SCARLET SCARF

A famous saying goes ‘Rules are meant to be broken’ this implies equally to the ‘Records’ as they are also meant to be broken in some time or later. Aces (and un-returnable serves) are especially important in men's tennis, and are becoming ever more important in women's tennis, too. Accuracy and placement choice, more than sheer power are the tools for delivering an ace. And whatever your style of service action speed comes from getting the racket to travel faster as it makes impact with the ball. You do need to be strong to do it, but it's not about having big arm muscles. Flexibility is what is really important. In the Aegon Classic Championship at Birmingham, history knocked at the door of German tennis star Sabine Lisicki when she hit 27 aces in a match against Belinda Bencic. This was a new WTA record made by Lisicki. Before her Serena Williams of US and Kaia Kanepi of Estonia hold the record of 24 aces. She made the record by hitting 16 aces in the first s...

England won the third ODI against New Zealand by seven wickets. The young and energetic English team gave a spectacular overall performance to clinch this victory and level the series 2-2. The last ODI will be played this Saturday on 2o June at Chester-le-Street. After winning the toss in the third ODI at Nottingham, New Zealand, boldly took the decision to bat first. The exceptional batting by Kane Williamson who scored 90 runs were a thrill to watch for the fans in the stadium. This 90 runs were inclusive of 12 splendid four’s and one six. Openers Martin Guptill and skipper Brendon McCullum gave a good opening partnership. Brendon McCullum, who scored 35 runs, lost his wicket to Mark Wood and got caught behind by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. Later Kane Williamson gave a treat of beautiful batting performance, but was 10 runs short for his century when bowler Willey took his wicket. The 50’s and 40’s of Ross Taylor, Grant Elliot and the explosive batting by Mitchell Santner...

When he was awarded Allan Border medal in January 2015, for his prolific performance of scoring 1,756 runs in 22 matches at an average of 67.54 matches which included eight 50s and seven 100s, Australian Cricket was aware of a rising star amidst them. He also won the Australian Player of the year award the very same time.   Steve Smith is currently ranked as the youngest cricketer just after India’s Sachin Tendulkar to be ranked as number one in the latest ICC test rankings. India’s hero Virat Kohli although saw a drop in his ranking as he stands now at no. 11. Australia’s Michael Clarke was once on the first position in the year 2012. Steve Smith who is just 26 years old celebrated his birthday on 2 June. This climb at the top of the ladder comes to him after Australia registers a 277 runs win over West Indies and clinched the trophy and series by 2-0. During his play Steve was unfortunate to complete his maiden double century by an agonising one run at Kingston. Steven...

His flamboyant play and quick-foot as wicket-keeper will be missed henceforth by all the ‘Sanga’ fans as Kumar Sangakkara has taken a final call on his international career. Kumar Snagakkara, Sri Lanka’s top batsman cum wicket-keeper is likely to retire after the first test which will be played against India in the midst of the August 2015.  Currently Sri Lanka will be playing a home series against neighbouring country Pakistan. The three tests and two ODIs will be played with Pakistan, the first test beginning from 17 June to 21 st June 2015.   It seems that Sangakkara has informed the board that he will play the two tests against Pakistan and One test against India which will mark the end of his international career. After exiting from international career Sangakkara is supposed to play for county side Surrey. Kumar had a fantastic international career which had the virtue of leading the Sri Lankan cricket team as a captain. As father of Kavith and...

While playing the 114 th edition of the French Open, Rafael Nadal probably didn’t expect that he won’t conquer the 10 th title successively. There was a rally of criticism built on him over and over again. His injuries and loss of form feared his early knock-out on his favourite court of clay. In the midst of all the infamous speculations Rafael lost to world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in a tough battle. He exited from Rolland Garros, but his words at the post-match presentat ion gave a new hope to all his fans and showed his invincible attitude towards his Tennis!   Rafael Nadal didn’t lose the hope. He participated in the Stuggart Open and to everyone’s surprise he won the finals. This was his second grass court title after July 2010.  All the ‘Rafa’ (as he is fondly called) fans bowed to his win and all the criticism were shut right there. This is just a baby step for Rafael Nadal as he trains and prepares for the upcoming Wimbledon Grand Slam on 29 th June 2015 onwards...

