Paes-Hanley pair gets first-round bye in Barcelona

Leander Paes and his Australian partner Paul Hanley got a first-round bye in the Euro 888,000 Open Sabadell Atlantico tennis tournament in Barcelona.

The sixth seeds will now take on the winners of the match between the Argentine-Uruguayan pair of Juan Ignacio Chela and Pablo Cuevas and Spanish wildcards Guillermo Alcaide and Albert Montanes in the second round of the clay court event.

Paes and Hanley were ousted in the second round of last week's Monte Carlo Masters.

NDTV 24x7 brought this news to me. It is an excellent news channel for NRIs. This channel is available in the US through DirecTV. You can now receive the latest news about India.

Bhajji pleads guilty, banned for 11 IPL matches

NDTV 24×7: Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been banned for 11 matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) following his spat with Sreesanth at the end of Mumbai Indians’ match against Kings XI Punjab on Friday. It would effectively end Bhajji’s stint in the first edition of the IPL - unless Mumbai make it to the semi-finals, which looks highly unlikely at this point.

Harbhajan also faces separate action from the BCCI, which has asked him to explain, “as a contracted player”, his role in the incident which came to light after Sreesanth broke down in front of the cameras.

Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said on Monday that Sudhir Nanavati, a lawyer, has been appointed to conduct a “preliminary inquiry” and submit a report “within 15 days” to Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, who will refer the findings to the board’s disciplinary committee for possible action.

This is a totally uncalled for controversy to hit IPL. I hope it sorts itself out and we can get back to the game.

I saw a report on this issue on NDTV 24x7 which is available here in the US only on DirecTV.

Gilchrist smashes fastest ton in IPL

I missed the IPL match between Deccan Chargers & Mumbai Indians but NDTV 24x7's crisp coverage was good enough for me.

Adam Gilchrist produced a breathtaking hundred to take Deccan Chargers to their first win. It meant that Mumbai Indians slumped to their fourth straight loss. Adam's century is the fastest so far in the Indian Premier League.
The former Australia wicketkeeper clubbed a 42-ball hundred with 10 sixes and nine fours making a joke of the 155-run target that Mumbai had set. Hyderabad were home by 10 wickets with an astounding 44 balls to spare. Hyderabad captain VVS Laxman made 36, playing bass to Gilchrist's electrifying riffs.

NDTV 24x7 is a must for Indians living in the US as it covers India-centric news extensively. The news channel is available in the US through DirecTV.

Boucher leads Bangalore to win

South Africa's Mark Boucher hammered an unbeaten 39 to ensure that Bangalore Royal Challengers defeated Mumbai Indians by five wickets with two balls to spare for their first win in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.

Boucher smashed four boundaries and two sixes and was involved in a crucial 55-run partnership for the fifth wicket with compatriot Jacques Kallis (25, 24 balls, 1x6) to script a thrilling win at a fully packed and noisy Wankhede Stadium.

Chasing 166 for a first win in the Twenty20 competition, the Vijay Mallya-owned Bangalore team survived a slow start and a mid-innings hiccup to romp home with two balls to spare.

Mark Boucher (39 not out) was the highest scorer for the Bangalore team while captain Rahul Dravid (32), Jacques Kallis (25) and Virat Kohli (23) also chipped in with useful contributions.

Watched a report about this on NDTV last night. It is an excellent Indian news channel and i'm so glad i subscribed to DirecTV which allows me to access this channel.

IPL is not a light competition: Ganguly

NDTV Reports: With big names and huge money involved in it, the IPL cannot be a "light competition", former India captain Sourav Ganguly said on Thursday, dismissing suggestions that the much-hyped event would be a non-serious affair.

Ganguly, leading the Kolkata Knight Riders team which takes on Bangalore Royal Challengers in the inaugural game at M Chinnaswamy stadium, said it's going to be a serious competition, given "so many big names, so much money involved in it", and there being a "question of reputation (at stake for many players)".

"It cannot be a light competition", he said after the practice session.

Despite his T20 plunge, Ganguly held test cricket in highest esteem and said a player should be judged by his performance in five-day cricket.

"That's how (performance in test cricket) a player should be judged", Ganguly said.

Even in the case of fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who has burst into the international scene, Ganguly said he would judge the bowler from his performance in Test cricket over a decade.

Watched Ganguly's interview on NDTV last night. Its available in the US only on DirecTV...

Irked by study choice, NRI kills daughter

NDTV Reports:
An Indian national stabbed to death his 17-year-old daughter who had been awarded a scholarship to study medicine in Chennai because he did not want her to go to India, reports said in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

S Narrmata was stabbed repeatedly by her father Selvaraj Deekramasamy, 49, who also killed his younger sister Mahalaxmi, before hanging himself from a ceiling fan, the reports said.

All of them were Indian nationals living in Malaysia as Permanent Residents. Selvaraj, 49, an ex-taxi driver was unemployed for the last 10 years, while his wife was a cleaner.

Media reports said the family prayed together at about 2pm on Sunday before having lunch to celebrate the Tamil New Year. The incident took place after his wife left for work.

Narrmata, who had obtained top marks in her exams had been awarded a scholarship to study medicine in Chennai. Her father was against her studying in India.

Shocking!!! I saw a report about this on NDTV last night. It was very well reported and presented. NDTV is available here in the US on DirecTV...

Americans seek employment in India

Though, India might still not be a hot destination for foreigners like the US is for Indians for jobs, applications for work visa has been gradually increasing. From what used to be a rare category of visas a couple of years ago, hardly a day passes when the Consulate in New York does not receive at least one such application in this regard.

In the past two years, the New York Consulate has issued work visa to more than 900 people. In 2006 the New York Consulate issued 335 employment visas while in 2007, more than 430 employment visas were issued. If the trend of the first three months is of any indication, 2008 could well break all previous records.

This is widely being attributed to the recent economic recession here which has resulted in job loss in thousands, wherein US multinationals have shifted their work oversees mainly to countries like India and China.

India’s economy is certainly growing by leaps and bounds. NDTV 24x7 has been continually covering India’s economic growth. This channel provides great coverage to all India related stories from all over the world. NDTV 24x7 is indeed a very good channel for NRIs and is available in the US through DirecTV.