Mumbai reached Final of IPL 2010

The lip-smacking contest turned out to be a one-sided affair with Mumbai scoring an emphatic 35-run victory on Wednesday. Pollard cracked 33 not out form 13 balls and then took three wickets.

After Saurabh Tiwary and Ambhati Rayadu along with the big-hitting Pollard lifted the Mumbai Indians to an impressive 184-5, Bangalore could manage only 149-9.

Bangalore were always behind the asking rate with Mumbai keeping a tight lid over the scoring except for a brief period when Robin Uthappa (26 0ff 13) opened his shoulders. The Bangalore dasher smashed Harbhajan Singh for 18 runs in the ninth over. Uthappa's cameo was the only bright spot in the Bangalore chase.

Jacques Kallis' sudden slump with the bat continued as he could manage only 11, allowing Tendulkar to keep the coveted Orange Cap. Rahul Dravid (23 off 22), who opened the batting, and Kevin Pietersen (19 off 14)held the fort for a while but the absence of big hits forced Pietersen to step out to Harbhajan Singh but the wily tweaker outfoxed the Englishman by bowling it down the leg side, Ambhati Rayadu did the rest.

It was the tenth over that handed Mumbai a very clear advantage. Uthappa, for once, miscued one off Pollard to hole out in the deep. The very next ball, Dravid was run out when he hesitated for a second in the middle of the pitch in what should have been an easy single.

From there on, the run-rate kept climbing up and Bangalore slipped further. Virat Kohli (nine), Manish Pandey (five) and Praveen Kumar (one) departed in quick succession. Ross Taylor (30 not out off 29 balls) struck occasional blows but he was kept in check by the sharp Mumbai bowling.

Earlier, Mumbai's young guns rose to the occasion as Tiwary (52 not out off 31) and Rayadu (40 of 38) set Mumbai up with a brisk 67-run stand before Pollard bludgeoned three huge sixes.

After Mumbai elected to bat, Bangalore struck a crucial blow early when Dale Steyn managed to send back the in-form Sachin Tendulkar for just a run-a-ball nine. The master batsman was dismissed for a single-digit score for the first time this year. Two overs later, a direct hit from Virat Kohli ended Shikhar Dhawan's knock for 12.
Rayadu and Abhishek Nayar revived the Mumbai innings with a 39-run stand before Bangalore spinners got into action.

Pietersen got rid of Nayar (22 off 18) and took a brilliant catch to dismiss new man JP Duminy (three) in the next over. Then it was Mumbai's finds of the season Rayadu and Tiwary to fire in unison. Both played sensibly before Tiwary launched into Jacques Kallis and Anil Kumble to take 17 each from the experienced duo.

The game was closely poised till the 15th over of the Mumbai innings with the score at 107-4. But Bangalore slipped at the death by leaking 77 runs in the final five overs.
Bangalore will now play the losing team of the second semi-final between the Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers. Mumbai will play the winner of that game in the final on Sunday.

Kareena again playing lead role for Bhandarkar

Kareena Kapoor is playing the lead role in director Madhur Bhandarkar`s next film inspired by the life of legendary Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe. But the director reveals that the actress is yet to give her consent. Now he starting two films.

"We know each other for years. We both admire each other`s work. In `Page3` we wanted to work together but there were some economic problems because of which we couldn`t. I met her and we have spoken on it, but we need to sit for couple of times. Once it`s decided we will make the announcement," Madhur told reporters.

Asked if the economic problem was Kareena quoting a very high price, he said, "It`s not because she was quoting a very high price. It was because our budget of the film was very less. The dates were also clashing. I think she was doing `Chameli` at the time, I wanted to start my film.”

Obama explains about moon programme

US President Barack Obama has outlined his administration's new space exploration plan, vowing to increase NASA's budget by $6 billion over the next five years.

Speaking at the Kennedy Space Centre on Thursday, where America's moon missions originated decades ago, Obama said he was "100 percent committed to the mission of NASA and its future".

Obama said he wants to accelerate the development of a large, heavy-lift rocket to carry astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit. He called for a decision on the new rocket design in 2015.

He said by 2025 he expects US space exploration to reach beyond the moon and further into the solar system's reaches, aiming to send US astronauts into Mars orbit by the mid-2030s.

"By the mid-2030s, I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth, and a landing on Mars will follow," Obama told a gathering of about 200 space scientists and members of the Congress.

The President was making a trip to the heart of the US space industry, seeking to explain why he aborted former president George W. Bush's return-to-the moon plan.

"We've been there before," Obama said. "There's a lot more of space to explore."

Polish President killed by aircraft crashed in Russia

Polish President Lech Kaczynski, was killed on April 10, 2010, with his wife Maria and 130 others including almost all his aides when their aircraft crashed in foggy weather while landing in Russia, officials said.

The disaster, which plunged Poland into grief, occurred when the Russian-built Tupolev 154-M reportedly struck some trees, caught fire and broke up as it approached the airport in Smolensk city in western Russia.

The president and his delegation, which included Polish National Bank president Slawmir Skrzpek, was going to Russia to take part in an official ceremony in Katyn, where 20,000 Poles were slaughtered by Soviet forces during World War II.

