Australia Clinch Fifth World Cup Title

After 45 days of fight between 14 teams, finally Australia Clinch their fifth World Cup title beating New Zealand in the final in MCG. Australian Captain Michael Clarke retired from ODI cricket. Match was completely in favor of Australia from beginning. New Zealand lost their captain in the first over and lost top three in first 15 overs. Whole team got out for 183 runs in 45 overs.

Australian Bowlers Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner took three wickets each and Starc took two important wickets. Grant Elliott top scored for the black caps with 83 but New Zealand hopes of winning the World Cup for the first time were dealt a savage blow when they lost last seven wickets in just 33 runs. Australia reached their victory target in 34^th over for the loss of just three wickets. Clarke, playing his last match made important 74 runs in just 72 balls.

Steven Smith is likely to be the new Australian Captain. Martin Guptill from New Zealand remained as the top scorer in the World Cup with 547 runs. Trent Boult and Starc shared most wicket dismissal figures of 22 wickets. Brad Haddin was the most successful wicket keepers in the World Cup with 16 dismissals. Chris Gayle hit 26 numbers of sixes which are most by any player. Guptill hit 59 fours which are most in the tournament by a single player.

James Faulkner won the man of the match award for his brilliant bowling spell and Mitchell Starc won the man of the Tournament Award for his 22 wickets. This was 400^th world cup game out of 3646 total ODI games played till now. Brad Haddin was the oldest Australian batsman to play in the final at MCG in 2015. Seven number of New Zealand players got out on ducks in two matches against Australia in 2015 World Cup.

In 2011, both hosting nations played final and the one hosting final won the cup. This same incident happened this time too. Both hosting nation played final and one hosting final match won the Tournament. Next world cup will held in England in 2019 from 30 May to 15 July and final will be played in Lords.

T1 Prima Truck Racing

T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship is a Truck Racing Championship in India by Tata Motors. This event was first held on 23 March 2014 at Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida. This racing championship had drivers from British Truck racing Championship and the European Truck Racing Championship. This event is also mention on the calendar of FIA and Federation of Motor Sports Club of India.

The inaugural season was won by Stuart Oliver. There were twelve Prima Trucks which were divided into six teams having two trucks each. The Prima Truck had a massive power of 370 bhp @2100 rpm and a top speed of 110 kmph. The trucks were modified as per guidelines of British Truck racing championship Association to provide maximum safety and performance. The team participating were- Castrol Vecton, Cummins, TATA Technologies Motor Sports, Dealer Daredevils, Dealer Warriors, and Allied Partners.

The second season of the Championship was held at same circuit on 15 March 2015. The second season was hit by rain. It was again won by Stuart Oliver of Castrol Vecton. The race is of 16 Laps. With this second season it is trying to bring the concept of truck racing in India especially for the younger generation. This is expected to change the mind and thoughts for driving a truck as a fashion product and not any more as a boring engine box carrying tons of loads.

The Tata’s received immense support from various partners from all over the world, from Cummins, WABCO, JK Tyres, and Castrol to Tata Technology itself being one of the sponsors. With the help of these supporting partners the Tata’s have been able to build a better Prima Product than before. 

Cricket World Cup 2015: Semi-Final Clashes

Last week of Cricket World Cup 2015 has started and finally out of 14 teams in the tournament, four teams are left to compete against each other. Only one team from Asia is able to make it to the semi-finals this year. In Quarter Finals, all Asians teams played their matches and three of them went back. Sri Lanka ended their long streak of reaching semi-finals this year. Pakistan was knocked out again by Australia this year. Bangladesh was knocked out by India and West Indies by New Zealand.

India, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand made into the finals. India will face Australia in Semi-final number two on 26^th March in Sydney. New Zealand will face South Africa in Semi-Final number one on 24^th March in Auckland. This year there will be space for only one team out of South Africa and New Zealand to reach finals. None of the team has ever won the cup. Australia will be playing their seventh consecutive semi-final on Thursday. However, they lose one game in this tournament against New Zealand by one wicket.

Australia also has advantage over India having won seven matches out of ten world Cup clash. Australia also came out on top in a tri-series against India and England, a month before world cup. However, India turnaround has been an impressive one. Bowlers have performed well and bowled out opposition team within 50 overs in every game. Batsman played well and top four making centuries in any of the game. Shikhar Dhawan did it twice and Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Suresh Raina made it once. Captain Cool Dhoni also did well in middle against West Indies and Zimbabwe.

In first clash between New Zealand and South Africa, New Zealand has advantage over Caribbean’s. New Zealand will be playing in their home and batting efforts from Top five batsmen is quite impressive in this tournament. Bowlers are also doing well with Boult as the leading wicket taker and Southee and Vettori giving valuable contributions. South Africa will have to fight hard to win the game. However, they did against Sri Lanka. AB and Amla are top performers and Quinton and Du Plessis giving valuable support. Morkel, Tahir, and Steyn bowled well in the tournament but their losses against India and Pakistan make them less favorite.

My predictions are India and New Zealand will play Finals or it may happen both home teams will knocked out and India and South Africa will face each other again in Finals. Australia can beat India because of their home advantage.

2015 Sudirman Cup

The Sudirman Cup is the world mixed team Badminton Championship which takes place every two years. There are five matches in every round in Men singles, Women Singles, Men and Women Doubles and Mixed Doubles categories. The cup is named after Dick Sudirman, a former Indonesian badminton player and the founder of the Badminton Association of Indonesia. There is no prize money in the Sudirman Cup, players play for their respective countries and to earn BWF Ranking points and national prestige.

