Spark Spot

Yusuf Pathan, the big power machine of Royals,  blazed his way to an unbeaten half-century to propel Rajasthan Royals to a five-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

Pathan smashed 62 not out off 30 balls with three fours and six sixes as Rajasthan reached 147 for five to overhaul Delhi’s 143 for seven with nine balls to spare. It was second-placed Delhi’s first defeat in four matches in this year’s tournament.

Pathan and Graeme Smith shared an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 83 in 47 balls, with the South Africa captain contributing an unbeaten 44 after the Royals had slumped to 64 for five.Pathan, who was dropped on 30, brought up his half-century in 26 balls as the holders claimed their second win of the competition to go fourth in the table.

It was Pathan again for Royals to smash the oppenents. Last time Pathan drove Royals to an emphatic win over Knight Riders in a super over by smashing the srilankan spinner Mendis all over the park. Pathan in this kind of form, i am sure that royals would feel their place in the semi finals.

Chennai super kings, one of the victorious team in the last season of IPL, is playing very ordinary cricket in this season of IPL. Chennai led by Dhoni, inspite of having a pretty balanced team in the paper, is not performing even upto 70% of its strength. Matthew Hayden, 37 year old aussie player, is the only man showing great amusing stuffs with his bat in the same way as he use to do for Aistralia.

Chennai has no problems with the start and the run rate is more than good in the powerplay overs. But the middle order fails in all the matches so far. The 11-15 overs is really a period of worry for super kings. I personally feel that Dhoni should look into the team selection for the next match and he has to get the right combination going.

Chennai, one of the most favorite team is struggling a lot at the moment against all teams. Chennai fans are really frustrated over their teams efforts in this season of IPL.  Chennai should their best in order to clinch their position in the semi finals. Let us hope that Chennai Super Kings fires all guns in the upcoming matches by playing to the expectation.

Me and my friends had our Reunion and that was really fun filled.Reunion with friends is always a pleasure that everyone in their life wont ever miss out.Having completed my engineering last year, me and my friends couldn’t meet that often. Everyone is busy with their work and courses. It was really long back since we all met together at a place.
As per our schedule we all gathered up at Marina Beach yesterday evening at 5 pm. Then we had a long chat about all of us.. We shared all our views with each other. Me and my friends are crazy about Cricket. So we had a deep discussion about Indian cricket team and finally we are really happy with the way our Indian team is going. Then it was the time for one of my friend to give us all a big treat. We ate hot samosas, bajjis and then fresh fruit juices and ice creams to finish with.

At 7 pm we got an opportunity to participate in an FM show titled “Friends Marina” by Rainbow Fm. Then we just had fun chat with the host of that show.. We all introduced ourselves and then we gave some comical reply for the questions posted by FM Lead.

It was 8 pm. Then we all took along to the sea shore and sat there for a chat that involved into our future plans and predictions. We just admired the beauty of the sea waves, blue sky with shining stars and a lonely moon, just as a poet. We know that the clock is ticking over and we must depart in some time or the other.

We all were really worried since we couldn’t meet each other that often. We just had a run of sweet memories of our college days. The way we enjoyed and had fun. We couldn’t have that anymore. But we all soon realized that this is a part and parcel of life and everyone should go through this phase.

It is just an emotional feeling of friendship which we all experienced but later we decided that we should make this reunion possible atleast once or twice in 2 months. This really makes us to feel good. Hope it should become possible.The clocked ticked 10pm and then we all kick started our bike hesistantly but still we have to go. Then i returned back home with memories of my friends.

Pakistan, after the Lankan attack has become even more threatening place for many cricketers. ICC decided to meet on discussing the issues regarding hosting the 2011 world cup matches in pakistan.

During an important ICC meet held in Dubai,  it was decided that no world cup match could be held in Pakistan, following a uncertain political and security situation prevailing in that country. The decision is anticipated to cost Pakistan Cricket Board an approximate loss of 800,000 to 100,000 dollars.

Pakistan was scheduled to host 14 matches and the semi-final of the World Cup, which was to be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as per previous arrangements. Doubts emerged over the prospects of Pakistan hosting the World Cup matches after the terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore last month, following which the ICC also indicated it would be difficult to convince teams to play in the country.

