A Bunch Of Commentators Tried Doing The Ishant Face And Really, Really Sucked At It

There can only be one Ishant.

While the second test between India and Australia had a lot of great moments, its biggest highlight was undoubtedly Ishant Sharma mocking the Aussie batsmen by doing this:

Ishant Sharma

The “Ishant Face” didn’t take long to blow up, and has quickly become one of the biggest memes of the year so far.

Well, the BCCI just got a bunch of commentators to try and recreate the Ishant face, and let’s just say that things did not go so well.

Let’s start with the impression put forth by L. Sivaramakrishnan, who was CLEARLY watching a very different match.

Matthew Hayden went totally overboard with his recreation.

But he wasn’t as extra as Brett Lee.

Sanjay Manjrekar came the closest as far as accurate re-enactments went.

Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri went conceptual for his recreation.

Others tried their hardest to put their best face forward.

But seriously, who was gonna top L. Siva?

In pics: India in celebratory mode after win, TV sets smashed in Pakistan

After holding its nerves throughout the day, India witnessed spontaneous outburst of revelry late in the afternoon as the cricket crazy nation launched its World Cup campaign in style by thrashing Pakistan by 76 runs.

As the arch-rivals clashed in distant Adelaide on a Sunday, Indians mostly stayed indoors and remained glued to television sets resulting in largely deserted streets. 

Following the victory, scores of young bikers wearing patriotism on their sleeves zipped through the city streets waving the tri-colour with gusto.

From drawing rooms to the country's frontiers, celebrations erupted across the nation as India.

Cricket fans distributed sweets and burst firecrackers, while many came out on roads and danced to the beating of drums as soon as Mohit Sharma took the last wicket of Sohail Khan to seal Pakistan's fate in Adelaide.

The jawans of the Border Security Force (BSF) deployed along the International Border in Jammu also celebrated the victory of team India by distributing sweets among themselves.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a wave of congratulations for the Indian cricket team by tweeting,"Congrats Team India. Well played. We are all very proud of you."

President Pranab Mukherjee in his message to Indian captain Dhoni, the President said: "My congratulations to you and all members of the Indian Cricket team on the victory in the first match of ICC World Cup 2015 against Pakistan.

Silence descends on Karachi after defeat to India

An eerie silence descended on Pakistan's biggest city after its national cricket team was annihilated.

Dubbed as 'war without the guns' the passionate Pakistani cricket community including former players, pundits, critics and fans were left disappointed and dejected after watching Misbah-ul-Haq and his men fail to stop the Indian juggernaut against them in World Cup.

Since the wee hours there was an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation for the match here as boys and girls dressed in the traditional green shirts went around blaring horns and playing songs before finally getting down to watch the live action.

Big screens were installed at closed and open spaces as fans converged to watch the match.

In the distance one could hear horns blaring and at times even celebratory gunfire during the match when Pakistan did well.

But these times were few and at the end of the match it was the same old story for the fans.

"Now we have to wait for another four years to try to end this jinx. Yaar what is this team... didn't they realise the importance of the occasion. Look at how Dhoni and his players remained focused," an irate cricket fan Sabrina said in the upmarket Clifton area.

There was a grudging admiration for Virat Kohli in the cricket discussions taking place at pan shops, coffee outlets and tea stalls as the roads which were supposed to be filled with fans celebrating remained deserted even after the match.

"It is really disappointing at how the team let us down today. You wait for a long time for this match and I just feel so bad for the fans who prayed for success," Pakistan's former opener Mohsin Khan said.

Not surprisingly angry cricket fans vented their anger on social networking sites with Ahmed Shehzad, Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal the target of most digs.

Fans wasted no time in highlighting the mistakes committed by Pakistan in the match including Kohli's dropped catch by Akmal.

There was though no violence reported from any part of the city.

The reason for this could be that today's match was the first for both teams in this World Cup.

These feelings were echoed by Baba Gulzar who runs a popular video outlet in Clifton.

"Chalo abhi World Cup baqi hai and if we play well we can still beat India in the semi-finals or final," an ever optimistic Baba said. 

Angry Pak fans in Karachi smash TV sets

Angry with their team's defeat at the hands of arch-rival India in a cricket World Cup match, Pakistani fans came out on the streets here and smashed their TV sets to express disappointment.

