October 2017

Tuesday 31 October 2017

Virendra Sehwag gate opens at Kotla for India Vs New Zealand T20I

Virender Sehwag was in a celebratory mood on Tuesday. The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), under the guidance of Administrator Justice (Retd) Vikramajit Sen, named Gate No. 3 after the legendary opening batsman, who has two triple centuries in Tests.

In a first at the Kotla, Justice Sen fulfilled the promise made to Sehwag by the DDCA top brass to name a gate after him when he scored 309 against Pakistan at Multan in 2004. The proposal was put in cold storage before the Sen-appointed Cricket Advisory Committee took the decision to bestow the honour on Sehwag on the eve of the IndiaVsNewZealand T20 International.

I was very happy when I got to know that a good start has been made in Delhi. A gate has been named after me and I hope in the coming years, more cricketers will get to have a similar honour.

'I hope later we can have dressing rooms, stands and other things named after cricketers. It’s a good thing and a positive move from DDCA,' said a beaming Sehwag.Surrounded by some former international cricketers hailing from Delhi, Sehwag revealed, 'I had a wish that whenever such a function happens, we should call all the cricketers who have represented Delhi and India, all the people I was connected with.'

Accompanied by his sons Aryaveer and Vedant and close friends Raju Sharma, Mahesh Bhati, Rajat Bhatia, Amit Bhandari, the former India opener took care to keep an eye on his coach A.N. Sharma, even as the limelight was focused on him.

“It is a happy occasion that players who played with me, taught me or I played first time with in Ranji Trophy, are here. Those who couldn’t be here were not here.”

Prominent among those present were Prakash Bhandari, first player from Delhi to play a Test in 1955, Madan Lal, Sunil Valson, Yashpal Sharma, Chetan Sharma, Sanjeev Sharma, Gursharan Singh, Hari Gidwani, Atul Wassan, Vijay Dahiya and Nikhil Chopra.

The CAC, comprising Madan Lal, Valson, Saba Karim, G.S. Vivek and Amita Sharma, came in for praise for its commendable job.

Sehwag fondly remembered his early days at the Kotla. “Bishan Singh Bedi was my first Ranji coach and he used to motivate me a lot to play for India. Then I got a lot of batting tips from Jimmy pa (Mohinder Amarnath). When we used to go to Baroda and Goa, he would come and talk to us.”

The naming of the gate should inspire others, observed Sehwag.

“Any young cricketer will get motivated reading the name and knowing that Virender Sehwag played here as a kid and when he left there is a gate named after him. The kid can feel if I can also play for U-19, U-16, U-23 or Ranji Trophy for Delhi and then represent India, then possibly a gate, stand or something will be named after me,” he said.

India coach Ravi Shastri, assistant coach Sanjay Bangar, Ashish Nehra, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav and Manish Pandey congratulated Sehwag personally.

BHOPAL:- Often considered as a detractor of Madhya Pradesh’s chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in political circles, the union minister Uma Bharti Tuesday defended his statement over roads in MP being better than Washington.

Talking to journalists at her residence in Bhopal, Bharti, the former MP CM addressed Chouhan as his elder brother and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath as her young brother, besides terming union minister Nitin Gadkari as friends of friends.

Reacting to Chouhan’s statements over MP roads being better than those in the US, the union minister said, “It’s high time to change the mindset that we can’t be better than the US.”

“We’re better than the US on many counts, including humanism and development. I agree with the MP CM’s statements. Many roads in Bhopal itself could be better than the US. I can bet that the VIP Road of Bhopal is world class and I’ve seen such roads only in Europe,” maintained Bharti.

I’m not saying this to please him (Chouhan), but backing him as he has not said anything incorrect. I’ve been in the US in the past, including in cities like Los Angeles, so I’ve seen that country very closely. Treating the US as the most superior country every now and then accentuates nothing but about the inferiority complex afflicting many of us,” she quipped.

“We all see the slums in our country, but I’ve seen the ghettos in the US in 1978-79 when people brought from Africa were sold as slaves like vegetables. Numerous African origins still live in an awful state in the US, although things are changing fast. When we see the US, we forget what happened to Red Indians there. The manner in which the CM’s statements have been taken is unfortunate, it should have been taken positively,” said Bharti.

When questioned about the Patidar reservation stir leader Hardik Patel, the union minister said, “I’ve been monitoring both Hardik Patel and ex-president of JNU students union Kanhaiya Kumar. Both of them have fighting spirits. However, they’ve wasted their fighting spirit by opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Bharti.