Although the World Cup central secretariat is in Lahore and the ICC recently approved appointment of a Pakistani Managing Director there but it is yet to be fully operational following the prevailing troublesome environment and uncertainty.

Indian Premier League is all set to commence on April 18 at South Africa. The second season of IPL is ready to entertain us. IPL is played in a entertaining T20 foramt which is adored by all the cricket lovers.The teams to participate in IPL are : Chennai Super Kings, Kolkatta Knight Riders, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Dare Devils, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab. Get Ready for the exciting tournament. IPL rocks!!!

IPL Matches Schedule 2009

Date                                                   Matches
Apr 18     Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings -  Cape Town
Apr 18     Rajasthan Royals vs Bangalore Royal Challengers - Cape Town

Apr 19     Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab -  Cape Town
Apr 19     Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders -  Cape Town

Apr 20     Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers - Port Elizabeth

Apr 21     Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Durban
Apr 21     Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians - Durban

Apr 22     Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers - Cape Town

Apr 23     Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils - Durban
Apr 23     Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals - Cape Town

Apr 24     Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kings XI Punjab - Durban

Apr 25     Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers - Durban
Apr 25     Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Cape Town

Apr 26     Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Delhi Daredevils - Port Elizabeth
Apr 26     Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals - Cape Town

Apr 27     Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings - Durban
Apr 27     Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians - Port Elizabeth

Apr 28     Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals - Pretoria

Apr 29     Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers - Durban
Apr 29     Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians - Durban

Apr 30     Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils - Pretoria
Apr 30     Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings - Pretoria

May 1     Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders - East London
May 1     Kings XI Punjab vs Bangalore Royal Challengers - Durban

May 2     Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals - Port Elizabeth
May 2     Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings - Johannesburg

May 3     Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab - Port Elizabeth
May 3     Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Mumbai Indians - Johannesburg

May 4     Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers - East London

May 5     Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab - Durban
May 5     Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Durban

May 6     Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians - Pretoria

May 7     Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Rajasthan Royals - Pretoria
May 7     Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings - Pretoria

May 8     Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians - East London

May 9     Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab - Kimberley
May 9     Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals - Kimberley

May 10     Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers - Port Elizabeth
May 10     Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils - Johannesburg

May 11     Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers - Kimberley

May 12     Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Pretoria
May 12     Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab - Pretoria

May 13     Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers - Durban

May 14     Royal Challengers vs Chennai Super Kings - Durban
May 14     Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals - Durban

May 15     Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils - Bloemfontein

May 16     Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians - Port Elizabeth
May 16     Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers - Johannesburg

May 17     Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers - Johannesburg
May 17     Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils - Bloemfontein

May 18     Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings- Pretoria

May 19     Delhi Daredevils vs  Royal Challengers - Johannesburg

May 20     Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Durban
May 20     Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab - Durban

May 21     Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils - Pretoria
May 21     Deccan Chargers vs  Royal Challengers - Pretoria

May 22                        Semi Final 1 - Pretoria
May 23                       Semi Final 2 - Johannesburg

May 24                            FINAL - Johannesburg

Enter the spark zone

India’s master batsman Sachin Tendulkar praises coach Gary Kirsten for assisting in building a strong team that seems to threaten the world cricket.
India won their first test series on New Zealand soil in four decades this week, their third successive test series victory since defeating top-ranked Australia in November.

Sachin told that the secret to this success is the players are playing their natural game and that can only happen if the atmosphere is good and the mind is free of any kind of pressure. He also added that the team environment is allowing players to play their natural game and that is the secret.

Tendulkar, the world’s highest run-getter in test and one-day cricket, has praised Gary Kirsten for his earnest efforts in developing a better team and the coach has played a kernel role in the team’s success rain. Former South African opener Kirsten took over from Greg Chappell last year and has helped the Indian team improve their performances, earning the respect of the players for his quiet approach following a turbulent period.

