World’s Fastest Bowler Brett Lee Visits Smaaash

Last weekend, we saw World’s deadliest and fastest bowler Brett Lee visit Smaaash Entertainment, India’s first world class sports and entertainment arena at Kamala Mills, Mumbai.

Brett Lee, who considers India his second home interacted with his fans who had especially come to Smaaash to meet their favorite cricketing legend. We will also see Brett Lee making his debut in film ''UnIndian'' which releases on 5th August.

Smaaash houses a number of Urban Games which includes one-of-its-kind 360-degree Smaaash Cricket Simulator, Twilight Bowling, ‘Superkeeper’ the supersonic Football game, Virtual Reality games like, FlyMax, F1 Simulator, Walk the Plank apart from classic Arcade Games.  Other experiences to look forward to are the Oculus-based ‘Finger Coaster’, ‘Nitro Wheelie’ a super bike simulator to name a few.

Some of the latest additions at Smaaash Mumbai centre include Snow Rush which is a well equipped snow play area with attractions like slides, sledges, snowboards and igloos that will make you reconsider living in the city and a 430 meter multilevel Sky Karting track, which is the most advanced and the most safe karting facility in India.

Sachin Tendulkar becomes Smartron’s Brand Ambassador

Smartron India Private Limited has announced a new innings with the Cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar. Besides being the brand ambassador of Smartron, Sachin is also a strategic shareholder in the company. 

Smartron has been operating in stealth mode since August 2014 and is set to launch a slew of smart devices and Internet of Things (IoT) products for consumer and enterprise markets in the first quarter of FY 2016-17.

Smartron is riding on the back of the IoT wave by innovating in the areas of smart, sensor, robotics, artificial intelligence, cloud and big data technologies to bring next generation smart devices, services and care targeting consumer, enterprise, industrial and infrastructure markets. 

Commenting on the association, Sachin said, “I have always been fascinated by technology. Smartron’s founding vision for the need for a robust product ecosystem in the country to grow is very impressive. We need to support brands that are “designed and engineered in India” by our Entrepreneurs and Engineers that ably compete in the global markets. I look forward to being part of the growth journey of Smartron buoyed by tremendous growth opportunities offered by IoT worldwide.” 

Oxigen Sponsors the New Zealand T20 Cricket Team

Oxigen Services has announced that it will be the Official Sponsors for New Zealand Cricket T20 squad this cricket season. Under the sponsorship alliance, the NZC T20 squad will be facilitated by Oxigen for matches in India, which entails their tour to India in October and November this year and for the World Cup T20.

New Zealand Players will be seen sporting Oxigen jerseys during the World Cup T20 and their tour to India. The jerseys are designed with the brand’s official logo positioned on the lead arm for the T20 World Cup and in front, on the chest for the ODI matches during the India tour.

 In the recent past, Oxigen has also sponsored tournaments like Masters Champions League 2020, UAE; Cricket All Stars, USA; the South African Proteas #Proteafire & the New Zealand Blackcaps ,#Backupblackcaps, for World T20.

Virat Kohli's swashbuckling innings helps India defeat Pakistan

India maintained their WIN record over arch-rivals Pakistan in ICC events with a six wicket victory at the ongoing World T20 campaign. Thanks to Kohli, the man-in-form belted 7 fours and a six to score an unbeaten 55 runs of 37 balls. 

This was also Kohli's third successive half-century in T20 format. India were struggling at 23 for 3, and with Yuvraj Singh (24), he added 61 runs for the fourth wicket. Raina was bowled for a first-ball duck by Mohammad Sami.

Earlier the hosts won the toss and elected to bowl. India bowled quite well and Pakistan could manage only 118 for five in the 18 over game at a turning track at the Eden Gardens. Shoaib Malik top scored for Pakistan with 26 runs.

This was India's 11th straight win over Pakistan in the ICC World tournaments. This win also India's first win against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens. 

Kohli swept Malik for a six and a boundary in the 11th over and got the match in India's favour. Captain cool, Dhoni joined the party when he hit a massive six. He got a single to finish the match in the 16th over.