'Modi Virodh will only usher TRP not votes. My advice to a young fighter like Hardik Patel is to continue his crusade in a non-political manner,' maintained Bharti.

Claiming that BJP would win 160 seats in the upcoming Gujarat assembly polls, Bharti said the Congress instead of harping on the politics of Modi-Virodh, should pursue of politics of development. They should offer to the people an alternative development model.

when they slam demonetisation of currency by the Modi government, they should also tell the public what’s their alternate model.

Evading speaking much about Congress national vice-president Rahul Gandhi, she said 'instead of fighting PM Modi, he needs to first fight his ‘non-serious image'.

Calling Ram Mandir construction the biggest dream of her life, the Union minister said initially the issue was whether it was the birthplace of Lord Ram, but the three-judge bench in 2010 had resolved it saying the middle dome belongs to the deity.

'Now the dispute is on the construction of the structure and acceptability would be required to be evolved, irrespective of the fact that the temple is built on legal intervention, mutual understanding or mediation.'

'Merely bringing a legislation for the temple construction too won’t help the cause, as its acceptance first needs to be ensured among all,' she added.

MUMBAI: The opposition on Tuesday flayed the Maharashtra government's announcement that Indian Army engineers will design and construct three foot overbridges here, with a Congress leader asking if the Army will now also fill potholes on roads.

'Calling in the Army to contruct the bridges in Mumbai underlines the failure of the BMC (BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation) ruled by corrupt Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. Hope the Army will not be asked to fill potholes here,' Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam tweeted.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, a former Army Captain, said the Army's job was to train for war, and not to be used for civilian work.

Amarinder Singh urged Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman not to divert defence resources for civilian jobs.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said:- 'The Army was to be a measure of last resort to be called upon in extreme emergency. Now, it seems like it's the first on the speed dial'.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra

Fadnavis announced on Tuesday that Army engineers will build the overbridges on the Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivali stations of the Mumbai suburban railway network by January 31.

Earlier, the Army helped construct a foot overbridge during the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games when an under-construction bridge outside Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main venue for the event, collapsed days before the games were to start. The new bridge was built within five days.

The Army was also involved in making pontoon bridges across the Yamuna last year when a World Culture Festival was organised on the flood plains of the river by the Art of Living group. Involving the Army for the private event was criticised by many.

Chennai:- A day after heavy showers, there was some respite from rains in Tamil Nadu onTuesday.However,water-logging affected normal life in parts of the state.

In,Chennai,normal life in parts of Vyasarpadi, Otteri, Tiruvotriyur in North Chennai and Velachery and Madipakkam in South Chennai was disrupted.

Civic authorities said action was being taken to clear inundation by using water-pumps.

De-silting work was on in the Adyar river mouth and in several other locations of the river in the city, including Egmore, authorities said, PTI reported.

Several parts of the state were lashed by heavy rains yesterday. One person was killed yesterday in Thanjavur district when the mud wall of his hut collapsed under the rain impact.

Chennai collector Thiru V Anbuselvan yesterday evening had declared a holiday for all schools in the city on Tuesday.

Met predicts heavy rainfall for Chennai in next 24 hours:

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Meteorological Department on Tuesday warned of heavy rainfall at a few places in the state in the next twenty four hours.

'In 24 hours, heavy rainfall is expected in few places in north coastal region, while heavy to very heavy rainfall in south coastal region,' said Met official S Balachandran, as per ANI.

India would aim to play with the same grit and gumption they displayed in the ODI series when they square off against New Zealand in the first Twenty20 on Tuesday at Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday.

Faced with tremendous pressure after a long time following their loss in the first ODI of the three-match series, the Indian players showed a lot of character in the second and third game to win the series 2-1. The focus will be on Ashish Nehra too, who will be playing his last international match for India. It will be interesting to see whether he gets selected for the Playing XI.

The New Zealanders gave a tough fight to the Indians in the ODI series and a lot more is expected in the shortest format of the game from the World No.1 side.

Some Questions about the India Vs New Zealand 1st T20:-

(1) When will the 1st T20I between India and New Zealand be played?

Ans= The 1st T20I between India and New Zealand will be played on Wednesday.

(2) Where will the 1st T20I between India and New Zealand be played?

Ans= The 1st T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.

(3) How do I watch the 1st T20I between India and New Zealand live?

