IPL Final

In the fascinating inaugural IPL final, on one side it will be the test of character of Shane Warne's tactics and MS Dhoni's calmness while on the other there will be an intriguing tussle between Shane Watson's willow and Makhaya Nitini's ball.

A keen cricketing contest will unfold at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday. At stake are Rs 5 crore kitty, the IPL champions tag and a place in the cricketing history.

Chennai Super Kings thumped Kings XI Punjab to register a resounding nine-wicket victory in the second semi-final of the IPL to set up Sunday title clash with Rajasthan Royals.

Super Kings' achieved the scanty target of 113 with consummate ease after losing just one-wicket. Southpaws' Parthiv Patel and Suresh Raina slammed unbeaten half-centuries to guide their team into the IPL final.

Earlier on Friday, Rajasthan Royals made it to the IPL finals by drubbing Delhi Daredevils with a massive margin of 105 runs in a one-sided first IPL semi-final.

Both Shane Warne and MS Dhoni have been great team leaders. Warne has turned around a team of raw Indian cricketers and a few international players, into a match-winning combination, and Dhoni’s captaincy skills with the Indian team and his IPL team speak for themselves.

In the IPL though, Warne has stolen a march even as Dhoni has quietly slipped in. Suddenly, Chennai’s investment of Rs 6 crore in the dashing wicketkeeper-batsman seems to have been a good business strategy.

It is a different story that Team Chennai have lost twice to Team Jaipur in as many meetings but the manner in which Dhoni and Co upstaged Mohali on Saturday night proves that two of the best teams have made it to the final.

Warne was all confidence personified on the eve of the final. It didn’t matter to him which team he would be facing. ‘‘We sent out a strong message last night that we are peaking. We are saving the best for the final,’’ he remarked on Saturday afternoon. Warne’s team proved its mettle by thrashing Delhi Daredevils in the IPL semifinals as Rajasthan carried out a 105-run demolition job at the Wankhede on Friday night.

The only cause for concern in the RR is the absence of opener Graeme Smith, who has been ruled out of the final with a torn hamstring. The South African captain and Asnodkar have been amongst the most successful opening pair in the IPL. Though Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal is an able replacement, the new combo at the top could be an area that the opposition would be looking to make exploit.

The IPL Final is going to be a great climax to a fantastic IPL tournament which has captured the imagination of cricket lovers the world over.

Chennai win the Second Semifinal by nine wickets

Chennai Super kings won the second IPL semifinals by nine wickets at Mumbai tonight.

Chennai Super Kings went through to the IPL Finals after defeating the Punjab Kings' XI easily in the Second IPL Semifinal by 9 wickets.





The Punjab team and their owner Priety Zinta looked really dejected, the usual pep was missing altogether.


Punjab Team did not perform at all and gave no fight in the match. Their batting collapsed and their bowlers could not make a match of it. CSKs had beaten the Punjab team in the league matches also.

The CSK had hundred up on the scoreboard in the fourteenth over at the loss of only one wicket. They were scoring with ease, with no pressure from the Punjab bowlers.

Both Parthiv Patel and Raina scored a fifty each in their partnership of 102 runs off 75 balls for Chennai.

Raina scored his fifty in 32 balls with three fours and four sixes.

Now Chennai Super Kings will be facing Jaipur Royals in the IPL Final tommorow

Chennai on top in Second IPL Semifinal

The Punjab Kings XI cracked under pressure in the second IPL semifinal match against Chennai. The Punjab team could score only 113 runs in the twenty overs in their IPL semifinal against Chennai.

The Punjab team reached its fifty in 11 overs after the loss of six wickets. The team's top order batting really let them down. Running between the wickets was a total disaster.

Priety Zinta was seen furiously fanning herself. It was difficult to tell if it was the Mumbai heat or the heat generated by Chennai team's bowling.

Chawla was clean bowled by a beauty from Murlitharan in the thirteenth over when the score was at 63.

Punjab never got the momentum going as they lost their eighth wicket in the 19th over and Priety Zinta was seen hitting her hand her head and not without a reason. The Punjab performance was way below par.



Sreesanth almost ran himself out in the very first ball he faced.