In 2015 format, there are four groups with each group sub-divided into more groups. Group One has four sub groups. Rest of the groups is divided into two subgroups. This year, Sudirman Cup will held in Dongguan, China. India is placed in Group 1D with Korea and Malaysia. The tournament will start from May 10 and last up to May 17. India will solely depend on the singles stars such as Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, Kidambi Srikanth, and Parupalli Kashyap.

Group 1A is consists of China, Thailand, and Germany with China as the strong contender. Group 1B consists of Japan, USA, and Chinese Taipei. Group 1C is named as Group of Death with Denmark, Indonesia, and England. Teams in Group 1 will play two stages: group play off followed by knockout. The top two teams from each sub group will qualify for the knock out. China has been the most dominant nation in the Sudirman Cup, having won nine editions. Indonesia and Korea have lifted the trophy once and thrice.

The Sudirman Cup for the World Mixed Team Championships feature 35 teams divided into four groups. Of these, the top 12 ranked teams in Group 1 will vie for the trophy, while the other teams will fight for the ranking spots.

Here are the groups for the Sudirman Cup:

Group 1:

Group 1A: China, Thailand, Germany

Group 1B: Japan, Chinese Taipei, USA

Group 1C: Denmark, Indonesia, England

Group 1D: India, Korea, Malaysia

Group 2:

Group 2A: Russia, Hong Kong China, Canada, Spain

Group 2B: Singapore, Netherlands, France, Brazil

Group 3:

Group 3A: Czech Republic, Turkey, South Africa, Australia

Group 3B: Vietnam, Australia, Italy, Switzerland

Group 4:

Group 4A: Nigeria, Philippines, Iceland

Group 4B: Israel, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Kazakhstan

Lewis Hamilton won Australian GP

The inaugural race of 66^th Formula One Championship is won by Lewis Hamilton. He made the perfect start to the defence of his Formula One world championship with one of the straightest win of his career in Albert Park, Australia. It was Hamilton 34^th win and first wins in Albert Park since his championship year of 2008. He led from start to finish, driving well within himself to push team-mate Nico Rosberg into second place, followed by Sebastian Vettel from Ferrari, Felipe Massa from Williams, debutant Felipe Nasr from Sauber, and Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton won with +1.360 seconds from Rosberg who came second. Hamilton average speed was 200.80 MPH. But this was the race totally dominated by Mercedes, who didn’t even flex their considerable muscle for a one-two result. With Red Bull and McLaren looking in disappointing form, it will be up to Ferrari and Williams to make this a competitive season. Apart from Mercedes the happiest team was Sauber, with Felipe Nasr finished fifth and Marcus Ericsson eighth after the team’s very difficult week fighting legal problems.

It was also an encouraging day for Force India after their recent financial problems, with both drivers finishing among their points. There were only 11 finishers, with most of the causalities falling before or at the start of the race. Last man Jenson Button was the only driver to finish out of the points. Valtteri Bottas, who had qualified for sixth place on the grid, was ruled unfit by an FIA medical delegate because of a tear in his lower back, and had to withdraw.

With Manor not taking part this reduced the official starting grid to 17 cars. But there were only 15 at the start because both Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat failed to survive their reconnaissance laps. Magnussen came to a halt between turns five and six with a plume of smoke coming out of his car and Kvyat spun into gravel with suspected transmission trouble. After second lap there were only 13 cars left. Meanwhile, Hamilton had to go off to a good start ahead of his team mate Rosberg and won the first race of 2015.

Next Formula One race will be in Petronas Malaysia from 27-29 March. 

All England Badminton Championship 2015

All England Badminton Championship is one of the world oldest and most prestigious Badminton tournaments. Played annually, it developed after the success of world’s first badminton tournament held in Guildford in 1898. The tournament was originally organized in three categories Men’s doubles, Women’s doubles and Mixed Doubles. Both Men and Women Singles were added later. It was eventually considered the unofficial world championship of the sport until 1977 when the International Badminton Federation launched its official championships. Since 1984 the tournament has been exclusively sponsored by Yonex.

The 2015 Championships was played from March 3^rd to March 8^th in Birmingham, England. Carolina Marin beat Saina Nehwal on Sunday to win the Women single title of the All England badminton championships. The Spaniard reigning world Champion beat the Indian champion by 17-21, 21-14, 21-7. Marin became the first left hander to win the championship in Birmingham. Saina missed to clinch a slice of history to become the first Indian woman to win the event.

Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pulella Gopichand (2001) are the only Indians to have won this title. On Saturday, Saina defeated Sun Yu of China in straight sets to become the first Indian woman to qualify for the prestigious tournament. This was only second time in a decade when two non-Chinese players played in the women’s single final at the All England Championships. In 2013, Tine Baun of Denmark beat Thai Ratchanok Inthanon in the final. In that Edition, Inthanon defeated Saina in the semis.

Saina best result in this BWF Superseries Premier event had been two Semi-final appearances in 2010 and 2013. In her previous eight appearances, starting 2007, she also made three other quarter-finals. In men’s championship, China Chen Long earns the title for men’s singles for the second time. The 26 year old player kept calm throughout the game and did not let in distractions. He played against Dane Jan O Jorgensen from Denmark. Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen from Denmark won the men’s doubles. Bao Yixin and Tang Yuanting from China won the women’s doubles. Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei from China won the mixed doubles trophy in the tournament. The 2016 edition of the tournament will be released soon.

