CHENNAI SUPERSTARS -THE "ROCKERS" AT ICL

Funny promo video for the ICL team Chennai Superstars

Sach will remain special

Sachin Tendulkar has been the most wholesome batsman of his time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon as well. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses, anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient in each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.

Though he has adopted a noticeably conservative approach in the last quarter of his career, there are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.

Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year old on a lightning fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman when Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.

Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. This was after he was turned away from a fast-bowling camp in Chennai by Dennis Lillee.

Tendulkar's greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, and he currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match.

Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshiped cricketer in the world

Your date describes you!

An Italian horoscope given below. You can find a lot about you by just searching your own identity in Italian way.

What you have to do is to find your group with the help of your date of birth.

Date of Birth - GROUP

01,06,11,16, 21,26,31- A1

02,07,12,17, 22, 27 - B2
03,08,13,18, 23,28 - C3
04,09,14,19, 24,29 - D4

05,10,15,20, 25,30 - E5

Group A1

You consider love as the most beautiful thing and you love to fall in love, but a number of your group members think that the person they love is not sincere with them.

You love to be with your friends and you are always found to be a dutiful friend.

You can hardly control your patients, which is a very big drawback of your nature.

The Person who is ruling your mind & heart these days is perfect for you.

Group B2

Your dreams and ambitions are much important for you and you can do everything to fulfill your dreams. Love is much valuable in your life but you always search for someone perfect. You hardly trust someone.

Your friends are really important for you but normally you hide a lot from them.

You are a deep thinker you always study the negative view as well as positive.

You can lead a happy life with a person for whom you care a lot these days.

Group C3

You always prefer mantel decisions more then emotional ones due to this you don't have a limited number of friends. You consider life a very beautiful gift and you love to enjoy its colors. There are a number of peoples who are your ideals and you loved to spend a big part of your time with them. You are found to be a very sincere lover.

You have a perfect control on your emotions but sometimes your decisions really effect your beloveds.

The person who has just appeared in your mind and you has decided to forward this mail especially to him/her is your real and special friend.

Group D4

Your always have goals to achieve and you can do everything to fulfill the dreams of those who loves you.

You have a sketch of an ideal in your mind and you always search for that personality.

Your friends means a lot to you and you can do everything for the sake of your friend, you a normally found to be an emotional personality.

You have a very less control on your patients and due to this sometimes you over react.

The one who sent you this mail & the one to whom you will send this mail first are your real friends.

Group E5

You are found to be a person who loves to love. You prefer emotional decision more then mantel decisions. You consider life just to enjoy; You love to increase the list of your friends and beloved's. You have a number of dreams but you never work hard to make your dreams come true which is the biggest drawback in your nature you take everything much lightly. With in 7 days you will meet a person whom you have never met before that is the person ideal for you.

E-mail threatens attacks on Pak Test team

New Delhi: A privately-owned television channel has received an e-mail threatening terrorist attacks against the Pakistan cricket team.

The email, sent from guru_boys2000@yahoo.com, has demanded that the Pakistani cricket team withdraw from the ongoing Test series.

The mail carries the threat that Pakistani cricketers may be assassinated if they do not go back to their country.

BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla has confirmed that the Board is in touch with the Home Ministry over the security of the Indian and the Pakistan teams.

“The security has been beefed up. High alert has already been issued. Since, the BCCI works in a close coordination with the Home ministry before every series, we don't worry a lot about the security as the home ministry takes care of it. We have special security setup for Indo-Pak series every time,” Shukla said.

It also says that there will be more bomb blasts in various places in India and Pakistan and has given the dates and venues for these attacks:

K K Nagar in Chennai will be attacked on November 30, Ghaziabad on December 10, J J Colony in Delhi on December 25, Mulund West in Mumbai on December 28 and Fairlawn Hotel in Kolkata on January 1.

The email has even threatened a blast in Islamabad on January 1.

The authenticity of the email, however, is yet to be ascertained. The possibility of this being a prank cannot be ruled out.

"We will check the message once the television channel hands us over the email," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Alok Kumar said.

Investigations have shown that the e-mail was sent from a French domain. It was tracked to a cyber cafe in Laxmi Nagar, east Delhi. The police have taken the café’s owner in for interrogation.

The police are taking the help of the locals to create a likeness of the e-mail sender, who is believed to stand 5 feet 8 inches tall, according to sources.

