IPL 5: Pune stun fancied Mumbai by 29 runs

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Mumbai: Pune Warriors India stunned fancied Mumbai Indians by 29 runs to kick-start their second Indian Premier League season with a win after Ashok Dinda's 4 for 17 helped Sourav Ganguly's team defend a paltry 129 for 9.

Dinda ran through the Mumbai top order, sending back Ambati Rayudu (1) and Rohit Sharma (1) and then coming back to show the exit door to a well-set James Franklin (32). After being reduced to 5 for 3 in the second over, Franklin and Dinesh Karthik tried to resurrect Mumbai's chase but veteran Murali Kartik removed Karthik (32) to end Mumbai's hopes of a recovery. And when Rahul Sharma bowled Kieron Pollard in the 16th over, the hosts were left to fight a lost battle.

Live updates: Karthik steadies Mumbai chase

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Mumbai Indians innings:

10th over: 48 for 3 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the medium-pacer, gets the ball and sends down a good opening over. Karthik and Franklin rotating the strike. Franklin should try to collect a boundary soon though, before he really gets bogged down. He's capable of launching some sixes. The asking rate isn't out of Mumbai's reach yet.

Charleston, South Carolina: Third-seeded Marion Bartoli hung on for a 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4 victory over Vera Dushevina at the Family Circle Cup on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Venus Williams played a brand of tennis that would be hard for anyone to overcome, including little sister Serena, as she progressed at Charleston.

Bartoli, the world's fourth-ranked player who reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2011, only had two days of practice to get ready for her first clay-court tournament of the season and the rust was apparent.

After breezing through the first set, Bartoli struggled with her serve and in handling the serve of her Russian opponent. Dushevina tied the match by winning the second-set tie-breaker. It was Bartoli, though, who regained control in the final set by taking back-to-back games for a 5-3 lead. When Dushevina sent a backhand return wide, Bartoli pumped her fist and shouted, "Yes."

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Bartoli acknowledged she's got work to do if she hopes to go even further at Roland Garros this year. Still, she was pleased that she had the mental strength to prevail in the 3 hour, 4 minute match.

"It was great to put up a fight and get the win out there," said Bartoli, the highest seed in action at Family Circle Tennis Center.

In another match, unseeded American Venus Williams defeated Serbain Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-0 to advance into the third round.

Tweet Review: 'Housefull 2', first day, first show

New Delhi: Sajid Khan's last venture 'Housefull' was a commercial success despite being criticized for slapstick humour. He has come up with a bigger star cast in 'Housefull 2'. The film stars Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Riteish Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade, Asin, Mithun and Rishi Kapoor in pivotal roles.

The music of the film has created a good buzz and the promotional team of 'Housefull 2' has left no stone unturned to popularise the film. 'Housefull 2' features Rishi and Randhir Kapoor together for the first time in 40 years of their acting career.

Rohit Vats of IBNLive is inside the theatre on the first day to catch the first show. He is live tweeting the experience.

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Indian men and women finish 27th at World TT

Dortmund, Germany: India finished 27th in the men's and women's category at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Germany.

The Anthony Amalraj-led men's side beat Brazil 3-2 on Saturday in a second division match for the 27-28 positions. Top paddler Sharath Kamal was rested for the game. The women downed Italy 3-1 for an identical finish in the tournament.

With the 27th place in either category, India bettered their performance in the 2010 edition in Moscow where the men were 34th and the women 37th.

Earlier, the Indian men defeated Iran and England before losing to Romania in the matches played for 25-36 positions. Similarly, the women got past Brazil and Slovakia before going down to Australia.

The men came 27th out of 118 participating countries while the women were 27th out of 90 teams.

Testing time for Sushil's new technique: Coach

New Delhi: Top Indian wrestler Sushil Kumar's coach Yashvir Singh feels it is still too early ring alarm bells over the grappler's form, and hopes the 2008 Beijing Games bronze medalist's newly-adopted technique will come good in the remaining two qualifying events for the London Olympics.

Sushil underwent a change in style during a month-long training camp in January at the US Olympic Centre in Colorado Springs. Though he won the gold medal in the Dave Schultz Memorial International Wrestling Tournament in Colorado Springs, he missed out on an Olympic berth after losing in the semi-finals of the Asian qualifying event in Astana, Kazakhstan last week.