Ans= The 1st T20I between India and New Zealand will be broadcast live on Star Sports 1, 3 and Star Sports 1,3 HD.

(4) What time does the live coverage of the 1st T20I between India and New Zealand start?

Ans= The live broadcast of the 1st T20I between India and New Zealand will start at 07:00 PM IST (01:30 GMT) .

(5) Where can you follow the 1st T20I between India and New Zealand online?

Ans=The 1st T20I between India and New Zealand can be streamed online on www.hotstar.com !

Nokia 2 India Launch Expected Today at HMD Global Event

Nokia brand licensee HMD Global last week sent invites for a launch event on Tuesday, where it would "unveil the next milestone for Nokia phones." While the already launched Nokia 7.

which has yet to make its way to India, is the obvious bet for Tuesday's launch, rumours have been pointing at a new smartphone. The Nokia 2 has been anticipated for a while, and was recently spotted on the Bluetooth SIG certification site as well a leaked AnTuTu benchmark, revealing some of its specifications.

The HMD Global launch event kicks off at 12pm IST, so stay tuned for updates from the event. The company will be live streaming the event on its Facebook page.

The Nokia 2 listing reveals that the smartphone has a HD (720x1280 pixels) resolution display that would come in 5-inch size.

Further, it reveals the presence of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 212 SoC on the new Nokia handset. The SoC is the successor to the Snapdragon 210 and is designed as an entry-level offering with four cores of ARM Cortex-A7 CPU at a maximum clock speed of 1.3GHz. Moreover, all this is an upgrade to what was reported regarding the Nokia 2 until now.

Apart from the quad-core processor, the Snapdragon 212 SoC has Adreno 304 GPU and is accompanied by 1GB of RAM on the Nokia 2. The smartphone also appears to have 8GB of inbuilt storage and run on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. Besides, the upcoming Nokia smartphone is listed with 5-megapixel and 8-megapixel camera sensors that are likely to be available on its front and back, respectively.

The Nokia 7 on the other hand, comes with flagship-like features at roughly half the price of Nokia 8. Among the highlights of the handset are the 7000 series aluminium body and Corning Gorilla Glass on the back panel. In fact, the Nokia 7 rear panel uses 3D glass thermoforming technology for casting and features with rounded corners.

The Nokia 7 also sports an f/1.8 aperture lens and comes with 'bothie' camera mode. It also comes with heavily marketed feature, the "Dual-Sight mode" which uses both front and rear cameras simultaneously. The handset also supports live video streaming to Facebook and YouTube from the built-in camera.

The new Nokia 7 was launched in China earlier in October. It comes in two variants: 4GB RAM priced at CNY 2,499 (roughly Rs. 25,000) and 6GB RAM at CNY 2,699 (roughly Rs. 26,500). There's no word on the availability of the Nokia 7 outside China as of now.

WhatsApp's 'Delete for Everyone' feature finally rolled out😥

San Francisco #:- WhatsApp has finally rolled out its most anticipated feature 'Delete for Everyone' that allows its over one billion users revoke their messages in case they sent those to a wrong person or a group.

You can only delete messages for everyone for up to seven minutes after sending.
"Once seven minutes have passed, there is no way to delete messages for everyone," Facebook-owned WhatsApp said in its updated FAQ on Friday.

In order for messages to be successfully deleted for everyone, both you and your recipient must be using the latest version of WhatsApp for Android, iPhone or Windows Phone," the micro-blogging platform said.
WhatsApp was working on this feature for almost a year.You can now delete messages for everyone or just for yourself.

"Deleting messages for everyone allows you to delete specific messages you have sent to either a group or an individual chat. This is particularly useful if you sent a message to the wrong chat or if the message you sent contains a mistake," WhatsApp noted.

Messages you successfully delete for everyone will be replaced with "This message was deleted" in your recipients' chats.

This is how it works:-

Open WhatsApp and go to the chat containing the message you wish to delete.Tap and hold the message and choose Delete from the menu.Optionally, select more messages to delete multiple messages at once. Then tap "Delete for Everyone".

"If you or your recipient are not using the latest version of WhatsApp for Android, iPhone or Windows Phone, this feature will not be supported," WhatsApp said.Recipients may see your message before it's deleted or if deletion was not successful.

According to WABetaInfo, a fan website that tracks WhatsApp, this feature works for messages in text, videos, GIFs, pictures, voice messages, quoted messages and status replies.The second part is to delete messages only for yourself.