Athletics is the king of all games. This doesn’t mean that other sports are underdogs or less. The track and field events of the athletics bring out the best of the season’s runners, discus thrower, Pole-vault, steeplechase run and many other events that give you goose bumps while you watch. Recently, the Asian Athletics Championship of 2015 took place in Wuhan, China. Apart from all the medal winners of India, these two athletes from India among the squad have made our country proud. Vikas Gowda won the discus throw event with the Gold medal and Tintu Lukka has won the Gold medal in the 800m finals at the Asian Athletics Championship in Wuhan, China.  Vikas cleared 62. O3 metres of discus throw to bag his second consecutive gold at the Asian Championships. For Tinku, this Gold medal has a special importance as this is her first international Gold medal. Vikas Gowda is from Mysore (Karnataka) who did his schooling in the US. His father Shive coached the 1988 India...

India finished with five medals on the final day of Asian Athletic Championship in Wuhan, China. India secured four gold medals, five silver medals and four bronze in the championship. The first place was hauled by China with 15 Gold, 13 Silver, 13 bronze whereas the second position was acquired by Qatar with 7 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze. This is believed to be India’s best finish after the 2007 Asian Athletic Championship where India finished second (Amman, Jordan). Tintu Luka   National record holder Tintu Luka performed her season best i.e. 2:01.53s to win the gold in the women’s 800m final at the Wuhan Sports Centre. This medal has a special importance in her life, as it is her very first gold medal in an international event. This victory had now qualified her for the Beijing World Championship in August. Tintu Luka is yet to qualify for Rio Olympics of 2016. Vikas Gowda In men’s 800m, Jinson Johnson bagged the silver medal. He achieved this, with a time of 1:49:69...

 By: - Disha Mashelkar It is always a sad day for any cricketer to announce his retirement. We all remember how nostalgic was Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid (India’s four strong pillars) when they announced their retirement. The farewell speech given by Sachin Tendulkar had brought everyone into tears. The players who suffer from mental stress and physical pain now and then in their careers also the way they make their comebacks into the national team has always been an important part of their farewell speech. Once again in the world of cricket, a retirement has been announced. This time it comes from England’s one of the best wicket-keeper batsman and a classic stroke player – Matt Prior! 33 year Matt Prior announced his retirement on 11 June on the backdrop of medical advice. He had undergone reconstructive surgery to repair a three-inch tear to his left Achilles tendon. Due to the doctor’s medical advice which advised to avoid ret...

India scored 239/0 in 56 overs before the umpires called stumps off Day 1 of Test, and on Day 2 Monsoon continues its showers. BY DISHA MASHELKAR A whirling tornado of runs started crushing Bangladesh when they couldn’t stop the two giants- Shikhar Dhawan and Murli Vijay from scoring their best performance at Fatullah on Wednesday. India is at 239 at no loss of wicket only for the rains to arrive and inte rfere in the play and which finally called off the stumps. The contribution of Dhawan’s magnificent 150 knock and a steady battling by Murli Vijay (89 runs) are all set for creating a new record in the cricket diaries. Their previous best opening partnership is of 289 runs against Australia. Bangladesh, a side no more a minnow couldn’t pluck the Indian openers although it gave a slight threat of wicket in the beginning. The slower pitch and the monsoon made the conditions for the Bangladeshi bowlers from bad to worse and eventually dismantled them. Indias new and fr...

By Disha Mashelkar Article No: 09 England’s astonishing performance in the first ODI at Birmingham flattened the mighty experienced side of New Zealand at 198 all out.  New Zealand who could not even complete the 50 over match (31.1 over)failed miserably to put up a good show. Except for Ross Taylor (57 runs) and Kane Williamson (45 runs), the Black Caps struggled to defend a gigantic score of 408 runs on board. England’s handsome and brilliant wicketkeeper-batsman Joseph Charles Buttler was one of the key players in England’s win. He astonished New Zealand’s bowler with his incandescent knock of 129 runs which came out of only 77 balls. His ton comprised of 13 fours and five elongated sixes! The others who significantly contributed to the victory of England were Joe Root (104 runs), Steven Finn (4-35) and Adil Rashid (4-55). Buttler's  partenership of 177 runs with Adil Rashid (69) was also a new seventh-wicket record in all one-day internationals. The previ...

