Tag: India

NEW DELHI - The clash between Pakistan and India in the World Cup semi-finals will showcase one of the world's most intense sporting rivalries, fuelled by nationalism, bloodshed and a shared history.
On the cricket field, a knock-out World Cup match on Indian soil is the biggest fixture between the two rivals for decades, and the excitement across the region is already sky-high ahead of Wednesday's clash in Mohali. After Thursday's victory over defending champions Australia,

NEW DELHI - India's leading newspaper apologised on Thursday for suggesting that a World Cup match between Australia and Zimbabwe was under investigation for match-fixing.
The Times of India had claimed that the February 21 game in Ahmedabad was being probed by the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption body. "We apologise to Australia, Cricket Australia and the ICC for any embarrassment caused by this," the newspaper posted on its website.
"We also accept that at

LAHORE - The United States was dismayed when India moved a proposal for a United Nations Security Council designation of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) as a terrorist organisation, concerned that the move would stymie its own efforts to push through a "more ambitious list" of designations, Indian newspaper The Hindu reported on Friday.
The Security Council's 1267 Committee, or the Al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee, designated the JuD on December 11, 2008, a day after India moved

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Thursday said peace process with India must be "uninterrupted and uninterruptible" as dialogue was the only way forward to resolve the disputes between the nuclear neighbours.
"Pakistan believes dialogue is the only way forward. This dialogue must be uninterrupted and uninterruptible," Foreign Office spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said while addressing her weekly press briefing.
On a recent agreement between Islamabad and New Delhi regarding the

AHMEDABAD - Pakistan are set to face archrivals India in the second semi-final of the Cricket World Cup in Mohali after the co-hosts beat defending champions Australia by five wickets in the second quarter-final on Thursday.
Australia, who won the last three World Cups, made 260 for 6 after winning the toss, with skipper Ricky Ponting making a century, but India finished on 261 for five in the 48th over to secure their place in the semi-final, which will take place on March

AHMEDABAD - India sparked jubilant celebrations among its billion plus fans after ending Australia's remarkable 12-year reign as World Cup champions with a thrilling five-wicket win in the quarter-finals on Thursday. Chasing 261 for victory, India fumbled and faltered but half-centuries from Sachin Tendulkar (53), Gautam Gambhir (50) and Yuvraj Singh (57 not out) eventually helped them to overwhelm the target with 14 balls to spare and set up a mouthwatering semi-final with Pakistan.

DHAKA - Pakistan coach Waqar Younis relishes the prospect of playing the last two matches in India to win the World Cup as his team continued its ruthless march in the tournament. Pakistan, led from the front by inspirational captain Shahid Afridi, crushed the West Indies by 10 wickets on Wednesday to advance to their first semi-final since 1999. The easy win set up a potentially explosive semi-final against arch-rivals India in Mohali on March 30, if the co-hosts beat defending

AHMEDABAD - Australian skipper Ricky Ponting reckons his batsmen know what to expect in World Cup quarter-final, just as their Indian counterparts know what awaits them.
Ponting on Wednesday made it amply clear that the four-times champions would employ their time-tested formula of unleashing raw pace against the Indian batsmen, most known for their perennial discomfort against short and rising deliveries.
At the same time, Ponting expects India to play to their strength as

KARACHI - Imran Khan will be supporting India against Australia in their World Cup showdown on Thursday because he believes a semi-final against Pakistan will capture the sporting world's imagination. The winner of Thursday's quarter-final will face Pakistan in Mohali on March 30. "I want India and Pakistan to play the semi-final. Because it would be a great advertisement for cricket and I think it will go in our favour," former Pakistan captain Imran told Geo Super channel after

LAHORE - The Pakistan Cricket Board is hoping to make some headway in the resumption of bilateral cricket ties with India when its officials reach Mumbai later this month for an ICC meeting. Reports quoted sources that the Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of the PCB would be in Mumbai next week for the World Cup final as well as to attend a meeting of the ICC starting after the final on April 2. "Although no formal meeting has been scheduled with the Indian board officials but we

LAHORE - Former Pakistan Test cricketer Basit Ali has said that he believes India will influence the International Cricket Council (ICC) in order to prepare a favourable spinning track at the Ahmedabad stadium, where they are scheduled to play the World Cup quarter-final match against Australia on Thursday.
"Australia versus India will be a tight game, but I think India will influence the ICC to make a spinning track.
If it is a batting wicket, I think Australia will win

LAHORE - India struck three late goals in the second half to beat Pakistan 3-1 in the fourth AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers Group B match on Wednesday at MBJP Stadium, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Pakistan led 1-0 lead until the 67th minute but conceded three goals in the last 23 minutes. India dominating the early proceedings and in the fifth minute, nice exchange of passes between Jagpreet Singh and Steven Dias saw Sunil Chhettri get past his marker but his attempt deflected for a corner.

MUMBAI - An India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final is the most appetising prospect to emerge from a month of preliminary matches which otherwise served primarily to confirm the identity of a predictable final eight.
Pakistan and West Indies open the quarter-finals in Dhaka on Wednesday with the winners drawn against the victors of the India versus Australia match in Ahmedabad on the following day. South Africa and New Zealand meet in Dhaka on Friday before Sri Lanka host England in

LAHORE - Pakistan coach Tariq Lutfi says he is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian football team, as Pakistan face arch-rivals India today in the 4th AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers in Malaysia. "We have an idea about their strengths. They were among the top 16 teams of Asia during Qatar's event last January.
A big win is required, and the players are motivated to do that. All the boys are fit for the crucial showdown," said Lutfi. On Monday, Pakistan went down

NEW DELHI - West Indies paceman Ravi Rampaul proved in his World Cup debut that the Indian top order batsmen are just like a minor in a nightclub - wary of bouncers.
Rampaul began with a wayward bumper which soared over the wicketkeeper's head and raced to the boundary in Sunday's final Group B match in Chennai. The 26-year-old from Trinidad kept banging the ball in short of a length to generate awkward bounce which helped remove both openers Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir

NEW DELHI - Bitter rivals India and Pakistan are on a World Cup collision course, but the two neighbours still have quarter-final hurdles to overcome as the marathon tournament enters its sixth week. India take on defending champions Australia in Ahmedabad on Thursday while a resurgent Pakistan face an inconsistent West Indies in Dhaka to kick-start the last eight stage on Wednesday. Victory for both Asian giants will set-up a semi-final blockbuster in Mohali on March 30. But Pakistan

NEW DELHI - Rights group Amnesty International attacked an Indian law on Monday which it said had been used to detain up to 20,000 people without trial in violence-hit Kashmir. The Amnesty urged India to scrap the Public Safety Act (PSA) that allowed police to detain a person up to two years without charge or trial if he or she is deemed a threat to the state. "Authorities in Kashmir are using PSA detentions as a revolving door to keep people they can't or won't convict through proper