2015 Formula One Calendar

The 2015 Formula One season will be the 66^th season of the Formula One world Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which is recognized by the sport governing body, the Federation International of Automobile. Twenty drivers representing ten teams will contest twenty Grand Prix, starting in Australia on 15 March and ending in Abu Dhabi on 29 November. Lewis Hamilton is the defending champion after securing his second title at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Mercedes will begin the season as the defending constructor champion, having securing its first championship title at the 2014 Russian Grand Prix.

The pre-season test drive had already taken place in Spain in February. Car launches is also done in month of January and February. The Ten teams participating in the tournament are Williams, Lotus, McLaren-Honda, Ferrari, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Mercedes, and Force India. Season will kick from Australia and end in Abu Dhabi. The 2015 Calendar is as follow:-

March 15: Australian GP, March 29: Malaysia GP, April 12: Chinese GP, April 19: Bahrain GP, May 10: Spanish GP, May 24: Monaco GP, June 7: Canadian GP, June 21: Austrian GP, July 5: British GP, July 19: German GP, July 26: Hungarian GP, August 23: Belgian GP, September 6: Italian GP, September 20: Singapore GP, September 27: Japanese GP, October 11: Russian GP, October 25: U.S. GP, November 1: Mexican GP, November 15: Brazilian GP, November 29: Abu Dhabi GP.

This season Honda will return to Formula One as an Engine Supplier to McLaren. Lotus will change engine suppliers, ending their association with Renault in favor of a deal with Mercedes. Fernando Alonso will replace Kevin Magnussen at McLaren. Sebastian Vettel left at Red Bull Racing at the end of 2014 season after fifteen years and join Ferrari in the place of Alonso. Daniil Kvyat was promoted to Red Bull form Toro Russo to fill the seat vacated by Vettel. Mexican Grand Prix is returned in this season for the first time since 1992. Grand prix of America, Indian Grand Prix, and Korean Grand Prix failed to race bids and will not take part in this season.

The driver line-ups of all teams with one reserved driver are here. Mercedes Drivers are Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg with Pascal Wehriein as Reserved Driver. Red Bull drivers are Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat with Sebastien Buemi as reserved driver. Williams drivers are Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa with Susie Wolff as reserved driver. Ferrari drivers are Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen with Esteban Gutierrez as reserved driver. McLaren drivers are Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button with Kevin Magnussen as reserved driver.

Force India drivers are Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Toro Rosso drivers are Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Lotus drivers are Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado with Jolyon Palmer as reserved driver. Sauber drivers are Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr with Raffaele Marciello as reserved driver. Manor drivers are Will Stevens and one place is still vacant for one a driver. Fernando Alonso was involved in a pre-season testing accident that saw the two-time world champion hospitalized. Alonso withdrew from the season opening Australian Grand Prix prompting the team to replace him with Kevin Magnussen for the race. 

Cricket World Cup 2015: Race for Centuries

In the ongoing Cricket World Cup key players are showing good performances from beginning. Asian teams were not among favorite in the tournament but now they are. India and Sri Lanka have shown great performances until now. Except this, there is race for centuries going on between some players. With every century some other record is broken. There are seven batsmen in this race, four Asians, two Africans, and one Caribbean.

First is Kumar Sangakkara, 37 years old Sri Lankan wicket keeper batsman is on the top with 23 centuries in this world cup. He scored two back to back centuries in last matches, which brought him on the top. He had also broken Ganguly record of 23 centuries. His tally of ODI centuries is 23. Kumar is followed by Kohli and Gayle. Both are sharing century stats with 22 ODI centuries. Gayle recently broke highest World Cup runs record. Kohli is youngest among all. He is 26 years old and holds stats of 22 Centuries. His consistent performance over past years makes him the most favorite batsmen to be on top in coming time.

On fourth place is Dilshan, 38 years old Sri Lankan batsmen with 21 centuries and he is in his good form these days. This could be his last world cup. He is also in the race to add more centuries in his stats. After him comes fastest player AB de Villiers, 31 years old South African batsmen. He is on fifth place and his tally is of 20 ODI centuries. This year he broke fastest fifty, century and fastest 150 records against one same team. He can anytime change cards and be on the top.

On sixth and seventh place is Sri Lankan Jayawardene and South African Hashim Amla. Amla consistent performance and his 50+ average make him favorite to move forward quickly. His tally is at 20 centuries and Jayawardene stat is at 19 centuries. Mahela Jayawardene is also in his good form to add more centuries in his stats. Among all seven four of them may end their career soon after this World Cup. Virat is youngest among all and has advantage of time and more matches. Let us stay tuned and watch out for these players, as they are playing against each other to break records in same tournament.

World Cup 2015: AB makes history again

World Cup 2015, all teams have competed with at least three teams and results are not as expected. England and Pakistan are in the end of the tables. Australia and West Indies are in the middle of the table. India and New Zealand are among the best performing teams so far. In a recent match against West Indies, AB de Villiers again broke fastest 150 runs record. He broke fastest half century and century record against same team. Day is not far when AB will break fastest 200 record of Chris Gayle.

