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Guntur (AP): Senior Congress
leader Oscar Fernandes on Monday justified the deferment by Congress and the
government a decision on Telangana statehood issue saying it is
"sensitive" and all stakeholders need to be consulted
"Since
Telangana is a sensitive issue, all stake-holders have to be consulted before
arriving at a final decision. The issue is only deferred", Fernandes told
reporters at district Congress office here.
To a query that Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had at
an all-party meet held in New Delhi on December 28 heard all parties and
declared it was the final meet on the issue, Fernandes replied "the
(Congress) core committee wanted to have more consultations on the issue".
Bell's unbeaten century guides England to 7-wkt win over India
Ian Bell celebrates his century during the 5th ODI cricket match at HPCA Stadium.
India paid the price for some poor shot selection by their top order batsmen as England rode on Ian Bell's unbeaten century to salvage some pride by winning the fifth and final one-dayer by seven wickets and reduce the margin of defeat to 3-2 here on Sunday.
The visitors first dismissed the hosts for a modest 226 and then relied on Bell's third ODI ton - 113 not out - to overhaul the target with 16 balls to spare at the picturesque HPCA stadium which hosted its first international match. The Indians, who had already clinched the series in Mohali by taking an unassailable 3-1 lead, were done in by some poor shots by their top oder batsmen and could never really recover from the early jolts despite Suresh Raina's brilliant effort of 83 under pressure.
Tim Bresnan caused the bulk of the damage with 4/45 while Steve Finn and James Tredwell chipped in with two wickets apiece as the English bowlers exploited the bowler-friendly conditions after winning the toss and putting the home side into bat.
The Indians slumped to a precarious 79 for five as Gautam Gambhir (24), Rohit Sharma (4), Virat Kohli (0), Yuvraj Singh (0) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (15) perished in quick succession with some of them playing atrocious shots.
Raina's brilliant counter-attacking 83 off 98 balls and and some useful contributions from Ravindra Jadeja (39) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (31) took India to 226.
In their bid to chase down the target of 227, England openers Alastair Cook and Ian Bell started confidently putting in 53 runs before Ishant Sharma, who bowled an incisive first spell, broke the partnership.
A swashbuckling knock by Suresh Raina helped India reach a decent total
of 226 in the fifth and final cricket ODI against England after an inept
batting performance by the top-order batsmen in bowling friendly
conditions, in Dharamsala on Sunday.
Put into bat in conditions
helpful for seam bowling, India were 79 for five before Raina (83) led a
recovery act before the home team folded for 226 in 49.4 overs at the
picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala town of North Indian state
Himachal Pradesh.
Raina,
whose knock came off 98 balls, added 78 runs for the sixth wicket with
Ravindra Jadeja, to help the Indian total gain a semblance of
respectability. Jadeja's contribution was 39 off 65 balls with a
boundary and two sixes.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar also did his bit
playing a little cameo of 31 runs that helped India cross the 225-run
mark which had looked improbable after the first 15 overs.
But it was Raina whose innings ensured that the likes of Bhuvneshwar and Shami Ahmed have a total to bowl at.
En
route his fourth successive half-century in the series, the left-hander
from UP made a strong case for himself being promoted up the order
ahead of Yuvraj Singh whose form has been scratchy of late. Raina, who
was dropped twice on individual scores of 5 and 61, hit eight boundaries
and two huge sixes. He, incidentally, also completed 4000 ODI runs in
his 159th ODI appearance.
Save those couple of blemishes, it was a
treat to watch his stroke play as the ball raced past the lightning
quick outfield. Tim Bresnan was the pick of bowlers with figures of four
for 45 while their premier fast bowler Steven Finn was miserly giving
away 28 runs in 10 overs getting a couple of wickets in the process.
For
India, the slide started in the fourth over when Rohit Sharma and Virat
Kohli got out in an identical fashion off successive deliveries from
Bresnan. Bresnan bowled two fuller deliveries with a hint of away
movement.
Both
Sharma and Kohli went for cover drives without getting to the pitch of
the deliveries and resultant thick edges flew to James Tredwell at
second slip on both occasions.
While in case of Sharma, the
off-spinner dived to his right to pull off an impressive catch, he did a
fumble a bit before holding onto the catch offered by Kohli. The two
batsmen were out for 4 and 0 respectively.
Yuvraj Singh made a
mess of an innocuous delivery from Finn which he thought would bounce
but didn't get above the knee roll as the left-hander closed the face of
his bat. The leading edge was a simple catch to Eoin Morgan at point.
