Post-record January, auto sales may fall for the 1st instance in 9 years

NEW DELHI: traveler car sales in the country may drop for the first time in nine years this economic in spite of reporting evidence journal sales in January, an industry association said.

Domestic traveler car sales declined 1.19% in the 10 months of April-January to 15.74 lakh units next to 15.93 lakh car sold throughout the similar period last year, according to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

"If sales don't get better in the next two months, the Indian car market is probable to post its initial fall as 2002-03," its manager general Vishnu Mathur told journalists on Wednesday.

Last month, high reduction offers along with steady interest tax on loans helped sales add to 7.6% to all-time high 196,013 cars, recording the third straight journal increase.

Mathur said sales will require producing at least 12% in the last two months to get the association's newest aim of a 2% growth.
SIAM downgraded its filled economic forecast from 16%-18% in April to 10%-12% in July and to 0%-2% in January.

Foremost the drop is the country's main car maker Maruti Suzuki, which expects to shut the year with a 10-11% refuse in sales, according to Mayank Pareek, organization executive officer for sales and marketing at Maruti Suzuki. "We are pregnant to shut the year on unenthusiastic sales," he said.
   

If selectors want I will step down as captain: MS Dhoni

Following India's abysmal performance Down Under, India captain MS Dhoni has been said he is ready to stop down if a suitable replacement is found.

"Captaincy is an additional responsibility that I enjoy. If the selectors feel the need to replace me then I will be happy to step aside," Dhoni was quoted saying by NDTV ahead of India T20 game against Australia.

Under his captaincy, India lost seven consecutive Tests on foreign soil, four of them by an innings and the rest by margins of 196, 319 and 122 runs.

"The need is to find a new captain from beneath the wreckage. Dhoni is no longer the answer in Test cricket," former Australian skipper Ian Chappell had written in one of his columns for a national daily a week ago.

"He has failed dismally to rally the troops in two disastrous overseas campaigns and his own form, not just with the gloves but also with the bat, no longer warrants a guaranteed place in the Test side."

Dhoni made 220 runs in four Tests in England last year at an average of 31.40 and managed just 102 runs in three matches in Australia at 20.40.

Sunil Gavaskar supported Dhoni's retention as Test captain -- but only because there is no suitable replacement.

"At the moment, I can't think of anyone who is good enough to take over from Dhoni,"

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Pakistan vs. England: Jonathan Agnew feature

There are three important values to batting in Test cricket: you require regulation, endurance and method. Unluckily, England's peak order did not relate any of them in the heavy first Test beat against Pakistan.

They just botched to study from their mistakes in the first innings and batted very much the similar way second time round and when your top six batsmen achieve 143 runs between them in a match, the odds are you are leaving to misplace unless the conditions are really hard.

Andrew Strauss's notice for a leg fleeting look to the wicketkeeper may have been contentious, given that replays did not demonstrate obvious contact between bat and ball, but whether he was out or not, it just does not clarify the unfortunate blast assortment that followed.

Kevin Pietersen's caress was terrible and was indicative of England's move toward throughout. It was just a short ball, intentionally bowled, with a man out at bottomless square leg and he hit it directly down his throat.

Alastair Cook's blast was not any better, Ian Bell hasn't got a sign how to play Saeed Ajmal, and though Jonathan Trott played healthy for 49, he then played a very poor stroke to get out.The only three batsmen who played well in this match - Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq and Matt Prior - did it the similar way, by knuckling down, playing directly, playing tolerantly and picking off the runs as and when they could.

You don't play champagne cricket on these pitches, they need a small piece of work to get in, but this has not been a hard pitch.

That would at least allow them to field a second spinner and transport in the option of receiving more lbw decisions through the Decision Review System.

BCCI unlikely to move against senior players

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), though disturbed by the back-to-back setbacks in England and Australia, will refrain from taking a call on the careers of under-performing senior players.

"Whether the seniors should retire or be dropped is something to be decided by the selectors or the players themselves. The board can’t interfere in this matter,” said BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale.

Asked if the Indian Premier League (IPL) was the reason for India not finding youngsters good enough for Test cricket, he said everything can’t be blamed on the IPL. “It has its positives and negatives.”

Admitting that India’s overseas showing has been horrendous of late, he said every team going through a transitional phase has endured such setbacks, including the mighty Australia and England.

