Katich and Ponting put Australia on top

Day 2 witnessed more drama.Australia piled on the agony for England despite the latter building up a healthy total of 435.Katich and Ponting scored chance less hundreds to take Australia to 249/1,thus in a commanding position on the second day.England worked really hard but Australia always had an answer to them.The lack of swing and poor direction lead to a dismal show by England.



Ending on a healthy 336/7,England tail continued the onslaught on the patchy Australian bowlers.Johnson sent back Broad early but Anderson and Swann put in a display of sensible batting.They did really well to take their team past 400 and put the kangaroos on the backseat.Anderson made 24 and Swann made 47 to power England to 435.Australia need a solid start to pep England back and the openers Phil Hughes and Katich did exactly that.Australia were 39/0 by lunch but the onus was on England to continue to their positivity.




England came back from lunch firing.Flintoff bowled a fiery spell of fast bowling and removed a dangerous looking Phil Hughes for 36.There were a few nervous moments later but such was Australia's determination they didn't even offer them a half chance.Katich and Ponting batted splendidly and built the innings step by step,session by session.The left hand-right hand combination did it for the kangaroos.It was a delight to watch them bat.England didn't have any joy though and were left spellbound.Australia built a perfect platform for a 500+ score.Well still England can make amends with a good performance in the morning session of the third day.

Honours even on day one

Ashes has begun.Such was the intensity between the both teams that both were trying to roll upon each other.England always had managed a good run rate for which they eventually managed a healthy 336/7.Looking in Australia's point of view,they just managed to put the breaks when required but in doing so, they failed to keep a lid on the runs.





Strauss won the toss and and batted on a good Cardiff pitch.England lost Cook early to Ben Hilfenhaus.Bopara and Strauss entertained a lively crowd for a while.The joy was short lived by Mitchell Johnson when Bopara was bamboozled by a slower one.Strauss too departed after a 23 run partnership with Pieterson to Johnson again.England were 97/3 at lunch with Australia looking good.Collingwood and Pieterson revived the English in the second session putting in a 100+ partnership.Nathan Hauritz and a few part time spinners couldn't pick up even a single wicket in the session.So,Round 2 belonged entirely to the English team.



Australia and England fought it neck to neck in the final session.Both teams weren't ready to give an inch.Collingwood completed a wonderful fifty and got out to the impressive Ben Hilfenhaus.Pieterson too followed suite for an enterprising 69 with Nathan Hauritz getting the prize wicket.Then started a counter attack by Flintoff and Prior who matched each other shot to shot,ball to ball leaving Australia bewildered.They managed 86 runs in 15 odd overs taking England past the 300 mark.Peter Siddle who was wicket less till then pulled Australia back into this one with a fiery spell capturing Prior and Flintoff.Broad and Anderson then negotiated a few balls to ensuring no further damage.It was a great start for what is going to be an intensely fought series.

for live commentary from the BBC click
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/bbc_radio_five_live_sports_extra

Ashes battle kicks off today

All the pre-match talk is being put into dust as the mother of all battles, only second to India vs Pak though, commences today.Cricket is back in business but in its unique form now.Australia and England have had a gloomy season till.England suffered a humiliating 5-0 loss in Australia but they are fitter,stronger both physically and mentally to test the fading cricket giants.Australia too with their young team are ready to prove a point to the critics.This series has taken the "home of cricket" England by a storm.Everyone has something to say or comment about in the series and will continue to do so in the future.Watching it as a neutral spectator makes me all the more excited.To go for the predictions,i would favour England a notch ahead of the kangaroos but just.My college too begins in the third week of August,so i wont miss any action of this high drama.I just cant wait for it to begin.Stay glued to your television sets and be ready to view an evenly balanced contest.

Kambakkht Ishq does just enough to tickle your funny bones!!

Directed by : Sabbir Khan


Produced by: Sajid Nadiadwala


Written by : Anvita Dutt Guptan ,Ishita Moitra,Sabbir Khan


Starring: Akshay Kumar,Kareena Kapoor,Aftab Shivdasani, Amrita Arora


Music by: Anu Malik


Release date: July 3, 2009

Well,the movie season is back with a bang.New York and then now Kambhaqt Ishq...To begin with,this movie is a rip off a Tamil movie Pammal K Sammandam starring Kamal Haasan and Simran.The plot is basically the same but the latter has been shot and promoted at a lavish scale.



STORY:

Viraj Shergill(Akshay Kumar) is a stunt man working for Hollywood movies.Lucky Shergill(Aftab Shivdasani)is Viraj's lone brother. Simrata Rai(Kareena Kapoor) meanwhile is an aspiring surgeon and a part time super model who is a feminist feels men are fit for nothing.Kamini(Amrita Arora) is Simrita's best friend and takes her advice for almost everything.Lucky and Kamini are dating each other and sparks fly when they engage each other much to the dislike of Viraj and Simrita.Viraj and Simrita dont at all get along. Both of them try their own weird tricks to break the marriage of Lucky and Kamaini.Here comes the twist.Viraj is injured during a fatal fire accident and had to undergo a stomach operation under the co-ordination of none other than his foe/enmy (call it whatever) Simrita Rai.Simrita unintentionally drops her watch in Viraj's tummy and lands up in big trouble.More trouble lands up when his X-ray report gets thrown in to a wrong person.The watch was gifted to Simrita by Dolly(Kiron Kher) which has an alarm of the mantra told during Hindu marriage rituals "Om Mangalam".Viraj does everything to find out the source of the mantra "Om Mangalam".Then the rest of the story deals with how Simrita skillfully woos Viraj to save her pride.But she some where feels Viraj likeable but ends up cheating herself.Will she realise it? Will she able to win Viraj?Why does she wants Viraj back? forms the crux of the story.

