Aaishah Akram’s debut video Beqarar targets a social issue faced by countries like Pakistan and holds a special msg for the viewer. The video concept and direction has been done by Sohail Javed.
Song details:
Sung by Aaishah Akram
Composed by Aaishah Akram
Lyrics by Aaishah Akram
Music arrangement by Faraz (Infinity Studio)
Song Mixed by Afzal (Stylus Studio)
Hussey managed an impressive 116 of 54 balls hitting 10 of those balls out of the ground for maximum. Chennai finished with 240/5 out of there twenty overs. He paced his innings to perfection came in early after the fall of Partvic Patel in the 3rd over. In the process he did not take too many risks. Always looked in control never allowed any bowler to get on top of him. Pathen was pick of the bowlers although he did give away he did give away 42 but picked up 2 important wickets. Badrinath joined the party in the last over he managed an impressive 31 of just 14 ball smashing 2 sixes. Earlier on Raina managed an impressive 32 of just 13 balls. Matthew Hayden was the other major contributor he managed 26 of 17 balls. Fielding was not all that great either King’s 11 dropped two important cathces in the process.
Yuvraj’s team will have to bat out of there skin if they are to put up a decent chase.
To watch the match live click here
Allen Stanford, the Texas-based billionaire, has reportedly offered the England board a staggering US$100 million for five Twenty20 matches in five years against a West Indies all-star side.
Stanford held talks with David Collier, the chief executive of the ECB, earlier this week where he offered $20 million for a match between England and a West Indies all-star team to coincide with the Independence Day in Antigua on November 1. If the match takes place, it will be the most expensive cricket match ever played.
That offer, said a report in The Times, could be spread over five years. “I talked to David about the first game and then how we could collaborate in the future,” Stanford said. “I said it could be an annual event, maybe we could come to Lord’s in 2009 and then alternate. I would be happy to make a five-year commitment.”
When asked whether it meant a $100 million commitment, Stanford said: “I would be willing to do it. The money is real and I think we will get a game.”
The offer was revealed in the English media a day after the start of the much-hyped Indian Premier League, to which Stanford is being seen as a counter-weight in some quarters.
© Cricinfo
Previ
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Shane Warne and his Rajasthan Royals travel to Delhi, where the Daredevils await them for their opener under the recently installed floodlights at a refurbished Feroz Shah Kotla.
. Delhi has in its ranks the explosive Sehwag, alongside Gautam Gambhir, a standout performer for India in Twenty20s, and Shikhar Dhawan, while Rajasthan have big hitters of the ball in Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan. Warne’s battle with Sachin Tendulkar has been touted as one to watch in the IPL, but the contest against Sehwag will be no less engaging. After conquering batsmen the world over in unison, Glenn McGrath and Warne will be on opposing ends, though it’s unlikely they will bowl to each other.
Delhi start favourites for the clash, with a heady mix of aggressive batsmen, wily bowlers and athletic fielders, but it will be folly to underestimate the tactical acumen of Warne, the coach and captain.
Both teams will miss some of their overseas players. Delhi will be without Pakistanis Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Asif, while AB de Villiers is back in South Africa playing the Standard Bank Pro20 Series. For Rajasthan, Graeme Smith is also away on domestic duty, forcing them to send an SOS call to 38-year-old Darren Lehmann after Mark Ramprakash turned down the offer. Also unavailable are the Pakistani trio of Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal and Sohail Tanvir, besides hard-hitting allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, the only English player in the league. Delhi are likely to open with Sehwag and Gambhir, with Tillakaratne Dilshan and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik occupying middle-order spots. Manoj Tiwary, Dhawan, Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia will vie for the remaining slots in the batting line-up, leaving space for four bowlers, spearheaded by McGrath and Daniel Vettori, one of the most effective bowlers in last year’s World Twenty20 in South Africa. An injury to Sri Lankan allrounder Farveez Maharoof means Tasmanian Brett Geeves, a surprise signing, might get a game, while it will be a toss-up between Yo Mahesh and Pradeep Sangwan, unless Delhi opt for a second specialist spinner in Amit Mishra.
This is also the perfect platform for young players from both sides like Shikhar Dhawan, Yo Mahesh, Pradeep Sangwan, Mayank Tehlan from Daredevils and Ravindra Jadeja, Taruwar Kohli, Pankaj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Siddharth Trivedi from Royals to prove their worth in the tournament to be telecast in prime time in the country and throughout the world.
The Pakistan Cricket Board’s effort to host a home series received another jolt with the West Indies turning down an invitation to play a one-day series later in the year.
After being rejected by Australia, India and Sri Lanka for security reasons and scheduling problems, the PCB has now been told by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) that they can’t undertake a tour in August due to prior engagements.