AB scored 162 runs in this match, the second highest for any South African batsman in World Cup. He scored his century in 52 balls, which is second fastest in World Cup. As a captain he scored 9 centuries, the most as a South African Captain. He is now among the six batsmen to score four centuries in World Cup. Only Sachin and Ponting are ahead of him. South Africa beat West Indies by 257 runs, the biggest in World Cup equaling India record against Bermuda.

South African team scored 408 runs, the second highest in World Cup. Jason Holder conceded 104 runs in ten overs, the most by any West Indies bowler. AB scored 76 runs against Holder, the most by any batsman against a bowler. Previous record was hold by MS Dhoni, when he scored 61 runs against Upul Chandana in Jaipur. Partnership between AB and Behardien was of 80 runs in just 20 balls with a run rate of 24, the best 50+ partnership ever.

In last 15 overs, 222 runs are scored by South Africa, the second most in an ODI. The most runs record is of 230 runs, which is also hold by South Africa against West Indies earlier this year. West Indies have now conceded 400+ runs three times in ODI innings, the most by any team. Sri Lanka and South Africa have conceded 400+ twice each. These were some of the records made in match between West Indies and South Africa. In last match, West Indies broke many records but in this match records were broken against them.

World Cup 2015 - Records Breaking Match

This year in World Cup 2015, both bowlers and batsman are giving great performances. Ten days are passed and tournament is already flooded with lot of records. World Cup first match started with 300+ scores and most of the matches are ending in 300+ scores in first innings. New Zealand, Australia, India, and West Indies are giving great performances. West Indies have scored 300+ in all matches and so did India.

New Zealand beats England with 37.4 overs spare, it is the worst defeat for a test nation. Tim Southee took seven wickets in a match, which is the best bowling for New Zealand in World Cup. McCullum smashed fastest World Cup fifty against England. Ireland chased down 300+ score against West Indies. Pakistan were reduced to 1 for 4 against West Indies, the worst start in any of the World Cup match. Eoin Morgan is the only man in World Cup 2015 to play for two different countries. He played for Ireland in 2007 and now for England as a Captain.

Finally, on 24^th February 2015, many World Cup records were broken. West Indies firing machine Chris Gayle finally turned all faces towards him in a single match. He struck first double-hundreds of World Cup in in just 138 balls. He scored 215 runs, the highest by any batsman in World Cup. He broke Gary Kirsten record of 188 runs against UAE. He is the now the fourth batsman to scored double hundred in ODIs. His double century came after exactly five years, Sachin Tendulkar scored first Double-hundreds against South Africa.

Sixteen number of sixes smashed by Chris Gayle in his innings, joint most by any batsman in ODI. AB de Villiers and Rohit Sharma have also hit 16 sixes. Gayle runs tally is above 9000 in ODIs and became second West Indies batsman after Brian Lara to achieve this feat. This was his 22^nd century, equal to Saurav Ganguly and Virat Kohli. 372 runs scored by West Indies in their innings, their highest in ODI. This is also the highest score by any team in ODI in Australia.

Gayle and Samuels scored 372 runs partnership for second wicket, which is the highest any wicket partnership in ODI. The previous record was 331, between Sachin and Rahul Dravid. 298 balls faced by Gayle and Samuels, the most for any ODI stand. The partnership record for second wicket is also broken by them. Earlier record was for 165 runs between Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammad Azharuddin in 1987. Zimbabwe scored 3 number of 275+ scores in this World Cup, the most ever for them in single edition of World Cup.

These are some of the records broken in a single match and until now in this edition of World Cup. We may see more records breaking performance in remaining matches. Stay Tuned for all.

Ranchi Rays win Hockey India League 2015

The third of 2015 Hockey India League finally ended. Played for one month between six teams, the current season gave many nail biting matches. There were two debutants in this season, Ranchi Rays and Dabang Mumbai. Hockey India League announced the prize money for 2015 edition as Rs. 2.5 crore. Debutant Ranchi Rays won the 2015 season with Rs. 2.5 crore and a trophy. They defeated Punjab warriors in the final 3-2 in a penalty shootout. The final was played at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

Though the Rays are a new team, the squad is more or less the same as that of the now non-existent Ranchi Rhinos which won the inaugural HIL in 2013. Ranchi Rays rode on goalkeeper Lovell Taylor brilliant show under the bar to earn a hard-fought 3-2 win over Jaypee Punjab Warriors in the shoot-out after the two teams ended the regulation time locked at 2-2. Playing without Captain Jamie Dwyer, Jaypee Punjab Warriors gave a tough fight to Ranchi Rays before the latter came out winners for the Hero Hockey India League 2015.

The first half of the finale match witnessed the defence of both the teams winning over the attack of the opponents as each was determined to avert any danger and not allow the other to have the better of them. Second half scored read was 0-0. The third quarter ended up 1-1. In the fourth round Punjab Warrior took lead by one goal but in the next minute Ranchi Rays made it 2-2. With the score tied, then result was dependent on Penalty shoot-out.

In shoot-out Punjab Warriors failed to get past an agile Lovell Tyler in the very first attempt when Simon Orchard failed to convert. While Christopher Ciriello and Dharmvir Singh scored easily in the next two attempts. SV Sunil and Robert consecutive misses allowed Ranchi Rays to win and lift. With the Ranchi Rays take home Rs. 2.50 crore, while Jaypee Punjab Warriors will pocket Rs. 1.25 crore for finishing in second position.