Punjab reached their hundred in the twentieth over. Powar hit three consecutive fours in the last over and became the top scorer for Punjab XI by scoring 29 runs off 21 balls.

Punjab bowlers have their task cut out for them and their chances of wining the second IPL semifinals seem bleak and remote at the moment. The Chennai Super Kings' batsman

Chennai Super Kings grabbed the last available semifinal spot in the Indian Premier League after beating Deccan Chargers by seven wickets in their last league match.

Chennai has caused some real heart breaks on their journey to the semifinals as they also broke the heart of Sachin Tendulkar led Mumbai Indians team, which is now out of the tournament.

As for now it looks like we will have an IPL final between Chennai super Kings and Jaipur Royals, Unless the Punjab team can pull off a miracle.

Bookies betting on Punjab and Rajasthan IPL Final Clash

The result of the first IPL semifinal were on expected lines when Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils with ease. The books are highly in favor of a Punjab King's XI and Rajasthan Royals IPL Final clash in Mumbai's D Y Patil Stadium.

Earlier in the first IPL semifinal Australian Shane Watson guided the Rajasthan Royals to a 105-run win over the Delhi Daredevils in Mumbai and a place in the inaugural IPL final. Watson top-scored for the Royals with 52 off 29 deliveries and also dominated with the ball, dismissing the dangerous Virender Sehwag and Gautam Ghambir in quick succession to leave the Daredevils reeling.

And when Dinesh Karthik and Tillakaratne Dilshan departed cheaply, it was virtually all over for the shambolic Daredevils.

Earlier Watson built impressively on the platform provided by openers Graeme Smith (25) and Swapnil Asnodkar (39) as the Royals finished with a competitive 192-9 after being asked to bat first.

Asnodkar had stifled nerves at the start in typically explosive style as he put on 65 runs for the opening wicket with Smith.

Delhi never recovered from this early body blows and lost wickets at regular intervals while the asking rate kept climbing before they were shot out for a paltry 87 in 16.1 overs.

Rajasthan Royals now await the winners of the second semifinal, to be played at the same venue tomorrow between Punjab King's XI and Chennai Super Kings, in the IPL final to be played at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on June 1.

If Watson stole the major honours of the day, teammate Yusuf Pathan hit a whirlwind 45 in 21 balls with four sixes and three fours.

The hard-hitting Pathan, named in the Indian 15 for next month's tri-series in Bangladesh and the Asia Cup in Pakistan earlier in the day, creamed the hapless Delhi attack, which included Glenn McGrath, to hit four sixes and three fours in his 21-ball knock.

The outcome if the second IPL semifinal today will decide who will play against the Rajasthan IPL team in the IPL finals.

First IPL Semifinal Details

The first semi final of the Indian Premier League will be played between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai today (Friday, May 30).

The irony of the Indian Premier League's first semi-final is that Delhi have Rajasthan to thank for their place in the final four. Stuck on 15 points after 14 matches, Delhi needed Rajasthan to beat Mumbai in Jaipur and only after Mumbai's final-ball choke was Delhi's spot secured.

Ironic again because Rajasthan have lost to only three teams in the IPL - Punjab, in a dead rubber; Mumbai; and Delhi, their IPL semi-final opponents, in their first match of the tournament. Rajasthan were crushed in that encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla by nine wickets and 29 balls to spare. They settled scores with Delhi during the home game , but that victory too looked improbable until Shane Watson blitzed 74 off 40 balls.

Rajasthan Royals, led by former Australian Shane Warne entered the IPL semi final with 11 wins and three defeats in 14 matches while Virender Sehwag's Delhi Daredevils qualified for the last four with seven wins, six defeats in 14 matches.

The two teams have won one match each when they met in the league stage. Delhi Daredevils thrashed Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets in a disappointingly one-sided game at Delhi on April 19.

Rajasthan Royals didn't have a chance after their batsmen had floundered badly, putting up a dismal 129 on the board.

Gautam Gambhir's unbeaten 58, and his 112-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan - who helped himself to a half-century as well - finished off the run-chase in a mere 15.1 overs.
Shane Watson scored a blistering 74 off 40 balls with five fours and same number of sixes to ensure Rajasthan Royals a three-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur on May 11. Chasing 157 to win in 20 overs, Rajasthan made 159 for seven and won with five balls to spare.

