	Atypical celebrations after a typical hundred © Getty Images

Fifteen years and 153 Tests later, Rahul Dravid returned to Lord's to make it to the honours board and help India avoid the follow-on. On a day that belonged to England, on a day when everybody willed Sachin Tendulkar to get his 100th hundred, Dravid, 38 years and 193 days old, stole the spotlight. Only Alec Stewart has scored a Test century with a longer tooth in this millennium. India were still behind by 193, looking at having to bat about four sessions to save the match. Had India followed on, though, it wouldn't have been that straightforward.

Thespotlight could easily have belonged to Stuart Broad alone. On notice and the subject of "enforcer" jokes, he responded with lovely, controlled outswing and should have removed all of India's top five, but watched as Dravid and VVS Laxman were dropped in the slips in the same over. Broad's figures would have read 5 for 25, and India 159 for 5, had those catches been taken. While England recovered fairly well from those lapses, Dravid added 61 to his score after he was reprieved, 23 of them with the tail.

Implored to bowl fuller in the lead-up to the match, Broad did so, bowling the best lengths of all the English quicks, three times breaking burgeoning partnerships. First he separated Abhinav Mukund and Gautam Gambhir when the new-ball bowlers looked unthreatening. Then he ended the sublime partnership between Tendulkar and Dravid when they were racing towards safety. The 35-run stand between Praveen Kumar and Dravid threatened to eat substantially into the lead but once again Broad returned to dismiss Praveen.

Chris Tremlett, not at his best against the left-hand openers, came back superbly to build up the pressure, helping Broad with the wickets. He was the one who brought the follow-in into the picture, removing MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh in the same over after Dhoni had added 57 with Dravid. India needed 34 then to avoid the follow-on, and Dravid 20 to get to the century. Praveen came out and swung merrily, and the 35-run stand helped Dravid achieve both the landmarks.

The way the first two sessions began, it didn't seem England would bowl themselves to a position of such strength. James Anderson and Tremlett failed to engage the openers, who left alone 45 of the 134 deliveries they faced. Abhinav had the odd loose moment but whipped off the hips in a manner reminiscent of India's other Tamil Nadu left-hand opener, S Ramesh.

Broad interrupted that state of affairs, getting Gambhir in his third over with a perfect outswinger. Half an hour before lunch, Abhinav's nerves consumed him when he played on on 49, but Broad contributed, too, by changing the angle and going round the stumps.

The afternoon session was worth every penny spent by the 30,000 to be at Lord's today. In the first hour of that session, Tendulkar and Dravid scored 48 of the most couth runs in seven overs, taking India to 150 for 2. Then England made a rousing comeback. Tremlett sowed uncertainty in the minds of the right-hand middle order, and Broad delivered the big blow with an outswinger that took Tendulkar's edge for 34, three short of his best at Lord's.

For a while after that England showed they were very much the gracious hosts, matching India's tally of drops in one Broad over. It was neat outswing bowling, but Andrew Strauss missed Laxman at first slip, and Graeme Swann reprieved Dravid at second. Strauss redeemed himself through superb bowling changes in the rest of the innings. Like Broad did Tendulkar, Tremlett claimed Laxman in the first over of a new spell. Swann half-made up by trapping Suresh Raina 20 minutes before tea. England had upped their game in that session of play: Broad, Tremlett and Swann probed persistently; the final 23 overs of that middle session brought 43 runs and three wickets. Not to mention the drops.

Dravid, though, remained classy. Putting behind him the drop, he covered the swing, played late, and didn't let the occasional miss affect him. The way he read the Anderson inswingers, keeping every single one of them out, summed up his watchfulness. He was equally good against the low bounce from Swann. Having scored 42 off the first 80 balls, he went through a period of 50 balls for just 17, but when the wickets fell, he was urgent in hitting three boundaries in the 80s and 90s.

With the injured Zaheer Khan for company, he clipped Tremlett past midwicket to bring up the hundred, celebrating emotionally. He raised one arm even as he scrambled back for the second, punched the air, and then let out a scream. The crowd, the balcony, and Strauss applauded generously.

Anderson showed up then, claiming Zaheer and Ishant Sharma with late swing, gently serving a reminder that England were still on the ascendent, and that India will need to defend grimly to get away with a draw. Mini reassurance for India - and they can do with some - is that only one of Dravid's 33 centuries has come in a defeat.

Talks on to sell IPL's Deccan Chargers: Sources

 

Mumbai: Deccan Chronicle Holdings has restarted efforts to sell its Indian Premier League franchise Deccan Chargers, and is in talks with Perth businessman Vikas Rambal and Adani Group, sources with direct knowledge of the talks, have said.

Deccan Chronicle is looking for about $200 million, said the sources, who did not want to be identified, as talks were still going on. That is nearly double what it paid for getting the Hyderabad-based franchise in 2008.

One of the sources said talks were also on with Malaysian state oil firm Petronas.

Deccan Chronicle officials did not respond to phone calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Rambal, the chairman of Perdaman Industries, is a sponsor for Champions League Twenty20 side WACA Warriors in Australia. A spokeswoman for Perdaman Industries declined comment on the talks to buy the Indian IPL team.

