Payal hates talking on phone. She says she prefer to save her energy for more constructive skills, rather than to use it on the phone, talking endlessly. “When I can convey the same by messaging and saving time and energy, why should I talk on phone? Messaging is always better. In fact I always keep my cell on silent as I hate the noise. But trust me when it’s related to work or my family, I’m the first person to call back as that can’t suffer at any habit of mine” she quips…..:) Payal is looking forward to her role as the second lead in the soon-to-be released Dhol. “I want to do good cinema and this movie in just the beginning. I want to work with talented filmmakers and not do just about movie,” she says. This girl sure has her ideas pretty clear!

Playback singer and music director Himesh Reshammiya has created a controversy by visiting the holy tomb of Khawja Moinuddhin Chishti wearing a burqa , for which he apologized later.

Reshammiya, along with four others, came here for ziyarat (pilgrimage) on Tuesday night and in order to avoid attention he wore a burqa . Soon after people came to know that he was there in the dargah wearing a burqa , there was resentment and some people objected to it.

However, Anjuman Committee, the official committee of the dargah khadims (servers) gave a clean chit to Reshammiya saying that he had not committed any offense by offering ziyarat in a burqa .

A Khadim says that Burqa is a respectable dress and there was no need for the singer to express his regret and tender apology a Khadim said.

Spokesman of the Anjuman committee and former secretary Sarwar Chisti said, “since he is a popular artiste and wore a burqa to avoid the crowd, he has not committed any offense or sin.”

Agreeing with the view, the nazim of dargah committee, Ahamed Raza said that the singer has not committed any offense as he donned a burqa to avoid the crowd and the media while performing ziyarat.

Reshammiya told the media that a dargah khadim Qutubuddhin Saki had advised him to wear a burqa .

“If I have committed any mistake, I apologize for that,” he told reporters after paying obeisance at the dargah .

He had come here to seek blessings and success for his upcoming film Aap ka Suroor to be released this Friday in which he is making a debut as an actor.

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In a crucial encounter in Grenada, a charged New Zealand side humbled a timid South African side to book its place in semifinals besides Australia.

Batting first the South Africans were choked from the start by Shane Bond who bowled immaculately. His precision rewarded him with the wicket of Captain Graeme Smith who was foxed with a slower delivery by this pace man and holed out to extra cover scoring just 1 run. AB de Villiers too was dismissed cheaply by James Franklin as he was caught in shuffling no man’s land and was ruled out lbw.

It was then upto the partnership between Jacques and Herchelle Gibbs to rescue the Protean ship. The two batsmen played very much unlike themselves in the situation. They saw off Bond who ended up with fantastic figures of 10-2-26-2 in his allotted overs. But even after Bond finished his quota, the batsmen could not unleash their strokes and were tamed by some slow spin and military medium bowling.
Jeetan Patel and McMillan bowled extremely well to vaporize the acceleration and impetus in the middle overs by picking some crucial wickets. McMillan’s spell was crucial for he as a part time bowler struck gold by picking the prized scalps of Prince, Boucher and Gibbs thereby eliminating the acceleration element completely. In the end, the Proteas ended up scoring 193 -7 in their allotted 50 overs, a total that was clearly short by 30- 40 runs.

New Zealand too got off to a nervous start but was in control of the situation all throughout. Despite losing early wickets, half century knocks by ‘iceman’ Captain Stephen Fleming and Scott Styris ensured that the team romped home in the 49th over with 10 deliveries and 5 wickets in hand. McMillan too joined the party by scoring a valuable 38 from 55 balls with the bat apart from his magical and useful spell of bowling.

The loss leaves South Africa at a cross road with its match against England proving to be a decider for the fourth place in the semi finals.

If one word was asked to describe the Aussie performance on Friday, April the 13, then it would be anhilaiation. Yes, that was the way Australia played against minnows Ireland. The Irish team was blown away by the Aussie assault and all the speculation of a Irish springing a surprise vaporised into thin air. It appeared as though there was only one team on the field and that was Australia.

Batting first, the Aussie steam engine rammed into the Irish batting lineup. Both the openers were dismissed for the score of one, one was picked by McGrath and the other fell prey to Tait. Similar was the story of the next two batsmen to follow for they too were dismissed for duck. K Obrien offered some resistance along with Tent Johnston. Both of them reached double figures while the rest of the team tumbled like a pack of cards. The entire Irish team was dismissed for a total of 91 in 30 overs.

If one wanted to see how champions played, then they should have seen today’s game. It was a performance that had the stamp of precision and perfection on it. There was hardly any loose ends and the Aussies looked like a well oiled unit, a bulldozer on the rampage!