Delhi Daredevils made 156 for seven in 20 overs. Maharoof who top scored for the Delhi team (39) , hit Shane Warne for 26 runs in the penultimate over with the help of four sixes, lifting the spirits of a dejected Delhi team.

ROAD TO SEMI FINAL:

DELHI DAREDEVILS:

** Beat Rajasthan Royals by 9 wickets at Delhi
** Beat Deccan Chargers by 9 wickets at Hyderabad
** Lost to Kings XI Punjab by 4 wickets at Mohali
** Beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by 10 runs at Delhi
** Beat Chennai Super KIngs by 8 wickets at Chennai
** Lost to Mumbai Indians by 29 runs at Mumbai
** Lost to Chennai Super Kings by 4 wickets at Delhi
** Lost to Rajasthan Royals by 3 wickets at Jaipur
** Lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by 23 runs at Kolkata
** Beat Deccan Chargers by 12 runs at Delhi
** Lost to Kings XI Punjab by 6 runs (D/L method) at Delhi
** Beat Bangalore Royals Challengers by 5 wickets at Bangalore
** Match abandoned with Kolkata Knight Riders at Delhi
** Beat Mumbai Indian by 5 wickets at Delhi

RAJASTHAN ROYALS:

** Lost to Delhi Daredevils by 9 wickets at Delhi
** Beat Kings XI Punjab by 6 wickets at Jaipur
** Beat Deccan Chargers by 3 wickets at Hyderabad
** Beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by 7 wickets at Bangalore
** Beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 45 runs at Jaipur
** Beat Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets at Jaipur
** Lost to Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets at Mumbai
** Beat Deccan Chargers by 8 wickets at Jaipur
** Beat Delhi Daredevils by 3 wickets at Jaipur
** Beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by 65 runs at Jaipur
** Beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 6 wickets at Kolkata
** Beat Chennai Super Kings by 10 runs at Chennai
** Beat Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets at Jaipur
** Lost to Kings XI Punjab by 41 runs at Mohali

MEETING IN IPL LEAGUE PHASE:

** Played on April 19,2008 at Delhi
Toss: Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals: 129-8 in 20 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 29, Dinesh Salunkhe 26 not out)
Delhi Daredevils: 132-1 in 15.1 overs (Gautam Gambhir 58 not out, Shikhar Dhawan 52 not out)
Result: Delhi Daredevils won by nine wickets
Man of the Match: Farveez Maharoof (Delhi Daredevils)
** Played on May 11,2008 at Jaipur
Toss: Rajasthan Royals
Delhi Daredevils: 156 for seven in 20 overs (Farveez Maharoof 39, Gautam Gambhir 31)
Rajasthan Royals: 159 for seven in 19.1 overs (Shane Watson 74)
Result: Rajasthan Royals won by three wickets
Man of the Match: Shane Watson (Rajasthan Royals)

Broken Toilet craps the Space Station

I know you crib and holler every time your toilet gets blocked, but wait till you read this. If you thought you had a problem with your toilet what about the people in the space station who have a broken down toilet! Where are they to go to answer the call of nature!

But relax, help is at hand. Space shuttle Discovery will play the role of your friendly neighborhood plumber as it carries a pump and other spare parts for the toilet, which is still disposing of solid waste.

Astronauts aboard the NASA space shuttle Discovery will be carrying an extra piece of cargo when they launch on Saturday -- a new toilet pump. (boy! are they going to be happy to see this piece of equipment. I know how you feel like hugging your plumber when he arrives to fix it)

Crew members aboard the International Space Station have been fumbling with plastic bags since their zero-gravity toilet vent made "a loud noise" ( are you sure it is the toilet that made that loud noise!!!) and stopped working properly last week.

"We will be taking some spare parts up," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

The three station crew members want the toilet working properly for obvious reasons -- but on Saturday they will be sharing facilities with seven space shuttle astronauts.

"You can imagine you are having guests over and your one and only bathroom is broken. Clearly this is something you want to have working," Beutel said.