“It’s impossible to produce cricketers of the calibre of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. So, these things will happen,” he said, implying that Indians fans should prepare themselves for more agony.

He said some plans to resurrect the plunging fortunes of Indian cricket were on the anvil.

“First and foremost, we are focussing on restructuring domestic cricket  - infrastructure, playing conditions and especially wickets. You can’t expect youngsters who have grown up on Indian wickets to perform on bouncy and seaming wickets all at once. It’s important to prepare good wickets, and the knockouts in the Ranji Trophy this year were played on difficult wickets,” said Jagdale.

“We are waiting for Sourav Ganguly, chairman of the BCCI’s technical committee. We will sit down with him and discuss how to refurbish our domestic cricket,” he said.

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Sports Minister Aluthgamage: Sri Lanka cricket squad is in a disaster

Sri Lanka's sports education minister annoying the nationwide cricket team's current performances, saying the side was riven by politics and in "disaster".Mahindananda Aluthgamage vowed to bring a severe speech to the players when they go back later on this month from their tour of South Africa, where they last week misplaced the Test series 2-1.

"The Sri Lanka cricket team is in a disaster condition. It is very unlucky," Aluthgamage told journalists in Colombo. "The players are not clicking together off-field and it has shown in the consequences on the meadow."

“Once the players return, I plan to convene them," Aluthgamage said. "I sense there is a set of interior politics within the players that is spilling over to the cricket field."

Since the departure of bowling star Muttiah Muralitharan in July 2010, Sri Lanka has won only one Test match, although they did arrive at the last of the one-day World Cup previous year.

Sri Lanka will at present play five one-day internationals in South Africa preliminary on Wednesday, before heading to a tri-series contest in Australia which also includes India.

The government has frequently been accused of interfering in the game and new unconcealed elections for the cricket slat were caught up in allegations of interference.Aluthgamage's commentary came after Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan answerable his side's conflicting outcome on the island's feeble domestic prospect.

It is very hard to discover good cricketers. We have to accurate our domestic structure. Coming from our club cricket to global cricket is a enormous dissimilarity," he said after behind the Test series.

Sydney Cricket land to get USD 191 million alteration

The iconic Sydney Cricket land is all find to get a major facelift in front of the 2014 Ashes sequence for an enormous USD 191 million. As per the renewal plan, three viewer stands will be demolished for an enormous state-of-the-art impress. 

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and NSW (New South Wales) Prime Minister Barry O'Farrell have announced USD 191 million for the upgradation of the Bradman, Noble and courier stands on the time of SCG's 100th Test match on Tuesday.

The rebuilding work at SCG will start in March and is expected to be complete in occasion for the Ashes sequence next to England in near the beginning 2014.The SCG renowned its 100th Test match today when India and Australia squared off in the second Test of the four-match series and Prime Minister Gillard chose the time to admiration the significant land by announcing the overhaul tactics.

"This is a thrilling project, not only for Sydneysiders but for all Australians, who have full-grown up surveillance the New Year's Test and relishing in the history and custom of the land," Gillard said in a declaration.

The refurbished SCG will have a rooftop patio with views of the city skyline, 700-person dining space and protected player influx area.The upgradation will also improve the ability of the land, which also hosts Australian system football and National Rugby League games, from 45,000 to approximately 48,000.

The SCG, commonly known as the "grand lady", in progress as an armed cricket land in the 1850s and hosted its first Test match in 1882 between Australia and England.

Strauss's England is a large hit in an unbelievable time for cricket

It has been an unbelievable time for cricket and England will begin 2012 on pinnacle of the world in the Test and Twenty20 formats.We asked our board of experts, past England captain, Sportsmail writer and Sky Sports critic Nasser Hussain, past England coach,Sportsmail columnist and Sky pundit David Lloyd and Wisden editor Lawrence Booth. Cricket Correspondent Paul Newman was in the chair...

Paul Newman: Gentlemen, there have been very little improved days than 2011 for the England team. What are your highlights?

David Lloyd: Let's go correct reverse to the begin and the fifth take a look at in Sydney. Jimmy Anderson and Tim Bresnan's magnificent bowling and the power of England with lots of form Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Matt earlier. They fully overwhelmed Australia.

