Why This Kolaveri Di Full Song Promo Video in HD

Gambhir to lead, Badrinath in for WI limited-overs leg

Gautam Gambhir will lead a depleted Indian side to the limited-overs leg of the West Indies tour, with five first-choice players including Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni either rested or injured. As expected, the national selectors haven't given much weightage to performances in the IPL, instead rewarding results in the more traditional domestic competitions. S Badrinath, Rohit Sharma and Parthiv Patel muscled their way in helped by the weight of runs in both formats of the Ranji Trophy.

A strong domestic season, capped by a fine showing
in the IPL means Tamil Nadu's S Badrinath makes
a comebackinto the Indian limited-overs squad

R Vinay Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra made their way back, replacing Ashish Nehra (injured), Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla (both dropped). Praveen Kumar duly took his place back, having recovered from the elbow injury that had kept him out of the World Cup. He replaces Zaheer Khan, who has been rested.

With five vacancies created - Virender Sehwag being the other - there had been some hype created around the IPL performers in the week leading to the selection meeting. The selectors seem to have learned from the debuts handed to Manpreet Gony and Ashok Dinda based on the first IPL, and also from RP Singh's comeback based on the second IPL. As it turned out, the likes of Ambati Rayudu and Rahul Sharma missed out this time. Badrinath and Rohit were the two top run-getters in the Ranji Trophy first-class competition while Parthiv was the second-highest in the Ranji one-dayers. The exclusion of M Vijay - who has a highest of 33 in 11 ODI innings - makes Parthiv the likeliest candidate to open the innings with the captain, Gambhir.

"I am confident that we will do well and win the series in the West Indies. The team is well balanced," said Kris Srikkanth, India's chairman of selectors. "Everything is on merit. It's a great opportunity for a lot of players.

"On tours, we always take two wicketkeepers. It's a 16-member team and in case of a wicketkeeper getting injured, you have to understand the logistics [of getting a replacement to] in the West Indies [are complicated]."

This is not Gambhir's first shot at leading India - he was the captain when India beat New Zealand 5-0 in ODIs last year. The selectors are believed to be impressed with his leadership skills, and are likely to make him full-time vice-captain ahead of the slightly reluctant Sehwag, although they haven't yet made any formal announcement to that effect.

There was a minor surprise thrown up in the bowling department with Mishra getting in ahead of Pragyan Ojha as the third spinner. In his 16 ODIs - all but three of them against Sri Lanka, who are good players of spin - Ojha has given away runs at only 4.31 an over. However, he was injured before the World Cup and missed the first-class season as well. In the domestic one-dayers, Mishra, with 18 wickets from six games, outperformed Ojha, who managed five in five.

Vinay and Ishant, who have been there or thereabouts, are the only ones to have benefited from good showings in the IPL. It can be argued, though, that they are not unknown commodities and their performances in the IPL have been more of reassurance than first notice. India also picked wicketkeeping cover for Parthiv, making Wriddhiman Saha the 16th member of the squad.

India play one Twenty20 and five ODIs against the hosts beginning with the Twenty20 game on June 4.

Squad: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, S Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Vinay Kumar, Yusuf Pathan, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha (wk).

We Are The World Champions Of 2011

India scrap their way into World Cup final

India Celebrating The Victory

India 260 for 9 (Tendulkar 85, Riaz 5-46) beat Pakistan 231 (Misbah 56) by 29 runs

India's dream of a World Cup triumph at home is one step closer after their bowlers suffocated Pakistan's batsmen to set up a 29-run victory in the semi-final in Mohali. Saturday's decider will now be a battle of the hosts, and while Sri Lanka might have been surprised by the strength of India's bowling effort, they would also have taken note of a slightly lacklustre batting performance.

In the end, India's 260 for 9 was enough as their bowlers did a fine job, but had Pakistan helped themselves, the target could have been so much more gettable. Sachin Tendulkar was dropped four times in his 85, MS Dhoni was put down once and while Wahab Riaz was extremely impressive in collecting five wickets, Umar Gul had one of his most forgettable days, wilting under the pressure of a World Cup semi-final.

By contrast, India's display in the field was much more professional, and that was the difference in a match that lived up to the extreme pre-match hype. The decision to leave R Ashwin out to make room for Ashish Nehra was an odd choice on a pitch offering plenty of spin, but Nehra and his bowling colleagues built the pressure and gave Pakistan's batsmen little to attack after they made a promising start and reached 70 for 1.