Ultimate Star Ajith in a different stlyish look. Actor  Ajith has gone in for a neo-retro look that seems to sit perfectly on him prima facie. Their  might be reminiscent of Kamal from Virumaandi but Ajith seems to have given it his signature touch. He has always looked extremely stylish in the formal suits and so it would not be wrong to say that he looks his best when in fully formal attire. This time too, he carries it off with panache.

Ajith is not known to fiddle around with his hair too much, but now he has tried something that is definitely a first in Tamil cinema. Though one does not get a full view of it from the only still that has been released, there is a definite spike at the centre.

Then, you would have noticed those goggles. They have been around for more than two decades now, still very much a style statement. Though it is used only very sparingly these days, it is still as good as it was when it was first seen. Ajith, one daresay, makes it look even better.

This movie would be as stylish as BILLA. Let us hope for the best out of Ajith and also wish the ardous working self confident actor Ajith and his team our hearty wishes. Looking forward to ASAL!!!

The American economy has feced some challenging situations but the americans have grown more optimistic about the economy and the direction of the country since President Barack Obama took office in January.Two-thirds of respondents said they approved of Obama’s overall job performance.

The number of people who said they thought the United States was headed in the right direction jumped from 15 percent during the final days of Republican President George W. Bush’s administration in mid-January, before the inauguration, to 39 percent till date.The number of respondents who said the country was headed in the wrong direction dropped to 53 percent from 79 percent.

Thirty-four percent said the economy, already contracting, was getting worse, down from 54 percent just before Obama took office.According to the poll, 20 percent of Americans now think the economy is getting better, compared with 7 percent in mid-January.

Hydrogen storage system, being developed since 2 years, makes possible to fill a fuel tank that would facilitate a 300 mile long drive.The system uses a fine powder called metal hydride to absorb hydrogen gas. The researchers have created the system’s heat exchanger, which circulates coolant through tubes and uses fins to remove heat generated as the hydrogen is absorbed by the powder.

The heat exchanger is critical because the system stops absorbing hydrogen effectively if it overheats.The hydride produces an enormous amount of heat. It would take a minimum of 40 minutes to fill the tank without cooling, and that would be entirely impractical.

Researchers envision a system that would enable motorists to fill their car with hydrogen within a few minutes. The hydrogen would then be used to power a fuel cell to generate electricity to drive an electric motor.

The idea is to have a system that fills the tank and at the same time uses accessory connectors that supply coolant to extract the heat. This presented an engineering challenge because we had to figure out how to fill the fuel vessel with hydrogen quickly while also removing the heat efficiently. The problem is, nobody had ever designed this type of heat exchanger before. It’s a whole new animal that we designed from scratch.

The metal hydride is contained in compartments inside the storage pressure vessel. Hydrogen gas is pumped into the vessel at high pressure and absorbed by the powder.This process is reversible, meaning the hydrogen gas may be released from the metal hydride by decreasing the pressure in the storage vessel. The heat exchanger is fitted inside the hydrogen storage pressure vessel. Due to space constraints, it is essential that the heat exchanger occupy the least volume to maximize room for hydrogen storage.

Arctic Ocean may lose its cover during summer and it loses away its ice much faster than expected.The amount of the Arctic Ocean covered by ice at the end of summer by then could be only about 1 million square kilometers, or about 620,000 square miles.

While the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007 assessed what might happen in the Arctic in the future based on results from more than a dozen global climate models, two researchers reasoned that dramatic declines in the extent of ice at the end of summer in 2007 and 2008 called for a different approach.

Models also were chosen that are able to reflect the difference between summer and winter ice packs, which demonstrates a model’s ability to take into account changing amounts of solar radiation from summer to winter. Among the six fitting the researchers’ criteria, three have sophisticated sea-ice physics and dynamics capabilities.

In recent years the combination of unusual warm temperatures from natural causes and the global warming signal have worked together to provide an earlier summer sea-ice loss than was predicted when scientists considered the effects from human-caused carbon dioxide alone.

The uncertainty in future timing for a September sea-ice free Arctic is strongly influenced by the chaotic nature of natural variability.Scientists don’t expect the Arctic to be totally ice free, figuring that ice still will be found along northern Canada and Greenland where powerful winds sweeping across the Arctic Ocean force ice layers to slide on top of each other, making for a very thick ice cover.