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Dravid, who batted at a snail's pace to total 21 runs in 180 balls in the first Test, is all set to open the innings at the SCG as well after Sehwag was once again overlooked despite skipper Anil Kumble saying that there was a "50-50" chance of the aggressive right-hander playing.
Dravid's promotion to the opener's slot from the number three position has been criticised by former cricketers who feel the move cost India the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne.
Meanwhile, in what is sure to come as a blow to the visitors, Zaheer Khan has injured his ankle, bringing Irfan Pathan into the equation.
Pathan is likely to make the playing XI if Zaheer fails to recover.
On the other hand, high on their empthatic 337-run win in Melbourne, the Australians have retained their playing XI.
This means slinger Shaun Tait will once again warm the benches, while chinaman bowler Brad Hogg keeps his place in the side. PTI
Sania-Bopanna duo clicks again, India beat Aus in Hopman Cup
Perth, Jan 1 (PTI) Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna maintained their unbeaten run to tame Australia's Alicia Molik and Peter Luczak in the mixed doubles encounter and pull off their first win in group A of the Hopman Cup here today.
After being tied 1-1, the Indian duo fought tooth and nail in the decider to win it 2-6, 6-4, 6-7 (11/13) after a tussle lasting 77 minutes.
With this victory, the Indian pair, which lost its opening tie to the USA, not only kept itself afloat in the tournament.
Earlier, Sania overcame a stiff challenge from Molik and won the women's singles clash 2-6, 6-2, 4-6 to give India a 1-0 lead.
However, Bopanna lost the men's singles match to Luczak 7-6, 6-3 and allowed the sixth-seeded hosts to level the contest.
Sania, who had almost lost the final set after being 5-1 up, acknowledged that it was never easy against a tough opponent like Molik.
"I almost lost that one. 15-40, love-40, it does not matter, she can come up with a big serve at any time," she said.
India now have one win and one loss record. The top team in each group advances to Friday's final.
In their next group engagement, the seventh-seeded India will take on Czech Republic, seeded third for the tournament. PTI
India go into second Test without much time to regroup
India go into second Test without much time to regroup
Ashish Shukla
Sydney, Jan 1 (PTI) After the mauling in Melbourne, a jittery India face the dilemma of whether to alter their batting line-up as they go into the second cricket Test against Australia here tomorrow having got little time to regroup and redraw their strategy.
The crushing 337-run defeat in the opening Test will no doubt have a demoralising effect on the visitors who need to put up an inspired show to stop Australia from equalling a record-breaking sequence of 16 consecutive Test wins.
Clearly, the Indians look in disarray as they have plenty of problems to sort out. The team management will have to give a serious thought on the composition of the team on a SCG track which was expected to be livelier.
The big dilemma for the Indians is whether to persist with Rahul Dravid as an opener despite his poor form or draft in a specialist in the form of Virender Sehwag or Dinesh Kaarthick.
Although many former cricketers have called for Sehwag's inclusion in the playing eleven, the indications are that India may stick to the same combination which means Dravid and Wasim Jaffer will again open the innings.
India's problems have been further compounded with the in-form Sourav Ganguly being rendered a doubtful starter after a bout of fever. The team management, however, is hopeful that the elegant left hander will recover fully before the match.
The star-studded Indian batting line-up surrendered meekly in Melbourne in conditions which were more 'sub-continental' in nature and assistant coach Lalchand Rajput felt the problems were in the mind. PTI
Think positive, play freely: Kumble to teammates
Think positive, play freely: Kumble to teammates
Ashish Shukla
Sydney, Jan 1 (PTI) Skipper Anil Kumble once again stressed the need for his batsmen to break the shackles and play freely as India geared up to avenge the Melbourne humiliation by the Australians in the second cricket Test at the SCG here tomorrow.
"It's very important to get partnerships. When we had that 60-70 run stand (between Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly) it was fine. When we have a partnership, it's important to go on and make a big score," said Kumble looking ahead at the second Test against Ricky Ponting's men after losing the four-match series opener by 337 runs.
