Powered by a commendable bowling effort by unknown Pankaj Singh taking 10 in the match, supported by Sanjay Gill, Rajasthan out classed Orissa. So Rajasthan gets promoted to division 1 with the effort from stars who belonged to other states - like Gill (Delhi) and Ajay Jadeja.

I had brought this up in this post a few days into the 1st test. Rudi Koertzen agrees to an extent. He says:

There is nothing wrong if the ICC considers a change in laws that allows such Test matches to be called off at tea with the consent of both captains when a last-day result is not possible.

I am loving this new weekly column on cricinfo. The profiled Ashwell Prince and Brett Dorey earlier. It is now time for India’s R.P.Singh. RP concentrates on line and length and that is a quality which isn’t found much in modern fast/swing bowlers. I have been impressed by whatever little I have seen of the guy. Hopefully he can swing India to many glories in the future years, developing a yard of pace in time.

Marcos Baghdatis had a memorable interview after knocking out Roddick described by my friend Jono here.

Baghdatis’ interview with Courier after the match was hilarious. Courier brought up Baghdatis’ girlfriend Cammy (who is stunning), and Baghdatis refused to answer how long they had been together for. Then Courier asks if Baghdatis will watch Johannson vs. Ljubicic, and he replies saying no he’ll be sleeping. His coach will watch while he sleeps with his girlfriend. Courier’s reaction was gold!

Baghdatis had already conquered Roddick and Ivan Ljubicic. He has now conquered the master of five sets, David Nalbandian, with a 6-4 in the 5th. The Cypriot (yes that is we call people from Cyprus) has been the flavour of the tournament. Not many apart from tennis fans can lay claim to know the name Baghadatis two weeks ago.

In another match which has been reported as top notch, Henin-Hardenne defeated Sharapova to reach the women’s final. She faces Mauresmo who went through after Clijsters had to retire due to injury in the third set.

The Aussie Open has been superb with some brilliant matches despite many top stars withdrawing before the tournament.

The Sportstar magazine is bigger and cheaper. It has also cut the out of its name. The annual subscription costs as little as Rs. 5 an issue now. In the world of inflating prices, the magazine has managed to keep its price the same for more than 16 years. It now cuts down on the prices. In the price sensitive Indian market, this will surely increase sales.

When Federer defeated Nikolay Davyadenko in a close match, he ensured a seventh consecutived grandslam semi final. Only Ivan Lendl with 10 has managed more. Nicolas Kiefer won his marathon encounter versus Sebastian Grosjean.

Martina Hingis bowed out to Kim Clijsters Clijsters faces Mauresmo next. The Aussie Open has seen some good matches so far. Hopefully the final stages sees some more exciting stuff.

Sambaran Banerjee was the wicketkeeper captain when Bengal won the Ranji Trophy in the 1989-1990 season. Another wicketkeeper, Deep Dasgupta is the captain this time.

Is this a sign of good things to come for the Bengal side? After the flack Kaif and Raina recieved for making 50s and not converting them to big 100s from chief selector More, Bengal can expect nothing except a serious battle.

With home advantage, Uttar Pradesh looks like the slight favourites. But Bengal has been playing cohesively as a team with every one performing.

It should be a very interesting Ranji Final come Sunday.

That was Vince Carter’s response to the 81 of Kobe Bryant. I concur.

Dr. Saeed Durrani in Daily Times letters suggests Rakhi as the name for the India-Pakistan series. While Ashes symbolises destruction, Rakhi is the symbol of bonding. I like it.

Younis Khan and Kamran Akmal love to bat versus India. They know how to play the Indian spinners very well. Pakistan can make quick runs and put India under pressure tomorrow if they are brave enough to go down that road. With only 1 wicket for Pakistan, they find themselves in a position to decide the possible course of the match. A draw does look the likely outcome even if both teams intent to play for a win from the current scenario.