h.jkdsfnjsabdl;

Eden truly special for me: Sachin

Recollecting his exploits at the theater of some of his memorable innings, Sachin Tendulkar said everyone of his outings at the Eaden Gardens had been special for him.

"I always have very fond memories of Eden Gardens right from the day I first played here (in 1991)," said Tendulkar

Tendulkar was controversially run out in a Test against Pakistan at the Eden in 1999 that led to play being held up for about three hours due to crowd trouble, and he said he would always cherish the vibrant atmosphere inside the stadium whenever India played there.

"I've seen many good moments of my life and have spent my maximum time there. I would love to capture the moment of going out to bat with a packed stadium and the roaring applause.

"I wish if I could capture the photo with the lively sound around. It would be a great moment to capture," said the 36-year-old who had played nine Tests and 12 ODIs at the Eden.

He said crowd support at the Eden was a major contributing factor for the Indian team's success at this venue.

"The support that we have received here over the years has been truly special. The crowd has always been right behind us. they had a major contribution in Indian team being successful."

Left-handers give India the edge

India and South Africa might have an upper hand in the ICC World T20, thanks to their sheer number of left handers. Both defending champions India and South Africa have eight left-handed specialists in their squad of 15 which leaves their right-handed brethren in the minority.

History shows that left-handed cricketers have unfailingly ruled the roost in this treacherous format, be it the Indian Premier League (IPL) or the first edition of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007.

The recent IPL was topped by Matthew Hayden (572 runs) and Adam Gilchrist (495) with Suresh Raina (434) at number four, not much behind to AB de Villiers (465).

As for bowling, RP Singh (23 wickets), Ashish Nehra (19) and Pragyan Ojha (18) took three spots among the top five bowlers.

The first IPL, if anything, was still more startling. The first three toppers were all left-handers: Stuart Marsh (616), Gautam Gambhir (534) and Sanath Jayasuirya (514) all proved the scourge of bowlers.

Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir (22 wickets) was the leading wicket-taker of the inaugural IPL.

The first edition of the 2007 World Twenty20 further nails down the argument in favour of left-handers: Hayden (265) was the top scorer and RP Singh (12) just a wicket adrift from the best wicket-taker of the tournament, Umar Gul. India has specialist southpaw batsmen in Gambhir, Raina, Yuvraj Singh; allrounders in Pathan brothers -- Yusuf and Irfan, and Ravinder Jadeja; and bowlers in Zaheer Khan and Pragyan Ojha.

South Africa might have only two specialist left-handed batsmen in Graeme Smith and Jean-paul Duminy; but there are all-rounders aplenty in Morkel brothers -- Albie and Mornie, and Roelof van der Merwe.

Left-handed bowlers Yusuf Abdulla, Wayne Parnell and Robin Peterson can be the envy of other teams.

These riches of left-handers can leave the other sides in the competition red-faced.

Ricky Ponting's men, well-rested and apparently hungry for the title, have just two batsmen and bowlers in Michael Hussey and David Warner; Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Brackenin all four left-handers.

This gives them no edge over other hopefuls Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka or West Indies who all have the same number of four left-handers.

The less said about hosts England the better as they have just one specialist left-handed bowler in Ryan Sidebottom even though a rookie leftie in Eion Morgan has also made the grade.

Bangladesh, indeed, can give themselves a left-handed pat as they have six cricketers who bat or bowl in this manner a point well underlined the other day when they took New Zealand to the last ball in a practice match.

Watch T20 WC warm up matches

http://www.cric7.com/ipl/indexiplhai.php

When Bhajji flew off in a helicopter

India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had to fly to Chandigarh by a helicopter for his further journey to Mumbai.

The Indian cricket star, who came for a short visit to his residence in Jalandhar, was struck in the curfew that erupted after the murder of a religious Sikh guru in Vienna, Austria.

"I came to visit my family on May 23 and as I have to attend an urgent meeting with Nita Ambani, owner of the Mumbai Indians team tomorrow at Mumbai, Reliance company arranged a helicopter for me and I flew to Chandigarh to take my further flight to Mumbai," Harbhajan told PTI.