Kumble once again called on his batsmen to lift their attitude. He urged them to relax and bat their natural way.
"I thought our batters were very uptight in Melbourne. They needed to play their natural game," he said.
Speculation is rife that India could be investing in Virender Sehwag in this game but Kumble chose to sidestep the matter.
"He is an attacking option. Before he lost form and was made to sit out, he was a very important member of the side. He does bring in that carefree attitude into the team," he said.
Kumble said Sehwag has looked in touch in the nets but stopped short of revealing anything about the final composition for the match tomorrow. PTI
I am sure Indians will bring in Sehwag: Ponting
I am sure Indians will bring in Sehwag: Ponting
Ashish Shukla
Sydney, Jan 1 (PTI) India may be tightlipped about their playing XI but Australian captain Ricky Ponting is convinced that the visitors will bring in specialist opener Virender Sehwag to unburden Rahul Dravid in the second cricket Test starting here tomorrow.
"I thought long and hard about it and believe they could ring in a couple of changes-bring in Virender Sehwag to take the pressure off Rahul Dravid," Ponting said in the pre-match press conference here.
Ponting said the Australians had the momentum going into the match after the 337-run victory in Melbourne, but warned his side not to take the foot off the gas pedal.
"We have the momentum going but if we just sit back and expect it to happen, India is a good enough side to let the momentum going. It could cause us a headache," he cautioned.
Ponting said he foresees a great battle shaping up between Sachin Tendulkar and Brett Lee in this Test.
"When Sachin is playing his shots, it doesn't make many bowlers happy. He looked to play his shots in both the innings and played beautifully in the first innings," he recalled.
"But having said that, Brett (Lee) bowled a very high quality spell to him in the second knock. Brett has bowled well to him in India, got him a couple of times, so it could be a great contest between the two in this series," he added. PTI
Rupee ends rock steady against US dollar
Mumbai, Jan 1 (PTI) The rupee today ended rock steady at 39.41/42 against US currency due to lack of any direction from the New Year holiday in most of the global markets.
In lacklustre activity at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit resumed slightly lower at 39.43/44 against yesterday's close of 39.41/42 a dollar due to stray buying support by some banks on behalf of their clients to meet their import requirements.
Later, it recovered to end stable at 39.41/42 a dollar.
Fresh capital inflows also helped the rupee to recover initial losses.
According to dealers, major financial as well as stock markets were closed today due to New Year celebrations and ultimately gave no direction to the local forex market.
Meanwhile, strong equity markets expected more capital inflows in near future, impacting positively on the rupee sentiment, they added.
The rupee is expected to get support from increased portfolio investments by foreign funds in the current year on expectations of robust economic growth in the fast growing economy.
But expectations of intervention by the central bank at the rupee's higher levels might cap the local unit's surge. PTI
Direct taxes up 40 pc, FM non-committal on tax moderation
New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) Finance Minister P Chidambaram today parried questions on moderating taxes in the next budget even as direct tax collections this fiscal are set to cross Rs 300,000 crore, a 12 per cent jump over budget estimates.
"Let me recall what I said. If voluntary compliance (in taxes) increases there is a case for moderation. That does not mean the case has been accepted. You make a case for moderation instead of writing imaginary stories," Chidambaram told a press conference.
He was replying to a question on his earlier statement that there was a case for moderation of taxes if voluntary compliance raised tax collection. During April-December period, direct tax collections after paying refunds crossed Rs 2,05,000 crore. Registering a growth of 42.36 per cent.
For the first time, direct tax collections would surpass indirect tax collections, Chidambaram said.
Corporate tax collections grew 39.84 per cent to Rs 1,27,683 crore, while personal income tax, including security transaction tax, fringe benefit tax and banking cash transaction tax, grew by 50.06 per cent to Rs 77,380 crore.