Delhi Waveriders won the third place prize beating UP Wizards 1-2. Tyler Lovell won the Man of the Match Award and Barry Middleton won the Hero Goal of the Match Award. Ashley Jackson named as the Hero most valuable player of the Tournament and won Rs. 25 Lakhs. Harmanpreet Singh won the Ponty Chadha Upcoming player of the tournament and won Rs. 20 Lakh. PR Sreejesh won the Dhruv Batra Motivator of the tournament and won Rs. 20 Lakh. Jaypee Punjab Warriors won Airtel maximum goal of the Tournament and won Rs. 10 Lakh. Uttar Pradesh Wizards won the Star Sports Fair play award trophy. Total prize pool was of worth Rs. 5.25 crores. 

ESPNcricinfo Awards 2014

The ESPNcricinfo Awards honour the best batting and best bowling performances across the international formats of the game for the calendar year. This year, a jury of former players decided them. Awards are given in all three formats of cricket. New Zealand Captain Brendon McCullum became the first to score a triple century in tests, which came when New Zealand was about to lose test match against India. It is voted as the top test performance of the 2014 eighth annual ESPNcricinfo awards.

The Test Bowling awards goes to Mitchell Johnson for his spell of 7 for 68 against South Africa in Centurion. His brilliant performance bundled out South Africa for 206 and set Australia to win series and the match. It was his second consecutive ESPNcricinfo award in consecutive years. Rohit Sharma, who broke his monumental 264 against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, took the award for the best ODI Batting performance. He smashed his second double ton with 33 fours and 9 sixes. His first double hundred in 2013 against Australia also won the ODI batting award.

Lasith Malinga 5 for 56, which helped Sri Lanka, beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup final in Mirpur marked as the top ODI bowling performance. In the T20 category, England Alex Hales took the award for the best batting performance with his unbeaten 116 runs, against Sri Lanka in the World T20 in Bangladesh. In the same tournament, Rangana Herath 5 for 3 against New Zealand was the best choice for the bowling performance in T20.

Sri Lankan players have figured prominently across award categories in 2014, including the Statsguru Award, which recognizes consistency in performances. Sri Lanka Captain Angelo Mattews swept three awards. He won Batsman of the Year, Best Test Batsman, and most Consistent Test Batsman. It was rewarded for aggregating more than 1200 runs in Test and ODIs. Rangana Herath was named the Test Bowler.

Indian Premier League 2015 Auctions

The 2015 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction was held in Bengaluru on Monday, 16 February. Just like last year, Yuvraj Singh turned out to be most expensive buy with the Delhi Daredevils acquiring him for Rs. 16 cr. The Second most expensive sold out was of Dinesh Karthik to Royal Challengers Bangalore in Rs. 10.5 cr. End of day, a total of 67 players were sold out of which 44 were Indians and 23 were overseas. Some of the big players remain unsold in this season.

Two time champions Chennai Super Kings bought one batsman Michael Hussey in 1.5cr. CSK bought two all rounders Irfan Pathan and Pratyush Singh in 1.5 cr and 10 Lakhs. CSK also bought three bowlers Rahul Sharma, Kyle Abbott, and Andrew Tye in 30 Lakhs and 20 Lakhs. Two Wicket keepers Ankush Bains and Eklavya Dwivedi were bought by CSK in 10 Lakhs. In total, CSK bought eight players, five Indians and three overseas.

Delhi Daredevils spent maximum amount of money this season. They bought 14 players this season. Yuvraj Singh was bought in 16 cr and Angelo Matthews in 7.5 cr. Indian bowlers Amit Mishra and Zaheer Khan was bought in 3.5 cr and 4 cr. They also bought South African all rounder Albie Morkel in 30 Lakhs and Travis Head in 30 Lakhs. Other than these DD bought Shreyas Iyer, Gurinder Sandhu, Jaydev Unadkat, Joseph, Marcus Stoinis, CM Gautam, Kona Bharat, and KK Jiyaz.

Kings XI Punjab bought only three players because they retained most of their old players. Murali Vijay was the only expensive pick in 3 cr. They also bought Nikhil Naik, Yogesh Gowalkar. Defending Champions Kolkata Knight Riders bought seven players this season. They bought KC Cariappa in 2.4 cr, James Neesham and Brad Hogg in 50 Lakhs. They also bought Aditya Garhwal, Sheldon Jackson, Sumit Narwal, and Vaibhav Rawal.

Mumbai Indians also edited their cart and bought Aaron Finch in 3.2 cr. Bowlers Pragyan Ojha, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mitchell McClenaghan were bought in 50 Lakhs and 30 Lakhs. They also bought Aiden Blizzard, Hardik Pandya, Akshay Wakhare, Siddesh Lad, J Suchitch, and Nitesh Rana. Rajasthan Royals bought Christopher Morris in 1.4 cr. They also bought Juan Theron, Barinder Saran, Dinesh Salunkhe, Sagar Trivedi, and Pradeep Sahu.