Deleting messages for yourself allows you to delete your copy of messages you've sent or received from your phone.

"This has no effect on your recipients' chats. Your recipients will still see the messages in their chat screen," WhatsApp said.For this, open WhatsApp and go to the chat containing the message you wish to delete.Tap and hold the message and choose Delete from the menu.

Optionally, select more messages to delete multiple messages at once. Then tap "Delete for Me'.

'The feature is being slowly rolled out and users can reinstall WhatsApp in order to download from the server the latest configuration,'WABetaInfo said.

Hypertension is a 'Silent Killer' in China; Here's How it May be Affecting You Too

High blood pressure or hypertension has become a global concern; considering the sedentary lifestyles we live and the amount of stress we take has taken a toll on our body. Turns out, more than a third of adults in China suffer from high blood pressure, but only one in 20 are able to effectively manage their condition.

According to the research published in the Lancet, a leading medical journal, strokes are the leading cause of death in China, accounting for one in five deaths annually, with uncontrolled high blood pressure a significant risk factor. A less than a quarter of people with hypertension in China takes medication and treatment among those who receive it was found to be ineffective and unsuitable.

Moreover, in addition to the problem of access, despite the availability of low-cost antihypertensive medications, higher cost medications were more often prescribed. According to the researchers, blood pressure levels in China are increasing likely because of an ageing population, urabnisation, dietary changes and obesity.

Blood pressure is become a very common problem, owing to many factors that may include obesity, stress, unhealthy diet, ageing and more. Not only China, other countries including India is fighting with the hypertension.

Here are a 4 dietary changes that you can make in order to stay fit and prevent such conditions:-

(1)Banana:-Bananas are low in sodium and are a great source of potassium that helps lower blood pressure. Incorporate them in your diet, which may include cereal, cake, breads, smoothies, etc..

(2)Spinach:-The green leafy delight is low in calories, high in fiber and packed with nutrients like potassium, folate, magnesium, which are the key ingredients for lowering and maintaining blood pressure levels.

(3)Avocados:-The oleic acid found in avocados can reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. They also contain potassium and folate, both of which are essential for the heart health.

(4)Beetroot:-The crimson root vegetable is rich in nitrates, which s known to relax blood vessels and improve blood flow. Drinking a glass of beetroot juice can yield a five-point drop in blood pressure, as per an Australian study.

You can eat more foods like celery, watermelon, sunflower seeds, oranges, carrots and oatmeal in order to stay healthy.

Samsung is gifting a free Galaxy Note 8, its flagship phone that costs Rs 67,900 in India, to people during flights. At least that is what the company did a few days ago in Spain when it handed out free Note 8 to all 200 passengers in a plane.!!

It was part of Samsung's current promotion, which the company was doing in partnership with Iberia airlines in Spain and it still left the people who got the device all surprised, amused and -- in most instances -- extremely happy. They had an ear-to-ear grin as Samsung gave its latest and greatest phone to them for free.

So just why Samsung is offering an expensive phone like the Note 8 free to people? Well, it wants to build the trust with consumers, especially the people who fly, after that trust went up in smoke during the Note 7 debacle.

Samsung is giving away free Note 8 to people with a message that says, "A year ago we asked you to turn it off, we welcome you today on board."

Well, good for people who were on that Iberia flight between Madrid and A Coruna. But what about everyone else? Will some lucky people on some lucky flight in India too will end up with the free Galaxy Note 8 gift from Samsung?

Now, it is unfair for everyone to expect a free Note 8 from Samsung. It is an expensive phones and Samsung surely can't afford to give away millions or even thousands of these phones, not especially after it had to scrap millions of Note 7 devices and write off several billion dollars from its balance sheet. But the company is serious about telling the world that the Note 8 is different from Note 7, that it is perfectly safe and that Samsung cares.

The best way to say it, as the lit faces of the passengers on the Iberia flight showed, is to offer the free gift.

In India too the Note 7 was recalled. Basically, it didn't exactly reach people's hands. It was launched in India but before the shipping to consumers could start, reports of battery issues with it surfaced and then Samsung paused everything.

Some shopkeepers though had got it. These units were later recalled. And just for precaution the flights regulator in India had banned the Note 7 from planes.