Chidambaram also announced setting up a Directorate of Human Resources for direct tax department aimed at restructuring of department for enhancing voluntary tax compliance. PTI
Gold ends down, after making record yesterday
New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) After touching an all-time high yesterday, gold price met with resistance on the bullion market here today on profit-booking amid selling pressure and registered a loss of Rs 115 per ten grams.
Silver also lost in the absence of any worthwhile moving factor and witness a loss of about Rs 100 to 140 per kilo.
The precious metal which was in limelight by setting an all time-high of Rs 1,0820 on the last trading session of 31st December of 2007, met with resistance today and plunged by Rs 115 per ten grams on heavy selling pressure.
Marketmen said trading stockists were indulged in profit-booking which caused the fall in gold and silver prices.
The overseas market was closed today on account of "New Year" holiday.
Standard gold and ornaments plummeted by Rs 115 each to settle at Rs 10,705 and Rs 10,555 per 10 gram respectively.
Sovereign, however, maintained overnight closing levels on little doings at Rs 8,900 per piece of eight grams.
A similar trend were noticed in silver as prices of Silver ready dropped by Rs 100 to Rs 19,180 per kilo and weekly-based delivery by Rs 140 to Rs 19,480 per kilo respectively.
Silver coins, meanwhile, were held at previous level of Rs 25,200 for buying and Rs 25,300 for selling of 100 pieces. PTI
IT code ready, to be released along with discussion paper: FM
New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) The much-awaited draft of Income Tax code, which is expected to simplify and replace the existing law, is ready and will be released along with a discussion paper, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said today, but did not put any time-frame for its release.
"The Income Tax code is ready as of yesterday. Code is ready. But I am not in a position to release the code because I have decided that I will release it along with a discussion paper," Chidambaram told a press conference here.
The discussion paper would explain the reasons for writing the code, what are the changes between the old law and the new law and the rationale of these changes, he said.
"The draft of the discussion paper that was shown to me is 70-page long, I am trying to compress it to about 50-60 pages. I have cleared only 25 pages of that," he said.
Once the discussion paper is ready, the code would be floated along with it for wider consultations.
"When will that happen I cannot say, depending on how much time I would find to clear the discussion paper. But the code will be released only with discussion paper," he said.
To a question, he explained that the code is only a draft, which will be discussed for one year in the country and will probably be introduced two years after.
He said the code is not an amendment to the Income Tax Act, but was based on different assumptions for an emerging economy. "I am not taking IT Act and amending it. I am writing a new code, based on very different assumptions, very different postulates, very different outlook to direct taxes," he said. PTI
Ancient cave paintings in new light
Annie Samson
New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) Stunning murals by fifth-century painters in dimly lit man-made caves in India have found place in the latest edition of the renowned magazine, National Geographic.
The monthly has featured photographs by art-historian Benoy Behl, who uses a long, light-soaking photography exposure technique to bring out the true-colours of the ancient paintings and murals inside the dark confines of caves and temples.
The feature, 'Faces of Divine,' is an interview of Behl by the magazine's writer Tom O Neill who accompanied Behl and his team as they criss-crossed the length and breadth of the country.
"We are reminded in the ancient paintings that the stated purpose of art was not to present photographic reality but to convey the essence and harmony which underlines all of creation," says Behl who had visited Ajanta caves 16 years ago with the challenge of photographing murals using only natural light.
"For 15 years the National Geographic team followed my work and earlier this year, their photographer and writer accompanied me and my team in our travels across India. They realised that ancient Indian art was one of the most sublime in the world," says Behl.
The technique of photography is one that Behl has used in all his works, that of extremely long exposure in dim light. "Not only are they perfectly captured they are also very much better. Several renowned archaeologists have commended the picture quality and said the paintings were much clearer," he says. PTI
Lucky charms, still popular
Ashwini Kumar Shrivastava New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) Does wearing yellow-color shirt bring 'good luck' to you? Or a day without food wins you a job? If you are among those who feels that wearing, keeping, following or even seeing something gets 'good luck' or in a way 'heals you' then you probably suffer from a psychological phenomenon called magical healing - fast gripping gen-next, say expert. But then you are not alone.