An Adani spokesman said the group would not comment on speculation, while Petronas was not immediately available for comment.

Deccan Chronicle has been trying to sell the team since 2009, and media reports had cited Adani as a suitor in 2010 as well.
Deccan Chronicle paid $107.01 million in 2008 for the Hyderabad-based franchise for 10 years. The team finished last in the inaugural eight-team Indian Premier League (IPL) but came back strongly to win the next 2009 South African edition.

The IPL revolutionised cricket with its shortest twenty20 format, player auctions, post-game parties and heavy advertising, dazzling fans and offending purists.

Celebrity owners are part of the show and include Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) chief Mukesh Ambani, India`s richest man, as well as spirits and airline magnate Vijay Mallya and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

The cost of franchises have soared. Pune Sahara Warriors and Kochi Tuskers paid $370 million and $333 million respectively for successful bids last year -- far more than the roughly $90 million average for the eight original sides.

UK-based Brand Finance placed Deccan Chargers sixth among the eight original IPL teams in terms of brand value in 2011, at $38.76 million, up from $34.44 million in 2010.

Earlier this year, Deccan Chronicle merged wholly-owned subsidiary Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures Ltd, through which it held the stake in Deccan Chargers, with itself.

Bureau Report

India, England fight for bragging rights

London: The bragging rights of Test cricket supremacy are at stake and where better to see this battle unfold and watch blow-by-blow action than at the birth place of the gentleman's game.
India and England will battle it out in a four-match Test series, the first of which begins at the iconic Lord's cricket ground on Thursday. It also happens to be the 100th Test between the two sides and the 2000th in the history of the game.

While India have been playing the box-office brand of cricket which has seen the BCCI's cash registers ringing like a seven-piece orchestra, England have taken up the effective way, grinding out results throughout the five days with disciplined and strict batting and tireless displays of bowling.
The hosts sent off the perfect warning signal by taking out a consistent Sri-Lankan side and in turn help Chris Tremlett and James Anderson emerge as better bowlers at the end of the series, which England won 1-0.
What has been an integral part of England's progress is the ability to pick 20 wickets in a game, something which was left wanting for a long time.
In captain Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and run-machine Alastair Cook, England have a solid,reliable top three which can be a pain in the backside for any bowling side.
As far as the Number 1 Test side in the world, India are confident, buoyant and have proved their worth by sending a second-string team to the Caribbean and winning both ODI and Test honours for the first time in their history.
Under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership, the sky is the limit for this Indian team which has infused youthfulness and enthusiasm even in seasoned veterans like VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid.
And add to that the return of match-winners like Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and its impossible to look away from the visitors' team-sheet without drooling over it.
If ever Test cricket wanted an advertisement to boost its reputation, this series would serve as the perfect pay-per view.
In the event that England beats India by a margin of two tests they will leapfrog South Africa to go top of the ICC world rankings for the first time.
What will work in the favour of Strauss' team will be the fact that they are unbeaten in their last eight series and have won the last five.

Dhoni's bat fetches 100,000 pounds

London: Indian skipper MS Dhoni’s prized bat, the one that he used in the historic World Cup 2011 final against Sri Lanka, was sold for a price of Rs. 72 lakh (100,000 punds) at an auction at Sotheby’s for a charitable cause.

The aim was to raise funds for Dhoni`s wife`s charitable organisation - Sakshi Foundation - that works for under-privileged children in India. The bat was bought by RK Global, an investment group from India.
Dhoni`s bat ensured massive interest among cricket enthusiasts for the winning runs of the title triumph came via a crunching six off it. Till he made that match-winning 91, Dhoni wasn`t in the best of nick in the World Cup, but promoted himself in the title clash and got his runs off just 79 balls.

With the bat becoming a prized possession for an avid cricket fan, the purpose of making a positive impact to a score of lives was also achieved via the charity.

Sachin Tendulkar is the best in the world: Lara

London: The Sachin Tendulkar fan club keeps getting bigger with West Indies batting legend Brian Lara describing him as the best batsman in the world right now and former England captain Alec Stewart calling him "the modern day Don Bradman".

Participating in a panel discussion at Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s `East Meets West` Gala Dinner at the Hilton Park Lane here last night, Lara said, "Sachin started playing (Test cricket) at the age of 16. And at 38 now, we have not seen a better player. Sachin is the best batsman in the world."

"I am going to the Lord`s to see Sachin make his 100th century," he said.

Stewart, who also participated in the discussion, described Tendulkar as "modern day Bradman".

India`s veteran batsman Rahul Dravid added to the praise, saying, "In India we have many Gods and he is one of them."
Answering questions from cricket commentator Henry Blofeld, Lara said, "While Sachin is special, Dravid is the wall."

"Dravid is always going to be there - he is a tremendous player," he said.

Stewart described Dravid as a "great player".

"Dravid is India`s most technically gifted player," he said.

About Lara, Stewart said, "he was the best player in the 90s. But in modern day, Sachin is a better player than Lara - a modern day Bradman."

Asked to forecast on the outcome of the India-England series, Stewart gave it 2-1 to England.

PTI