By Disha Mashelkar Source: www.icc.com A vibrant and energetic England’s cricket team will face New Zealand at the Edgbaston, Birmingham today. English team will be led by Captain Eoin Morgan who will miss the presence of pace duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad who are rested due to the upcoming Ashes series against Australia in the next month. Along with them Ian Bell, Moeen Ali and Gary Balance also will not be playing in this five one day series.  In the absence of England’s vital team players, they have grabbed in Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Jason Roy and David Willey all filled in, with Liam Plunkett. The memories of devastated England’s team are reminiscent till today. The last time in the Cricket World Cup of 2015, Tim Southee gave the English batsmen chill down the spine with his excellent bowling performance (7 for 33). Also how New Zealand’s captain Brendon McCullum scored 77 runs out of 25 balls and finished the clinched the target of just 123 runs in...

By Disha Mashelkar His flawless one handed backhand always stood out in the Tennis world. His preferred clay surface won him his first French Open at the Rolland Garros. At the age of 30, Stansilas Wawrinka played his best to ousted World number One Novak Djokovic. Stansilas Warinka, popular as ‘Stan’ defeated world number one Novak Djokovic with an impeccable display of shots at the Rolland Garros final by 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, and 6-4 this Sunday. This is his first Grand slam win in Paris and careers second Grand slam just after winning the Australian Open a year ago in 2014. Chances of Novak Djokovic to continue his 28 match winning streak were high on Sunday but ‘Stan’ didn’t leave any ground for mistake especially after losing the first set. "I would like to thank my coach Magnus Norman. You played in the final without winning but this victory is yours as well as mine" He said. Stan Wawrinka is the only second Swiss to win at Roland Garros after Roger Federer, ...

Parupalli Kashyap loses in the Semi-finals of $800,000 Indonesian Open Super Series By Disha Mashelkar The most disappointing match dawned upon P. Kashyap only to leave him upset. The world seeded12th P. Kashyap, after coming so close of winning the $800,000 Indonesian Open Super Series exits the tournament after losing its semi-final. The 28 year old, Indian shuttler P. Kashyap’s marathon run to reach the finals of the $800,000 Indonesia Open Super Series 2015 was briefly ended by the Japan’s young, talented, dynamic and golden streaked hair shuttler Momota Kenta. Momota is just 20 years old and has two times won the World Junior Championship. The match took place at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno stadium. The 2014 commonwealth gold medallist P. Kashyap was disappointed after making it so close yet so far as he had defeated the world no. one Chinese player Chen Long at the quarter-finals stage of this tournament. He was the only hope remaining as World No. 1 S...

By Disha Mashelkar Today as diligent Lucie Safarova will face world no. one Serena Williams, the whole of Paris and Tennis world is expected to witness a rush of adrenaline at the finals of French Open. This is the first time professional tennis player Luice Safarova, has reached the singles final of any Grand Slam in her career.  Lucie Safarova after winning the semi-finals at Rolland Garros Luice has a big fan following at Rolland Garros as well as on ‘Twitter’ (15.4k followers) and is a favourite to clinch today’s winner’s cup! She defeated Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 7-5 in the semi-finals of the French Open and expressed her joy as she fell back on the clay court. Clay court is Lucie’s preferred surface court to play. Lucie Safarova is currently going through the best time of her career. The year 2015 has brought success to her in the form of several achievements. She won the Australian Open 2015 doubles title with her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Futhe...

Bamboozling BISHOO BY DISHA MASHELKAR It is said that ‘History repeats itself’. But what happened on the second day of the test match played between Australia versus West Indies at the Windsor Park was a delight to watch for all cricket fans! Ever heard of the unbelievable leg-break bowled by Shane Warne to Mike Gatting? 4 June 2015 repeated the historical ‘Ball of the Century’! SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES On 4 June 1993, the renowned Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne had picked up the wicket of England’s Mike Gatting with an incredible leg-break. The beauty of his leg-break was hailed all over as ‘Ball of the Century’. On the second day of the Test match played between Australia versus West Indies, Devendra Bishoo replayed Warne’s magical leg-break and has captured the media’s attention. The media and the cricket experts are talking about Devendra Bishoo’s leg-break to the Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, saying it was exactly a replay of Shane Warne’s famous ‘ball ...