Royal Challengers Bangalore bought some star players this time. They bought Dinesh Karthik in 10.5 cr, Darren Sammy in 2.8 cr, David Wiese in 2.8 cr, Sean Abbott in 1 cr, Adam Milne in 70 Lakhs. They also bought Sarfraz Khan, Badrinath, Jalaj Saxena, and Bhavane. Sunrisers Hyderabad team looks quite promising after buying in form players this season. They bought Trent Boult in 3.8 cr, Praveen Kumar in 2.2 cr, Kevin Peterson in 2 cr, Eoin Morgan in 1.5 cr, Ravi Bopara in 1 cr, Kane Williamson in 60 Lakhs. They also bought Laxmi Shukla, Prasanth, Hanuman Vihari, and Siddarth Kaul.

These 67 players are bought in this season. No Player from Pakistan and Sri Lanka was bought in this season. Only Angelo Mattews and Lasith Malinga made into IPL this season. Overseas players were bought mostly from England, New Zealand, Australia, and West Indies. After completing charts of teams with new players, this season is again going to be very interested. Sunrisers Hyderabad can give tough competition in this season and so Delhi Daredevils.

Cricket World Cup 2015

The 2015 Cricket World Cup is the 11^th Cricket World Cup, currently being hosted by Australia and New Zealand from 14 February 2015 to 29 March 2015. Fourteen teams will play 49 matches in 14 venues, with Australia staging 26 games and New Zealand hosting 23 games. The final match of the tournament will take place at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The ICC has named Sachin Tendulkar as the 2015 Cricket World Cup Ambassador for the second time, after 2011 Cricket World Cup where he was the Ambassador. India is the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2011 defeating Sri Lanka in the finals. Now, let us have a look on all teams and key players from each team.

Afghanistan- This debutant team of this year got good experience in T20 Cricket and beaten both Ireland and Scotland in 2015. Key Players are Nawroz Mangal and Captain Mohammad Nabil.

Australia- The hosts, the favorites, and the team to beat. They have won 11 of their last 13 ODI. Key Players are David Warner, Mitchell Johnson, Steve Smith, and Glenn Maxwell. Captain Michael Clarke is also in good form and Coach Darren Lehmann guidance can make this team fifth time champion.

Bangladesh- Always a threat but not quite the dangerous underdogs they were in 2007 and 2011. Whitewashed Zimbabwe in recently but have not beaten any of the top eight team since 2013. Key Players are Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, and Tamim Iqbal. Captain is Mashrafe Mortaza.

England- Founder country of Cricket but have never won the World Cup. This time they got some all-rounders and a captain in form. Key Players are Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Joe Root, Stuart Broad, and James Anderson. Their Captain is Eoin Morgan.

India- Defending champions and good performer team in last four years in major tournaments. Played three major finals and won two. Current conditions are little shaky but captain cool is always good to watch. Key players are Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Captain is Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Ireland- Famous win over Pakistan in 2007 and England in 2011 are still remembered. This team can beat any top performing team. Key Player is Ed Joyce and captain is William Porterfield.

New Zealand- Currently the best team in form and favorite to win the tournament. Played six semi-finals until now. Key Players are Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Boult, Vettori, and Southee. Captain is Brendon McCullum.

Pakistan- Line up looks shaky after absence of Hafeez. Star batsman Afridi is in good form. Key players are Umar Akmal, Afridi, Irfan, and Ahmed Shahzad. Captain is Misbah-Ul-Haq.

Scotland- Goal is to register first win at World Cup. Good performing team with key player and captain Preston Mommsen.

South Africa- Top most team in ODI with a star line up. This is the team to watch out for in this season. This team have never won any major tournament. Key Players are Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Philander, Morkel, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, and Duminy. Captain is AB de Villiers.

Sri Lanka- Runner up of last two world cup tournaments and winner of 2014 T20 World Cup. Most consistent performing team always. Key Players are Lasith Malinga, Jayawardene, Sangakkara, and Dilshan. Captain is Angelo Mattews.

UAE- Another opportunity to play in World Cup. Key Player is Khurram Khan, 43 year old all rounder and oldest player in the tournament. Captain is Mohammad Tauqir.

West Indies- Never Underestimated team with huge and power hitters. Key Players are Chris Gayle, Smith, Sammy, Russell, and Samuels. Captain is Jason Holder.

Zimbabwe- One of the underdog’s team from the past. They have experienced and consistent players in the team. Key Players is Brendan Taylor. Captain is Elton Chigumbura.

These are the 14 teams of the tournament this year. Event will start on 14 February 2015. Opening match will be played between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Auckland.

MotoGP to enter India

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing. It is currently divided into three classes: MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3. All three classes use four-stroke engines. In 2010, the new Moto2 600 cc four-stroke class replaced 250 cc two strokes. In 2012, 125 cc two-strokes were replaced by Moto3 250 cc four-stroke class with a weight limit of 65 kg with fuel and the engine capacity of MotoGP increased from 800 cc to 1,000 cc.

Grand Prix motorcycles are purpose built racing machines that are neither available for purchase by the public nor can be ridden legally on public roads. This contrasts with the various production-based categories of racing, such as the Superbike World Championship, that feature modified versions of road-going motorcycles available to the public. This sport was started in 1949. The constructors of MotoGP World Championship are Ducati, Honda, and Yamaha. Bridgestone is the tyre supplier for MotoGP races since 2011. Marc Marquez is the current Champion of MotoGP from Honda.

Recently, the sport commercial chief said that MotoGP is ready for a foray into India convinced it has a better future than Formula One in World’s largest motorcycle market. India first hosted a Formula One grand prix in 2011 to positive reviews from the global community but was dropped from the calendar after the third race in 2013. Problems over Taxation, with Formula One classified as entertainment rather than a sport in India, as well as the considerable bureaucracy in bringing equipment into the country have been seen as obstacles to the race returning.