The seven Discovery crew members will carry out other handyman tasks after they dock on Monday, including fixing a paddle wheel that turns one of the station's solar wing panels and replacing nitrogen tanks needed to pressurize the station's ammonia cooling system.

A second toilet is also planned (about time too I say). The space toilets vent waste matter into space and work using carefully designed vacuums so nothing unpleasant escapes into the gravity-free station. (Close your umbrella dude, it does not fall on earth)

They are helping prepare the station for an expanded permanent six-member crew.

NASA has two years to complete the space station before retiring the shuttle fleet.

So any aliens who are reading this, eat ****, now we are a two toilet space station.

The best among the best in IPL matches so far

Lot of statistics have been churned out in the IPL league matches so far and here are some of the best among them.

Highest Total Score in IPL League Matches
Shaun Marsh has the orange cap for being the leading run getter in IPL. The maximum runs in IPL League matches have been scored by Shaun Marsh of Kings XI Punjab. Shaun scored a total of 593 runs in ten league matches at an average of 74.12. He scored one century and five fifties in all. Shaun hit an amazing 56 fours and 25 sixes to become the highest scorer in IPL League matches.

Highest Runs in an Innings of IPL:

Brendon McCullum if Kolkata Knight Riders scored the highest runs in an innings. He scored 158 runs off 73 balls versus the Royal Challangers at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on Apr 18 , 2008. Brendon hit ten fours and thirteen sixes in his maiden century.

Highest Average Score in IPL:

Niraj Patel of Rajasthan Royals with the highest average of 101 tops the table of highest average score in IPL League Matches.

Highest Strike Rate in IPL:

Umar Gul of Kolkata Knight Riders lead the IPL table with the astounding strike rate of 205.26 closely followed by Brendon McCullum if Kolkata Knight Riders 204.35.

Maximum Hundreds in IPL Matches:

So far six players have a ton in the IPL mathces. This could change with the Semifinals and the finals yet to be played. Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Michael Hussey, Brendon McCullum, Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Marsh have scored a hundred each in IPL matches.

Maximum Fifties in IPL Matches:

Shaun Marsh of Kings XI Punjab and Gautam Ghambir of Delhi Daredevils have both scored five fifties each.

Maximum Sixes and Fours in IPL matches:

S. Jayasurya of Mumbai Indians has hit 57 fours and 31 sixes in IPL matches to hit the highest number of fours and sixes in IPL matches.

Best Bowling Figures in IPL Matches:

Sohail Tanvir of Rajasthan Royals took six wickets for 14 runs in 4 overs against Chennai Super Kings in Jaipur to return the best bowling figures in IPL matches so far.

Highest and Lowest Innings Total in IPL:

Chennai Super Kings posted the highest total by a team in IPL by scoring 240/5 in an innings against Kings XI Punjab at the PCA stadium , Mohali.

Chennai Super Kings posted the lowest score by an IPL team by scoring 55 runs while playing against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Highest Partnership in IPL :

Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman scored 155 runs while playing for Deccan Chargers against Mumbai Indians to record the highest partnership score in IPL.

Highest Batting Averages in IPL League

Here are the top ten amongst the highest batting averages in IPL League Matches

Player	Mat	Inns	Runs	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s
Niraj Patel	4	3	101	101	72	140.28	0	1	13	1
Simon Katich	2	2	96	96	72	133.33	0	1	11	2
Michael Hussey	4	3	168	84	101	166.34	1	0	12	11
Andrew Symonds	4	3	161	80.5	111	145.05	1	0	15	9
Luke Pomersbach	5	5	152	76	102	149.02	0	1	13	9
Shaun Marsh	10	10	593	74.12	433	136.95	1	5	56	25
Matthew Hayden	4	4	189	63	134	141.04	0	3	24	6
Brendon McCullum	4	4	188	62.67	92	204.35	1	0	13	15
Graeme Smith	10	10	416	52	342	121.64	0	3	49	8
Gautam Gambhir	13	13	523	43.58	366	142.9	0	5	66	8

Top Ten run scorers in the IPL League matches.

Shaun Marsh of Kings XI Punjab leads the table of highest run scorers in the IPL League matches.

Here is a list of the top ten run getters in IPL Matches.