Yashvor told IANS on Monday that it would have been better if Sushil had taken part in few competitive tournaments, where he could have tested his new technique, before the qualifiers. Asked if it was right to change technique with six months left for the Olympics, Yashvir said: "It was needed because other international wrestlers were finding him out easily. There is no harm in changing technique in an Olympic calendar year because he had 5-6 months in hand."

Yashvir said Sushil fought well in Astana and was unlucky to miss out on an Olympic berth. The finalists in Astana qualified for the mega-event. The next qualifying tournaments for India are in China (April 27-29) and Finland (May 4-6).

"He has adopted his new style well and was fighting well. But in the third round of the semi-final bout (against Kazakhstan's Akzhurek Tanatarov) he was not given a valid point. We saw videos of the match and found that the referee erred in his decision that proved costly for Sushil," said Yashvir.

Yashvir said Sushil took some time to settle down with his new technique.

"He has now adopted a close. It is a mix of both close and open stance, which is now being followed by all the top wrestlers in Europe. Sushil has also worked on his defence and counter-attack. He has worked hard on how to gain maximum points from counter-attack," he said.

Yashir said Sushil has also improved his ground wrestling skills.

"There has been a great improvement in his ground fighting skills and he has also worked on off the ground (standing position) techniques. I am confident he will surely book his berth in the next qualifying tournament," he said.

Masand: Dull acting lets down 'Wrath of the Titans'

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Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Rosamund Pike

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

'Wrath of the Titans' has better action set-pieces and uses special effects a little more judiciously than 2010's campy 'Clash of the Titans'. The film's plot however, is still a hoot, and exists only to provide some catch-your-breath moments in the middle of all that wall-to-wall action. What this sequel is missing clearly is the cheesy sensibility of the earlier film that made it one of those so-bad-that-it's-fun experiences.

This new film brings back conflicted demigod Perseus (Sam Worthington), who is living with his son as a simple fisherman. He gets sucked back into an old family feud when his father Zeus (Liam Neeson) is taken captive by his villainous brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Perseus' own half-brother Ares (Edgar Ramirez). Hades wants to steal Zeus' powers and provide it to their dangerous father Kronos, an enormous lava monster that's been buried in the underworld city of Tartarus.

The film's most thrilling portions are Perseus' battles with such assorted beasts as the two-headed Chimera, a trio of Cyclops, and a Minotaur. We're also introduced to the lithe twin-bodied, four-armed warriors, the Makhai, that go to war against Perseus' army in the film's final scenes. But it's the Kronos, an incredible giant formed out of burning rock that is this film's answer to the deadly Kraken from Clash of the Titans. For sheer spectacle value alone, the appearance of the Kronos is the money-shot in this film.

A dress that becomes transparent when wearer is aroused

New Delhi: Men can now easily find out if a woman fancies them - with a dress that goes see-through if the wearer gets aroused. This futuristic creation is made of smart fabrics which become gradually becomes transparent in response to the heartbeat of the wearer.

Designed by Studio Roosegaarde and Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde is in talks to produce a high street version. The project is called Intimacy and after the initial version of the dress, Roosegaarde has come up with a new edition - Intimacy 2.0.

According to Roosegaarde, Intimacy is a fashion project exploring the relation between intimacy and technology.

The high-tech garments entitled 'Intimacy White' and 'Intimacy Black' are made out of opaque smart e-foils that become increasingly transparent based on close and personal encounters with people. Social interactions determine the garments' level of transparency, creating a sensual play of disclosure.

Kolkata IPS officer's transfer mere reshuffling?

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Kolkata: Questions are still being asked about the police officer's transfer by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The big question is whether there is more to the transfer of top woman police officer Damayanti Sen than mere reshuffling.

It's the biggest police shake-up since Mamata Banerjee came to power. Sixty IPS officers have been transferred across lines but one name has baffled all, Damayanti Sen, the first woman top police officer heading the city's crime branch lauded by all for cracking the Park Street rape case and giving justice to a 37-year-old. Damayanti's investigation contradicted Mamata's claims that the rape victim had fabricated her account to malign her government. Damayanti Sen has now been transferred as the DIG, training, which is a punishment post in police circles.

Trinamool Congress MP Kabir Suman said, "What has happened is unfair and is wrong. This transfer smacks of vengeance. It was revenge."