A Pakistani TV channel showed visuals of people taking to streets with TV sets and smashing them to pieces to show their anger at the Pakistan team's showing.

Pak army fires at Indian post on day of electric World cup clash

Pakistan rangers targeted Indian outposts near Tavi in RS Pura sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, a day when cricket teams from the two nations clashed in their opening match of the World Cup — a tie billed as “war without guns”.

The rangers targeted a Border Security Force (BSF) post on the international border. A police officer said the rangers fired three rounds at 10.50am, once again violating the 2003 ceasefire between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir border. The BSF, whose 127 battalion was at the post, retaliated. No one was injured on the Indian side.

"The firing stopped immediately after the rangers used small arms to target the BSF outpost," the officer said.

Pakistan Saturday too violated the ceasefire in the same when the Rangers targeted a BSF post with a mortar shell. The mortar fell 300 meters away from the post.

The ceasefire violations came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi rang up his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Friday to wish his cricket team luck ahead of the match between the arch-rivals.

Experts said India hoped to use the sporting contest to rebuild troubled relations between the two nations.

In 2011, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had invited his Pakistan counterpart to watch a game of cricket in India and discuss reviving a peace process. The "cricket diplomacy" had offered more symbolic gestures than any breakthroughs in a conflict that has lasted for more than sixty-five years.

Top 10 umpires who have officiated most matches in World Cup history

Late England umpire David Shepherd holds the record for umpiring in the most number of Cricket World Cup matches. Shepherd stood in 46 matches across 6 World Cups between 1983 and 2003 and also officiated in three successive World Cup finals in 1996,1999 and 2003.

Following him in second place is West Indian Steve Bucknor, who stood in 45 games.

Winner of five straight Umpire of the Year awards, Simon Taufel is fourth with his tally of 23 matches, which included the high-octane 2011 World Cup semi-final encounter between India and Pakistan. Srinivas Venkataraghavan stood in the same number of games as the Australian and also officiated in two semi-finals – 1996 and 1999.

Pakistan’s Aleem Dar also makes an appearance as does Australian Daryl Harper. Billy Bowden, Dickie Bird and Khizer Hyat round off the list, with each having officiated in 18 games apiece.

Here are the top 10 umpires who have officiated most matches at the Cricket World Cup:

Rank	Player	Country	Matches
1.	David Shepherd	England	46
2.	Steve Bucknor	West Indies	45
3.	Rudi Koertzen	South Africa	25
4.	Simon Taufel	Australia	23
5.	S Venkataraghavan	India	23
6.	Aleem Dar	Pakistan	22
7.	Daryl Harper	Australia	22
8.	Billy Bowden	New Zealand	18
9.	Dickie Bird	England	18
10.	Khizer Hayat	Pakistan	18

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Schedule

With the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup set to get underway in Australia and New Zealand in a few months’ time, the 14 participating teams have started preparing in full swing for the quadrennial event. The tournament kicks off with co-hosts New Zealand taking on Sri Lanka at Christchurch on February 14, 2015.

There are 42 group matches in all before we head to the business part of the tournament. The four quarter-finals will be played from March 18-21, after which there is a two-day break before the two semi-finals. The date of the all-important final is March 29, which will see the two top teams battling it out for the ultimate prize in front of 100,000 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne.

Here is the full schedule of the 2015 ICC World Cup:

Group matches         

Date	Match	Venue
Sat Feb 14	Match 1, Pool A – New Zealand v Sri Lanka	Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Sat Feb 14	Match 2, Pool A – Australia v England	MCG
Sun Feb 15	Match 3, Pool B – South Africa v Zimbabwe	Seddon Park, Hamilton
Sun Feb 15	Match 4, Pool B – India v Pakistan	Adelaide Oval
Mon Feb 16	Match 5, Pool B – Ireland v West Indies	Saxton Oval, Nelson
Tue Feb 17	Match 6, Pool A – New Zealand v Scotland	University Oval, Dunedin
Wed Feb 18	Match 7, Pool A – Afghanistan v Bangladesh	Manuka Oval, Canberra
Thu Feb 19	Match 8, Pool B – UAE v Zimbabwe	Saxton Oval, Nelson
Fri Feb 20	Match 9, Pool A – New Zealand v England	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Sat Feb 21	Match 10, Pool B – Pakistan v West Indies	Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Sat Feb 21	Match 11,  Pool A - Australia v Bangladesh	The Gabba, Brisbane
Sun Feb 22	Match 12, Pool A – Afghanistan v Sri Lanka	University Oval, Dunedin
Sun Feb 22	Match 13, Pool B – India v South Africa	MCG
Mon Feb 23	Match 14, Pool A – England v Scotland	Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Tue Feb 24	Match 15, Pool B – West Indies v Zimbabwe	Manuka Oval, Canberra
Wed Feb 25	Match 16, Pool B – Ireland v UAE	The Gabba, Brisbane
Thu Feb 26	Match 17, Pool A – Afghanistan v Scotland	University Oval, Dunedin
Thu Feb 26	Match 18, Pool A – Bangladesh v Sri Lanka	MCG
Fri Feb 27	Match 19, Pool B – South Africa v West Indies	Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG)
Sat Feb 28	Match 20, Pool B – India v UAE	Eden Park, Auckland
Sat Feb 28	Match 21, Pool A – New Zealand v Australia	WACA, Perth
Sun Mar 1	Match 22, Pool A – England v Sri Lanka	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Sun Mar 1	Match 23, Pool B – Pakistan v Zimbabwe	The Gabba, Brisbane
Tue Mar 3	Match 24, Pool B – Ireland v South Africa	Manuka Oval, Canberra
Wed Mar 4	Match 25, Pool B – Pakistan v UAE	McLean Park, Napier
Wed Mar 4	Match 26, Pool A – Australia v Afghanistan	WACA, Perth
Thu Mar 5	Match 27, Pool A – Bangladesh v Scotland	Saxton Oval, Nelson
Fri Mar 6	Match 28, Pool B – India v West Indies	WACA, Perth
Sat Mar 7	Match 29, Pool B – Pakistan v South Africa	Eden Park, Auckland
Sat Mar 7	Match 30, Pool B – Ireland v Zimbabwe	Bellerive Oval, Hobart
Sun Mar 8	Match 31, Pool A – New Zealand v Afghanistan	McLean Park, Napier
Sun Mar 8	Match 32, Pool A – Australia v Sri Lanka	SCG
Mon Mar 9	Match 33, Pool A – England v Bangladesh	Adelaide Oval
Tue Mar 10	Match 34, Pool B – India v Ireland	Seddon Park, Hamilton
Wed Mar 11	Match 35, Pool A – Scotland v Sri Lanka	Bellerive Oval, Hobart
Thu Mar 12	Match 36, Pool B – South Africa v UAE	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Fri Mar 13	Match 37, Pool A – New Zealand v Bangladesh	Seddon Park, Hamilton
Fri Mar 13	Match 38, Pool A – Afghanistan v England	SCG
Sat Mar 14	Match 39, Pool B – India v Zimbabwe	Eden Park, Auckland
Sat Mar 14	Match 40, Pool A – Australia v Scotland	Bellerive Oval, Hobart
Sun Mar 15	Match 41, Pool B – UAE v West Indies	McLean Park, Napier
Sun Mar 15	Match 42, Pool B – Ireland v Pakistan	Adelaide Oval

   Quarter Finals (QF)

Date	Match	Venue
Wed Mar 18	QF 1 – TBC v TBC (A1 v B4)	SCG
Thu Mar 19	QF 2 – TBC v TBC (A2 v B3)	MCG
Fri Mar 20	QF 3 – TBC v TBC (A3 v B2)	Adelaide Oval
Sat Mar 21	QF 4 – TBC v TBC (A4 v B1)	Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Semi Finals (SF)

Date	Match	Venue
Tue Mar 24	SF 1 – TBC v TBC	Eden Park, Auckland
Thu Mar 26	SF 2 – TBC v TBC	SCG

Final

Date	Match	Venue
Sun Mar 29	TBC v TBC	MCG

Former New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns cleaning bus shelters to provide for his family

Former New Zealand (NZ) cricketer Chris Cairns, who is currently involved in an intense court battle to acquit himself of match-fixing allegations, has quite literally taken to the street to earn money and provide for his wife and four children.

The 44-year old has been incurring huge legal expenses over the last couple of years and has consequently been forced to take up a job with the Auckland council. His current job, which fetches him a modest $17 per hour, entails driving a truck that goes around cleaning bus shelters in New Zealand’s largest city, signalling a huge fall from grace for one of New Zealand’s greatest all-rounders.