Nasser Hussain: We've knotted up at Sydney with the Ashes extended left down the times and to learn the SCG twisted into little Britain on the last day, with hardly an Australian follower within the place, was extraordinarily pleasing for all people. it absolutely was huge to find out England shut them off in such approach.

Lawrence Booth: It has been a fantastic day for England at check level throughout. India here within the summer because the world's No one and England simply blew them away with a restricted name of cricket that Andy Flower has them enjoying. The fineness of  England completes up for the disappointment India’s performances.

Newman: Let's converse about the one spot on England's scenery. Why have they not been clever to break in excess of cricket? It's secrecy.

Hussain: A set of England's victory has return from grinding down the resistance and staying within the game. They never enable up and in more than 5 days have proved themselves the highest about. However it's all about vogue in fifty over’s and perhaps they solely need to keep in mind to envision ball, hit ball. Check up on Virender Sehwag drumming a twice hundred against West Indies. He did not seem as if he'd make two hundred runs if he had batted all year in England, however place him on a level taking part in field in India in a very 50-over game and watch him go. Suresh Raina is that the same.

Newman: On that memo let's finish by hopeful that the very busy cricketing year of 2012 is a very happy one!

F1 gone cricket at the back in fame stakes

The year 2011 saw extra and extra Indian sports education rising out of the shade of cricket. Method one and pro boxing were the first offs the chunk to bend a lot of eyeballs and the multimillion-dollar planet sequence Hockey looks high-quality for snatching its split.

It is cricket that showed them the technique to imprison the marketplace split by productively piloting the Indian Premier League (IPL) and worldwide games administrators are looking at India as a chief target to marketplace their game. A rationally optimistic wealth and a billion people are heartening enough for them to imagine that they can advertise their activity here.

Formula One grabbed the primary chance and its opening Grand Prix at Buddh International Circuit (BIC) at superior Noida was a large strike, erasing the tart reminiscences of a tainted Commonwealth Games a year ago.

Fascinatingly, earlier that week there were a few takers for India's ODI cricket series. The contest was one of the most watched fair actions in the world.Accolades poured in for contest promoters Jaypee Sports International which pulled off the show without a main disagreement over that weekend.

Boxing, too, complete a wet in a big way. For long, the world body was preparation an IPL-style event in the circle and it led to the birth of the World Series Boxing (WSB). India is represented in the global city-based association by Mumbai Fighters, owned by TransStadia, a games and activity corporation.

The start of the World Series Hockey (WSH) ran into disagreement as it clashed with the training of the state team for the Olympic requirement contest. After weeks of haggling, it is put off to February. The promised cost to group of actors was so beautiful that even those who have retired are rear on the grass.

Cricket must admiration fans: Dravid

Cricket risks killing the goose that lays the fair-haired egg if it disrespect fans by forecast too several worthless worldwide matches, ex India Captain Rahul Dravid has said.

Dravid, the primary Indian to offer the annual Sir Donald Bradman Oration, said the game required to search out a balance between the three formats of the sport and should think about taking part in check matches, the “gold standard” of the sport, at night.“It should level down this mad merry-go-round that groups and players realize themselves in: keeping off for two-test tours and seven-match ODI series with a couple of Twenty20s thrown in,” the 38-year-old said in his speech late on Wednesday.

“Test cricket deserves to be protected; it is what the world best recognizes they're going to be judged by. Where I come back from, nation versus nation is what got people fascinated by cricket within the   first place.

“When I hear the news that a rustic is enjoying without a number of its best players, I perpetually surprise, what do their fans think?“We should actively fight to induce as several (fans) as we can, to form a test match setting that the players and the fans feed off. Something however the sight of tests played on empty grounds.

Fans merit respect

Dravid said that might have an effect on the worth of TV rights.“If that happens, it is laborious to find out rights around cricket being as asked for as they need perpetually been within the last fifteen years. “Everything that has given cricket its power and influence within the world of sports has started from that fan within the stadium,” he added.

“They deserve our respect and allow us to not take them without any consideration. Disrespecting fans is disrespecting the sport.”Dravid said the largest dangers facing the game were spot-fixing and players being tempted to get involved with the betting business. Players ought to be ready to offer up a “little bit of freedom of movement and privacy” to battle those scourges and endure lie detector tests if necessary, he said.