The Indians didn't give away an extra until the 37th over of the innings, and the way they put together strings of dot balls and tight overs was key to their success. Munaf Patel picked up two victims and Yuvraj Singh made up for his golden duck with a pair of wickets, but the most important breakthrough came when Harbhajan Singh bowled Umar Akmal for 29.

Akmal had struck a pair of sixes off Yuvraj, driving him over the sight screen and pulling him over midwicket, and anything was possible while he was at the crease. But Dhoni called on Harbhajan to replace Yuvraj, and with the first ball of his spell he came around the wicket and pushed one across Akmal, taking the off stump when the batsman played for the spin.

Shahid Afridi also fell to Harbhajan when he skied a catch off a full toss, and the obdurate Misbah-ul-Haq was left to steer the chase. He found it difficult to lift his tempo and was the last man out, caught on the boundary for 56 in the final over, but he ate up 76 deliveries and had he shown some more intent earlier, Pakistan might have had a chance.

It was a disappointing end for Pakistan after their top order gave them hope. Mohammad Hafeez made an encouraging 43 before a string of eight dot balls from Munaf brought a brain-fade as Hafeez tried a premeditated paddle sweep from outside off stump and edged behind to Dhoni.

Soon after, the loss of Asad Shafiq brought the Mohali crowd to life, when he tried to cut a Yuvraj delivery that was much too full and straight, and the middle stump was knocked back. Shafiq had made 30 and had displayed a cool temperament until that point, but the required run-rate started to balloon, and Pakistan never recovered.

But while India have booked a place in the final, they must hope they haven't used all their good fortune too soon. Tendulkar might be the finest batsman of his generation, but today he was the luckiest, dropped on 27, 45, 70 and 81. It seemed as though he was going to bring up his 100th international century with one of his least convincing innings.

Misbah at midwicket was the first to put him down, before Younis Khan spilled a regulation chance at cover, both off the bowling of Afridi. The third opportunity came when Kamran Akmal didn't move his hands quickly enough to a thick edge, again off Afridi, and while that was a tough opportunity, a pull to Umar at mid-on from the offspin of Hafeez should have been taken.

Before he had any of those lives, Tendulkar had survived two very tight calls on 23: an lbw decision that was given out by Ian Gould but on review proved to be spinning down leg, and a near-stumping the next delivery when he just got his back foot down in time after losing his balance reaching outside off. When Tendulkar was finally taken at cover by Afridi off the bowling of Ajmal, Pakistan's relief was evident.

Soon after, a scratchy Dhoni, who was also dropped by Kamran, made the mistake of challenging Simon Taufel on an lbw decision. Dhoni had 25 when he missed a Riaz delivery that pitched just in line and was hitting the stumps. It was the second outstanding call by Taufel, who had given Virender Sehwag lbw in a similar fashion earlier, even though the left-armer's angle meant pitching outside leg was a possibility.

Riaz was the man who Afridi had to thank for keeping Pakistan in the contest after India made a strong start and reached 114 for 1 off their first 18 overs. After Gautam Gambhir was stumped wandering down the pitch against Hafeez, Riaz grabbed two wickets in two balls - Virat Kohli caught at backward point and Yuvraj bowled by a low full toss for a golden duck.

Nobody looked as fluent as the crease as Sehwag, who took 21 off Gul (0 for 69) from the third over of the innings. What looked like a 300-plus total in those early overs became 260 when Suresh Raina helped them recover from their middle-order failures.

It was enough, but India's batsmen will need to improve if they want to lift the trophy on Saturday. For now, they can dream of their first World Cup in 28 years.

Yuvraj dreamt of beating Australia

"First time in my life there have been claps in a press conference. I am sure this is a special moment for me, guys." Yuvraj Singh made a telling opening statement. The whole media room was in splits. For the next 17 minutes Yuvraj played the role of the entertainer effortlessly. The answers were laced with wit and charm, but he did not cave to irrelevant or unjust questions.

It was difficult to imagine the man sitting there was the same one who had fought doubts, conditions, the formidable Australia fast bowlers and stood tall and strong for one-and-a-half hours to eventually take India into the semi-finals. Still, it was not entirely a surprise; Yuvraj has now carried the match-winner's baton on four occasions in the seven matches India have played so far this World Cup, so he must be getting used to it.

"I am batting really well since the England game," Yuvraj said. "The plans are working for me: trying to work till the end, trying to hit the ball down the ground into the gaps. I just kept telling myself to bat till the end, stay till the end."