The
stage was set for Gautam Gambhir to make amends for his poor show in
recent times and he did start off well with a boundary off Steven Finn.
During
his 42-ball stay at the crease, he displayed two extremes. He looked
ill at ease and circumspect whenever the lanky Finn banged it short but
played two majestic shots off Bresnan -- a cover drive followed by a
straight drive past the bowler.
The senior opener should have
carried on but on 24 he failed to dispatch a rank long hop from
Tredwell. It was short and Gambhir played the square cut which lobbed to
Ian Bell at point.
At
49 for four, skipper Dhoni walked in and looked in good touch as he got
a couple of boundaries with firm pushes through the cover region but
got a raw deal when he was adjudged leg before by Steve Davis for 15. He
stretched forward and the decision looked a dubious one.
At 79 for five, Jadeja joined Raina and the two in-form players started the damage control.
The
best part about their partnership was that they never got bogged down
despite the top half being polished off by the English bowlers.
The spinners Tredwell, Joe Root and Samit Patel were attacked with equal vigour.
Both
Raina and Jadeja hit two sixes each but the best part was all were
straight hits into the sightscreen. Raina completed his 50 with an
inside out shot over extra cover off Root's bowling
Republic Day: Around 25,000 security personnel on vigil in Delhi
New Delhi: Hours ahead of Republic Day, a tight security cover
will be in place across the capital with around 25,000 security
personnel of Delhi Police and paramilitary forces keeping vigil, police
said on Friday.
Around 3,000 security personnel from Delhi Police, paramilitary
forces and elite National Security Guards (NSG) will be deployed in
central Delhi from midnight January 25, especially on the route from
Vijay Chowk to the Red Fort - the route of the January 26 ceremonial
parade, said a senior police officer.
"Around 22,000 police personnel will be present in and around the city to avert any untoward incident," said the officer.
"A
special team of around 1,000 snipers with sophisticated arms and
binoculars will be deputed on rooftops from 5 am on Saturday," the
officer added.
Mobile teams, anti-aircraft guns and NSG sharpshooters will also
be on hand at various places while paramilitary and Delhi Police
commandos will keep a close watch along the parade route.
More than 60 quick reaction teams (QRT) will man the central and
New Delhi areas since Jan 25 midnight while around 600 PCR teams,
including in vans and on motorcycles, have been instructed to keep watch
in and around the city whole night.
All entry points to the city have been barricaded with extensive
checks on vehicles coming in from Ghaziabad, Noida and Gurgaon and
surveillance on in sensitive areas. There is tight vigil at the
airports, railway stations, Metro stations and bus depots.
A special police unit would also keep a visual tab over all
activities along the parade route with the help of over 160 CCTVs
installed between Rajpath and the Red Fort.
Intelligence agencies are keeping a track on activities and communication of terror suspects.
According to intelligence inputs, some groups that may try to
create trouble during the parade have been identified and are being
monitored.
"We have got some inputs. We will take strict action against the
protestors if they try to enter Janpath or India Gate area on or before
January 26," a senior police officer, who did not wish to be named,
said.
Anti-rape protests erupted in the national capital and elsewhere
in the country after the 23-year-old physiotherapist trainee was
gang-raped by six men on Dec 16 last year.
Traffic restrictions have been placed in the central Delhi area.
No vehicle would be allowed to ply on Rajpath from 6 pm January 25 and
vehicular movement will be restricted on Tilak Marg, Bahadurshah Zafar
Marg, and Netaji Subhash Marg up to the Red Fort from 4 am January 26.
On Republic Day, services will be curtailed from 6 am to 12.30 pm
at nine Metro stations -- Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Central
Secretariat, Mandi House, Udyog Bhavan, Race Course, Pragati Maidan,
Barakhamba Road and Khan Market.
These Metro stations either fall on the path of the Republic Day Parade or are located close to it.
In addition, all Delhi Metro parking lots will remain closed from 2 pm January 25 to 2 pm January 26 for security reasons.
cast: Saif Ali Khan, Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ameesha Patel
Director: Abbas Alibhai Burmawalla, Mastan Alibhai Burmawalla
'Race 2' is the cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel. It never
holds together as a sensible piece of work, but as an insensible piece
of work, it's pretty enjoyable. Director-duo Abbas Mustan create a
cocktail of glamorous stars, exotic foreign locations, slick action
scenes, and an outrageous plot. At nearly two-and-a-half hours, the film
is too long by at least 20 minutes, but I'll give this to Race 2: it's
seldom boring.
