India regain No 1 ODI ranking after Australia lose to England

 

Team India

India on Friday regained their No 1 ranking in the ICC ODI list after Australia lost their fourth one day international against England by 57 runs thereby dropping to the second place in the 13-team table.

As per the latest ICC table, India are back on top with 117 points while Australia are second with 116 points.

India lost their No 1 spot in the ODI ranking on Wednesday when they lost to New Zealand in the second ODI at Hamilton by 15 runs courtesy Duckworth-Lewis method.

India were on 119 points before the second ODI against New Zealand while Australia were on 118 points. The defeat against New Zealand saw India losing a couple of points and slipped behind Australia at 117 points.

However, the Aussies were defeated by England who won their first international game of the three-month long tour due to which Australia lost two points and came down to 116.

But in order to maintain their top rank, India must win Saturday's third ODI against the Black Caps at Auckland -- failing which they will again lose their top rank.

After Shah Rukh Khan, Salman now hugs Katrina Kaif

It seems Salman Khan's new year resolution is to forgive and forget! He has been on a hugging spree lately. He recently surprised everyone when he congratulated Shah Rukh Khan on Chennai Express success at an awards show that he was hosting. He also met very warmly with Abhishek Bachchan.

And now we hear that he has hugged his former girlfriend Katrina Kaif.

According to a report in a tabloid website, Salman and Katrina happened to be at a studio where the Bollywood star was present for the launch of the first look of his brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri's movie Oh Teri and Katrina had come for a commercial shoot.

Salman reportedly met her there, greeting her with a warm hug.

Good going, Salman!

Arjun Tendulkar makes Mumbai age group debut at Wankhede

Arjun Tendulkar would have many a fond memory of the Wankhede stadium. He was there in the dressing room as the son of his illustrious father when India won the 2011 World Cup. He was also there doing ball boy duties when his father played the 200th and his final Test match for India.

But January 24, 2014 was different for the 13-year-old. He was again at the Wankhede, but this time it wasn't an 'I was there moment'. On this occasion, he was at the centre of action, grabbing attention. Mumbai U-14 was facing off against Gujarat U-14 in the West Zone league, but Arjun was making his Mumbai age group debut.

Arjun Tendulkar. PTI

He had been a part of the Mumbai U-14 squad last year as well but did not make the playing eleven in any of the games. His mother Anjali was there to receive him at the Mumbai Central railway station as he came back victorious with the Mumbai squad from Ahmedabad.

As Arjun walked into the field for the first time in Mumbai whites, his parents did not come to see him play live; aware that there is a lot he would be dealing with, what with the weight of his surname. But his mother Anjali and his famous father did come to see him at the club house of the stadium, a day before the game, to wish him luck.

That luck bore fruit quite early into the innings as Arjun coming on to bowl first change got the first Gujarat wicket to fall with his left arm medium pace. His all-round ability notwithstanding, coaches working with him closely say he is being looked at as a batsman who can also bowl. Gujarat side folded up for 150 and the first wicket was the only one Arjun got.

Then arrived the junior Tendulkar to bat, opening the innings for Mumbai. The mannerisms were familiar as he walked into bat, from touching the grass, looking towards the heavens, digging dirt off the wicket as he would prepare to take stance. Left-handed Arjun Tendulkar's drives would evoke claps from his cheer squad, the security man who stays with him all the while and his driver.

He would occasionally play and miss, in between drive with panache, alert to the opportunity to clip the ball away drifting towards leg.

Till he was dismissed for 36, Arjun wasn't a revelation but did not let the selectors down who picked him in the squad outside of the probables' list. Arjun may well be trying to do the best he can in a sport he has seen his father play at the highest level all his life.

He may or may not make a career with cricket. But till he is on the road, he is living a dream of many and it's a great story to romanticise about.

Kejriwal sit-in: Can we sit up and take note?

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwa

The apex court has pulled up Delhi Police for allowing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his Cabinet colleagues and Aam Aadmi Party supporters to stage a sit-in despite prohibitory orders being in force.

Acting on a writ petition filed by an advocate, the bench of Justices RM Lodha and Shivakirti Singh questioned the role of the police in the entire incident.

A report in The Hindu quoted Justice Lodha as saying: "Tell us how did the police permit more than five persons to assemble? Police will close their eyes and let it happen and allow people to gather. Why was the gathering permitted at all in the first instance? The law enforcing agency has an obligation and it cannot permit law to be broken before their eyes. Normally, we do not interfere in these matters. But when law is broken we will interfere."

Why was the gathering permitted at all in the first instance?

To find the answer to this question, let us take a quick recap of the events how they unfolded.

Five days before the Republic Day in the national capital, the chief minister decided to stage a sit-in right in the heart of Lutyens' Delhi.

He had his own reasons, not entirely apolitical.

The CM along with his Cabinet and other supporters, around 2000 in total, shouted slogans and squatted in the middle of the road leading to the seat of the country's power, i.e. Parliament, for the next 48 hours.

Around 4,000 policemen, whose leaves were cancelled as a precautionary measure, kept vigil with the protesters to avoid any untoward incident.

The closure of four Metro stations leading to unspeakable misery for commuters, uncertainty hovering over Republic Day and a looming threat to the security of important government institutions situated in Lutyens' Delhi were a natural corollary and perhaps collateral for having allowed the sit-in.

But who allowed it?
The 4,000-strong contingent stationed at the protest site was following the orders of somebody who relayed the command from somewhere else. And this chain of command is generally long and deliberately oblique to fox a possible inquest.

Reports which emerged following the whimpering end of the sit-in which had become excruciating for agitators facing the vagaries of the weather said a certain party's vice-president who should ideally have no role in the government was unhappy with the union home minister.

The reports said the sit-in was in fact a political tug-of-war between the agitators and the ruling party, both of which wanted to tire each other out in a battle of nerves.

In a nutshell, the only thing to blame is our political culture which blurs the line between party politics and governance.

And that applied, in this incident, to both players.