Harbhajan boarded the helicopter from PAP Ground at about 7.30 AM, where a special helipad was made by the District Administration, sources said.

"Even my brother-in-law was struck in the violence on May 23 and had to spend the whole night in a nearby hospital along with his family," the off-spinner added.

Terming the Vienna incident as "very unfortunate", Harbhajan appealed to the residents of Punjab to restore peace and harmony.

"It is time for all Punjabis to show patience and be united for restoring peace in the state," he said. Harbhajan said on Wednesday he would fly to England with the Indian team to participate in the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup, scheduled to begin on June 5.

Asked about India's prospects of defending the title in the biennial event, Harbhajan said, "In the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), Indian players performed very well and the team selected for T20 World Cup is excellent and will be a serious challenge to any side of the world." "I hope Indian team will repeat its performance and become the T20 World Champion again," he said.

I'll do the best for my country: Yuvraj

Can Team India reprise the glory days of 2007 in England? Fans will never forget those six sixes Yuvraj smashed of England's Stuart Broad in the first edition of WC T20 in South Africa. That was the match that helped to get the much needed momentum and eventually clinch the title.

Not just himself, Yuvraj also has confidence in the ability of his team members too. "One good change that has happened in the team in the last two years is the way younger members have performed and taken the pressure off seniors," he added. According to him, this has enabled the likes of Dhoni, Sehwag and Yuvraj himself to play without the fear of failure.

Among the youngsters, Yuvraj picked out Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma for special praise, saying they were 'brilliant' in IPL 2. "They're exactly what the Indian team needs to evolve and grow stronger. Without such youthful players, a team faces the danger of stagnation and decline." The dashing batsman was also impressed by the likes of Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey.

While focussed on the World Twenty20, Yuvraj admits he's a bit worn out after a hectic seasons which included the IPL. "Physically, I am fit but mentally I felt a little tired after the IPL. I reckon I'll be in a good shape for the World Cup." "The good thing is we've had solid match practice in T20 format during the IPL. Almost all the players are in good form and that gives us teeth."

Yuvraj is happy that the recently-concluded IPL has provided India with more bowling options. Yuvraj was particularly impressed with the performance of Ashish Nehra. "It was so heartening to see Nehra bowl the way he did in the IPL. He reminded us of the days when he was an India regular. I'm looking forward to him doing his stuff for India once again."

Two years back, the odds were stacked against India and no one really expected them to pull it off. This time, as the defending champions, expectations are sky-high. But Yuvraj feels the hunger for success will help the team succeed. "The attitude counts for a lot. We make a conscious effort in stoking that hunger for runs and wickets," he said.

According to him, the pitches in England are likely to assist seamers at this time of the season. "In July-August, the wickets become a little flatter. At this World Cup, expect good wickets, big scores and tight chases," Yuvraj said.

South African cricket has taken big strides over the past 12 months, including moving into top spot in ODIs, and Greame Smith has said he wants to cap that with a win in the World Twenty20.

Smith's side are among the favourites for the title, and their limited-overs prowess is illustrated by their record of only one ODI-series loss in nearly two years. They have also won their previous two Twenty20s, beating Australia twice in March.

"We have had a wonderful past 12 months which has included winning away Test series in both England and Australia and winning home-and-away ODI series against Australia to gain top spot in the ICC rankings," PA quoted him as saying.

"One of the boxes we still want to tick is to win a major ICC championship and we have two chances to do that in the ICC World T20 next month and again in the ICC Champions Trophy which will be held in South Africa at the end of September."

Twelve of his 15-member squad played for various franchises in the IPL which ended earlier this month, and Smith said it helped warm them up for the World Twenty20. "I have been very happy with the form our players have shown in the IPL in the run-up to the World T20 and this augurs well for a good performance."

South Africa open the tournament in Group D, along with New Zealand and Scotland. They play their first warm-up game against Pakistan at Trent Bridge on June 1 and take on Sri Lanka in another practice match at Lord's on June 3, before heading over to the Oval for their first match of the tournament against Scotland on June 7.