It is also important to note that Samsung giving away the Note 8 devices was done after the company kick-off a campaign with Iberia. For now, there is no such campaign going on with any Indian airline. But that also doesn't rule out that there won't be such a campaign. May be Samsung will do something similar to what it did with Iberia in India. May be next time you take a flight with Air India from Delhi to Mumbai, you will also get a free Galaxy Note 8.

Samsung is known for its extravagant ways, in good way, so do keep your eyes open next time you are flying.!!

A supernatural record: Rohit Shetty's 'Golmaal Again' becomes the first horror-comedy to cross 100 crore mark

The Rohit Shetty film is the first in the horror-comedy genre to hit the Rs 100 crore mark at the box office

This comes to an average of six centuries every year, that translates into one every two months. However, not even one of these has featured any sort of horror element. These may be human dramas (Dangal) or sex comedies (Grand Masti), but nothing close to any sort of horror element has featured in any of these films. Golmaal Again has changed that now in a matter of less than one week.

SCARY GOOD:-

“Horror films have become extinct in the recent years and horror-comedies are anyway hard to come by. Leave aside horror, even supernatural elements haven’t really found a place in Bollywood comedies that cater to family audiences,” says a trade expert.

However, with the supernatural element blending really well into Rohit Shetty’s comic narrative of Golmaal Again, family audiences have been entertained in a big way this Diwali.”

UNIQUE FUSION:-

There have been a couple of sci-fi or superhero films though that have entered the Rs 100 crore club — Ra.Oneand Krrish 3.

These were a different ballgame altogether though, whereas Golmaal Again is in a different world altogether, considering the kind of franchise that Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty have built over the years gone by. Says a crew member of the multi-starrer, “This is a kind of film where you would laugh at all the supernatural jokes and thoroughly enjoy the fun ride that is in the offering. It is a unique fusion by itself and something new that is being offered to the audience; they haven’t seen or heard a story like this before.”

A NEW TREND?

No wonder, trade is excited about how much further would Golmaal Again will go from here and are pegging the film to go beyond the Rs150 crore mark. Looking at the audience response, filmmakers will be encouraged to explore this genre more. The audience, too, can look forward to a few more such films.

Nokia 8 Now Has a Beta Build of Android 8.0 Oreo Available for Users

Nokia brand licensee HMD Global is indeed keeping its promise of timely software updates for its new Android smartphone portfolio. The company has launched Android 8.0 Oreo beta for the flagship Nokia 8.!😃

Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer, HMD Global in a tweet announced the launch of the all-new Nokia phones beta labs. The initiative is likely to see more Nokia phones joining the fray but for now the Nokia 8 is the first in the list.!

To be a beta tester for the Nokia 8's Android 8.0 Oreo update, users will have to head to the Nokia phone beta labs page, and sign up with their Google account. After registering with IMEI number and other details, Nokia 8 users will get Android 8.0 Oreo software update notification within 12 hours of registration.!

The update is rolled out over-the-air. For the Nokia 8 users, the all-new beta test brings the new Android version to the device as well as features like picture-in-picture, notification dots, Google Play Protect security scans, autofill passwords, and faster boot up.

The new update also bumps the Android security patch to the latest October build. We want to point out that before proceeding for the Android 8.0 Oreo beta update, Nokia 8 users should back up their devices. Fortunately, Nokia 8 users will also have the option to roll back to Android Nougat if the Oreo beta feels buggy.

"Our growing community of beta testers are the first to receive Android 8.0 Oreo. By testing the software ahead of general release, your feedback will help us create the smoothest and purest Nokia phones experience. To join, all you need is a working Nokia 8," said the Nokia team.!

In separate news, HMD Global's current cheapest smartphone, the Nokia 3, is set to receive Android 7.1.2 Nougat update soon. HMD Global detailed the reason behind the delay of Android 7.1.2 Nougat update for the Nokia 3 and told NokiaPoweruser, "It seems Nokia 3 is poised to get Android 7.1.2 before the Android Oreo update but the update is delayed because of a very well-known reason. MediaTek processor on Nokia 3 means slight delay in getting updated drivers and some more time required to complete their testing."

Gujarat will vote in two phases, on December 9 and 14, the Election

Commission announced on Wednesday.

The election watchdog has faced criticism for not announcing these dates along with the schedule for Himachal Pradesh earlier this month. Opposition parties allege that this helped the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to sidestep rules and offer incentives to voters in Gujarat.

The vote is seen as a barometer of support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a time when a sputtering economy has handed the opposition Congress party a possible opening to regain political ground.