Excerpts from Dravid’s words at the Bradman address

Thank you for inviting me to deliver the Bradman Oration; the respect and therefore the regard that came with the invite to talk tonight, is deeply appreciated.

I realize a really distinguished list of gentlemen have preceded me within the 10 years that the Bradman Oration has been held.  I do know that this Oration is held each year to understand the life and career of Sir Don Bradman, an excellent Australian and an excellent cricketer. I perceive that I am alleged to talk about cricket and problems within the game — and I will.

The individuals of each our countries are usually told that cricket is that the one issue that brings Indians and Australians along. That cricket is our single common denominator.

India’s first test series as a free country was played against Australia in November 1947, 3 months once our independence. it is however, incongruous, that I, an Indian, happen to be the primary cricketer from outside Australia, invited to deliver the Bradman Oration. I don’t say that solely as a result of Sir Don once scored 100 before lunch at Lord’s and my a hundred at Lord’s this year took virtually a whole day.

What we have to do is use the simplest way to confirm that test matches work into twenty-first century life, through timing, environments and the held in. there's a proposal doing the rounds on scrapping the 50-over game fully. I am undecided I trust that —actually recognize that the 50-over game helped us innovate strokes in our batting that we tend to were then able to take into test matches. The future lie in taking part in one-day internationals targeted around ICC events, like the Champions Trophy and the World Cups.

Rooney ban provides Fabio Capello worry

Capello's worst fears were realized when UEFA handed Wayne Rooney a three match prohibit that will see him miss all of England's Euro 2012 group games.

Rooney's kick at Montenegro's Miodrag Dzudovoic last Friday was judged "an assault" by UEFA's control and disciplinary board, who stuck to the letter of the rule in handing out the punishment in spite of a plea for leniency from the FA.

It means Fabio Capello now has to judge whether to take Rooney as part of his squad to Poland and Ukraine, and trust that he can make an impact if England makes it through to the quarter finals.

The Football Association will wait for the full reasons behind the conclusion before deciding whether to appeal. The ban could even be increased by an appeal panel, but that would be doubtful and it looks odds on that the FA will attempt to have the suspension reduced.

The Manchester United striker is understood to be very disappointed in the result but will follow the FA's recommendation about any appeal.

Former England striker Alan Shearer described the ban as "a vast blow" to England's opportunities in the European Championships, and called the kick "a silly mistake".

Shearer told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's a vast blow. It's not only a enormous blow to the team, to the fans and to football followers but to Wayne himself because he realizes he's made a stupid fault.

"I still think whoever replaces Rooney in the team, England still should have plenty to get through the three games without him."

Phil Neville, Rooney's former team mate for United and England, labeled the decision "a joke".

The Everton midfielder said on Twitter: "Rooney prohibited for three games what a joke but it was a Dutch Italian German Spanish player they wouldn't even get 1 game #fact."

Rooney was shown a straight red by German referee Wolfgang Stark for kicking Dzudovoic England boss Capello confessed it was a "silly error" by the 25-year old, who instantly put himself in danger of receiving the 3 match ban.

UEFA's disciplinary rules state that a player will receive a "suspension for three competition matches or for a particular period for assaulting another player or other person there at the match".

A UEFA report said: "Today's decision was taken in relation to the red card shown to Rooney for assault after 74 minutes of England's final Group G game, the 2-2 draw with Montenegro in Podgorica.

"The striker will at the present be suspended from playing in his country's next three UEFA national competition matches for which he would be entitled."

The FA have three days to make a decision whether to appeal, and they said in a declaration: "Further to UEFA's decision to enforce a three-match suspension on Wayne Rooney following his sending-off against Montenegro, the FA wait for the full reasons from the disciplinary committee, and will give full consideration to the decision internally, before deciding on any response to UEFA or making any further public remark."

The FA had taken some expect from a previous case involving Andrey Arshavin, who was given a two match ban and missed Russia's first two games of Euro 2008 after being sent-off against Andorra. But in that case television proof was less clear cut than in Rooney's.

In 2004, Chelsea's Marcel Desailly was initially gave a three-match ban for elbowing Monaco's Fernando Morientes but that was reduced on plea to two games after UEFA said the act was not purposeful.