Karthigai Deepam Festival

The Karthigai Deepam festival is celebrated in the Tamil Month of Karthigai (November - December). It begins on Uttradam day with flag hoisting and goes on the nine days. In the early hours of the tenth day Bharani Deepam in five agantams will be lit in Arunachaleswarar's Sannithi. In the evening, the Pancha Murthis will be brought to the Katchi Mandapam. At dusk (Pradosha) the Karthigai day synchronizing with the full moon day, the deity, Ardhanareeswarar is taken out to this place with the five deepams, which are put in a big receptacle near the flug-stuff. At the same time the beacon light on the hill is lit. The huge concourse of devotees from all parts of our country in a million voice raise a cry simultaneously "Harohara to Annamalai" which will rend the air. It is a sight for the Gods to see!

ROWS OF agal vilakkus in front of every house... this is the image that at once comes to mind when we think of Karthigai Deepam - the festival of lights that is celebrated throughout Tamil Nadu during the month of Karthigai (November-December). Not many of us are aware that it is one of the oldest festivals celebrated in the State, perhaps even before people began celebrating Deepavali and Navarathri. Also, unlike many other Hindu festivals, Karthigai is basically a Tamil festival and is virtually unknown in most other parts of the country.

One of the earliest references to the festival is found in the Ahananuru, a book of poems, which dates back to the Sangam Age (200 B.C. to 300 A.D.). The Ahananuru clearly states that Karthigai is celebrated on the full moon day (pournami) of the Tamil month of Karthigai. It was one of the most important festivals (peruvizha) of the ancient Tamils. Avaiyyar, the renowned poetess of those times, refers to the festival in her songs.

Karthigai is essentially a festival of lamps. The lighted lamp is considered an auspicious symbol. It is believed to ward off evil forces and usher in prosperity and joy. While the lighted lamp is important for all Hindu rituals and festivals, it is indispensable for Karthigai.

Legend !

There is an interesting story explaining the link between Karthigai and lamps. Legend has it that Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma began to quarrel as to who was the more powerful of the two. While they were fighting, Lord Shiva appeared before them in the form of a huge pillar of fire. Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma gave up quarrelling and decided to find the top and the bottom of the pillar.

Accordingly, Brahma assumed the form of a swan and moved upwards. Vishnu transformed himself into a boar and started digging deep into the earth. But even after searching for several years, neither of the two was able to find the ends the pillar. Finally, they realised that the pillar was none other than Lord Shiva.

Soon afterwards, Lord Shiva appeared as a hill (Arunachala Hill) at Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. Indeed, the very names `Tiruvannamalai' and `Arunachala' translate as `holy fire hill.' The Shivalinga in the temple here is the agni linga. The tiny lamps lit during the Karthigai festival (Karthigai Deepam) are believed to be the miniature replicas of the fire linga. Every year thousands of devotees from Chennai and elsewhere flock to Tiruvannamalai to see the spectacular Karthigai Deepam there.

THIS WAS DONE BY MY SISTER ON THE FESTIVAL DAY.....

Sachin Tendulkar-Player profile

Full name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Born April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Current age 34 years 211 days
Major teams India, ACC Asian XI, Mumbai, Yorkshire
Nickname Tendlya, Little Master
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly
Height 5 ft 5 in
Education Sharadashram Vidyamandir School

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	140	226	23	11150	248*	54.92			37	45		42	93	0
ODIs	407	397	37	15962	186*	44.33	18669	85.50	41	87	1747	166	120	0
T20Is	1	1	0	10	10	10.00	12	83.33	0	0	2	0	1	0
First-class	239	373	38	19894	248*	59.38			63	91			160	0
List A	494	482	51	19514	186*	45.27			52	105			155	0
Twenty20	5	5	0	198	69	39.60	119	166.38	0	2	30	5	2	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	140	115	3718	2135	42	3/10	3/14	50.83	3.44	88.5	0	0	0
ODIs	407	263	7985	6774	154	5/32	5/32	43.98	5.09	51.8	4	2	0
T20Is	1	1	15	12	1	1/12	1/12	12.00	4.80	15.0	0	0	0
First-class	239		7077	4024	67	3/10		60.05	3.41	105.6		0	0
List A	494		10161	8402	201	5/32	5/32	41.80	4.96	50.5	4	2	0
Twenty20	5	4	57	65	2	1/12	1/12	32.50	6.84	28.5	0	0	0

Career statistics

Test debut	Pakistan v India at Karachi, Nov 15-20, 1989
Last Test	England v India at The Oval, Aug 9-13, 2007
ODI debut	Pakistan v India at Gujranwala, Dec 18, 1989
Last ODI	India v Pakistan at Jaipur, Nov 18, 2007
Only T20I	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006
First-class debut	1988/89
Last First-class	England v India at The Oval, Aug 9-13, 2007
List A debut	1989/90
Last List A	India v Pakistan at Jaipur, Nov 18, 2007
Twenty20 debut	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006
Last Twenty20	Bengal v Mumbai at Ahmedabad, Apr 19, 2007

Notes

Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1997

Profile

Sachin Tendulkar has been the most wholesome batsman of his time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon as well. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses, anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient in each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.

