Nico Rosberg wins Monaco Grand Prix

The dramatic end to the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2015 gave us one rather lucky winner and another very obvious loser in Mercedes Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton controlled the race until Mercedes pitted hi after a late safety car following Max Verstappen crash. Team mate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari Sebastian Vettel did not stop and passed Hamilton before he rejoined.

The result cuts Hamilton advantage in the championship over Rosberg to 10 points, with Vettel a further 18 points adrift. It was a bitter blow to Hamilton, who had come to Monaco to determine to take his first win here since 2008 and dominated the weekend. The race was restarted with eight laps to go, with Hamilton on fresh tyres, but Monaco lived up to its reputation as a track where overtaking is all but impossible.

Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo did pull off a pass, taking fifth from Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen on lap 72 with a controversial move that involved contact from Ricciardo front wheel on Raikkonen Rear, which effectively shoved the Ferrari out of the way. Red Bull ordered the Australian Team-mate Daniil Kvyat to let Ricciardo by into fourth place straight afterwards so he could challenge Hamilton for a place on the podium.

Hamilton now stands at top with 126 points, followed by Nico Rosberg with 116 points and third place by Sebastian Vettel with 98 points. In constructor standings, Mercedes is at top with 242 points, followed by Ferrari with 158 points. Williams is at fourth with 81 points and Red Bull at fourth with 52 points. Next race will take place in Formula Grand Prix du Canada from June 5-June 7 2015. Stay Tuned.

Movies to watch on Sports theme

Sports make a person to know the importance of Team Work and art of winning. Every individual in his life should play a game professionally. There are many good movies on Sports. Being a Hollywood movies fan, I have watched many movies based on different sports in my life. Here is a list of some movies which one should watch to know about the game and spirit of team work.

Million Dollar Arm

It’s an American Biographical Sport Drama movie based on Baseball. It is based on a true story of baseball pitchers who were Indians and discovered in a reality show competition. The film music is composed by A.R. Rahman and Movie is also screened in India.

When the game stands tall

It is a movie based on story of a Rugby Coach who took his team to a 151 winning streak that shattered all records in American sport history. This movie tells about the importance of team work and how to coordinate with juniors in the team.

Coach Carter

It is a movie which teach lesson of discipline, academics, and game play. This movie is based on Basket Ball and also includes story of a coach.

Seve the Movie

It is a documentary biography movie on Famous golfer from France. Seve Ballesteros, who fought against diversity to become the most spectacular and charismatic golfer, to ever play the game.

Rocky Balboa

It is the last part of Rocky series. This movie is based on boxing and a boxer who make his last fight after retirement with present champion of the game. This movie gives lesson of not giving up in life.

Rush

A movie based on true story of James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula one Championships. It tells about the difficulty in Formula One game and how it is one of the most challenging and dangerous games so far.

Most Valuable Soccer Teams

Football is the most played game in the world. Number of Football fans are maximum in the world and the expense over teams is also huge. Every four year FIFA is most watched and sponsored tournament. After FIFA, private clubs spent Billions in making their team and win trophies. Here is a list of most valuable soccer teams of the world.

Real Madrid: - This Spanish Club is the most valuable soccer team this year too. Its complete money value is $3.26 Billion. It has all star players starring Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas etc.

Barcelona: - It is ranked second after Real Madrid and is also Spanish Club. Its complete money value is $3.16 Billion. It has star players such as Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr etc.

Manchester United: - It is ranked at $3.1 Billion and most expensive of England, a ten percent rise this year and has players like Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie etc.

Bayern Munich: - This German Club is fourth most expensive club at $2.35 Billion, with 27 percent increase this year. It has players such as Thomas Muller, Xabi Alonso etc.

Manchester City: - This English Club is ranked fifth with a valuation of $1.38 Billion. It has players like David Silva, Frank Lampard etc.

Chelsea: - Sixth most expensive English club in the world with a valuation of $1.37 Billion. It has players such as Oscar, Didler Drogba etc.

Arsenal: - Valued at $1.31 Billion, this English Club is ranked seventh. It has players like Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil etc.

Liverpool: - It is ranked eighth with a valuation of $982 Million and has players such as Mario Balotelli, Steven Gerrard etc.

Juventus: - Italian Club is ranked ninth as the most expensive club and is valued at $837 Million. It has champions players like Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez etc.

AC Milan: - Valued at $775 Million, this English club is ranked tenth in the list. It has famous Japanese player Keisuke Honda, Jeremy Menez etc.

This is the list of most valuable soccer teams of the world. All these teams are club level teams and do not any major FIFA Tournament.

Nico Rosberg wins Spanish Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg won the Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana Pirelli 2015 in some style, defeating Mercedes Team mate Lewis Hamilton by 17.5 seconds in Barcelona to reinvigorate his World Championship campaign. After an excellent gateway from Pole, Rosberg never looked back and led from start to finish.

