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The ninth consecutive ODI (one day international) win moved India to the Second Spot in the latest ICC (Internation Cricket Council) rankings released on Friday.

Australia, slipped to the third spot after their second consecutive loss in the ODI series against New Zealand at home.

The points table shows South Africa on top with 125 points, India Second with 122 points and Australia third with 121 points (difference of 1 point only). New Zealand is fourth with 117 points.

Pakistan are fifth while England and Sri Lanka are sixth and seventh, respectively.

The number one ODI team April 1 will be richer by $175,000 with the runners-up getting $75,000.

Rankings:

1. South Africa 125 rating points
2. India 122
3. Australia 121
4. New Zealand 117
5. Pakistan 111
6. England 108
7. Sri Lanka 103
8. West Indies 91
9. Bangladesh 46
10. Zimbabwe 23
11. Ireland 19
12. Kenya 0

Popularity: 3% [?]

What is the Indian Premier League (IPL)?

The Indian Premier League is created by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It is a Twenty20 cricket competition. It is formed by BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi. It is modelled along the lines of club football in Europe. The best players from around the world will not play according to their nationality but as per the market forces.

The first season of the Indian Premier League began on April 18, 2008, in Bangalore and ended on June 1, 2008, with the victory of the Rajasthan Royals in the final at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai., It is also known as the DLF Indian Premier League

Why it is so lucrative?

The sheer big money of the IPL is unprecedented at this level of cricket. It’s an entire cricket economy out there.
It is predicted that the IPL will bring the BCCI income of approximately US$1 billion, over a period of five to ten years. All of these revenues will be directed to a central pool, 40 per cent of which will go to the IPL itself, 54 per cent to the franchisees and 6 per cent as prize money. The money will be distributed in these proportions until 2017, after which the share of IPL will be 50 per cent, franchisees 45 per cent and prize money 5 per cent.

Who are the cricketers involved?

This time the event will have new set of players with some of England’s top stars joining the bandwagon. Pakistan has barred its cricketers from playing in the tournament. So many of last crowd-pullers will be badly missed this time.

While stars like Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff will no doubt add more glitter to the event, cricket enthisiasts will miss the likes of Shoaib Akthar, Umar Gul and Sohail Tanveer.

What’s the format?

Eight teams with 16 players in each squad.

Fixtures

Teams play each other two times in a round robin system, with equal number of home and away matches. The top four ranking sides will progress to the semi-finals.

The inaugural 2008 tournament lasted for 46 days, with 59 matches scheduled, out of which 58 took place and one was washed out due to rain.

Who is a icon player?

In the Indian Premier League, an icon player is a player who can only play for his home city in the competition. Unlike all the other players involved, the icon players will not go through bidding. Each of the icon players is guaranteed to get paid at least 15 per cent more than the next top earner in their team, making them the highest paid player.

List of icon players

1. Sachin Tendulkar for Mumbai Indians
2. Rahul Dravid for Bangalore Royal Challengers
3. Sourav Ganguly for Kolkata Knight Riders
4. Yuvraj Singh for Punjab Kings
5. Virender Sehwag for Delhi DareDevils

What’s an Orange Cap

Taking a cue from other famous events like the Tour de France, the DLF Indian Premier League has announced the introduction of the Orange Cap which would be worn by the batsman with the most cumulative runs to his name on each day of the event.

The holder of the Orange Cap at the end of the Twenty20 extravaganza will be honoured with the Winner of Orange Cap 2008 on the day of grand finale in Mumbai on June 1, the IPL said in a release.

The leader of the multi-stage gruelling cycle race Tour de France wears the yellow jacket at the start of each new stage to help identify the overall leader easily.

How’s IPL different from ICL?

Unlike the Indian Cricket League (ICL), the IPL is an official sanctioned Twenty20 tournament. Owing to its recognition by the International Cricket Council (ICC), it will enjoy a better status and international reach. Also each team has individual owners.

Media Rights

On January 15, 2008, it was announced that a consortium consisting of India’s Sony Entertainment Television network and Singapore-based World Sport Group secured the global broadcasting rights of the Indian Premier League.

The highlights:

A total of $1.026 billion over 10 years, which includes a $108 million commitment on promotions.