Support from Dion Nash

Former NZ fast bowler Dion Nash said that he is firmly behind his former-team-mate despite Cairns being shrouded by numerous match-fixing allegations recently.

Family facing hard times"All I can do is support him, but as a friend it is really hard to watch his name being dragged through the mud with no conclusion in sight. He's a champion guy and he will come through this stronger," added Nash.

It must be extremely difficult for Cairns to come to terms with the reality he is confronting at the moment. After all, it was just three years back that he was living and working in Dubai as a diamond trader and had purchased a 3.2 carat diamond while proposing to his third wife, Mel Croser.

Croser, who currently works as a project manager, had, in a recent interview to a women’s magazine, said that that her husband took up the cleaning job as he had no other option.

“He has no choice, he has to provide for his family. We have bills to pay like everyone else. We don't own a house, we're paying rent and getting by is a struggle," she said.

Ironically, though, Cairns and his young family continue to live in Herne Bay, one of Auckland’s most expensive localities.

Kolkata Knight Riders win IPL 7

After being put in to bat first, Kings XI Punjab made an impressive 199 after a superb knock from Wridhiman Saha. A breath taking hundred from the young Indian, scoring 115 of just 55 balls not out. The perfect script was ready for Punjab to bag their first IPL title.

But we were in for another fine innings from Kolkata's young Indian batsman Manish Pandey scoring 94 of 50 balls. It was a super exciting finals, and very very entertaining. But the strangest part is we saw the Indians shine in the finals to make it a one to remember. All the International stars for once had a supporting role to play.

Here is the score card below.

Kolkata Innings - 200/7 (19.3 overs)

Batting	Out Desc	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Robin Uthappa (wk)	c A Patel b Johnson	5	3	1	0	166.7
Gautam Gambhir (c)	c D Miller b Karanveer Singh	23	17	3	0	135.3
Manish Pandey	c Bailey b Karanveer Singh	94	50	7	6	188.0
Yusuf Pathan	c Maxwell b Karanveer Singh	36	22	0	4	163.6
Shakib Al Hasan	run out (Bailey)	12	7	2	0	171.4
Ryan ten Doeschate	c D Miller b Karanveer Singh	4	3	1	0	133.3
Suryakumar Yadav	c Vohra b Johnson	5	6	0	0	83.3
Piyush Chawla	not out	13	5	1	1	260.0
Sunil Narine	not out	2	4	0	0	50.0
Extras		6	(b - 0 w - 6, nb - 0, lb - 0)
Total		200	(19.3 Overs, 7 Wickets)
Did not bat:	Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav

Bowler	O	M	R	W	ER
Mitchell Johnson	4	0	41	2	10.2
Lakshmipathy Balaji	4	0	41	0	10.2
Parvinder Awana	3.3	0	43	0	12.3
Karanveer Singh	4	0	54	4	13.5
Akshar Patel	4	0	21	0	5.2

Punjab Innings - 199/4 (20 overs)

Batting	Out Desc	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Virender Sehwag	c Gambhir b Umesh	7	10	1	0	70.0
Manan Vohra	c & b Chawla	67	52	6	2	128.8
George Bailey (c)	b Narine	1	2	0	0	50.0
Wriddhiman Saha (wk)	not out	115	55	10	8	209.1
Glenn Maxwell	c M Morkel b Chawla	0	1	0	0	0.0
David Miller	not out	1	1	0	0	100.0
Extras		8	(b - 0 w - 3, nb - 1, lb - 4)
Total		199	(20 Overs, 4 Wickets)
Did not bat:	Akshar Patel, Mitchell Johnson, Parvinder Awana, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Karanveer Singh

Bowler	O	M	R	W	ER
Morne Morkel	4	0	40	0	10.0
Umesh Yadav	4	0	39	1	9.8
Sunil Narine	4	0	46	1	11.5
Shakib Al Hasan	4	0	26	0	6.5
Piyush Chawla	4	0	44	2	11.0

With this we close the Indian Premier League 7 with a bang. And Congratulations to Kolkata for winning their second title equaling Chennai's record of two IPL wins. But with all this celebrations we got to feel for Punjab, the lads deserved a win in their first IPL final ever. And certainly well played to both the teams.

Guys lets wait next year again for another cracker of a tournament.