Many believe that the transfer will deepen the mistrust between the police and those in power.

Sports car designer Ferdinand Porsche dies

Frankfurt: He designed Porsche's classic 911 sports car, the sleek model that evokes power, wealth and envy among aficionados, cementing his grandfather's name into the modern psyche. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche died on Thursday in Salzburg, Austria at age 76, Porsche AG said. No cause was provided.

Porsche, known as FA to his colleagues, was head of the Porsche design studio in the early 1960s when the company developed the 911 model that remains its brand-defining product. The car, now in its seventh version, remains recognizably the same vehicle, with its sloping roofline, long, low hood and prominent headlights.

"The creator of the Porsche 911 has founded a culture of design in our company that distinguishes our sports cars even today," Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller said.

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Porsche was the son of former Porsche Chairman Ferry Porsche, who died in 1998, and the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who started the company as a design and engineering firm in the 1930s.

Friday Release: Dirty dozen in 'Housefull 2'

Mumbai: Asin Thottumkal burst into Bollywood with her role as the effervescent Kalpana in Aamir Khan's 2008 blockbuster 'Ghajini'. 'Ready' with Salman Khan was also a hit and Asin now joins an ensemble cast for Sajid Khan's 'Housefull 2', which opens in cinemas on Friday.

Asin spoke to Reuters about working in a film with such a large cast, Bollywood's sense of humour and working in south Indian films.

Q: Did the fact that there are seven other leads in 'Housefull 2' make you apprehensive about accepting this role?

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A: "No, not really. If you know what your role is in the film, then there doesn't need to be any insecurity. When the director has made that clear, everybody is clear about what their part and contribution to the movie is going to be."

Q: You are competing for screen space with many people after doing a solo lead in your last film 'Ready'.

A: "That's the exact reason why I wanted to do this film -- I had never been a part of an ensemble cast before this. I wanted to check out this experience -- Bollywood is known for its multi-starrers and big-scale entertainers. Sajid Khan (director) and Sajid Nadiadwala (producer) have a history of producing great multi-starrers. I couldn't take it up the first time around, so when I got an opportunity the second time, I decided to grab it."

Karan Johar, Priyanka Chopra's war of words

Mumbai: After Priyanka Chopra's friends hit back at star wives (read: Gauri Khan) in a section of the press, it is now Gauri's pals to do so. Her buddy Karan Johar took to his micro-blogging site to vent out his anger. He states, "Using their hired PR machinery and hiding behind so called 'friends' to get news into tabloids is nothing but spineless and lame!! Some people need to wake up and smell the KOFFEE!!! Get a reality check before it’s too late!!! Grow up!!! and don’t mess with goodness." You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out who he is referring to. It's obviously Priyanka.

Reportedly some star wives and a producer-director had launched a nasty campaign against PC. Wonder what Piggy Chop's friends have to say to KJo now?

Sajid-Wajid have become sequel specialists

They are scoring the music for the second outing of 'Dabangg' and 'Housefull 2'. Buzz is that that they are also scoring the music in three more sequels. Hopefully the music will not sound the same.

Salman stays his Dabangg self during his IPL performance

He included some batting and bowling in the act. That's Sallu folks, hilarious and fun!

IPL 5: Rajasthan hold slight edge over Punjab

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The fourth match of IPL 5 will be a battle of two under-performing teams. Rajasthan Royals, led by the recently retired Rahul Dravid, take on Kings XI Punjab, led by captain-cum-coach Adam Gilchrist, at Jaipur's Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Friday.

Rajasthan - who won the inaugural IPL in 2008 - will be without their former mentor Shane Warne who called it quits last season. His replacement at the helm, Dravid, has a challenge on his hands as he attempts to make do with a bunch of young and unproven players, in a tough competitive tournament.

With Shane Watson absent due to his Australia commitments, the Rajasthan batting will be reliant on the Indian contingent of Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Menaria and Faiz Fazal. As for the overseas players, Brad Hodge, Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah will be counted on heavily. Each team is allowed to field four overseas players, and it is likely that Rajasthan will accommodate two of Hodge, Collingwood and Shah. Hodge and Collingwood are wicket-taking options and may edge out Shah. Until Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal arrives in India, former Under-19 wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami will keep wicket.