[India 119 for 4 (Kohli 55 no.), Pakistan 118 for 5 (Malik 26)] 

Chris Gayle is the "UNIVERSE BOSS" after hitting T20 World Cup century

West Indian 'Terminator' Gayle smashed 100 not out off 48 balls with 11 massive sixes and five fours to lead his team to victory against England in the World Twenty20 opener in Mumbai. Gayle ran for ONLY 14 out of the 100 runs he scored. West Indies won the encounter by six wickets with 11 balls to spare. 

After the match, he told BBC “You want to stamp your authority on the big occasion when the world is watching so the Universe boss has got to deliver and he did. The Gayle force got the better of England today.”

Earlier England scores a respectable 182 for 6 with Joe Root as top scorer for his team. Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo picked up two wickets each.

A few tweets after Gayle's knock:

Brian Lara: Well done Windies! @henrygayle magnificent innings!! Plenty areas to improve guys go back to the drawing board and work out those weak areas

Allan Donald: @henrygayle @RCBTweets Man what a knock from the big man tonight. Glad I share the same dressing at RCB with him

Yuvraj Singh: Gaylestorm !! @henrygayle @ICC

England 182 for 6 in 20 overs (Joe Root 48 ( 36b, 3×4, 2×6), Jos Buttler 30 (20b, 3×6) Andre Russell 2-36; Dwayne Bravo 2/41) lost to West Indies 183/6 in 18.1 overs (Chris Gayle 100 n.o (48b, 5×4, 11×6) Marlon Samuels 37 (27b, 8×4); Adil Rashid 1/20) by 6 wickets. 

T20 World Cup: Shocking defeat for India, lose by 47 runs against New Zealand

Starting as favorites for the tournament, India lost to the Black caps in the opener of the World T20 cricke at Nagpur. Kiwi captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat. The Kiwi's picked three specialist spinners and humbled hosts India by 47 runs in a spin-track on Tuesday.

New Zealand posted 126 for 7 as wickets fell regularly at Nagpur’s VCA Stadium. We saw a jam-packed house at the match. New Zealand’s spin attack Mitchell Santner (4-11), Nathan McCullum (2-15) and the Indian-born Ish Sodhi (3-18) finished the job for New Zealand as the hosts were bundled out for 79 in 18.1 overs. Captain cool MS Dhoni top scored for India with 30.  

New Zealand 126 for 7 (Anderson 34, Bumrah 1-15, Raina 1-16) beat India 79 (Dhoni 30, Santner 4-11, Sodhi 3-18) by 47 runs

Pakistani Model Qandeel Baloch vows to ‘strip dance’ if Pakistan win against India

Pakistan's Poonam Pandey and social media sensation Qandeel Baloch has promised to strip if Pakistan defeats India in the ongoing World Cup T20 match on March 19. In a series of videos published on her Facebook page, Baloch vows to ‘strip dance’ if Pakistan defeats India in ICC World T20 on March 19 to be held at Kolkatta. 

“If Pakistan beats India in the match scheduled on March 18, I’ll strip dance for the country and will dedicate the dance to our captain Shahid Afridi,” she says.  Qandeel Baloch requested Shahid Afridi in the video to forget the past differences between him and with the model.

Way back in 2011, Indian model Poonam Pandey had promised to strip if India won the 2011 ODI World Cup but did not get to do it as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) banned her from stripping. We hope that Pakistan Cricket bBoard (PCB) plays sporty this time unlike the BCCI. India and Pakisan will be locking horns at Eden Gardens in the second group match on March 19. And for the records, Pakistan has never defeated India in any of the matches at the World Cup. 




  

Google releases experimental features for the ICC World T20 2016

The thrill, the challenge, the excitement..all the ingredients needed for a competitive tournament in cricket's own paradise—India! With the ICC World Twenty20 now in full swing, Google has launched two two new experimental features in Search to make keeping up with all the cricket news easier —   fresh content directly from your favorite cricket players, personalities and commentators, and a new live sports commentary panel.