The Katyn massacre was a major irritant between Poland and Russia. Kaczynski was reluctant to go there until the last day because he was not sure of getting a proper protocol from the Russian authorities.

He was a great admirer of Indian democracy and a major critic of China. He also had a soft corner for the Dalai Lama and always met him when the Tibetan spiritual leader came to Poland.
In Poland, the speaker of parliament, Bronislaw Komorowski, hurriedly arrived here from Gdansk to take charge as president till a new election is called. Prime Minister Donald Tusk rushed to Warsaw for an emergency meeting of the cabinet.

Elizabeth Taylor to 9th marry in 78

Hollywood legend old is bold Elizabeth Taylor is to marry for the ninth time at the ripe old age of 78, a magazine reported on Friday.

The report said that the actress had secretly become engaged to her long time companion, Jason Winters, 49, an entertainment manager who recently took on Janet Jackson as a client.

Taylor has been married eight times - twice to Richard Burton. Her last marriage, to construction worker Larry Fortensky, ended after five years in 1996.

In 2007 she gushed about Jason Winters to gossip columnist Liz Smith, describing him as "one of the most wonderful men I've ever known, that's why I love him. He bought us a beautiful house in Hawaii and we visit it as often as possible".

Demi Moore Could Never Love Anyone

Demi Moore's film debut was in the year of 1982 3-D science fiction/horror film, She appeared nude on the cover of Vanity Fair under the title More Demi MooreDemi Moore confesses she could never love anyone as much as she loves actor husband Ashton Kutcher, who is 16 years younger to her.

"My husband is an amazing human being and I`m really almost speechless when I try to describe him. There aren`t words to wrap up the amazing gift we`ve found in each other, and the best thing is that he loves me at my most vulnerable, at my most unglamorous and at my least attractive in always, not just physically," femalefirst.co.uk quoted her as saying.

"Love isn`t logical. It comes down to a soul connection, not the physical - the lustre of the exterior will always fade and that`s inevitable, but it`s not what sustains our relationship," she added.

According to the New York Times, Moore is "the world's most high-profile doll collector", and among her favorites is the Gene Marshall fashion doll.

Obama declare no to civil nuclear deal with Pakistan

Obama Administration in a blunt message told it that such a deal is not on platter of its talks with Islamabad. After then Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that his country "qualifies" for a civilian nuclear deal with the US.

"We are focused on Pakistan's energy needs, but, as we said last week, right now that does not include civilian nuclear energy," Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P J Crowley told reporters.

A high-level Pakistani delegation led by the country's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was here last month to launch the US-Pak Strategic Dialogue.

The Pakistani delegation sought a civil nuclear deal with the US on the lines of that of India.
The Obama Administration did not give any concrete assurance to Qureshi, neither did it totally reject the request.

Manisha tie the Knot with Nepali Businessman

The 40-year-old actress Manisha, finally set to tie the knot with Samrat Dahal a businessman of Nepal . grand-daughter of Nepal`s first elected prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, had a minor fling with politics in 2005 when she supported King Gyanendra`s bid to seize power with an army-backed coup.

Manisha, presently shooting in Kerala for a Telugu film, will return to Kathmandu Friday, Khanal and her marriage held on June 19.

She was in Nepal last month to attend the last rites of her grand-uncle Girija Prasad Koirala. At a press conference afterwards, she said the patriarch of Nepal`s politics and five-time prime minister had lamented to her that nobody loved him; people flocked to him only to get something out of him.

The wedding will be a three-day extravaganza that is expected to see Mumbai`s stars descend on Kathmandu.

Manisha, grand-daughter of Nepal`s first elected prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, had a minor fling with politics in 2005 when she supported King Gyanendra`s bid to seize power with an army-backed coup.

However, the move backfired and led to the abolition of monarchy in Nepal, once the world`s only Hindu kingdom.

Will Aamir Accept offer for KBC-4

The buzz in the television world is that Aamir Khan has been offered to host Kaun Banega Crorepati 4 which has had such icons as Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan as former hosts. While Aamir hasn’t accepted the offer, he hasn’t rejected it either, and as the buzz grows to a roar it seems the only hurdle still to be negotiated is the price.

Reportedly Aamir has been offered even more money than SRK was (Rs 75 lakh per episode) and once he sorts his dates out, the deal will be inked. The fact that Aamir is a newbie on television makes this even more of a casting coup for the channel that will ultimately air the show.

Says a source, “Aamir’s initial reaction was to decline the offer for the very reason why he was approached. KBC had already been done by two other superstars. He didn’t want to generate unnecessary comparisons. Also he had decided to set aside the whole year to put finishing touches to his productions.”

When approached, Siddhartha Basu, whose company Synergy is the licensed producer of KBC, the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire says, “It’s too early to talk about the next season of KBC. Sony Pictures, who now owns the game show, might have had initial discussions with Aamir. But the details for the next season will take a long time to formulate.”

I think Aamir should accept this offer and make superhit KBC-4 as 3IDIOT.

Exclusive Pics of Sania Mirza