Player	Mat	Inns	Runs	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s
Shaun Marsh	10	10	593	74.12	433	136.95	1	5	56	25
Gautam Gambhir	13	13	523	43.58	366	142.9	0	5	66	8
Sanath Jayasuriya	14	14	514	36.71	320	160.62	1	2	57	32
Adam Gilchrist	14	14	436	33.54	319	136.68	1	3	51	19
Graeme Smith	10	10	416	52	342	121.64	0	3	49	8
Rohit Sharma	13	12	404	36.73	274	147.45	0	4	38	19
Virender Sehwag	13	13	403	36.64	216	186.57	0	3	46	21
Shane Watson	13	13	392	43.56	264	148.48	0	3	39	16
MS Dhoni	14	13	385	35	303	127.06	0	2	37	13
Rahul Dravid	14	14	371	28.54	300	123.67	0	2	35	11

Profile of four IPL semifinal teams

Speculation is over. We finally know which four teams are going to play in the IPL semifinals.

Chennai Super Kings dashed the last hope of Mumbai to reach the IPL semifinals as they staked their claim on the last available IPL semifinal spot in the Indian Premier League after beating Deccan Chargers by seven wickets in their last IPL league match here today.

The Chennai team not only sealed a IPL semifinal place for themselves they also broke the heart of Sachin Tendulkar led Mumbai Indians team, which is now out of the IPL tournament.

Here is a brief profile of all the four IPL semifinalists and the Points Table of all the IPL Teams.

(Note: The odds given for the IPL teams were at the start of the tournament)

Name: Rajasthan Royals

Owner: Emerging Media

Ground: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Coach: Shane Warne

Captain: Shane Warne

Star player: Graeme Smith

Most expensive player: Mohammad Kaif, $675,000

Squad: Graeme Smith, Morne Morkel, (South Africa),

Justin Langer, Shane Watson, Shane Warne (Australia),

Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir (Pakistan),

Dimitri Mascarenhas (England),

Mohammad Kaif, Anoop Revandkar, Taruwar Kohli, Niraj Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Siddharth Trivedi, Swapnil Asnodkar, Sumit Khatri, Munaf Patel, Pankaj Singh (India).

Total cost: $3,610,000

Odds: 12/1

Name: King's XI, Punjab

Owner: Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul and Mohit Burman

Ground: Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

Coach: Tom Moody

Captain: Yuvraj Singh

Star player: Brett Lee

Most expensive player: Yuvraj Singh, $1,063,750 (ICON PLAYER)

Squad: Simon Katich, Luke Pomersbach, Brett Lee, James Hopes, Shaun Marsh (Australia),

Kyle Mills (New Zealand),

Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies),

Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka),

Yuvraj Singh, Sree Santh, Piyush Chawla, Karan Goel, Uday Kaul, Tanmay Srivastava, Sahil Kukreja, Sunny Sohal, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Pankaj Dharmani, Nitin Saini, Wilkin Mota (India).

Total cost: $6,503,750

Odds: 13/2

Name: Delhi Daredevils

Owner: GMR Holdings

Ground: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

Coach: Greg Shipperd

Captain: Virender Sehwag

Star player: Virender Sehwag

Most expensive player: Virender Sehwag, $833,750 (ICON PLAYER)

Squad: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Farveez Maharoof (Sri Lanka),

Daniel Vettori (New Zealand),

Glenn McGrath, Brett Geeves (Australia),

Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Malik (Pakistan),

AB de Villiers (South Africa),

Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Manoj Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, Rajat Bhatia, Mithun Manhas, Mayank Tehlan, Pradeep Sangwan, Yo Mahesh (India).

Total cost: $6,372,500

Odds: 7/1

Name: Chennai Super Kings

Owner: India Cements

Ground: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Coach: Keppler Wessels

Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Star player: Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Most expensive player: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, $1.5m

Squad: Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey (Australia),

Stephen Fleming, Jacob Oram (New Zealand),

Makhaya Ntini, Albie Morkel (South Africa),

Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka),

Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Parthiv Patel, Joginder Sharma, Lakshmipathi Balaji, Napolean Einstein, Abhinav Mukund, Sudeep Tyagi, Rashwin, Viraj Kadbe, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Anirudha Srikkanth, P Amarnath, S Sresh Kumar, Arun Karthik and Shadab Jakati (India).