Media rights comprise:

1. Sony for 1-5 years for TV rights for the Indian sub-continent
2. Singapore-based World Sport Group (WSG) for 1-5 years for International TV, global radio, mobile and Internet
3. WSG for 6-10 years for the global media rights

IPL Franchisee Financial Model
In addition to the marketing benefits that accrue to IPL teams, each team will have a share of
central revenues and local revenues. IPL Franchisees will receive the following returns:

Central revenues

80 per cent of TV revenues in 1-5 years, and 60 per cent from 5-10 years
60 per cent of sponsorship revenues from 1-10 years
100 per cent of local revenues

Local revenues (100 per cent)

1. Gate revenues
2. Franchisee shirt sponsorship
3. Local sponsorship
4. Licensing programme
5. Uniform merchandising
6. Hospitality and premium seating
7. Match-day concessions
8. Match-day promotions
9. Team media platforms

Popularity

The IPL has become one of the most popular events in India. In other cricketing nations, the response has been mixed. In Pakistan the reception was said to be massive, suggesting that it attracted even non-regular cricket followers and that the popularity of the Kolkata Knight Riders was great. With the right mix of cricket and glamour, the high-octane drama, at one stage, seemed to be threatening Bollywood’s popularity across the border. One of Pakistan’s top cricketers who was a member of the IPL Delhi Daredevils squad last year, went on to remark, “People there have lapped it up like movies. It’s like enjoying a cinema with popcorn. The three-hour duration (of the matches) also helped to create the craze.”

A similar positive reaction was seen in Sri Lanka, with interest in the Mumbai Indians being large due to the presence of Sanath Jayasuriya. Bangladesh has also positively reacted despite only one Bangladeshi player being involved. The Knight Riders were the most popular team. These subcontinental countries were also helped in that the time-slot of the matches fitted in with prime time in these nations.

South Africa saw a moderate viewership but people found it enjoyable. However, many were unable to relate to any of the teams, although a large number simply supported Mumbai Indians because of the presence of Shaun Pollock. England did not allow its players to take part, but it was very popular with those who had access to the cable television channels.

In the West Indies, the IPL became so popular that it threatened to overtake Test cricket completely among certain sections of fans. However, the event was less popular in Australia and in New Zealand it consistently won its free-to-air timeslot.

Rules

The official rules for the tournament are here:

There are five ways that a franchise can acquire a player. In the annual auction, buying domestic players, signing uncapped players through trading and buying replacements. In the trading window the player can only be traded with his consent. The franchise will have to pay the difference between the old contract price and the new contract price. If the new contract is worth more than the older one then the difference will be shared between the player and the franchise selling the player.

Some of the team composition rules are:

1. Minimum squad strength of 16 players plus one physio and a coach.
2. No more than 8 foreign players in the squad and at most 4 in the playing XI.For the 2009 edition franchises are allowed 10 foreign players in the squad. The number allowed in the playing XI remains unchanged at 4.
3. A minimum of 8 local players must be included in each team.
4. A minimum of 2 players from the BCCI under-22 pool in each team.
5. The players accorded “icon” status are: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag .
6. The total spending cap for a franchisee in the first player auction was US $5m. Under-22 players are to be remunerated with a minimum annual salary of US $20,000 while for others it is US $50,000. Icon players are to be paid 15% more than the highest paid player in their respective teams.

Who have got the title sponsorship rights?

Indian real estate developer DLF Universal secured exclusive rights to the Indian Premier League title sponsorship worth INR 200 crore (over US$50 million) for five years.

What are the franchises?

The magnitude of the Indian Premier League was confirmed when the winning bidders for the eight franchises were announced on January 24, 2008. While the total base price for auction was US$400 million, the auction fetched US$723.59 million. The official list of franchise owners announced and the winning bids were as follows.

Who are the franchise owners and what’s the money involved?

Existing Eight:

1. Bangalore – Vijay Mallya/UB group – $111.6 million
2. Chennai – India Cements – $91 million
3. Delhi – GMR group – $84 million
4. Hyderabad – Deccan Chronicle – $107 million
5. Jaipur – Emerging Media (Manoj Badale, Lachlan Murdoch, Suresh Chellaram and investors) – $67 million
6. Kolkata – Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment in partnership with Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta – $75.09 million
7. Mohali – Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia (Bombay Dyeing), Karan Paul (Apeejay Surendera Group) and Dabur’s Mohit Burman – $76 million
8. Mumbai – Mumbai Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited – $111.9 million.

Recently, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and Dubai-based businessman
Raj Kundra picked up 12 per cent stake worth over $11.6 million in the
Rajasthan Royals franchise team.
2010-11 Expansion

After the success of the first season, it has been reported that four new franchises will join the IPL in 2010-11, increasing the total number of teams to 12.

