Ambimama - India

NOTTINGHAM: England wicketkeeper Matt Prior defended on Sunday his team’s verbal exchanges with India’s batsmen which culminated with a confrontation between Zaheer Khan and Kevin Pietersen.

After edging a boundary through the slips on the third day of the second Test Khan confronted gully fielder Pietersen, forcing umpire Ian Howell to intervene.

The visitors finished the day 240 runs ahead with England needing to bat for most of the remaining two days if they are to save the match and prevent a 1-0 deficit in the three-match series.

“That (verbals) comes with the territory, it’s international cricket, it’s a hard game and we all want to win so you are going to have your banter but no one overstepped the mark,” Prior told reporters.

“From what I saw nothing went over the line, we play the game hard, it is competitive, there’s a lot at stake and sometimes things boil over.

“It’s a tough game and people are under a lot of pressure and if you can do anything to get one up on your opponent you’re going to try and do that as long as it’s in the spirit of the game.

“The importance of 11 people hunting together on the pitch and creating intensity and an environment that is uncomfortable for people to bat in is very important.”

India’s Saurav Ganguly was out for 79, the second batsman to fall to a controversial decision by umpire Simon Taufel after Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged lbw for 91.

He refused to comment on his dismissal, which potentially denied him a 14th Test hundred, and also on what Pietersen was alleged to have said to Zaheer but he did agree the game was full of intensity.

“It does get intense in Test cricket and I’m sure it’s happened in the past and I’m sure it’s going to happen in the future,” Ganguly said.

“There was a bit of noise at Lord’s as well but that has become part and parcel of the sport.”

Courtesy - REUTERS

NOTTINGHAM: Sourav Ganguly has played down his controversial dismissal in the second cricket Test against England, saying he has had his share of luck with umpiring errors.

“I do not want to talk about the decision. I was disappointed when I came back into the dressing room. Some decisions go your way, some go the other way, that is the way it is,” the former Indian captain said.

Ganguly was ruled caught behind by Australian umpire Simon Taufel when the left-hander tried to flick James Anderson way down the leg side on the third day at Trent Bridge on Sunday. The ‘Prince of Kolkata’ made 79 and looked set for a century.

“I think I batted well, and we needed a partnership in the morning,” he said of his association with Sachin Tendulkar in the first session, when England failed to take a wicket.

“We had to get through the second new ball in the first session. We knew that if we could put runs on the board, we can win this game. It feels good to contribute in that regard.” “We did not set any targets in the morning, it was the third morning of the Test match and we needed to bat on and we did it.”
Courtesy - PTI

NOTTINGHAM: Indian paceman S Sreesanth has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee for breaching an ICC Code of Conduct by deliberately barging past England captain Michael Vaughan on the fourth day of their second cricket Test at Trent Bridge.

Sreesanth, charged after shouldering Vaughan during the first session on Monday, pleaded guilty to a level 2 offence in a hearing convened by match referee Ranjan Madugalle after stumps were drawn.

The bowler accepted he breached clause 2.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play.”

India manager Chandu Borde and captain Rahul Dravid also attended the hearing where video evidence was used to establish the charges. Madugalle said: “Cricket is a non-contact sport and any deviation from that fact is completely unacceptable, a point I made to Sreesanth in handing down my verdict.

“I have no problem with players being combative on the field but there is a line they cannot cross and Sreesanth crossed that line when he barged past Michael Vaughan, a collision he had every opportunity to avoid.

“I am pleased that Sreesanth accepted he was in the wrong by pleading guilty and that he apologised for his actions and I hope he learns from his mistake here.”

The charges were brought by on-field umpires Simon Taufel and Ian Howell, third umpire Nigel Llong and fourth official Neil Mallender and all four umpires attended the hearing.
Courtesy - PTI

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt arrived at a special court trying cases of the 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai on Tuesday.

MUMBAI: Lawyers of actor Sanjay Dutt, who was given six-year jail term in connection with 1993 Mumbai blasts case, on Tuesday said they would move the Supreme Court seeking relief for him.

Dutt’s counsel Satish Maneshinde said as soon as the required papers are ready, the actor’s legal team would exercise the right to appeal and move the Supreme Court seeking relief.

He, however, declined to specify when they intended to file the appeal. An operational order of the sentence is expected and it generally takes at least two days after an appeal for the matter to come up for hearing before the Supreme Court, Maneshinde said.

He said the lawyers had prepared Dutt for the likelihood of his going to jail in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

“We had prepared him,” Maneshinde told reporters when asked for his reaction to the six-year jail term given earlier in the day by the special TADA court here.

“Sanjay Dutt was prepared for this day. We as the legal team are saddened by the verdict and think that the judgement is harsh,” he said.

Dutt was jailed for illegal possession of an AK-56 assault rifle and a pistol.

Maneshinde said they would make every effort to reinforce the legal team which already consists of a battery of senior lawyers like V R Manohar, Surendra Singh and Karan Singh.

He said Bollywood producers, directors and actors had already been informed of the likely predicament and had resolved to stand by Dutt just as they had done during his earlier prison term in 1993.

“Dutt has bounced back every time he has faced a crisis and this is another of those,” he said.

Courtesy - PTI

The Munna bhai and Lage Raho Munna bhai really are great films made. And the combination of Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi really lightened our hearts.

Such a humorous actor, son of Sunil Dutt MP (Congress), Rajya Sabha (Upper House) has involved himself in underworld with Dawud Ibrahim. And he also possessed a 9 mm pistol and an AK-47! And the court has sentenced him to six years Rigorous Imprisonment.

How can we forget the famous dialogues “Wat Lag Gaya’ – typical Bombay Hindi (mixture of Marathi and Hindi) meaning ‘caught in a difficult position or a crisis’ and ‘Sala’ is just like American slang ‘sonafa bitch’

‘Apun Kya Bolta’ (What I am saying is…) Sala Itna Bada Actor Sanjay Dutt ko Wat Lag Gaya!