Association is hopeful they had the right mix to be successful in India, which is the world largest motorcycle market after China. Cost of organizing a MotoGP race is less than Formula One and there is a manufacturer in India. Mahindra, who are participating in the Moto3 world Championship as constructor and will supply motorcycles to four Teams. It needs MotoGP three things to be successful in India, first a manufacturer, which is Mahindra. Second is an Indian rider, which is not there and for there is Asian Talent Cup. Third is to have a grand prix. The 2015 MotoGP season will have 18 races and the target for the promoters is to increase it to 20 in the next two years. 

Australian Open 2015 Winners

The first major tournament of Tennis had finished in Melbourne and world have two new champions in Australian Open 2015. The tournament was played between 19 January 2015 to 1^st February 2015. Novak Djokovic won the fifth Australian Open title and Serena Williams won her sixth Australian Open title after five years. Top remains on the top in rankings. Serena is now remains unbeaten in her last fourteen games of Grand Slam matches. Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray third time in Finals.

Here is the journey of Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic to the finals of Australian Open 2015. Serena Williams won first round from Van Uytvanck by 6-0, 6-4. Then she won second round beating V. Zvonareva by 7-5, 6-0. Serena won her third round match beating E. Svitolina 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. She beats G. Muguruza in fourth round by 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. In Quarterfinals, D. Cibulkova lost to Serena in straight sets by 6-2, 6-2. In Semi Finals, Serena beats M.Keys and won in two sets by 7-5, 6-2. Then in Finals, Maria Sharapova lost to Serena Williams by 6-3 and 7-6 and lost her chance of winning Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic won first round beating A. Bedene by 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. In second round, A. Kuznetsov lost to Novak by 6-0, 6-1, 6-4. In third round, Novak beats F. Verdasco by 7-6, 6-3, 6-4. In fourth round, Novak beats G. Muller by 6-4, 7-5, 7-5. In Quarterfinals, Novak beats M.Raonic by 7-6, 6-4, 6-2. S. Wawrinka lost to Novak in Semi-Finals by 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0. At last, in Finals, Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray by 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0. Last two matches were long matches for Novak in this tournament.

In Men’s double Italy Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini defeated Pierre Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut by 6-4, 6-4. This was the first title for the team. In women’s double Bethanie Sands and Lucie Safarova defeated Chan Yung Jan and Zheng Jie by 6-4, 7-6. This was the first title for the women team in their respective careers. In Mixed Doubles Martina Hingis and Leander Paes defeated Kristina Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor by 6-4, 6-3. This was second win for Hingis with Indian pairs. Last time she paired with Mahesh Bhupati in 2006.

In Boys Singles Roman Safiullin defeated Hong Seong Chan by 7-5, 7-6. In Girls Singles Tereza Mihalikova defeated Katie Swan by 6-1, 6-4. In Boys doubles Jake Delaney and Marc Polmans defeated Hubert Hurkacz and Alex Molcan by 0-6, 6-2. In girls doubles Miriam Kolodziejova and Marketa Vondrousova defeated Katharina Hobgarski and Greet Minnen by 7-5, 6-4. These were some of the results of Australian Open 2015. Other than this, there was Wheelchair tournament. The next major tournament in Tennis will be French Open, which will run from 25 May to 8 June in France.

Big Bash League 2014-15

The KFC T20 Big Bash League is the Australian domestic Twenty20 cricket tournament, which was established in 2011. The Big Bash League replaced the previous competition, the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, and featured city based franchises instead of state teams, which had participated previously. The top two teams in the tournament qualify for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

The 2014-15 Big Bash League season was the fourth season of the BBL. The tournament started on 18 December 2014 and final was played on 28 January 2015. The Perth Scorchers won back-to-back titles by defeating Sydney Sixers by 4 wickets on the last ball of the match. The final was also the final match of Brett Lee’s career. Jacque Kallis of the Sydney Thunder was named ‘Player of the tournament for his 235 runs and 6 wickets in the tournament. Jason Behrendroff of the Scorchers was named ‘Young Gun of the Tournament’ for his 15 wickets in the season.

Sydney Sixers batted first and scored 147 in 20 overs and their captain Henriques made 77 runs with Strike rate of 135.08. In response, Perth Scorchers made 148 runs in 20 overs. Shaun Marsh made the maximum runs in second innings. He scored 73 runs with strike rate of 123.72. Perth Scorchers needed 8 in the last over and two back-to-back wickets from Brett Lee kept the match in excited mode. On the last ball, Yasir Arafat took a risky single when Henriques was not able to hit the stumps for run-out, which made Scorchers second time winner of the tournament.

Klinger from Scorchers scored the most runs in the tournament and the only one to hit a century. Kevin Peterson followed him from Melbourne Stars and was second highest run scorer. Hastings from Melbourne Stars took the maximum wickets and Behrendroff from Scorchers was second highest wicket taker. A total 789 four were smashed in the tournament. Count tally of Sixes was 312. Perth Scorchers is the most successful team in the Big Bash League in all seasons. In four seasons, this was their fourth Final. This year again they will compete in the Champions League, which is played between Top Domestic teams from New Zealand, India, South Africa, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and other Test playing nations.