Proposed Expansions for 2010-11 Season(4 new teams)

1. IPL Ahmedabad
2. IPL Kanpur

Any two from the following:

1. Patna-Ranchi joined franchisee
2. One team from the North-East
3. One team from the north-western states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarkhand

2012-13 Expansion

The unselected team from the three postulated for the 2010-11 expansion will be considered for another set of expansions in the 2012-13 season. An expansion of two more teams is expected for 2012-13.

Franchise Earnings

The first season that concluded on June 1, 2008, was a roaring success for the IPL. It’s noteworthy that during the first season no one had expected the franchises to break even since most of them had invested huge amounts, but even then the table below shows that some of them are already profitable from Season 1.

2008 Winners

1. Winner – Rajasthan Royals
2. Runner Up – Chennai Super Kings
3. Lost in Semifinals – Kings XI Punjab & Delhi Daredevils

2009 Season

Lalit Modi, Chairman & League Commissioner, DLF Indian Premier League, announced that the tentative dates for the second season of the DLF Indian Premier League will be from April 10, 2009, to May 29, 2009. He also said that the format of the tournament will remain the same as that of the inaugural season.

Other existing T20 tournaments across the globe

1. England – Twenty20 Cup
2. India – Indian Cricket League
3. Pakistan – Pakistan Super League
4. South Africa – Standard Bank Pro 20 Series
5. Sri Lanka – Inter-Provincial Twenty20
6. Australia – KFC Twenty20 Big Bash
7. New Zealand – State Twenty20
8. West Indies – Stanford 20/20
9. Zimbabwe – Metropolitan Bank Twenty20
10. Kenya – National Elite League Twenty20
11. Canada – Scotiabank National T20 Championship

Popularity: 3% [?]

Table tennis is an indoor game. It is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball back and forth to each other with paddles or rackets. The game takes place on a table divided by a net. Players must allow a ball played towards them only one bounce on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opponent or opponents’ side. If the ball doesn’t land on the opponent side, it’s a dead ball, unless the receiving player has hit the ball before it has clearly passed the end line of the table. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. A skilled player can impart spin to the ball, which makes its bounce and reaction on the opponent paddle or racket difficult to predict or return with confidence.

Table tennis is very popular, in East Asia. It is among the most popular sports in the world in terms of player numbers, as well as one of the newest of the major sports. Table tennis is a sport where two or four players hit a ball with rackets back and forth to each other on a table, in a manner similar to tennis. The rules are slightly different, but the concept is quite similar. In singles play, the serve is not required to cross from the server’s right-hand court to the receiver’s right-hand court (or left to left) as it is in tennis. However, serving across is required in doubles play. Ball spin, speed, placement, strategy and tactics play an important part in competitive table tennis matches. The speed of the ball can vary from slow serves with much spin to smashes that travel as fast as 112.5 kilometers per hour.

Sport requirements:

1. A Table measuring 274 cm × 152.5 cm × 76 cm high (9 ft × 5 ft × 30 inches high)
2. The International Table Tennis Federation requires an area not less than 14 m long, 7 m wide and 5 m high for competitions. No limitations in size or shape are specified.
3. Modern rackets usually have a thin layer of rubber covering the racket’s striking surface.
4. The rubber may have pimples pointing outwards or inwards, as well as a thin layer of sponge between the plywood center and the rubber surface.
5. The ball used in table tennis has a diameter of 40 mm, is made of celluloid, and is completely hollow. A three star rating on a ball usually implies a top quality ball, in relation to its bounce, roundness and their respective consistency between balls of the same make and type.

Spin plays a large role in the modern sport of table tennis, the composition of the rubber and the combination of sponge and rubber is designed to maximize the amount of spin and speed a player can impart onto the ball. Other technological improvements include the use of carbon or other synthetic layers as part of the blade to increase the size of the sweet spot or the stiffness of the blade.

Rules:

1. The winner is one who score 11 points first.
2. With each player alternating serves every two points.
3. At 10-10 (or deuce) the players alternate with every serve
4. The winner is then the first person to gain a clear two points advantage over his opponent. The 11 point game is an International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) change which occurred in 2001.
5. All games played at national level and at international tournaments (ITTF) are played to 11 points in either a best of five (5) games (preliminaries) or best of seven (7) games format (championship matches).

Popularity: 2% [?]

Carrom is an Indoor Game. It is from a family of tabletop games sharing a similarity in that their mechanics lie somewhere between billiards and table shuffleboard. The game has various other names around the world, including carrum, carum, karam, karom, karum, and “Indian finger billiards”.