Here are the live updates:-

12:32pm:-For the BJP, the contest in Modi’s home state will be keenly watched for signs of voter reaction to some of his radical economic policies that made doing business far more complicated and raised the cost of compliance. It is also a state where the party has been in power for 22 years.

12:33pm:-For the Congress, the stakes have never been higher. Its vice-president, Rahul Gandhi, is said to be preparing to take over the party by the end of this month, setting up what could be his first formal leadership test in Gujarat.

12:34pm:-Elections in this crucial state will be fought amid a new potential embarrassment that emerged over the business dealings of Jay Amitbhai Shah, son of BJP chief Amit Shah.

12:37pm:-Centre tells Supreme Court that forces need to be deployed in the poll- bound states of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

1:01pm:-Election Commision press conference begins.

1:02pm:-Total number of electors is 4.33 crore. Photo rolls updates to 99%, says EC.

1:03pm:-Voter guide brochure should be put out in local language, says EC.

1:04pm:-All polling stations will have drinking water, electricity, says EC.

1:05pm:-Differently-abled voters will be given priority: EC.

1:06pm:-VVPAT, along with EVM, will be there: EC.

1:07pm:-182 polling stations with 100% women personnel: EC.

1:08pm:-50,128 polling booths will be set up: Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti

1:09pm:-Slips generated by VVPAT machine will be randomly selected and counted.

1:10pm:-Model code of conduct comes into effect immediately, says EC

1:11pm:-Model code of conduct also covers the Union government, says EC

1:13pm:-Elaborate security arrangements will be in place -- CRPF will be available to help local police: EC.

1:14pm:-Election expenditure of candidates: Several agencies, including police and excise department, will be monitoring the situation.

1:15pm:-Candidates will have to open separate account and use that for elections.

1:16pm:- Rs 28 lakh is the ceiling of expenditure for candidates: EC

1:19pm:-Voter helplines will be there: EC

1:20pm:-Control room and complaint monitoring centres will be available 24x7, says EC.

1:22pm:-Online application for rallies or public meetings, called Suvidha, will be there: EC

1:24pm:-Conduct of govt officials: Discharge duties in impartial and fair manner, says EC.

1:29pm:-Schedule for election-- polling in two phases.

1:31pm:-Poll dates are: December 9 and December 14, says EC.

Patidar quota demand:- Protests for OBC status by the influential Patidar community is probably the biggest challenge the BJP government has faced in its two-decade rule. The state government last month announced a commission and a corporation for communities outside the purview of reservation. But Hardik Patel has vowed to continue the agitation. Patidars can affect the result in as many as 60 of the total 182 seats.

Virat Kohli's aggression drives Team India, says Sachin Tendulkar

New Delhi: Team India skipper Virat Kohli once again illustrated why he is the best in business as he slammed a majestic century against New Zealand in the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.

With this blazing century, Kohli surpassed the legendary Australian skipper Ricky Ponting to claim the second spot in ODI list for most 100s.

Kohli is now behind only to Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who occupies the top spot with 49 tons in the 50-over format of the game.

Praising the 28-year-old, Tendulkar said on Monday that he noticed the aggressive "spark" in Kohli when he made his India debut and that characteristic has rubbed off on the entire team.

"Kohli's attitude hasn't changed since he got into the team. I noticed that spark in him which many guys were not fond of and there were many guys who were criticising him for that," Tendulkar said.

"And today that has become the strength of the Indian team. He hasn't changed much but people around him have changed. His attitude has changed only because of his performances and it is extremely crucial for a player to have that freedom to express himself," the legendary batsman added.

Tendulkar also said that the present Indian team is a lot more balanced as a unit.

"I feel today we have got great balance in the team with a lot of spinners that can bat, lot of seamers that can bat. We saw what Bhuvneshwar (Kumar) did yesterday, people like him (Bhuvneshwar) and Hardik Pandya are going to change the balance when we start travelling," he said.

Tendulkar and legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar were interacting with Harsha Bhogle during the launch of "Democracy's XI ? The Great Indian Cricket Story" penned by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai at the Royal Opera House this evening.

Gavaskar, meanwhile, recalled memories of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, and heaped praise on former India captain Kapil Dev and Ajit Wadekar for their leader ship abilities.

Former India skippers Ajit Wadekar, Mohammed Azaruddin, Madhav Apte, Nari Contractor, Vinod Kambli, Praveen Amre were among those who were present on the occasion!!

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