Rating: 2.5 / 5
Never deviating too far from the blueprint of the 2008 film of which
this is a sequel, Race 2 pits two suave conmen against each other in a
tale of friendship, double-crossings, and revenge. Saif Ali Khan returns
as Ranvir Singh, a loaded tycoon with an agenda. John Abraham,
meanwhile, is Armaan Malik, a criminal kingpin forever exploiting
opportunities to expand his empire.
Set in Turkey, our heroes are surrounded by fast cars and sexy
women, and they get rich by swindling casinos, cheating at high-value
card games, and stealing prized artifacts from museums. Anil Kapoor is
back as RD, former cop and ravenous fruit-eater, and Amisha Patel has
replaced Sameera Reddy as his new bimbo assistant, Cherry, whose very
name lends itself to a slew of double meaning jokes.
The earlier film, Race, wasn't a particularly smart thriller, but
packed with so many unexpected twists it kept you on your toes. The big
reveals in Race 2, however, can be guessed from a mile away, robbing
the film of any unpredictability whatsoever.
What it's lacking in originality, the film tries to make up for
in sheer ambition. Abbas-Mustan don't skimp on any effort to deliver a
fast-paced, stylish entertainer, even if much of it turns out to be a
hoot. From crazy gizmos that would make James Bond's trusted ally Q turn
a shade of green, to the sheer gratuitous skin show on display, Race 2
is a guilty pleasure all the way. Leading ladies Deepika Padukone and
Jacqueline Fernandes sportingly show up to show off cleavage and leg,
and John Abraham and Saif Ali Khan frequently strip down to their waists
in an unapologetic buffet of beefcake.
And yet, compared to so many lazy blockbusters recently, Race 2
is skillfully made and sincerely performed. It's not a film you'll
remember years from now, but you won't be moaning and groaning through
it either. I'm going with two-and-a-half out of five for Abbas-Mustan's
Race 2. The film has no intellectual pretentions; its only ambition is
to offer a good time. In that, it mostly succeeds.
Abbas-Mustan have tried to live up to the
expectations in 'Race 2' but they probably mistook over-stylisation for
drama. The film is bound to appeal certain section of the audiences but
there are some sequences which don't do anything other than raising the
oomph level. Had these scenes been fine tuned, the film could have been
sleeker and more logical. Spoilers ahead so proceed at your own risk.
5 Low Points Catch them young: How many times do you see contract
killers capturing their targets while they die! Ok, acceptable, but how
the hell did the target know that he is being filmed?
Paper money:
So, you are a big crook with a big heart and superlative courage, but
what made you think that the biggest fraud of the game will let you go
after gulping down a truck full of fake currency. The currency is not
even fake but is just the paper. Unfortunately, the fraud lets the hero
go.
Smile, you're on camera: John Abraham is a big man who
likes to brag about his cheapness (How would you define 'kaminapan'
otherwise). He keeps a tab on everyone including his half sister but
forgets just at the right time that his business partner could have
set-up a camera in his office as well, mind you in 'office' which was
supposed to be the safest place in his villa.
The mean machine: There is a policeman who is not very
valuable for the story as he has left his job, but the storytellers have
kept him in the story just for the sake of one thing, one day he will
pass on wrong information to the enemy of his friend. But then, he has
got a new secretary and money is needed to keep her entertained. By the
way, the new secretary looks really toned.
The international look: We can go international but the
international don will be an Indian. His clothes can remind you of Count
Dracula but thankfully he doesn't drink blood.
5 High Points Aaj kuch toofani karte hain: Action sequences are a treat
to watch in 'Race 2'. Daredevil actors jump from high cliffs and
aircrafts but there is always a parachute at their disposal. It doesn't
make any difference whether they are jumping with their cars or alone.
The girl with deep red lipstick: Deepika Padukone's character has
been written satisfactorily. She has come up with a truly Indian
version of femme fatale. She doesn't waste time and is aware of her
market position. Trust me, she looks elegant even when she mouths
downmarket phrases.
The lone warrior: Whatever you say about Saif Ali Khan, he
remains the best available actor to play such a character in Hindi
films. He is suave, charming and full of grit. Lately, he has started
adding more bass to his voice and has stopped twitching his eyebrows. He
is one of those Bollywood actors who are closest to Bond ishtyle
persona.
Pritam pyare: It has become a mystery now that how come
everytime Pritam manages to produce suitable songs. The placement of
songs in the film is not perfect but there is nothing wrong with the
music. It compliments the storyline and mood of 'Race 2'.