PERFORMANCES:

Akshay Kumar is the backbone of the movie.He's back to fine form and makes this work big time.Kareena Kapoor looks great in the movie and excels as Simrita.Aftab & Amrita make a good pair and do justice to the given roles.Kiron Kher disappoints and Javed Jaffrey too doesn't get it right this time around.The special appearances by Denise Richards, Brandon Routh ,Sylvester Stallone and Holly Valance fall flat and don't fit in the script well.The music too falls short of expectations.Debutante Director Sabbir Khan gives a sincere effort though.


HOW WAS THE MOVIE?

Though the movie has many flaws and setbacks,its definitely watchable for the credible performances from the lead pair.The comic tracks in parts are really funny.The first half promises good humour while the second half stammers.Go to the hall without any expectations and chances are that you wont come out disappointed.

RATING: 2.5/5

A decision taken in life........finally

Career is something which a student has to take up for achieving personal satisfaction and happiness.This article is just a peep-in on how i finally backed my final decision,i.e engineering at SRM.Despite having limited choices to make my decision,i made a complete mess of it.My brain was hearing and facing all kind of chin music.I was getting all kinds of advice from all sorts of people adding to my misery...





I had three choices firstly Amrita,Eamcet,SRM.Amrita was ruled out at the earliest due to unavailability of seats in Coimbatore and Bangalore.I had only Kerala one left which was quite mediocre.So Amrita was removed off my list at the beginning.Then i got an OK rank/score in EAMCET i.e neither too good nor too bad making the matters worse.But a local college would prevent any kind of homesickness,i mean at least the satisfaction of reaching home's there.The local colleges though were good but not great.That made me unwillingly go to SRM counseling to block my seat for the safer side.Now i had done that and 2 more weeks to have the final go at my choice.Both sides of the coin had its share of advantages and disadvantages,but time was closing in and the choice had to be made.......After a series of uncertainties i was firm to join SRM.


Sustainability of our jobs is quite important in our lives.So a good background always adds as a bonus to students in such situations.This factor and the lackluster quality of education indeed made me go against the local colleges .I am not infact telling that SRM is the best in providing a good base ,but just hinting that it is the best of all choices available for me.So i hope my decision is justified.I am looking forward to perform at my best of the abilities in SRM and set up a path for a successful career.....

A purposeful “New York” lives up to the expectations

NEW YORK
Directed by Kabir Khan

Produced by Aditya Chopra

Starring John Abraham

Katrina Kaif

Neil Nitin Mukesh

Irfan Khan

Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Music by Pritam

Cinematography Aseem Mishra

Editing by Rameshwar S. Bhagat

Distributed by Yash Raj Films

Release date(s) June 26, 2009

Running time 153 min.

Country India

Language Hindi / English

New York catches your pulse and emotions perfectly.......

STORY:

New York has come out as a much expected film after the multiplex fiasco.The film deals with how the 9/11 effect on the normal daily life and never steps a foot wrong.Omar(Neil),Sameer(John) and Maya(Katrina) are good buddies in college.Omar is a disciplined brat while Sam and Maya are cool with a carefree attitude.Omar falls in love with Maya but is forced to leave her out as Sameer and Maya are fond of each other.Ad mist this love triangle,the World Trade Center blasts rock the country and changes their life completely.Omar stays away from Sam and Maya while Sam gets thrown in the detention center as a suspect bomber of the 9/11 blasts.He is subjected to repeated torture by the FBI.Later though, he was released due to lack of evidence against him.Sam and Maya then get married but Sam takes a wrong route to regain his pride in the society.His friend Omar though was unaware of this truth.Roshan(Irfan Khan),FBI officer then purposely catches hold of innocent Omar and sends him to Sam as an undercover FBI agent.Sam and Maya by then have a child.Maya works as a civil right activist.Omar then uses his wits to stay in Sam’s house to keep a check on his activities.Then will Omar be successful in changing Sam?Which wrong route does Sam take up?Will Maya get to know the truth? forms an enthralling ride.

PERFORMANCES

The cast does it all for the movie.Neil as Omar who brings out a career best performance is the heart of the movie.John too is not very much behind with a sincere heart warming performance.Katrina as Maya looks stunning and does her part to the best of her abilities.Irrfan Khan,as ever dependable gives a stunning and a controlled performance.The supporting actors also do nothing wrong and do justice to their roles.The background score is apt.Pritam does very well with his compositions.Kabir Khan,the director does his job to near perfection.

MOVIE

This movie offers something for everyone.It simultaneously entertains,thrills,makes us cry and a lot more.The freshness of the performances of the cast is pleasing.The locales and production values are wonderful by Yashraj & Co.Thumbs up for all the sincere effort the unit has put in and it shows onscreen.Quite a meaningful flick,considering the recent tensions between Indians particularly Muslims in the US and Australia.Go watch this one and you’ll come out smiling & having your every penny worthy.

RATING:

****/*****