The Australians juggled with their batting order with Gilchrist opening along with Michael Hussey. Hussey opened with Gilchrist as part of a ploy to give some batting practice to middle order batsmen to bat at the top at the order. Both the batsmen gave a fine start to the side with Gilchrist scoring 34 runs while Hussey remained unbeaten on 30. Australians knocked off the Irish total in 13 overs giving an indication of the form they are in as a side.

Watching the Australians play, all I could say is this is the stuff Champions are made of!

Sri Lanka came with a clinical performance to beat New Zealand in their group 8 fixture. Batting first the Kiwis were pegged on to the back foot losing early wickets. Having said that, Lankans bowled with some fine control and fire to dismiss the opener and captain Fleming for a duck. To add to the Kiwi misery, Ross Taylor was also dismissed for a duck compounding the misery for the batting side.

It was then upto the experianced Scott Styris who carried his bat through the innings to redeem the tottering Kiwi innings. He struck a fantastic and patient 111 off 157 balls. To give him company was Jacob Oram who scored a vital 31 runs in a breezy fashion.
Sri Lankans curbed the total by getting rid of Brendon McCullum cheaply for 1 which virtually took the wind out of the Kiwi sail! Although Franklin and Styris in the end ensured that the team reached a rspectable total of 217 in their alloted 50 overs. A total that was well short by some 30-40 runs.

Sri Lanka also got off a nervous start losing Tharanga early but marauder Jayasuriya and Sangakkara struck fine half centuries to virtually take the game away from the Kiwis. Jayasuriya struck 64 runs from his willow, a knock that had 5 fours and a six while Sangakkara hit 69 runs with 3 boundaries. The Lankans reached the total in the 45 over with 6 wickets in hand, a comprehensive victory indeed!

India is seriously concerned by the audacious air attack mounted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka on Monday, official sources said even as the External Affairs Ministry remained silent. According to the sources, the attack showed that the Tigers had the ability to take their military prowess to a new level. It displayed a capability the LTTE so far did not possess, they added. - The Hindu, 27 March 2007

http://pointblank2006.blogspot.com/2007/04/surprise-tigers-can-fly.html

For all those who thought that advertisements need to be wordy, here’s a classic effort for the product Johnnie Walker where one gets an indication of how to use creativity within the given space.

Without going out on a creative soujourn or into an orbit, the advertisement in the least possible words conveys the message in the best possible manner! The reason that makes the advertisement powerful is the corelation of the message with the attributes of the product. The intended message would have been - An alcoholic beverage that does not hit hard but all the same gives the desired effect and keeps the person Walking!

Now a look at the advertisement and the reader gets to realise the efficacy of this advertisement! All credits to the minds behind the bodycopy of this effort, it certainly does stand out.

For all those who would scratch their heads to bring out the attributes of a product such as an alcoholic drink, the advertisment just adds two words to a word and the message is loud and clear.

The strength of a print advertisement lies in the manner and ease with which it settles in the mind of the reader and its recall value. The amazing part of this Johnnie Walker advertisement also is the total absence of the product i.e, a whiskey bottle in the advertisement.

Even with the product, conveying the message would be unthinkable to many, so just imagine conceinving it without the product could be virtually unthinkable! And that is where this advertisement scores over others!

England defeated Bangladesh in their Super 8 fixture by 4 wickets. Chasing a modest total of 143, Bangladeshis again proved why they are slowly emerging as a team when they made England earn their runs. The English side lost six wickets chasing a paltry 143 which suggests the improvement made by the Bangladesh team in the recent past. Having said that, one cannot ignore the fact the England too is not a potent force and is susceptible when put under pressure even by a relatively weak side!

Batting first, Bangladesh kept losing wickets throughout their innings at crucial and regular intervals which put the team on the back foot. One could find single digit scores in the Bangladeshi scorecard barring three contributions which suggests the lack of application by the batsmen. It was only because of the 57 run contribution by Saqibul Hasan that the team was ale to cross the hundred run mark. He scored these runs of 95 deliveries and the knock included 6 boundaries and a six. The rest of the performance of the Bangladesh side was forgetful to say the least.

England began their chase on a cautious note although Ian Bell departed early. Captain Vaughan and Strauss put on a decent partnership with both players reaching double figures. But then climax set in as the side lost some quick wickets in a shot span of time. Vaughan, Strauss and Pietersen were dismissed in quick succession leading to some pressure that was built on the lower middle order. The wicket of Pietersen brought Flintoff to the crease who powered his way by hitting three boundaries and a six within no time. His lusty hitting eased out the pressure but then he too departed. Bopara did not add to the total and was dismissed for a duck.

It was the experience of Collingwood and a patient knock from Nixon that saw the team home amidst all the chaos.