Abbas-Mustan: They devised the idea of colourful cars much
before Rohit Shetty. They are the chief force behind 'Race 2'. They
have created glamorous premises and super-stylish characters to keep the
audience hooked on to the screen. This is not their best but there are
moments in the film which other directors would feel difficulty in
recreating, the sword fight between Jacqueline and Saif is just one of
them.
Intensifying competition in the smartphone market, Samsung Electronics has announced the launch of Samsung Galaxy Grand, a new high-end smartphone at a price of Rs.21,500.
This model will be available across India from February, and is targeted at the youth and company executives in the age group of 18 to 35 years, a top company official said. This device was being simultaneously launched in key markets across the world, the official added.
The handset is powered by Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system, and runs on a 1.2 GHz dual core processor. The device with a 5 inch screen is slim and comes with an ergonomic design which makes it comfortable to hold. It has borrowed features from Samsung’s flagship devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Note 2.
The device also sports a multi-window feature that allows seamless multitasking and running of multiple applications simultaneously without having to switch screens.
The Grand is also one of the world’s top performing dual SIM smartphones. Its smart dual SIM feature provides total communication flexibility, allowing users to manage two phone numbers from a single phone.
It is possible to receive calls on one SIM number while taking a call from the other, ensuring efficient management of personal and work commitments without ever missing a call.
“We are beginning the year 2013 with the launch of Galaxy Grand and we have lot of expectation from it. Many more launches will follow. The Galaxy Grand is revolutionary not only in terms of the great smartphone experience that it provides but also in terms of its value proposition,” said Asim Warsi, Vice-President, Samsung Mobile.
“I feel the Galaxy Grand will further fuel the growth of the smartphone market in India and will especially delight consumers looking for a great smart dual SIM phone. The Galaxy Grand best meets the growing consumer preference for a large screen device that gives them a great multimedia experience and superior performance,” Mr Warsi added. He said the device had various intuitive features that enable consumers to seamlessly engage with the device.
This launch comes days after Nokia introduced its high-end Lumia 920, 820 and 620 and announced plans to aggressively grow in the smartphone market. Apple is also aggressively promoting its iPhone 5 through various offers and it will be interesting to watch the turf war in the coming months.
New Delhi:The statistical highlights from India's five-wicket win against England at Mohali.
# Suresh Raina has received his ninth Man of the Match award in ODIs - his fourth against England.
# Raina is the first batsman to record three fifties - all in successive innings - 50 at Rajkot; 55 at Kochi and 89 not out at Mohali. With 194 runs at an average of 97.00 in only three innings, he is the leading run-scorer in the present series.
# Raina's tenth half-century against England in 26 ODIs is his 27th in ODIs.
# Raina's supeerb knock is his highest against England in ODIs, eclipsing the 84 at Lord's on September 11, 2011.
# Under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's capaincy, India have won 77 and lost 46 out of 134 contested in ODIs (NR 8 & Tied 3) - winning % 62.30. He has bettered Sourav Ganguly's tally of 76 wins in 147 matches. Only Mohammamd Azharuddin has recorded more wins (90 in 174) than Dhoni as an Indian captain.
# For the first time in India, India have won four consecutive bilateral series against England - 5-1 in 2005-06; 5-0 in 2008-09; 5-0 in 2011-12 and 3-1 in 2012-13.
# India enjoy 100% record at Mohali, winning both their games at PCA Stadium on October 20, 2011 and January 13, 2013.
# Alastair Cook has taken his runs' tally in the series to 185 at an average of 46.25 - the highest by an England player.
# Cook (76 off 106 balls) has registered his 15th fifty in ODIs - his sixth against India. The said innings is his highest score in ODIs in India, bettering the 75 at Rajkot on January 11, 2013.
# Cook and Pietersen were involved in a stand of 95 - England's highest for the second wicket at Mohali.
# Kevin Pietersen's brilliant innings of 76 off 93 balls is his eighth fifty against India - his 24th in ODIs.
# Ravindra Jadeja, with eight wickets at an average of 14.50, is his best performance in a series in terms of averages. He is the leading wicket-taker for India in the present series.
# Joe Root (57 not out off 45 balls) has registered his maiden fifty in ODIs.
# Rohit Sharma (83 off 93 balls) has recorded his first fifty against England - his 13th in ODIs. The said knock is his first fifty as an opener in ODIs. Since recording 95 against the West Indies at Ahmedabad on December 5, 2011, Sharma has posted his highest score in 16 innings.
# In the course of his aforesaid knock, Sharma has completed his 2,000 runs in ODIs - 2061 at an average of 31.22 in 87 matches.
The statistical highlights from India's five-wicket win against England at Mohali.