Ferrari finished 45 seconds back from Rosberg which bought them a major disappointment, particularly as they had come to Spain with a raft of changes that they hoped would enable them to take the fight to Mercedes. Kimi Raikkonen could not displace fellow countryman Valtteri Bottas, who drove a sterling race to fourth. Williams team mate Felipe Massa meanwhile climbed from ninth on the grid to sixth behind the red car.

Daniel Ricciardo hauled his Red Bull to a lapped seventh and Romain Grosjean survived a brush with Lotus team mate Pastor Maldonado and then an overshoot during a pit stop, to take eighth. Carlos Sainz had an eventful afternoon in his Toro Rosso, slipping down the order in the opening half of the race before recovering to ninth by the chequered flag. Sainz had attempted to pass the Russian around the outside, but when Kvyat locked up the duo clashed forcing the Toro Rosso off the road.

Max Verstappen could not resist his team mate late charge so finished 11^th ahead of Sauber Felipe Nasr. The Marussias took the final two places, Will Stevens finishing ahead of Roberto Merhi. The result reduces Hamilton Championship lead over Rosberg to 20 points heading to Monaco, with 111 to 91. Vettel has 80, Raikkonen 52, Bottas 42, and Massa 39. In the constructor stake Mercedes pull further ahead with 202 to Ferrari 132 and Williams 81. 

Mayweather wins over Pacquiao

Nicknamed ‘Money’, the Las Vegas born Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been hailed as one of the greatest boxers of his era. The 38 year old orthodox remains unbeaten in 47 professional fights since 1996. His only defeat came in amateur boxing game he lost to Bulgarian Serafim Todorov in the semi-finals of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Manny Pacquiao left his home at the age of 14 to pursue a career in boxing. He has contested 65 fights, winning 57 of them with five defeats.

Yesterday night was the biggest night in the boxing. Mayweather pile up enough points to win a unanimous decision in their welterweight title bout. Two ringside judges scored the fight 116-112, while the third had it at 118-110. The associated press had Mayweather ahead 115-113. This was the richest fight in boxing history and a bout that made Mayweather at least $180 Million. There were no knockdowns, and neither fighter seemed terribly hurt at any time. Pacquiao landed probably the biggest punch in the fight in the fourth round, a left hand that sent Mayweather into the ropes.

The fight was a chess match, with Mayweather using his jab to keep Pacquiao away most of the fight. Pacquiao tried to force the action, but Mayweather was often out of his reach by the time he found his way inside. Ringside punches stats showed Mayweather landing 148 punches of 435, while Pacquiao landed 81 of 429. The volume punches for Pacquiao was lot lower than he usually throws in a fight.

Mayweather fought confidently in the late rounds, winning the last two rounds on all three scorecards. In the final seconds of the fight he raised his right hand in victory and after the bell rang stood on the ropes, pounding his heart with his gloves. The fight was expected to make Mayweather $180 Million and Pacquiao $120 Million, depending on Pay per view sales. The live gate alone was more than $70 Million and the bout was expected to easily smash the pay per view record of 2.48 Million buys sent in 2007 when Mayweather fought Oscar De La Hoya.

The Wisden Trophy

The Wisden trophy is named after the famous cricketing publisher Wisden and was presented by John Wisden and Co. It is awarded to the winner of the Test Cricket Series played between England and West Indies. It was first awarded in 1963. If the series is drawn then the country holding the Wisden trophy retains it. The Wisden Trophy is presented to the victorious team as a symbol of victory, but then returns to the MCC Museum at Lords.

England currently holds the trophy. They held the trophy for nine years, after beating the West Indies 3-1 to regain it in 2000. They successfully defended the trophy three times. West Indies regain the trophy in the most recent series in the West Indies, winning 1-0 in early 2009. It was originally planned to consist of four test matches. Currently, Wisden trophy tournament is going on in England with English country leading the series with 1-0. Last match will start from May 1, 2015.

In overall 111 Test matches had been played between West Indies and England in Wisden Trophy with West Indies winning maximum number of matches. They won 43 matches and England has won 31 matches. Series is been hold by West Indies 13 times and by England 8 times. In last five Encounters West Indies has won the series only once. Brian Lara is the top scorer of the Wisden Trophy. He has scored 2983 runs in 51 innings. His highest score of 400 also came up in the same trophy in 2004.

Curtly Ambrose is the maximum wicket taker in Wisden Trophy with 164 wickets in 8284 balls in a period of 12 years. Clive Lloyd has played maximum number of Test Matches in Wisden Trophy and played 19 matches. Most wins as Captain Record is in name of Viv Richards with 13 wins from 18 matches. These are some of the past records which are hold mostly by West Indies Cricket team. In future we hope to see these records in bag of England Cricket Team.

Formula E Championship

Formula E, officially the Formula E Championship, is a class of auto racing sanctioned by FIA and is the highest class of competition for one-make, single seater, electrically powered racing cars. The series was conceived in 2012 and the inaugural championship started in Beijing on 13 September 2014. There are 10 teams and 20 drivers and 40 cars in the championship. Each team has four cars.