With 12.3 overs left, 74 runs required and just one specialist batsman in Suresh Raina for support, Yuvraj was left to hold the Indian innings together and take it past the finish line. The Aussies were steadily closing in, having picked the wickets of Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni in quick succession.

Yuvraj had come up with an all-round performance in India's 80-run victory against West Indies last Sunday. His 113 in that match was his first century since June 2009. It was a knock of determination, as he fought hard to stay on his feet in the Chennai heat while suffering from dehydration; he even threw up a few times while batting. Later in the evening he returned to pick up two wickets to expedite the Indian victory.

Even in the earlier matches in the tournament, he had restrained his attacking instincts admirably to stay put, and brave India through tense moments in victories against Ireland and Netherlands after the main batsmen had lost their way easily. Coming into the quarter-finals, Yuvraj had run the whole gamut of experiences, which only helped him survive the high-pressure situation at Motera, which he said had drained the players both mentally and physically.

On Thursday, he turned up match-fit and was one of India's best bowlers with two top-order wickets and followed it with an unbeaten 57, an innings he described as one he had built in his dreams exactly a year ago. "The emotions, I really can't explain them, because it was tough out there. From last year I have been dreaming of playing Australia in a crucial game. I don't know why Australia; probably because they are three-time world champions. I had been thinking about this moment for the last 365 days and it actually came true. I just believed in myself, I envisioned that moment from time to time: me staying there till the end and hitting the winning runs for India. So it is a very emotional moment for me."

There were a few jitters, especially the child-like indecisiveness between him and Gambhir while going for tight singles. Gambhir fell victim to one such moment of confusion and was run out. Yuvraj accepted his role in the mix-up. "It was a bit of a mishap with Gautam. We haven't batted too much together and the running between the wickets was just out of order. And I think it was my mistake and I apologise."

It was not an isolated incident, as there was immense pressure on both teams. Experienced hands like Brett Lee failed to come through when Yuvraj and Raina began turning the screw on the Australians, at the start of the final eleven overs of the match. Lee had taken the wicket of Dhoni in his previous over, but in the 40th, the pair took him to the cleaners, with Yuvraj hitting two scorching boundaries.

In the next over, Shaun Tait was wayward and gave away 13 runs. Those two overs proved to be one of the catalysts of India's win, but Yuvraj said it was not a planned counterattack. "It was very difficult to control the emotions because the heartbeat was racing in the pressure situation. If we made one mistake in a situation like today we would be out of the World Cup. Various thoughts run through your mind, but I decided that I would only watch the ball, keep it simple and as far as possible not hit in the air. Unless the asking rate peaked to seven-and-a-half, only then I would go for the big hits; till then I would hold back."

Yuvraj revealed that there was a driving force behind his recent success. A person he will unveil if India make the final on April 2. "I am playing this tournament for a special person. That special person always comes into my mind whenever I am in a pressure situation. Hopefully it works out till the end."

Not only was he a bit secretive, he even turned philosophical about his good work against Australia. "You have a lot of thoughts [in the mind while batting] but whenever you want to desperately do it for your country and your team it somehow works out. It is great it is working at the right moment in the World Cup. It is a great victory for us."

Yuvraj had planned for every eventuality in advance. On the eve of the match, he was the last batsman to face throwdowns from coach Gary Kirsten. Yuvraj knew the Australians would fire a lot of short-pitched stuff at him to unsettle him. "I just wanted to concentrate on hitting everything down the ground while leaving out the short balls."

That planning came to fruition on Thursday. He checked his shots and emotions till the victory stroke was unleashed. Once the job was done, he came crashing and sliding down on his knees, the way football players rush to the flag after scoring a goal. Then he let out a victory roar. A little later, he cracked jokes.

World Cup 2011, India Vs West Indies, Live Streming, Live Score

India Vs West Indies World Cup 2011 encounter in Chennai at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on March 20th will be the last of the league matches for India. The men in blue will be looking to perform well and win the match to improve their net run rate in Group B. Even though, West Indies and India might not be known as the arch rivals in cricketing world, there’s always been great excitement while they play against each other. What will be the fate of India Vs West Indies 2011 World Cup encounter?

India (Probable): Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh,  Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c&wk), Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla/R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel.

West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Devon Thomas (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Sulieman Benn, 10 Nikita Miller, 11 Kemar Roach

India Vs West Indies World Cup 2011 http://www.espnstar.com/cwclive/live2.html