Total cost: $6,225,000

Odds: 10/3 favourites

IPL Team Standings

Team	Matches	Won	Lost	Points
IPL JAIPUR	13	11	2	22
IPL MOHALI	13	9	4	18
IPL DELHI	14	7	6	15
IPL CHENNAI	13	7	6	14
IPL KOLKATA	14	6	7	13
IPL MUMBAI	13	6	7	12
IPL BANGLORE	13	4	9	8
IPL HYDRABAD	13	2	11	4

Man leaps between 1 mile high towering ledges in Grand Canyon

Did you say you love a beautiful sunset! How far are you willing to go to take a picture of the sunset? A mile! In which direction?

This is what an unidentified man did. He jumped a one mile deep canyon from cliff ledge to another to get a good shot of the sunset.

This unidentified man was pictured leaping between two towering rocky ledges in the Grand Canyon carrying his camera and tripod under his arm. Now thats what I call capturing your sunset. It is a different matter that one slip and the sun would have set forever for this man.

An amateur photographer Hans van de Vorst recorded the moment as the man jumped the gap of about 8 feet (less than 3 meter) wearing just a pair of slippers. (eat that rock climbing and trekking gear sellers)

According to a crowd of onlookers, at first it seemed the man, wearing a white T-shirt, jeans and flip-flops, risked his life to take a picture of the sunset.

Vorst said that those onlookers were discussing how he managed to get on there in the first place and no one bothered with the sunset -- everyone's eyes were on this man and how he was going to get off the rock.

"He didn't grab the rock properly the first time and slipped back about half a meter before clinging on to it. Even then he didn't look fazed," Vorst added.

Although parts of the Canyon are very deep the photographer actually landed on a ledge between the two outcrops and steadied himself when he landed.

Warning: Don't try this at home :) and if you do, don't look down.

World's First Pregnant Man

Move over ladies, Men are coming to one exclusive field you had total control over, Child Birth!

Women have been participating in virtually every field supposed to be the exclusive male domain at one time or another, be it the corporate world, sports, politics, Armed forces, you name it and women had come and made their mark in once "men only" arenas.

This is the picture of Thomas Beatie, the transgender man of Oregon who got pregnant by artificial insemination, as he mows the lawn at his home May 18, 2008.

Beatie, the world's first pregnant man, has been photographed doing his domestic chores six weeks from giving birth.

Thomas and his wife Nancy have been married for five years, and have been trying to have children for two years, but Nancy is unable to bear children due to endometriosis. He has decided to carry his child as he has said, "Wanting to have a biological child is neither a male nor female desire, but a human desire. (we have been telling that to the ladies for ages but they never believed us man! Way to go dude and good luck).

source ic.eastday.com

Delhi Go Through To IPL Semifinals

Mumbai might have to miss the party in their own home when IPL finals are played in Mumbai. Mumbai lost to Jaipur on Monday and might have made their entry into IPL Semifinals a remote possibility.

Jaipur cut down Mumbai on Monday and confirmed that Delhi, on 15 points, entered the IPL semifinals.

Mumbai's fortunes have been swinging with Sachin Tendulkar’s forced absence, and were further compounded Harbhajan Singh’s ouster after ‘Slapgate’. The return of the Little Master raised hopes of a final-four showing. And in the end, an unbeaten sixth-wicket stand between Ravinder Jadeja and Niraj Patel took Jaipur to a last-ball win.

Mumbai now have to win their final IPL match (on Wednesday) and hope that, in the interim, Chennai lose their last game against Hyderabad on Tuesday — and badly — so that net-run rate carries them through. If Chennai beat Hyderabad, they’re through as the third placed team on 16 points irrespective of what Mumbai do in their final game.

Jaipur chose to bowl first and they stuck to their guns, with Sohail Tanvir cutting through Mumbai, taking 4 for 14. On a pitch that was not the best to bat on, with the ball not coming onto the bat, only Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar got past 30, with the rest falling away. In a crunch game, this was never likely to be enough.