Equipment
The nineteen carrom men are set up in the “outer circle” The game is played on a board of lacquered plywood, normally with a 29 inch (74 cm) square playing surface. The edges of the playing surface are bounded by bumpers of wood. Instead of the balls of billiards games, carrom uses disks (also known as pucks or coins). The object of the game is to strike or flick with a finger a comparatively heavy disk called a “striker” such that it contacts lighter object disks called “carrom men” (alternatively, “carrom seeds”) and propels them into one of four corner pockets. The carrom men come in two colors denoting the two players (or, in doubles play, teams). Traditionally, these colors are white (or unstained) and black. The breaker always plays white.

An additional carrom man is colored red and called the “queen”.Carrom men and two strikers, arranged at the start of a game.

Rules
The aim of the game is to pot one’s own nine carrom men before one’s opponent pots his/hers. However, before sinking one’s final carrom man, the Queen must be pocketed and then “covered” by pocketing one of one’s own carrom men on the same or subsequent stroke. Fouls, such as crossing the diagonal lines on the board with any part of one’s body, or potting the striker, lead to carrom men being returned to the board. The back shot is allowed, which is called thumb shots or (thumbing) . The player is allowed to play with any finger.

Popularity: 2% [?]

While playing games your children are prone to injuries. Therefore one must take utmost care and know of all the safety procedures before hand. As a parent, it is very beneficial to know the causes, prevention as well as medication and treatment of sport injuries, so that your child may be safe and well looked after.

Even though your child is alert and careful while playing games, remember that in most sports and team games, the individuals players may be  bigger or smaller in age, weight and size and all that influence your child.  Further as children grow up, an element of force and strength does get involved in these games. Below is a list of some injury prevention tips for safe playing of games and sports.

Usage of the correct sport equipment :
The right safety gear for any sport should be worn by all children be it helmets, mouth guards, shin guards or even protective eye wear. Protective equipment should be purchased from the right stores and should be of a particular standard to ensure that they really do provide some safety. Further once purchased, the equipment should be carefully maintained to ensure that when the time comes, they perform their function effectively.

Playing fields / courts / surfaces should also be well maintained :
There should be no ruts, ditches or mud humps on the field that may cause your child to fall and injure himself or herself.

Need for adult supervision :
Team activities in particular need proper adult supervision by a certified coach. The coach should also ensure certain rules and playing etiquette that promote safety on the court. The coach or trainer should be trained in first aid as
well as sports injuries.

Preparation of your child to play a sport :
Ensure that your child is prepared mentally and physically to play a particular sport before he goes out onto the field. The necessary physical training should be given. Ensure proper warm up exercises and that your child knows how to play the sport before going in for matches. Such precautionary measures will not only protect your child and prevent him from injuries but will also enable him / her to have fun while playing the sport.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Cricket needs no introduction in India it is one of the most popular sports of the country. We know the game by heart and the legends are on the tips of our tongues. So we this a revision of sorts for the kids. Just to make sure we give them the right guidance to play a fun game.

Cricket is played in 2 styles: Test cricket and One day cricket.

1. Test cricket generally lasts for five days where each team / side has 2 innings.
2. One day cricket is played for a day only and each side has an inning each.

Essentially the game is played between 2 teams. One team sends out a man with a bat on the field. He has to stand in front of 3 sticks with bales balanced on them. They’re wickets. He has to face the other team who is entirely present on the field as fielders and sends a bowler to bowl a season ball, a ball specially made out of leather for the game, which the batsman has to hit with the bat. If the ball hits the wickets he is out. If he does hit the ball he needs to run with his singular partner who’s standing at the opposite wicket as a runner. They need to run to and fro till the ball is retrieved by the fielders of the opponents. That is the basic nature of cricket.

What do you need ?
You need to concentrate on 3 areas before playing cricket. Equipment, Players and Location.

I-Equipment :
The equipment requirements of cricket are a bit painstaking but only go to making the game safer and more fun for your kids. The game is more than just a bat and a ball and wickets. It’s all about padding up and wearing the right gear to get into the role of a master player.

Shoes : Since cricket is played on lawns one needs to be careful that your child’s footwear provides good grip. Essentially the shoes need to be comfortable since cricket has always been a leisure sport. So any kind of tennis shoes would prove sufficient. But if you’d like your child to play the sport as it is prescribed then one should carefully consider the sole of the shoe. Make sure that it provides a decent grip with pimpled rubber soles or spikes or a combination of both.Generally batsmen and fast bowlers prefer spikes for better grip. Fielders and wicket keepers can do with ordinary rubber soled shoes.

Batting Pads :
While batting you must be careful about two things. The bat and the rather hard season ball. And the most important part of you that you must protect is your shins. The ball may sometimes find its way through your bat defence and land up hitting your child’s shins which could prove very painful. Similarly the bat could also miss and accidentally hit the shins. Which is why shin pads for batting are essential. Make sure you secure them well enough to protect your kid’s shins but at the same time not hinder his movements while
running.