No matter how modern and advanced we become, some taboos still define our ways of living. And, magical healing is among one of those, they say.
"I would really experience bad events, if I start the day without worshiping. Offering prayers to god has been a part of my daily schedule for years now," says Yashdeep Rai Saxena, executive with HDFC bank, who spends 30-45 minutes a day performing 'puja'.
"My daughter always wears blue-colour dress which she feels lucky and avoid wearing red-colour outfits fearing that she would have to listen bad news," says Monika Lalchandani.
"I couldn't stand nor justify her belief. She has been told-off by her bosses, friends and colleagues many times for always being in blue," she adds.
There are many such instances in day-to-day life where people, mostly youngsters are taking up such acts. The form of superstitions transcend borders, castes and age-groups.
"Some would wear a particular thing, follow rituals or do something in peculiar to get the expected. It is nothing but a sort of 'psychological dependence'", says Dr Roma Kumar, senior consultant clinical psychologist with Sir Ganga Ram hospital. PTI
New year eve- hotels, pubs may face music
Anurag Sharma
New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) Planning to attend a new year evebash? Make sure that the organisers have paid the mandatory license fee to play music - the show otherwise may not really take off.
Recently acting on the appeal of The Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL), an apex-licensing arm of Indian MusicIndustry (IMI), Delhi and Kolkata High Court have servedi njunctions to many well known hotels and pubs of New Delhi,Kolkata, Patna and Bhubaneshwar.
"Court order would help us in minimising the losses we are facing every year due to the non-payment of license fee by hotels, pubs in the country. Usually we don't act as a spoilsport, but with the help of Police we can stop a party forplaying music without paying a special event license fee,"says Vipul Pradhan, CEO, PPL.
PPL had issued a legal notice last week to all hotels andpubs that have not paid up the requisite license fee to playmusic at their year-end bashes.
"Action will be taken against them if in case they fail to pay up even after court's order. The list of hotels that have been issued injunctions in the Capital include someprominent names like Ministry of Sound, Piano Bar, Q'ba,Mocha, Yo China, RPM, Barcode, Waves lounge and bar, Splash among many others," says Pradhan.
According to IMI reports, pubs and hotels rake in huge profits every year but are unwilling to pay the nominal tariffof Rs 40,000 onwards (which varies depending on the number ofhours for which music is played) to PPL and thus flout thenorms and eating into the royalties of performers and artists. PTI
Rebels fail in Saurashtra
Parag Dave
Ahmedabad, Dec 30 (PTI) The startling aspect of the Narendra Modi led BJP's win in Gujarat was failure of party rebels to make any impact in Saurashtra and Kutch in the Assembly Elections of 2007.
The Saurashtra and Kutch region, the home ground of BJP rebel leaders like Keshubhai Patel and Suresh Mehta, the party not only retained its seats but increased its tally. BJP won 43 seats out of 58 assembly seats here and increased its tally by four seats in comparison to 2002.
Out of the four regions of the state Saurashtra and Kutch once again proved to be a deciding factor in BJP's march to victory.
Of the three BJP rebels fighting on Congress ticket in Amreli district, only one Bauku Unghad managed to win from Babra constituency. The three (Unghad, Bechar Bhadani and Balu Tanti) are considered to be close to Keshubhai Patel.
The two rebel BJP MLAs of Kutch, Narendrasinh Jadeja and Gopal Bhuva considered to be close to Suresh Mehta, who had crossed over to the Congress and fought election on that party's ticket were defeated by BJP candidates.
The claim of the BJP rebels that the entire Leuva Patel (one of the two sub-castes of Patels) community will tag along with them and vote for the Congress has proved wrong with the results.
"We have not done any analysis of why we failed to make any impact in the election," rebel BJP leader Gordhan Zadafia, who had formed Sardar Patel Utkarsh Samiti to campaign against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi said. PTI
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