IPL - Million Dollar Baby

It is history in making, with cricket's biggest auction to be held on Wednesday (Feb 20) at Hilton Towers, where a total of 84 players -- both Indian and international -- go under the hammer in the multi-million dollar Indian Premier League.

It will be for the first time ever that international cricketers from around the world will be up for grabs by the eight city-specific franchises. The franchise owners - ranging from top industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya to Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta, will bid for several top names in international cricket. The auction will be a private one to be conducted by an independent professional auctioneer -- Richard Madley -- who will be the sole arbiter to all aspects of the auction.

The biggest buzz though is about the Biggies -- the superstars who could be worth anywhere from US$ 600,000- 800,000. The favourites for sure will fill seats in the stadiums across the nation.

IPL's Twenty20 cricket championship will be played between April 18 and June 1 among the eight city teams in various parts of the country.

Rules of the auction

-- Each franchise will be allowed to bid any number of times for a player.

-- Bid to start with the annual "base player fee" that has already been fixed by the IPL.

-- Players will be divided into sets of 12 each, according to their base fee and availability.

--A random draw will decide the order in which players go up on the block.

-- Bids to start with a set of marquee players like Gilchrist, Dhoni, Ricky Ponting and Chris Gayle.

-- A designated bidder from each franchise will indicate a bid, which will be the fee per season.

-- No bid can be withdrawn.

-- Minimum 16 players will be allowed per franchise.

-- Eight overseas players allowed in one team.

-- Only four overseas players can be included in the playing eleven.

-- Four players will be picked from the catchment area.

-- Four under-22 players mandatory for each franchise team.

-- Teams to spend minimum US$ 3.3mn & maximum US$ 5mn


The biggies...

The iconic names included in the IPL from different nations are as followers:-

India
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Yuraj Singh

Australia
Ricky Ponting, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey, Justin Langer

Bangladesh
Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza

New Zealand
Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Brendan McCullum

Pakistan
Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan

Sri Lanka
Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga

South Africa
Graeme Smith, Shaun Pollock, AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs

West Indies
Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul


As the IPL takes its first big step, cricket will definitely enter uncharted territory. The Game of Willows has never seen anything like this before but it is still time before it can match its inspiration and the more glamorous English Premiership.

INTERVIEW OF WARREN BUFFET

Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:
1. He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!

2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.

3. He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha , that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.

4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.

5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.

6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given his
CEO's only two rules.
Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder's money.
Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.

7. He does not socialize with the high society crowd.

8. Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.

9. Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk. His advice to young people: "Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself and Remember:


A. Money doesn't create man but it is the man who created money.

B. Live your life as simple as you are.

C. Don't do what others say, just listen to them, but do what makes you feel good.

D. Don't go on brand name; just wear those things in which you feel comfortable.

E. Don't waste your money on unnecessary things; just spend on things that you really need.

F. After all it's your life, then why give others the chance to rule your life."

The coldest city

YAKUTSK:

♪Yakutsk (pop. 200,000) a Siberian city that is the coldest city on Earth.Temperatures of minus -50C are 'normal' although if it gets below -55C .

♪Whilst Yakutsk holds the title of coldest city on Earth, Oimyakon/Oymyakon (pop. 800) hold sthe record for coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth.Temperatures in this small village have reached -71.2 °C (-96.2 °F).




♪The image to the left was taken last December and shows women waiting for a bus in -40C freezing fog











♪The image to the left was taken on January 9th, 2008 and shows Lenin Square.
The temperature was -46C.

Test Drive of Audi Quattro

Proteas -The Chokers of world cup Part 3- 2003

The hosts proteas crashed out of their own World Cup in Durban last night after a monumental cock-up when rain caused their game against Sri Lanka to be declared a tie.

Mark Boucher was informed that 229 would be sufficient for victory,which will take them to the super six round, smashed Muttiah Muralitharan for six off the penultimate ball of the 45th over, then pumped his fist in celebration having reached that target.After that he pushed the next ball gently to leg, protecting his wicket, as the rain poured down and forced the players off. South Africa, however, needed another run and under the D/L method the game was declared a tie and the hosts were crashed out of the world cup.

"Boucher was given the message of 229," said the captain Shaun Pollock. "So he was pretty happy when he got that. You can look at all the ifs and buts but in the end it doesn't help much.". Eric Simons, the South Africa coach who admitted that he was not normally keen on letting players know the score in such situations, had handed a copy of the Duckworth-Lewis calculations to Nicky Boje, the 12th man.