Box :
Probably the most important guarding equipment for boys since it protects the part which can prove the most painful. The area we’re talking about is the groin region and the box is an essential protection for batsmen and wicketkeepers.

The Bat :
You can’t play cricket without a bat. This makes the selection of the bat for your child so very important. You will need to pay attention to the height of the bat and its weight. The easiest test is to make your child hold the bat upright next to him or her. The top of the bat should reach the top of your child’s thigh. As for weight, bats vary from piece to piece and it depends on the kind of wood used to craft the bat. When your kid just starts playing cricket, it is advisable to go in for a lighter bat. It would be easy for him to manoeuvre it and would also encourage him to play more. The easiest way to test if the bat weight is perfect is to swing the bat. If your child can make a good swing and a back swing without much effort, the bat is perfect.

Batting Gloves :
Your child’s fingers must be protected in cricket since the season ball is a hard ball. The gloves are specially designed with foam padding for each finger to make the sport safer and more fun.

Helmets :
Though a helmet is a must when your child goes out to bat, invariably they may not use it. Their excuse? It is cumbersome and a pain to carry around. It may not be a practical protection, but try and insist your child wear one. Make sure your child’s helmet also has a face guard too for added protection.

Clothes :
Cricket is traditionally played in white clothes. They keep the body cool during the summers and don’t distract the 13 players on field. But as time has gone by coloured clothes are commonplace in cricket. All you need for cricket nowadays is a short or long sleeved t-shirt or jumper and a pair of comfortable slacks or track pants.

Stumps :
These 3 sticks spell life and death for a batsman. They are made out of willow wood and are 28 inches high. There are two sets, one on each end of the pitch. On top of the wickets are 2 bales. If the bowler manages to knock these over while bowling or if the batsman is stumped during a run, the batsman is out! The stumps are an essential feature of the game though often in gully cricket even chalk lines on a wall or three pieces of wood do just fine.

The Ball :
A cricket ball is made out of two halves of leather stitched together and filled inside with cork. It is a hard ball and the seam where the halves are stitched adds to the uniqueness of the ball. It is also known as a season ball. You could get your child a season ball, but if you prefer that he play a safer game, a tennis or rubber ball would do just as well.

Cricket Equipment Approximate Prices*

• Cricket Bat: Rs.80 – 8000
• Cricket Ball: Rs.100 – 400
• Stumps (two sets of 3 stumps each): Rs.500 – 700
• Pads: Rs.500 – 1500
• Helmet: Rs.350 – 1000
• Gloves: Rs.500 – 1500
• Shin Guard: Rs.100 – 200

* The above prices are indicative prices and may vary according to the quality / brand of equipment.

II-Players :
Cricket ideally needs 22 people and a couple of extras. Divide the teams into 11 each, the two teams will take turns in batting and bowling. A sequence of bowlers should be decided upon from the bowling side and the sequence of batters from the other. The bowlers should assign one wicket keeper and the fielding positions of the other team members. When the first batsman comes onto the pitch he will be followed by the second one too and he will act as the runner, standing on the bowler’s stump, ready to run when the batsman hits the ball. The children should also choose an umpire to manage decisions of the game.

III-Location :
Cricket is primarily played on an open lawn or an ‘oval’ where a strip of earth is called the pitch. It is flanked by the stumps on either end where the bowler and batsman will take their positions. The field should be large enough to hold the fielders in position and a boundary must be set to give the batsmen a target beyond which they hit a 4 and a 6.

How to play ?
The 2 teams toss a coin at the start to decide who will bat and who will bowl. The batting team will send in a batsman and a runner who will take up their position at the stumps. The umpire will stand at the bowler’s stumps. He traditionally dresses in white and observes the game silently. The bowler runs up to the crease and tosses the ball. The batsman has to hit the ball with his bat as far as he can. If he crosses the boundary, he scores a four and if the ball reaches the audience and beyond he scores a six. If the ball rolls anywhere in between it is the job of the fielders to retrieve it. In the meantime the batsmen are supposed to run to each others stumps. With their first switch they score 1 run. They need to keep doing this till they discover that running would be unsafe. Because if they are not in their crease (the area around the stump) they can be stumped by the wicketkeeper or any of the opponents who throw the ball at the wicket! After the bowlers finish their innings of 50 overs (in a one-day) they switch sides and take up the batting stance. The team which makes the maximum number of runs wins.

Popularity: 2% [?]