South India's first high altitude cricket stadium at Krishnagiri, Wayanad

The first high altitude cricket stadium in  South India has been inaugurated at Krishnagiri in Wynad district today. The stadium has been inaugurated by Kerala Governor Nikhil Kumar in the presence of Youth Affairs Minister PK Vijayalakshmi, KCA president TC Mathew etc.

The stadium has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 6.5 crores on a land of 4.4 hectares.  It is located in the Kozhikode - Bangalore National Highway near Krishnagiri Junction. The gallery of the stadium is of grassmount type and resembles the South African grounds. The stadium can accommodate 10,000 people.

Dharmashala in Himachal Pradesh is the only High altitude stadium in India prior to the construction of the stadium at Krishnagiri.

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India vs South Africa Cricket 2013 Schedule, Teams announced

The Indian cricket team for the forthcoming tour to South Africa has been announced. Veteran fast bowler Zaheer Khan finds a place in the team to strengthen the bowling line-up but batsmen Gautham Gambhir and Virender Sehwag could not find a spot despite their recent performances.

The team

Test squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Ravi Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Zaheer Khan, Ambhati Rayudu, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja

ODI squad: MS Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Ambhati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane

Schedule


Thu Dec 5          
18:00 IST 1st ODI - South Africa v India
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Sun Dec 8

13:30 IST 2nd ODI - South Africa v India
Kingsmead, Durban

Wed Dec 11          

18:00 IST 3rd ODI - South Africa v India
SuperSport Park, Centurion

Sat Dec 14 - Sun Dec 15

13:30 IST South African Invitation XI v Indians
Willowmoore Park, Benoni

Wed Dec 18 - Sun Dec 22

14:00 IST 1st Test - South Africa v India
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Thu Dec 26 - Mon Dec 30

14:00 IST 2nd Test - South Africa v India
Kingsmead, Durban

(source:espncricinfo)

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Sreesanth's marriage with girlfriend Nayan at Guruvayur

Amidst of the spot fixing scandal, Cricketer S. Sreesanth is expected  to tie the knot on December 12,2013 at Guruvayoor Temple.

The bride belongs to the Royal family of Jaipur.It has been told that both of them met during a cricket match at Jaipur in the year 2006.

Sreesanth, whose cricket career is in a dilemma due to the match fixing scandal has been banned from playing matches for India.

The name of the bride whom he got into touch during 2006 has not been disclosed yet

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KSU plans Cricket, Football & Volleyball teams

Kerala Students Union (KSU) Ernakulam district committee has announced that it will setup a cricket team for its members.

 The selection trials for the team was inaugurated by Indian cricket player S. Sreesanth  and Haiby Eden MLA yesterday at Maharajas College grounds, Ernakulam.

KSU also plans to setup football and volleyball teams soon.

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Shikhar Dhawan hits fastest century on Test debut

Shikhar Dhawan became the batsman to score the fastest century on Test debut when he took 85 balls for his century. He replaced Dwayne Smith as the record holder who reached century in 93 balls against south Africa.

 In his test debut as the opening batsman he rewrote several records in the history of test cricket.



Shikhar Dhawan's 187 is the highest individual score by an Indian batsman on Test debut replacing Gundappa Viswanath's 137 against Australia in 1969.

The 283-run opening stand between Dhawan and Murali Vijay is the highest partnership in India-Auatralia Tests, surpassing the   217 between David Boon and Geoff Marsh. It is also the fift highest run rate partnership for India and the highest 200+ stand not involving Virender Sehwag.

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Cochin Music Challengers: Cricket Team by Malayalam Playback Singers

Trivandrum, 14 March 2013: The playback singers of the Malayalam film industry has set up their own cricket team. The team named Cochin Music Challengers (CMC) has been launched in the lines of the celebrity cricket teams and consist of noted Malayalam playback singers.

The team members include Madhu Balakrishnan, Afsal, Pradeep Babu, Reju Joseph, Rafeeq Rahman, Yasir, Ansar, Manaf, Nazeer, Baiju, Anvar etc. Ramesh Babu is the captain of the team and Sunil Pallan is the coach. Female singers including Jyotsna, Sayanora etc are the brand ambassadors of the team.

report: Kerala Kaumudi

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Kerala's Sachin Baby will play for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2013

March 2, 2013: Star batsman of the Kerala cricket team Sachin Baby has been selected in the Rajasthan Royals team for the next season of  Indian Premier League. Sachin Baby hails from Idukki is the top scorer for Kerala in the Buchi Babu Tournament and Vijay Hazare Trophy held this season.

Sachin Baby aged 24 is a left hand batsman and a right hand off break bowler. He debuted in T20 against Hyderabad  at Chennai in Oct 16, 2011. His highest score is 30.

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Kerala vs Services in Santhosh Trophy Final 2013

March 2, 2013: Kerala will lock horn against Services in the final match of the 67th Santhosh Trophy football tournament.