Hockey India League 2015

The first sport tournament of India has started. Hockey League India is a professional league for field hockey competition in India. It is organized by Hockey India. The tournament is contested between six franchises consisting players from India and around the world. The first season of Hockey India League was kicked off in 2013 with five franchises, which was won by Ranchi Rhinos. In 2014, Kalinga Lancers was sixth franchise. Delhi Waveriders won 2014 season.

The third season of HIL (Hockey India League) will run from 22 January 2015 with the final on 22 February 2015 among six teams. The plan is to have 8 teams by 2016 and 10 teams by 2018, with a possibility of having a team from south India. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has sanctioned the event and also provides a 30-day window at the beginning of a year so that all top players can participate. Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp currently sponsors it.

This season will see the debut of two new franchises. Ranchi Rays will replace Ranchi Rhinos and Dabang Mumbai will replace Mumbai Magicians. The idea behind the tournament was to promote Hockey in India and generate more players for the National Team. Players get an opportunity to play with other countries players and get a good exposure of teaming up with them. This helps them in building their skills. Each HIL Franchise has 24 players, which include 10 foreign players and 14 Indian players. The players are always acquired in an Auction.

Indian Mid-fielder Sardar Singh and Australian Jamie Dwyer were named as brand ambassadors of the Hockey India League. Three-time FIH world player of the Year Teun de Nooijer was signed as HIL third brand ambassador. The tournament is broadcasted worldwide and Hero is the ambassador since 2013. By HIL, Hockey is again tightening its grip in India. This not only will improve Indian hockey team players skills but will also encourage more players to inclined towards Hockey.  

Australian Open 2015

2015 Tennis season has started with Australian Open. It is played on outdoor hard courts at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Australia. It will be played from 19 January to 1 February and will feature men and women events in Singles, as well as mixed doubles. The tournament will also feature senior, junior, and wheelchair events. Stan Wawrinka is the defending men’s champion from Switzerland and Li Na is defending women’s champion from China. Li Na will not defend her title as she retired from tennis on 19 September 2014.

As a sports crazy fan, I prefer watching almost all sports and follow their updates. Like every year, this year is going to be very interesting in tennis. I have compiled a list of players to watch out for in Men and Women tournament. Beginning with the Men tournament, first is Stanislas Wawrinka. He is the currently the world no. 4 tennis player and the defending champion of Australian Open. In finals, he defeated Rafael Nadal and won the first grand slam title for him. This year, he will have to fight to defend his title. Roger Federer is currently world no. 2 and one of the best tennis players in the world of all time. He recently won his 1000 match this month. He won Australian Open four times and last time in 2010. However, the World No. 2 had not won any grand slam title since last two years. This year he will have to fight hard and increase his slam tally.

Novak Djokovic is World No. 1 tennis player from Serbia. He won Australian Open in 2013 and won one grand slam titles in 2014. He can change the course of game anytime into his favor. He is one of the strongest players this year too. Rafael Nadal is World No. 3 tennis player in the world from Spain. Famous as “The King of Clay,” Nadal is winner of Australian open once. He won one title in 2014 and geared up for this season too. Andy Murray is World No. 6 tennis player from Britain. He is the finalist of Australian Open 2013 and had never won the Australian Title. He can be the one to change his tally figures this year. He won two grand slam titles until now. Marin Cilic is World No. 9 Tennis player from Croatia. He is the new star in Tennis, who won US Open 2014 title. He was also quarterfinalist in Wimbledon 2014. He is also under watch in Australian Open. Kei Nishikori is World No. 5 Tennis player from Japan. He is youngest player contender for title this year. He was the finalist of US Open in 2014 and fourth round in Wimbledon 2014. These are few men singles players who seems to be fight against each other to win title.

Now, in the Women tournament first is Serena Williams. Currently ranked World No. 1 from US, Serena won Australian Open five times. She is the winner of US Open 2014 and is in good touch to win Australian Open again. Maria Sharapova is World No. 2 women tennis player. She is the winner of Australian Open once in 2008. She had won grand slam title in 2014. Simona Halep is World No. 3 tennis player from Romania. She had a wonderful year last year but was not able to win any title. She is young and enthusiastic to open his slam tally. She made into finals of French Open 2014 and semifinals of Wimbledon. She is the one to watch in tournament. Petra Kvitova is World No. 4 tennis player. She is the winner of Wimbledon 2014. In year 2012, she made into semi finals of three slam tournaments but could not make any further. She is another strong contender in the queue.

Agnieszka Radwanska is World No. 5 tennis player from Poland. She is the semi finalist of Australian Open 2014 and made into finals of Wimbledon 2012. She will try hard to win her first grand slam title. Eugenie Bouchard is the World No. 7 tennis player from Canada. She is just 20 year old and is the youngest and strongest tennis player of coming time. She had wonderful last year and made into semi finals of Australian Open 2014 and French Open 2014. She was the finalist in Wimbledon 2014 and fourth round in US Open 2014. She is the one to watch this year. Victoria Azarenka is the World No. 42 tennis player. She is into list because she won Australian Open in 2013. Last year was not good for her but in 2013 she was up to his best. She can also change game. Last but not the least is Venus Williams. She had won Wimbledon and US Open many times but had never won French Open and Australian Open. She may want to open his tally for these grand slam titles.

This is the list of players to watch out in Australian Open 2015, who will produce a good beginning sports season. Let us stay tuned for the results and watch some tight matches between the champions.