This championship is held in nine countries such as China, USA, Russia, Argentina, Monaco, United Kingdom, Germany, Malaysia, and Uruguay. In this championship racing circuits are smaller than Formula One circuits. Length of a circuit is 2-3.4 km long. Electric cars can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3 seconds, with a maximum speed of 225 km/h. The generators used to re-charge the batteries are powered by Glycerine, a by-product of bio-diesel production.

Races in Formula E championship are 45 minutes in length. There is one pit stop in between the race. After battery runs low, a driver makes a timed pit stop and switches into a new fully charged car. Points system in Formula E championship is same as Formula One. First season of the championship is organized in eleven rounds. Out of these eleven rounds six rounds are already completed in five countries.

Lucas di Grassi from Audi Sport ABT leads the points table with 75 points and Nelson Piquet from China Racing stands at second place with 74 points. Both drivers are from Brazil. E.dams- Renault is at top position in team standings with 124 points. Second place is hold by Audi Sport ABT with 97 points. Next race of Formula E Championship will held in Monaco on 9 May 2015.

The second season of Formula E will be held from September 2015 to June 2016. The calendar will be expanded to 12 cities. The season will see the introduction of eight manufacturers, who will be allowed to change certain parts of the car.

Lewis Hamilton cruises to Bahrain GP Win

Lewis Hamilton took a controlled win in the Bahrain Grand Prix as team mate Nico Rosberg was beaten to second by Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton led from the start and was always in control as he took his third victory in four races this season. Rosberg battled the Ferraris throughout and lost second to Raikkonen with a braking problem with laps to go.

Ferrari Sebastian Vettel wrecked his podium chances by going off the track and damaging his car while racing Rosberg. Raikkonen, who nipped past Rosberg at the start of the lap when the German ran too deep into Turn One, put in an impressive drive on an alternative tyre strategy to move up from fourth place on the grid. But Hamilton was out of reach at the front under the lights at the Sakhir track on a windy desert night.

Mercedes had expected a challenge from Ferrari during the race but Hamilton after converting Pole position into a lead at the first corner was always in control as he set about building a lead while also protecting his tyres. Rosberg dropped to fourth at the start from third place on the grid but set about quickly disappointing the Ferraris, passing Raikkonen on lap four and Vettel four laps later.

Behind the top three, Bottas managed to hold off Vettel for fourth despite heavy pressure in the closing laps. Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo took sixth place despite his engine exploding as he headed for the finish line, ahead of the Lotus of Romain Grosjean and Force India Sergio Perez. The final two point’s places were taken Red Bull Daniil Kvyat, who drove well to rise up from 17^th on the grid. Fernando Alonso just missed out on McLaren Honda first points with 11^th place, fending off Felipe Nasr’s Sauber in the closing gaps.

Mercedes on Top after Chinese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes back on top with a win at the Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton made sure there would be no repeat of Ferrari surprising win two weeks ago at the Malaysian Grand Prix conserving his tires to withstand a challenge by the Italian’s team Sebastian Vettel and easily capture his fourth Grand Prix and the 35^th win of his career.

Rosberg finished second and Vettel finished third in Chinese Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari finished fourth. Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas finished fifth and sixth. From the start through to the first round of pit stops Hamilton held Rosberg at bay by a second as they traded fast laps, with Vettel and Raikkonen just managing to keep the duo in their sights. After 10 Laps the gap between the quartets was 6.4sec, leaving the remainder of the field behind as a two team battle for the victory unfold.

Hamilton drove fast enough to keep the Ferraris at arm length while eking out the required stint lengths to match the Italian team two stop strategies. His second victory in three races this season and his eighth in 10 grand prix dating back to Italy in September last year extended his championship lead to 13 points over Vettel, whose advantage over Rosberg was cut to four.

Race Result:

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)

Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)

Sebastian Vettel Wins Malaysian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel stunned everyone in the second race of this season at Malaysian Grand Prix, winning his first race after Brazil 2013. In the searing heat of Sepang, Vettel brought first win race for Ferrari. He won by a margin of +8 seconds. Mercedes Lewis Hamilton finished second and Mercedes Nico Rosberg finished third. After a dominant opening in Australia by Lewis Hamilton, he was challenged by Sebastian in Malaysia.

Now it seems to be a season between Mercedes and Ferrari whereas Williams and Red Bull can be tough competitors in the upcoming races. In Sepang, Mercedes had locked themselves into a three stop strategy but Ferrari had both pace and Tyres to get by with a two stopper. With Rosberg similarly trapped in a slower car, Mercedes never recovered sufficiently to launch a counter-attack. Vettel team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was able to recover from a first lap puncture caused by a brush with Felipe Nasr.

Hamilton was struggling with his car and had an angry exchange with his team over the radio. Hamilton was 8.5 sec behind Ferrari, with Rosberg another 3.7 sec down. Vettel lapped both Red Bulls on his 52^nd lap, but took no delight in that. Both Hamilton and Rosberg dominated last year season in Formula One. But this year there is a competition from Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel.        

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.