Kerala defeated Maharashtra 2-1 in the semifinals and defending champions Services beat Punjab 3-1The match will be held on Sunday at Jawaharlal Nehru International stadium, Kochi.

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India vs England Kochi ODI 15th January 2013 Ticket Sales begin

Kochi, 4 January 2013: The ticket sale for the upcoming one day international cricket match between India and England to be held at Kochi on January 15 has been inaugurated by Kerala fast bowler S. Sreesanth. In a function held at Kochi, the first ticket was handed over to Shri. P.K. Krishnadas by Benny Behnan M.L.A.

Public can purchase tickets from 39 branches of Federal Bank in Kerala and outside.

The Indian and England team will reach Kochi on 12th January prior to the match.

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Sreesanth in Indian 'A' Team

Trivandrum, 3 January 2013: Medium-pacer S. Sreesanth has been included in the India ‘A’ team for the one-day warm-up match against England to be held at Delhi on January 6, 2013. The selection is considered to be a chance for the fast-bowler to get a place in the National team if he performs his best.

Sreesanth who has 87 wickets in 27 Tests and 75 in 53 ODIs in his credit has taken nine wickets at 24 in three Ranji Trophy matches against Tripura, Jharkhand and Andhra in 2012.

The Squad : Abhinav Mukund (capt.), Murali Vijay, Robin Bist, Kedar Jadhav, Ashok Menaria, Rohit Motwani (wk), Jalaj Saxena, Akshay Darekar, Ishwar Pandey, S. Sreesanth, Rishi Dhawan, Paras Dogra, Mohit Sharma and Parvez Rasool.

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Kerala Strikers Team for CCL 2013 Announced; Mohanlal Captain

The Amma’s Kerala Strikers Cricket team for this year's celebrity cricket league has been announced. Superstar Mohanlal will lead the team with Indrajith as vice-captain.

The matches will be played at Cochin , Chennai, Ahmedabad , Bangalore and Dubai between February and March 2013.

The Squad

    Mohanlal (Captain )
    Indrajith (Vice Captain)
    Rajeev Pillai
    Nivin pauly
    Vivek Gopan
    Manikuttan
    Bineesh Kodiyeri
    Arun Benny
    Madhan Mohan
    Arjun
    Santhosh Sleeba
    Ragendu
    Suresh
    Saiju Kurup
    Prajod Kalabhavan
    Riaz Khan,
    Shafique Ahmed,
    Rahul Madhav
    Vinoo Mohan.

Chief cricket coach – Pankaj Chandra Senan.
Asst. Coach – M A Sunil.
Physio – Dileep Singh,
Manager – Edavela Babu

Malayalam actresses Bhavana and Mamta Mohandas will be the brand ambassadors of the team for this season. Mamta Mohandas replaces Lakshmi Rai.

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Ricky Ponting retires from International Cricket

New Delhi 29 November 2012: Former Australian cricket team captain Ricky Ponting has announced his retirement from international cricket after the third Test against South Africa in Perth.

Ricky Ponting nicknamed Punter is considered one of the best batsman in world cricket along with Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. He has also played in more Test wins than any other cricketer and is the most successful captain of all times with biggest victory percentage.

He made his test debut againsts Srilanka  and One day debut against South Africa during 1995

Test Career
Matches: 167
Innings: 285
Runs: 13366
Highest score: 257
Average: 52.21
50s: 62
100s: 41

ODI Career
Matches: 375
Runs: 13704
Highest score: 164
Average: 42.03
50s: 82
100s: 30

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Its Pepsi IPL 2013

Pepsi, the leading softdrink beverage company has bagged the rights to be the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament for the next five years.

Pepsi which offered Rs. 396.8 crores piped cellular operator Aircel which offered 316 crores.

Dr Abdullah commented “the BCCI is very pleased to welcome PepsiCo as a central partner of the IPL.  The value of the winning bid reflects the growth and success of the IPL ”.

IPL Governing Council Chairman, Rajeev Shukla added “PepsiCo are one of the largest sponsors in world sport and we look forward to working with them over the next seasons.  I would also like to take this opportunity to thank DLF for its confidence in the IPL to become the league’s first title sponsor in 2008.”

PepsiCo’s bid is double the 200 crore paid by DLF in the first five seasons of the IPL

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India vs England Kochi ODI January 15, 2013 Tickets from Federal Bank

Trivandrum, 22 November 2012: The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has tied with Federal Bank as the official banking partner for the India vs England One Day International cricket match to be held at Kochi on January 15, 2013.

Federal bank will sell the tickets of the match through its selected branches all over India.

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India beat England by 9 wickets to win the first test

India defeated England to win the first test in the four-match cricket test series at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad. India scored the 77 runs needed for victory for the loss of one wicket in 16 overs in the second innings, thanks to Cheteshwar Pujara who continued his form to score 41 not out. Pujara was declared man of the match for his unbeaten 206 * and 41 *. Indian spinner Ojha took nine wickets in the match.