Virender Sehwag and his merry men will celebrate as they go through to the IPL semifinals, but not for long, for they know the team that helped them into the semis is the one most likely to stop them in their tracks.

The opening combination of Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya was the one to watch out for even before the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced. And the duo --- despite making the crowds wait for half the tournament before eventually walking out to open the Mumbai innings together --- has lived up to its reputation.

Mumbai are hosting the final of the inaugural IPL tournament but they’ve been shut out of their own party.

Latest Points of IPL T20

Team	Matches	Won	Lost	Points
IPL JAIPUR	13	11	2	22
IPL MOHALI	12	9	3	18
IPL DELHI	14	7	6	15
IPL CHENNAI	13	7	6	14
IPL MUMBAI	13	6	7	12
IPL KOLKATA	13	5	7	11
IPL BANGLORE	13	4	9	8
IPL HYDRABAD	13	2	11	4

Mars Pictures Sent by Phoenix Probe

The Phoenix has landed and is sending back Mars pictures to Earth.

The Mars Phoenix lander touched down in the far north of the Red Planet, after a 680 million-km (423 million-mile) journey from Earth.

The first Mars pictures, which the lander began taking shortly after touching down near Mars' north pole -- the end of a 422 million-mile trek -- showed a pattern of brown polygons as far as the camera could see.

The Mars Phoenix landers journey took it 296 days to cover the distance of 680 million-km (423 million-mile) from Earth .

The probe has sent back Mars photos of a flat landscape with few rocks

A Nasa spacecraft has sent back historic first Mars pictures of an unexplored region of Mars.

The probe is equipped with a robotic arm to dig for water-ice thought to be buried beneath the surface.

It will begin examining the site for evidence of the building blocks of life in the next few days.

It released a parachute, used pulsed thrusters to slow to a fast walking speed, and then descended the last few metres to the Martian soil to land on three legs.


Nasa found out more about the landing when Mars pictures from the probe reached the Earth.

The first Mars images showed the "Arctic plain" where Phoenix came to rest - a region of Mars that has never been seen up close before.

Other Mars pics confirmed that the probe's solar arrays had unfurled successfully, and that it had landed safely on its legs.

Earlier Mars Pictures from NASA Probes:















Mars Photo











The intriguing Mars image captured by earlier Nasa Probe

IPL Semifinals Lineup

Two of the IPL's chart toppers Jaipur and Mohali qualified for the semifinals with 20 and 18 points respectively. The remaining two slots in IPL semifinals are still undecided.

The three IPL teams still in contention are Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

Delhi now has to play the waiting game. They have done their job and the rest is out of their hands and depends on the outcome of matches Mumbai and Chennai Teams play.

Both Mumbai and Chennai are within striking distance of a slot on the IPL Semifinals. However, Mumbai (13)have two games to play as of now, and can qualify if they win both the matches. Chennai, with 14 points and one games to play, also need to win to enter the IPL Semis.

If either Mumbai or Chennai lose a match, Delhi IPL teams gets a place in the IPL Semifinals.

One thing is for sure, unlike the Jaipur team we will not be going to Goa for a break," said Virender Sehwag when asked how his team planned to spend the next few days given that their playing time in the league phase of the IPL had come to an end. Delhi have 15 points from their full set of 14 matches.

All Delhi can do now is wait and see if either Mumbai, who have two matches left, or Chennai, who have one game in hand, can play themselves out of a IPL semifinal spot. Sehwag, who admitted that all his team could do now was "pray" that things went their way after it seemed like luck had finally turned for his team - they had lost more than one tight game and struggled with rain and Duckworth-Lewis - was not beyond looking for some help from above.

There are going to be some tense and nail biting matches in IPL now irrespective of which ever teams qualify for the remaining two slots in the IPL semifinals.

Latest IPL Team Points

Team	Matches	Won	Lost	Points
IPL JAIPUR	12	10	2	20
IPL MOHALI	12	9	3	18
IPL DELHI	14	7	6	15
IPL CHENNAI	13	7	6	14
IPL MUMBAI	12	6	6	12
IPL KOLKATA	13	5	7	11
IPL BANGLORE	13	4	9	8
IPL HYDRABAD	13	2	11	4