Can you imagine – why these monks are on a playing arena ? guess
what ?? – the Foxes recorded arguably
the most unlikely title win of all time last week, and are set to commemorate
the triumph with this expensive ring !!
Following IPL 2016 ? - A
lot happening here – the other day Yuvraj, withdrew to create room, tried to
cut, but comically ended up hitting the bail rather than the ball !… this lad
bowls with a jump and his action resembles the famous Shane Warne and he does
share the country. Adam Zampa is a
revelation, yesterday, he had splendid figures of 6 for 19 against Sunrisers
Hyderabad. Chasing a low score, Pune
still struggled though Ravi Ashwin, who bowled so well, came high up in the
order, played a good innings. In the
last over 14 were required – the first half produced 2 runs and a wicket – 12
needed off 3 – Dhoni cleared the longon with poise and it was 6 off 2 – Dhoni
running for a non-existent two was run out. NamanOjha doing a great job made
another diving catch off the last, preventing a 4 and a probable tie.
So, after 40 matches – Pune Giants at bottom (6 points off 11
matches); KXIP (6 / 10) and the famed line up of RCB (8 / 9). Of the 11 teams
to have competed since the league's first season, five have won the title. Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and
Kolkata Knight Riders have won twice, while Rajasthan Royals and Deccan
Chargers have won once.
The
teams that have been sent packing are :Pune Warriors India; Kochi Tuskers
Kerala; Deccan Chargers; Chennai Super
Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Rising Pune
Supergiants (RPS) and Gujarat Lions (GL), the two teams that replaced Chennai
Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in Season 9 of the Indian Premier League
(IPL), have their own tales to tell. The two teams that replaced CSK & RR
have had a different tourney. Pune's
top guns Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith and Faf du Plessis had to withdraw due to
injuries, Mitchell Marsh too had to fly back home injured. The other captain on a high, Suresh Raina,
holds a record for not missing a single match since inception, but would now be
missing one, as he is flying to Holland, expecting the birth of his first
child.
Will the new Gujarat Lions or the old warhorse Delhi Daredevils,
ever win the championship ? – how much you hazard a guess and would you bet on
them, if the odds were to be 5000 : 1 !! ~ and before that
have you heard about monks from Bangkok's WatTraimitWithayaramWoraviharn
(Golden Buddha) Temple flying to Britain to bless the players before most home
games. If yes, you for sure would have read about what is being decribedas the greatest sporting shock in history!
"You
know it may not happen again but I don't care mate. To make history like this,
it's such a fairy tale about Leicester City," said one Leicester fan.The
victory has certainly put the Midlands city in the global spotlight. I had read about Leicestershire being the
home of elegant David Gower. A potential
£150 million (S$294 million) windfall is now heading its way.
While
we go gaga about IPL, being the most attended Cricket league, there is bigger
event in Sports. It is Premier League - English
professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the
English football league system, it is the country's primary football
competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system ofpromotion and
relegation with the Football League.
Seasons run from August to May. Teams play 38 matches each (playing each
team in the league twice, home and away), totalling 380 matches in the season.
It is currentlysponsored by Barclays Bank and thus officially known as the
Barclays Premier League commonly referred to as the English Premier League
(EPL). The one in news is a club formed in 1884 by a group of old boys of
Wyggeston School as "Leicester Fosse".
Down under, the world game, for so long ignored in Australia,
has suddenly became a valuable chess piece in the multibillion-dollar
telecommunications market. Last week, Optus, the second biggest mobile carrier
in the country, unveiled the pricing and packages for its upcoming coverage of
the highly popular English Premier League, and to say they have been poorly
received would be putting it mildly. The whole episode is a classic example of
one of the major structural themes the communications industry has been
grappling with. Basically, as things stand, Aussies will only be able to watch
EPL games at home next season if they are an Optus mobile or fixed line
broadband customer. In this light, Optus' decision to pay big money for the EPL
rights looks smart. It decided to shell out $63 million annually for the
broadcast rights for three years, out-bidding the incumbent andeffective pay TV
sports monopoly Foxtel - which is half owned by Telstra, Optus' bitter rival in
the mobile market - to secure them.
Leicestershire,is
a landlocked county in the English Midlands. The county borders Nottinghamshire,
Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Derbyshire among others [these shires known
as they play county cricket !] In Aug
2015, in neighbouringTrentbridge, Stuart Broad skittled out Australians in Test
no. 2175 for a paltry 60. It is news as Leicester City Football Club pulled off
perhaps the sporting miracle of the century when they were crowned champions of
the English Premier League this week with two games to spare in the gruelling
38-match season.
From being almost
relegated the previous season, they defied 5,000-1 odds to win their first
title in their 132-year history.Truly,
a footballing fairy tale for the club - owned by a Thai businessman since 2010
- which has also now earned new fans in Asia, particularly Thailand.Underdog
Leicester City won the English Premier League title for the first time Monday
-- without kicking a ball -- as closest rival Tottenham failed to beat
Chelsea.Spurs drew 2-2 at Stamford Bridge to seal the Foxes' maiden top-flight
championship 132 years after the club was founded.
Leicester
City Football Club is also known as the Foxes, have surprised
everyone in winning the 2015–16 Premier League, their first top-level football
championship. They have also won theLeague Cup three times and have been FA Cup
runners-up four times, a tournament record for the most defeats in the final
without having won the competition.
Telegraph
and other UK newspapers reported that about 10 monks from Bangkok's
WatTraimitWithayaramWoraviharn (Golden Buddha) Temple are flown to Britain to
bless the players before most home games.“This is not about magic,” PhraPrommangkalachan,
who became a monk at the age of 15, told The Telegraph. “We can only offer
spiritual support. We believe that helps the players with their good health,
with avoiding injuries, with their focus. But they must still perform well.”He
has regularly led delegations of his fellow holy men, dressed in saffron robes,
to bless Leicester City since Mr. Vichai, who built his fortune on a string of
duty free shops, bought the then struggling second tier outfit in 2010.
Jeweller
Lumbers on High Street in the city have drawn up the ring, which features a
5.01 carat central diamond and a yellow gold crown replicating that of the
Premier League trophy. Two small lions face each other on the silver band while
there are blue sapphires, the colour Leicester play in, on the under bezel in
this very costly ring.
With
regards – S. Sampathkumar
11th
May 2016.
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