The PCB had invited West Indies and New Zealand to play a three-match ODI series in August to give its team some practice before the Champions Trophy in September. This would have also helped the PCB recover from the financial setback suffered due to the postponement of Australia’s tour in March. Bangladesh are currently in the country for a five-match ODI series and a Twenty20 international to cover for Australia’s pull-out.
“Yes, the West Indies board has informed us that since they are already committed to play some games in Canada in August, they can’t accept our invitation,” Shafqat Nagmi, the PCB’s chief operating officer, said. “We have sent a fresh invitation to New Zealand asking them to come and play a full five-match one-day series instead of three ODIs. We are awaiting a reply from them.”
© The News
After the hard-hitting, Khuda Kay Liye Shoaib Mansoor plans a sequel to the film. However, the project stands to lose because of the nightmarish experiences the middle-aged director went through.
“My kismet was with me. If in Pakistan, we didn’t have President Musharraf in-charge of the regime my film would’ve been in serious trouble. Yes, he openly supported the film. He saw Khuda Kay Liya and made his appreciation and approval so apparent that the work of the censors became quite easy. I don’t think my film would have made it into the theatres.”
Surprisingly the Pakistani fundamentalists also kept their peace. “The majority of the audience reacted so positively that they didn’t have the guts to raise their voice. Also, I covered my bases well. If Naseeruddin Shah’s anti-fundamentalist rhetorics had any flaws I’d have been hauled over the coals. I’ve a fair command over my religion. However if you ask a maulvi about it, he would say I am not Muslim at all specially after seeing my film. But I’d like to say I’m a far better Muslim than any maulvi. Just as they say, they’re doing a Jihaad I’d like to think I’ve done Jihaad through my film. If I’ve shown so much courage and taken such a personal risk to depict the true meaning of religious faith it’s a form of Jihaad born of strong convictions.” It isn’t as if Shoaib Mansoor thinks it’s all peaches-and-creams in the Land Of Dreams. “If you and I travel together you can sail through customs. But I’ll be grilled although I dress conventionally. Intolerance is a way of life in every culture. Even today, women are treated as commodities in many countries. Through my leading lady Iman Ali I wanted to show how women are treated.”
And now Shoaib Mansoor plans a sequel to Khuda Kay Liye. “But I wonder if I’m equal to the task. I had members of the cast who didn’t behave well during the shooting. How can I work with them again? My lead actor Shan gave an interview before the release of Khuda Kay Liye where he said I had made the film only for myself and for my close friends. These commercial actors believe audiences actually want potboilers.” So did Shan apologize after Khuda Kay Liye succeeded? “Apologize? He hasn’t called me once since the release. The whole of Pakistan has changed their mind about Shan after my film. I Believe I could only realize 50% of my script. I don’t want to go through that suffering. Whatever I make, it would’ve a powerful message. I feel I’ve to use the cinematic medium to say something meaningful.”
Apparently the leading man Shan who’s a major star in Pakistan gave Mansoor hell. He evades the question. “Maybe these stars behave the same way with all directors. Later I found out that these stars were being far more disciplined with me than with other Pakistani filmmakers. I wish they’d have looked at Naseeruddin Shah. What convictions and integrity he has! After hearing my script his first condition was, ‘I’d do it for free’. My other actors first wanted to know how much money they’d get.” Interestingly all the actors except Naseer and Shan in Khuda Kay Liye were feature-film firsts. Shoaib’s next film could be an Indo-Pak production. “I’d like that. I feel the predicament regarding religious bigotry is the same in both countries. I feel Pakistan and India are casualties of wrong policies. I wish to address my films to these issues. It’s important to bring about an awakening in people. Not that I feel cinema can change mindsets. I don’t think Khuda Kay Liye has revised Muslim bigotry.”
Shoaib is gung-ho about Jodhaa-Akbar. “The effort and the funds are evident. I was awed by the film’s magnitude. I wish I could make a period film like this. History and fiction are my lifelines. I’m very interested in the life of Akbar. And I’m very impressed by Jodhaa-Akbar. My only grouse is that Hrithik Roshan is miscast. It was important to make sure that the actor who plays a historical character is correct in posture and bearing. In my own film too some actors were miscast. But then I wasn’t in a negotiable position.”
Shoaib admits Khuda Kay Liye got recognition outside Pakistan only at film festivals. “The film went through a nightmare in the US. I had no distribution setup. So I negotiated with some people on the e-mail. On trust, I sent them the prints of the film. They ran the film for a month in the US. And then vanished with the funds and the prints. In fact, I should make a film on my experiences while making the film. For example, the actor whom I initially wanted in the lead Junaid Jamshed was my close friend. I introduced him on television and promoted him to become a top musician in Pakistan. When I offered him the role he said yes eagerly. But then he became a mullah and lost nerve. I lost precious eight months in his dillydallying.”