Though he has adopted a noticeably conservative approach in the last quarter of his career, there are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.

Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year old on a lightning fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman when Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.

Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. This was after he was turned away from a fast-bowling camp in Chennai by Dennis Lillee.

Tendulkar's greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, and he currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match.

Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world.

Mostly tentative, Tendulkar still thrills

For England, it was a day of long, hard and fruitless toil; for India, a day of consolidation rather than conquest. By the end of it, however, there was no question where the momentum of the series was headed. Aside from a hard-earned victory over West Indies last June, and the obligatory dismissal of Zimbabwe in 2005, India have not won a Test series outside the subcontinent since their tour of England in 1986. Now, however, they are three good days away from the most improbable of series leads, and with just the Oval Test to come next week, England's failure to close down the Lord's Test grows more acute by the minute.

As Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid used what now amounts to almost 20,000 runs-worth of Test knowhow to inch their side ever further into the ascendancy, it almost felt that the clock had been turned back by half a decade. On this very ground in 2002, the seeds of India's last recovery on English soil were sown. Defeat in the Lord's Test was followed by consolidation at Trent Bridge, and then by glory at Headingley, where Dravid, Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly each made hundreds in what remains, arguably, the finest collective batting performance by an Indian team overseas.

Dravid won't match that effort (at least, not now in this innings) but for Tendulkar and Ganguly, who knows? Both remained in situ at the close, their competitive juices whetted by the scent of probable victory. For Tendulkar in particular this was - for the English fans who have not tracked his recent travails - an uncharacteristically dour performance. It was far removed from the twinkle-toed majesty of his earlier appearances on English soil, not least his glorious 177 on this very ground in 1996, when he was at the absolute peak of his powers.

"In my era, I think he's the best player I've ever had the pleasure of playing against," said Allan Donald, who was on the receiving end of two of Tendulkar's greatest performances - his 111 at Johannesburg in 1992-93, and his wonderous 169 at Cape Town (in partnership with Mohammad Azharuddin) five years later. "He's something special, very freakish, and I think that what he's done for the game and his country has been absolutely phenomenal. He's a credit to cricket and today he looked quite his old self out there."

That latter statement was something of a moot point. Tendulkar eventually looked his old self. He brought up his 11,000th Test run with a sumptuous cover-drive off Monty Panesar, and rifled Ryan Sidebottom in the same direction two balls later. Before that, however, he seemed listless at the crease - like the Mohammad Ali of the late-1970s, punch-drunk from years and years of fighting, and surviving through reputation and determination in equal measures.

Panesar, who so gleefully scalped him for 16 at Lord's, seemed almost apologetic when he served up a help-yourself leg-stump full-toss to get his hero off the mark first-ball, but after another single in the same over, Tendulkar managed just one more run from his next 28 deliveries, a torrid spell that included a clanging blow to the visor when James Anderson, the "bowling captain" as Donald later described him, dug one in short. In the first half-hour of his innings he changed his bat and gloves so many times that the 12th man eventually decided to wait by the edge of the pitch in case of a further change of mind.

For Tendulkar in particular this was - for the English fans who have not tracked his recent travails - an uncharacteristically dour performance. It was far removed from the twinkle-toed majesty of his earlier appearances on English soil, not least his glorious 177 on this very ground in 1996, when he was at the absolute peak of his powers

But eventually the confidence was coaxed out of his performance, and England's bowlers began to flag through their lack of rewards. "They showed a hell of a lot of courage and responsibility, and they were patient," said Donald. "I think the stage is set for these three youngsters - with all the senior bowlers injured around them - to grab this opportunity and show what they are about."

Tendulkar's efforts notwithstanding, it's been that sort of a series, one in which the young bucks have shown up their more experienced peers. None did so more effectively than Dinesh Karthik, whose splendidly forthright 77 came to an end through a loss of concentration straight after tea. The importance of his innings will doubtless be forgotten if Tendulkar and Anil Kumble secure the win that is there for India's taking, but even at this early stage of proceedings, Karthik was content to pass the praise directly to his idol.

"I'm so happy to be part of this team and I'm honoured that a person like Sachin even knows my name," said Karthik. "It's such a fantastic feeling for me. For me he's the greatest player I've ever seen, and I'm 100% sure he's going to beat the record. There's no doubt about that. It's just a matter of time."

It should be just a matter of time before India take the lead in this series as well. After India's depressing denouement at the World Cup, there may yet be a glorious finale in prospect for an extraordinary generation.