They cannot blame D/L but themselves to misunderstand the difference between the PAR score and the required score.

Proteas -The Chokers of world cup Part 2 - 1999

At the 1999 World Cup, Australia were pitted against South Africa ,a tied semi-final in which Australia went through on points. It was a match that many coin "The Greatest Ever". Less than a week before, the two sides had met for another all time great match when Gibbs "Dropped the World Cup" as Steve Waugh led his side to a remarkable victory in England.

An aura of gloom appeared to pervade South Africa after its dramatic semifinal lose against Australia in the Cricket World Cup.

Although the Proteas tied the actual match at Edgbaston on Thursday, the baggy greens advanced to play Pakistan at Lord's in Sunday's final based on the Super Six standings.

Another blazing innings by Lance Klusener meant South Africa, with one wicket in hand, needed a single off the last four balls of the match to win. But Allan Donald was run out after responding too late to Klusener's call for a risky run.South Africa lost which gifted Australians the world champions title and they are the world champions even now,almost a decade after that match.

Proteas -The Chokers of world cup Part 1 - 1992

An absurd D/L rule spoilt South Africa's chances of winning the first ever World Cup in 1992, the first they were playing after returning to international cricket after 21 years due to apartheid.

The Proteas were defeated by 19 runs against England after rains decisively interrupted their chase at the SCG on March 22.

South Africa won the toss and surprisingly elected to bowl. England piled up 252 for six wickets in 45 overs after rains had delayed the start of the match by 10 minutes.

South Africans fought bravely to chase the target.In the last five overs, South Africa needed 47 runs. Brian McMillan and Dave Richardson reduced the target by another 25 in 2.5 overs. At this stage rain started falling for the second time and sank South Africa. The requirement of 22 runs from 13 balls before the shower was first revised to 22 in seven and then to an impossible 21 from one delivery.

McMillan could manage only a single off Gladstone Small in the last ball.Although eliminated, the South Africans, showing great sporting spirit, took a lap of the ground in an effort to show that they were trying to overcome the cruel playing conditions.

The D/L rule changed after the defeat of pathetic South Africans at SCG in 1992.

Bodyline series -Always remains in the history of Ashes

The English touring side arrived in Australia for the Ashes series 1932-33 .To counter the skill of the legend of cricket, Donald Bradman, who had devastated the English bowling attack during the previous series,English captain Jardine adopted a tactic later to become known as Bodyline.

Bodyline involved the placing of a least five fielders around the batsman on the legside and the bowler continuously bowled a pack of short aiming the body of the batsman placing him in danger of serious injury. To counter these rising deliveries, the batsman would be forced to adopt defensive batting strokes, which would result in catches to the close in fieldsmen.

Many Australian players were injured as a result of the tactic of Bodyline. .Even the great Donald Bradman was dismissed by English bowler Bill Bowes for duck.

The Englishmen eventually went on to win back the Ashes from Australia, however the tactics of Bodyline had served their purpose. They had contained and restrained the great Donald Bradman.

The Laws Of Cricket were changed to ensure such kind of tactics never followed, which was the Bodyline series was never repeated.

Cricket greatest Upsets in ODI s

Rank 10:
Kenya beat India by 69 runs, Gwalior, March 6, 1998

Rank 9:
Canada beat Bangladesh by 60 runs, World Cup, Durban, February 11, 2003

Rank 8:
Bangladesh beat India by 15 runs, Dhaka, December 26, 2004

Rank 7:
Zimbabwe beat England by 9 runs, World Cup, Albury, March 18, 1992


Rank 6:
Kenya beat Sri Lanka by 53 runs, World Cup, Nairobi, February 24, 2003

Rank 5:
Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 62 runs, World Cup, Northampton, May 31, 1999

Rank 4:
Zimbabwe beat Australia by 13 runs, World Cup, Trent Bridge, June 9, 1983

Rank 3:
India beat West Indies by 43 runs, World Cup final, Lord's, June 25, 1983

Rank 2:
Kenya beat West Indies by 73 runs, World Cup, Pune, February 29, 1996

Rank 1:
Bangladesh beat Australia by 5 wickets, NatWest Series, Cardiff, June 18, 2005.
Ashraful scored a sensational hundred which led to the greatest ODI upset in cricket history.

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