Reacting to the film’s box office performance in India, Shoaib says, “I keep myself away from such things. But I wish the film’s Indian distributors had treated it with more importance. It’s the costliest film ever made in Pakistan. And I raised the funds somehow on my own.”
Hussey managed an impressive 116 of 54 balls hitting 10 of those balls out of the ground for maximum. Chennai finished with 240/5 out of there twenty overs. He paced his innings to perfection came in early after the fall of Partvic Patel in the 3rd over. In the process he did not take too many risks. Always looked in control never allowed any bowler to get on top of him. Pathen was pick of the bowlers although he did give away he did give away 42 but picked up 2 important wickets. Badrinath joined the party in the last over he managed an impressive 31 of just 14 ball smashing 2 sixes. Earlier on Raina managed an impressive 32 of just 13 balls. Matthew Hayden was the other major contributor he managed 26 of 17 balls. Fielding was not all that great either King’s 11 dropped two important cathces in the process.
Yuvraj’s team will have to bat out of there skin if they are to put up a decent chase.
Hussey taking charge-161/4
Both Hussey and Raina have decided to take the attack to the spinners. Managed an impressive 19 of the first over from Chawla. Goel was shown no mercy either and gave away 20 runs in his second over. Raina was chaught out at the boundry by Pathan of the bowling of WA Mota. Raina made 32 of a mere 13 balls. Jacob Oram seems to be taking it slow who has managed 7 after being dropped by sreesanth at run a ball. Whereas Hussey has moved onto 74 and has managed to hit 5 balls out of the ground hes on a roll. If they carry on at this rate 200 is on the cards.
Balance prevails-88/3 after 10:
Yuvraj made changes at both end and Hayden decided to attack his Queensland team mate James Hope. Smashed him for a 4 and a 6 is his first over. Although Hayden did not manage get the better off Pathan, as Pathan had him clean bowled for 26. Hopes made a good come back as he managed to trap the most expensive player in front of the wicket for 1 of the first ball of his second over. Hussey seems to be looking to bat through where as Raina has taken on the role of the aggressor. Spin has been introduced in the form off K Goel who managed to keep things realitvily quite only giving away 5 runs in his first over. Hussey has moved onto 30 and Raina not out at 13.
Match Hangs in Balance- Chennai 42/1( P.Patel 15 c Sangakara B. Lee)
Parthiv Patel and Matthew Hayden are off too a blazing start. Patel set the tune with three boundries of the first three balls off Sreesanth. On the other hand Lee kept things relative tight, hardly giving away any room to the two batsmen. In the third over he bowled Hayden off a free hit and had Patel chaught behind. Hussey after a quite start has taken the attack to Lee, he smashed Lee for too very convincing boundries and is not out at 14. Lee and Co. is making it hard for Hayden to find his element all who has managed 11 at run a ball. Quality of fielding has been very good so far.All and all the match hangs in balance. Tune in again in 20 mins for the next update.
Dhoni has won the toss and elected to bat first. Punjab has left out Mahela from the playing eleven. The pitch seems to have been nicely rolled in any grass that there was has been shaven off. The start is only 10 mins away . Tune in again for regular updates.
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There’s a buzz around this game given that six of India’s ICC World Twenty20-winning squad, and some of the most expensive acquisitions, will be pitted together. No other match-up includes so many such players and that’s obviously a big draw. Chennai are lead by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who after the Twenty20 victory was snapped up for a whopping US$1.5 million. On the other side is Yuvraj Singh, he of the six consecutive sixes in the World Twenty20, leading a team of this magnitude for the first time. Punjab are a very young and promising team, with only three players over 30, whereas Chennai’s strengths lie in their batting. How each cope with the other’s strengths, and smooth over their own weaknesses – Chennai have solid batsmen but are thin in the bowling stakes, while Punjab lack a potent spinner – will determine the winner of this contest.
Yuvraj has already spoken of the mini-battle that the contest is likely to throw up between him and Dhoni. “It’s a good way to build the hype (around the competition) by pitching it as a Yuvraj versus Dhoni contest,” Yuvraj said. “Maybe, I will share a joke with him after the game.” Dhoni, however, will play in the side as a specialist batsman with Parthiv Patel set to keep wicket.
Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee have terrorized opposing teams for a few years now but now it’s going to be one versus the other. Hayden’s domination with the bat has extended into the Twenty20 format and it’s unlikely he will change his approach against Lee, who is at the top of his game. Lee will know Hayden’s penchant for walking down the track, so expect a few tricks.
Another contest with the makings of a classic is Kumar Sangakkara versus Muttiah Muralitharan. Sangakkara has kept admirably to Murali all over the world, and has no doubt faced up to him plenty of times in the nets; but in front of a huge crowd, with so much at stake? Keep your eyes on Sanga v Murali.
This thread would be updated after every 5 overs