Want to read Captain Cool MS Dhoni’s latest match reflections? Or see what Virat Kohli’s been up to on and off the pitch? During the ICC World T20, people will now be able to hear from your favorite cricketers more easily. Now if you search for Ravindra Jadeja, in addition to the news articles, tweets and links you’re used to seeing in Google Search, you’ll also see posts, match photos, or videos directly from him.

See live sports commentary in Google Search

Google is also making it easier for you to find commentary from a wide range of players, commentators and experts right from Search. Now, when you search for cricket and ICC World Twenty20 related queries like “T20” or team names during and after matches, you’ll see real-time commentary on the match from a range of cricket stars. That way you can catch Akash Chopra’s most recent quip or Boria Majumdar’s anecdotes on cricketing history.

Tune into the following matches to see real-time commentary: 

These commentary panels will launch just in time for today’s highly anticipated India vs New Zealand match and will be available for the ICC T20 games listed below.

These new Search features are experimental and running only during the ICC World T20 2016. They follow on from the launch of score updates and match schedules in Search last week. We hope you’re enjoying them and making the most of the front row seat to all the games that you have in the palm of your hand.

See curated content directly from the following players, teams and commentators throughout the ICC World T20

'Shame on you' Javed Miandad lashes out at Afridi

Boom Boom Shahid Afridi has caused uproar among his countrymen when he said he is loved by Indian crowds more than crowds back home in Pakistan. Team Pakistan reached India amidst high security on Saturday after getting permission from their government to play in the tournament.

Afridi and Miandad in 2010. Image: Getty

The Pakistan versus India match which was originally scheduled at Dharamshala (security concerns) has been relocated to Kolkata.

Attempting to play down, Afridi said: "We are cricketers and not politicians. "We have always enjoyed playing in India and have been loved by Indian crowds more than crowds back home in Pakistan," he added, with fellow veteran Shoaib Malik reportedly echoing the sentiment. "Cricket has always brought people together and I think politics should be kept away from cricket."

"These cricketers should be ashamed of themselves for saying such a thing. Shame on you," Miandad said on the Aaj TV network.  "What have the Indians given us? Speak the truth even while in India. "For the last five years what have they given us or done with Pakistan cricket? "Having served Pakistan cricket for so many years I am shocked and hurt to hear such comments from our players." India and Pakistan square off in Kolkata this Saturday, March 19.

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Royal Stag Barrel Select Perfect Strokes Season 3

The thrill, the challenge, the excitement..all the ingredients needed for a competitive tournament in cricket's own paradise—India!  With the T20 World Cup round the corner, the Indian cricket team carries the anticipation of more than 1.2 billion fans to reclaim the T20 World Cup. Kicking off the excitement, Royal Stag Barrel Select Perfect Strokes Season 3 hosted a talk show with cricket champions Virender Sehwag, Mahela Jayawardene & Dwayne Bravo at an event in Mumbai. 

Royal Stag Barrel Select Perfect Strokes is a platform that talks about ‘Perfection’.  Ace Indian opener Virender Sehwag shared his insights on how team India created the perfect magical amalgamation that inspired them to only take the World Cup home but how they had to rework their strategy to win the previous titles. The raging debate was further boosted by All-rounder, right handed batsman, Dwayne Bravo who shared his keen insights on what all goes into the making of a perfect team for victory. On an inspiring note, the impeccable moments and success mantras of Former Sri Lankan cricketer and Captain, Mahela Jayawardene in the game set the tone for this season. 

Royal Stag Barrel Select Perfect Strokes explored the art of perfecting the game of cricket with Gary Kirsten and Mohinder Amarnath. While Season 2 decoded the art of perfecting cinema with eminent Bollywood celebrities Javed Akhtar, Raju Hirani, Imtiaz Ali, Zoya Akhtar and Tabu. Season 3 is back to unfold the ‘Perfect Strokes’ in the game of cricket.