Germany Spain clash for Euro Final 2008- David villa missing out for Sapin

It is all set for a big clash- Germany Vs Spain all to play for the prestigious Euro-2008.

Spain received a crucial blow, as it is missing the services of David Villa in the all-important clash as he pulled a thigh muscle duing the semi-final encounter with Russia.

Earlier in the second semi-final,
Spain scored three second-half goals Thursday to beat Russia 3-0 and reach the European Championship final, giving the team a chance to shed its status as one of soccer's biggest underachievers.
Xavi Hernandez, Dani Guiza and David Silva each scored to give the Spaniards a shot at their second European title, after their win in 1964, when they play Germany on Sunday at Ernst Happel Stadium. It ended a run of five quarterfinal defeats by beating Italy in a penalty shootout Sunday.

Germany beat Turkey 3-2 on Thursday night and is seeking a record fourth Euro title.
Spain will face Germany without striker David Villa, who was injured while taking a free kick in the first half. Villa, the tournament's leading scorer with four goals, limped off the field and was replaced by Cesc Fabregas in the 34th minute.
Xavi's goal came in the 50th minute. He slid a ball through for Andres Iniesta, who eluded one defender before unleashing a shot from just inside the box. Xavi followed to side-foot the ball past goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev.
Two Spanish substitutes combined to make it 2-0 in the 73rd. Fabregas flicked a ball over the top of the defense and Guiza finished with the outside of his right foot, putting the ball high into the net.
Fabregas then slid a pass through for an unmarked Silva inside the box in the 82nd and he ended any hope for Russia.

Players to watch out for :

Germany : Klose, podoulski,Ballack

Spain : Torres, Fabregas.

Reliving the moments of World cup triumph - 1983

Its 25 years ago on this same day, that history was written.
A new era in Indian cricket had just dawn.
Kapil's daredevils came into this cup with an odd ratio of 66:1 .
Then they beat West Indies, overcame a hiccup against Zimbabwe( thanks to the maginificient 175 from Kapil) , dismissed Australia, and beat England in the semi-final to set up a final against the two-time defending champions. Having lost the toss, India batted first, making 183, and that paltry score turned out to be a winning one as West Indies collapsed for 140, the greatest upset in the history of the World Cup.
These are some of the best moments of the final :
1. Fearless srikanth driving andy Roberts-
When roberts was on a fiery spell, beating Indian batsman , left and right with his swinging deliveries, it is his fearless hooks, and knee bent square drives that gave the intial momentum for India. Though short lived , but his 38 of 57 balls including seven fours and one six against a ferocious bowling attack set the tone for the game,
2. Greenidge shoulders arms to Sandhu -
Who will forget this delivery. Greendige looking in fine touch , shoulders a delivery from sandhu, only to find the ball swinging in and knock the top of off stump. this has started the dramatic slide in the run-chase from windies.
3.Kapil takes a stunning catch to send Richards back
" The moment that won us the world cup"- this is the best way to express the effort put in by kapil running 30 yards back to claim a priceless catch of Sir Viv Richards, when he was on fire with 33 of 27 balls and had just hit 3 boundaries in succession.

4. Lloyd departs -
Madan lal who just took two wkts of haynes and Gomes, struck gold here , dismissing the big Llyod, caught at midoff by kapil - only ot blame himself for the poor shot selection.

5. Amarnath snaps Dujon -
From 75/6 , just when WI are getting back on track, with a solid partenrship between, marshall and Dujon, it is syed-kiramni's diving catch infront of first slip that spelled the dooms for the dujon-marshall pair and dujon was dismissed for a well fought 25, second highest in the WI innings.
Amarnath is the man-of-the-match, for his sensible batting and 3 wkts he took with some hostile swing bowling.

Kudos to Kapil and his team for making each Indian proud for theri efforts.

Asia Cup 2008 gets underway today

Asia cup gets underwaty today.
It is thirteen years that we won this cup and it's time we win it.
Also, let us not forget the beating we got in the hands of pakisthan in the recently concluded tri-series finals. It is time, for revenge.
When it comes to Asia Cup, Most records are with the one and only Jayasurya- including the most number of runs, most number of wkts, most no. of centuries and the list goes on...
We are all set for an exciting contest in the coming days.

Euro 2008 Updates.

Now all the Teams played one game each in Euro 2008. What is your take on where it is going? Thrilling? Boring? Entertain? Yes it’s a mixed bag. Definitely we are missing England in this.
Spain with 4-1 victory over much expected Guus Hiddnink's Russian lads was best of all. Spain needs special mention here because they have bright future for sure, youngster like Torres, David Villa and Fabrigas are coming exceptionally good for them. Any football team would dream to have them upfront, they quick, creative and talented. Though I can't call them favorites because of them inconsistency and dismal record at big stage, but love to see them go far in this compition.
Nederland beating world champions 3-0 was definitely a surprise. Marco Van Basten has lot to prove. They haven't done won too many but this time they didn't come here for just participation.
Germany, solid and spirited team can win from any time. They are also looking very good with Ballack, Klose and Podolski. They won 2-0 over arch rivals Poland.
Portugal is one team very consistent and organized under Luiz Scolari good mix of players and of course Ronaldo. They won 2-0 over Turkey.
Can never rule out France and Italy they can come back from anywhere. Czech’s and Croatians can entertain but I don't think they have enough in their belly go far.
Results:

Switzerland Vs Czech Republic 0-1
Portugal Vs Turkey 2-0
Austria Vs Croatia 0-1
Germany Vs Poland 2-0
Romania Vs France 0-0
Netherlands Vs Italy 3-0
Spain Vs Russia 4-1
Greece Vs Sweden 0-2

1st Semi Final IPL, 2nd Test AUS Vs WI, Triangular Series and many more...

Hi All,
Its time for knock-out stages in IPL, with Delhi DareDevils and Rajasthan Royals meeting in the First SemiFinal later today. It is expected to be a battle of muscle and strategy. A battle of impeccable line and length Tanvir Vs true dare-devils Sehwag and Gambhir.Its going to be worth a watch. Live Updates coming soon.
Meanwhile, Michael Clarke is set to return to AUS side for the second test vs WI starting today.First Test, yet again challenged the supremacy of Aus as No.1 side in the world as they were tamed for 167 in the second innings, but WI who doesn't seem to learn and change again collpased as a pack of cards to give yet another test win for AUS.
Tendulkar opted of the Triangular series starting next month and the Asia cup that follows it ,as he is fully not recovered from groin injury.

Vettori and Taylor flourish to put Kiwis in command at Manchester

Fine leg spin bowling from NZ skipper Vettori of 5/66 , followed up after a top-notch 154 from Ross Taylor, see their team heading to a strong position in the on-going 2nd Test match at Manchester . As per the latest reports, England were bowled out at 202 in reply to NZ first inning score of 381 runs, giving NZ a lead of 178 runs in the first Innings.

Aus-WI First Test, all set for thrilling Finish

Some consisitent and agressive fast bowling from carribeans put Aus in a tight spot in the second innnings, with visitors tottering at 19/4 in the second innings at the end of third day's play after gaining a handly lead of 119 in the first innings. Aus have an overall lead of 138 with 6 wkts in hand . BradHodge and Andrew Symonds is going to hold key for the visitors, to pull the result in favour of them.