SCORE BOARD India 521 for 8 dec (Pujara 206*, Sehwag 117, Swann 5-144) 80 for 1 (Pujara 41*) England 191 (Ojha 5-45) 406 (Cook 176, Prior 91, Ojha 4-120) Man of the Match: Cheteshwar Pujara

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Shameermon and Prajusha wins GV Raja Award 2012 for Best Athletes in Kerala

Trivandrum, 13 October 2012: Athletes Shameermon and Prajusha have been chosen for this years GV Raja award for best athletes in Kerala. The athletes will receive Rs. One lakh cash and a citation from Sports Minsiter KB  Ganesh Kumar.

Shameermon won the award for his performance  in 4x100 metre relay in the Commonwealth Games at New Delhi in 2010 whereas Prajusha secured the award for her performance in the long jump in Commonwealth Games where she won the silver medal.

Other award winners include
Best Sports write up - Ansar S Raj (Kerala Kaumudi)
Best Photography -  Jomon Pampavali (Janayugom)
Best Sports Programme in TV - Jeena Paul (Manorama News)

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Ranji Trophy 2012-13 Kerala Matches Schedule, Team Announced

Trivandrum, 4 October 2012: The Kerala cricket team for the upcoming Ranji trophy season has been announced. Sony Cheruvathur will lead the Kerala team in the absence of S. Sreesanth. Batsman Sachin Baby has been named as the vice captain.

The squad is as follows

Sony Cheruvathur (Captain) Sachin Baby (Vice Captain), V A Jagadeesh, Abishek Hegde, Akshay Kodoth (wicket Keeper), Sanju Vishwanadh, Rohan Prem, Robert Fernandez, Raiphi Vincent Gomez, Sreejith, S Anish, P Prasanth, Prasanth Parameswaran, Manu Krishnan, Anthaf P U.

Kerala will play four home matches this season at their home venue in Malappuram.

Kerala Ranji trophy 2012 Schedule

November 17-20
Kerala vs Assam
Venue: Malappuram

November 24-27
Kerala vs Goa
Venue: Malappuram

December 1-4
Kerala vs SSCB
Venue: Delhi

December 8 - 12
Kerala vs Jammu & Kashmir
Venue: Malappuram

December 15 - 18
Kerala vs Tripura
Venue Agarthala

December 22-25
Kerala vs Jharkhand
Venue: Malappuram



December 29 - Jan 1
Kerala vs Andhra Pradesh
Venue Hyderabad

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India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2012

India defeat Pakistan by 8 wickets with 18 balls to spare. Kohli top scores with 78 not out.

Chasing a target of 129 to win, India’s new Mr. Dependable Virat Kohli anchored his team to a commanding 8-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan to open up Group 2 in the Super 8 of ICC 2012 World T20.

Kohli’s unbeaten 78 runs off 61 balls helped India overhaul Pakistan’s total of 128 runs with 3 overs spare thus boosting their run-rate as well. India had terrible start to the chase losing Gautam Gambhir in the very first over for 0 off Raza Hasan but Virender Sehwag (29) and Virat Kohli combined well in the middle stitching together a partnership of 74 runs in 10.1 overs.

Later, Kohli with Yuvraj Singh (19*) lashed the spinners to parts of the park reaching their target in 17 overs.

For Pakistan Shahid Afridi and Raza Hasan picked up one wicket each.

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Narain Karthikeyan to perform in his Formula One Racing Car at Trivandrum during Onam Celebrations

Trivandrum, 30 July 2012: India's ace formula one racer Narain Karthikeyan will kick start the Onam celebrations of Kerala tourism department with his high speed racing performance at Trivandrum this year. Karthikeyan will perform in his Hispania Racing Team Formula One car from Kowdiar to the Palayam  Chandrashekharan Nair stadium to inaugurate the offical Onam celebrations in the state.

The event  fully sponsored by the Tourism department will be held on August 28 at Trivandrum. This is the fourth time Karthikeyan performs in his Formula one racing car in a public road and also the first time a state government is sponsoring the event.

Karthikeyan and his team will also perform some car and bike stunts as a part of the programme which will be of one hour duration.  The car will achieve 300 kmph speed when it reaches Rajbhavan from Kowdiar and will turn the Vellayambalam round at a speed of 80 kmph.

With this event, Karthikeyan and his team plans to spread awareness among youth against bike and car racing in public roads.

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Sahara Group Withdraws BCCI Team India IPL Team Sahara Pune Warriors Sponsorship

February 4, 2012: The Sahara Parivar withdraws its sponsorship deal with BCCI Team India and IPL team Pune Warriors sponsorship today.

The detailed briefing will be on today evening 4 pm by its MD in a press meet.

The group has cited several reasons for the sudden pull-out, ranging from the sponsorship of the Indian team during the 2003 World Cup, to the rules of last year's open IPL auction and change in the tournament's fixtures plan.

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