Miss Universe 2011 faked documents?

Controversy hounds the 2011 Miss Universe pageant after new allegations that the winner, Miss Angola Leila Lopes, used false documents to enter and win a qualifying contest in England.

The Argentinian newspaper Infobae published a report Thursday alleging that Lopes was unfairly allowed to participate in a Miss Angola competition for Angolan citizens living in the UK, even though she has never lived outside of Angola, reports ABC News.

The report claimed that a man named Charles Mukano helped falsify documents identifying Lopes as a student of business management at a British school, enabling her to enter and win the contest there.

Infobae cites reports in Angolan media that allege that Mukano may have even bribed judges in England to ensure Lopes' win.

Lopes was the first Miss Universe from her country, but came under attack in the following days by Miss France and fans of Miss Phillipines as undeserving of the crown.

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Dhoni, India win??!!

With the series lost before it's over, the fifth and final one-day international on Friday gives the Indian team the last chance to record a win in the England tour.

However, if fail in securing even one win against the English, Dhoni and his boys will have to wait till the time the Englishmen come to India for a return series. Despite the humiliating Test series loss, India have performed with some quality in the ODIs even though they have not won any of the matches so far.

They were in a commanding position at Chester-le-Street, but rain deprived them of a positive. In Southampton too, rain played foul though the English were in fighting form. Rain was to blame at the Oval, as well, and kicked in just as the Indian spinners were getting a grip of things. At Lord's, India lost out in what went down to the wire before it was declared a tie.

The team's composition - most boys are emerging players with years of play ahead of them - gives the side some energy and resilience. For them, this series has been a test, not the final exam. Their mentors are taking heart in the positives shown by some talents on field even though they couldn't power their side to victory.

Captain courageous Dhoni has been one of India's luckiest leaders and has had great success in various formats. This series has been an exception in his otherwise stellar career over the last four years (he was named captain on September 14, 2007). However, despite the outcome, MSD is an unchanged man.

He's not wilted under pressure, nor complained about all the small but significant factors that have gone against the Indians. He has not been able to play his natural game and been under pressure to perform from the time his team had arrived in England.

Against all odds, Dhoni has waged a battle despite severe limitations that has plagued his side through the tour. He has ensured that his players got enough exposure to grow as international players. The final ODI is of grave importance to the boys.

Dhoni, meanwhile, would be praying that the elements are fair, for once, to both sides!

There is urgency among many youngsters in the team as they hope to be picked for the return series at home. Besides, with nothing to lose, India can be lethal.

One more reason why India would want to do well is that this is Rahul Dravid's final one-day international. The players would surely want to give the great batsman a triumphant farewell.

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Courageous bowlers needed at The Oval

India have been in the need of a miracle in England. Going by the performance in the T20 and the first two ODI's, the visitors will need some lethal doses of sting-bowling as well to finally register a win, in the 3rd ODI scheduled at The Oval on Friday.

Toothless bowling

While the batting has shown that India can take the opposition bowling to the cleaners at will, the bowling has looked toothless at best and has been unable to defend whatever target that the batsmen have given the team. Ajinkya Rahane has been a good inclusion along with Parthiv Patel but Indian openers with the ball, have hardly come close to proving their skills as these two batsmen have.

If Patel and Rahane have been brash, aggressive and unforgiving, Praveen and Vinay Kumar have been ordinary at best. While Praveen has claimed the odd wicket, Vinay Kumar is yet to justify his inclusion in the side apart from making the numbers up. What makes it worse for this Kochi Tuskers bowler is that he has been leaking runs as well. While MS Dhoni does not have a pace battery at his disposal, Vinay Kumar would do best to not take his place for granted.

Skipper MS Dhoni has already stressed on the need for the bowlers to come good. (Read report here)

Batting up a storm?

The strategy to go with seven batsmen has worked well for India but it has eventually come to a naught. Setting a challenging target for the opposition is only half the battle won.

The solace is the batting which needs just that little extra to take the match. MS Dhoni batting at six is perhaps, a watse of his batting abilities as the 'finishing-with-a-bang' ability has been missing. Virat Kohli is another batsman who needs to come good on his skill. While form has so far evaded this powerful batsman, Kohli will look to set his eye in and cross over into double-digits to find back his form and change his team's fortunes.

The other side of the duel

On the other side of the field is a team that is being led by a skipper who is making elementary mistakes but registering wins nonetheless. Alastair Cook has a bowling unit that is oscillating between brilliance and medeocrity only to have the batsmen stage dramatic rescue acts to tak the team through.

Graeme Swann has bowled well within himself, Tim Bresnan has been effective and Jade Dernbach has been effective as well. The combined effort though, has been shoddy at best. With seven bowlers used consistantly, Cook will have to come up with a contingency plan for when and if the batting fails to click.

Teams:
England (possible): Alastair Cook (capt), Craig Kieswetter, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Graeme Swann, Ben Stokes, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Jade Dernbach.

India (possible): MS Dhoni (capt), Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar and Munaf Patel.

Pitch:
Is expected to be in favour of the batsman and a high-scoring match is at hand. The bowlers will look to keep the punishment to the minimum although it is not anywhere close to how the sub-continent tracks are.

Weather:
Overcast conditions are predicted for the day-night contest. Light showers can halt the match but a repeat of Southmapton where the match was reduced to 23-a side will not be repeated.

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Manoj Tiwary replaces Rohit in ODI squad

Manoj Tiwary, the Bengal batsman, has been named as the replacement for Rohit Sharma in India's ODI squad in England. Rohit fractured his right index finger during the first ODI in Durham and has been ruled out of the remainder of the series.

India are also waiting on the fitness of Sachin Tendulkar, who missed the first ODI because of an aggravation of an old toe injury. He is scheduled to visit a surgeon in London on September 5.

Tiwary has played three ODIs for India, the last two being in the West Indies in June, when he made only 2 and 22. Since then, however, Tiwary travelled to Australia for the Emerging Players Tournament, in which he scored 188 in a three-day match against New Zealand A and 59 against Australia Institute of Sport. He also made 45 not out and 36 in two Twenty20 matches on that tour.

Tiwary said he wanted to carry on his rich vein of form from that tournament. "When you are in good form, you need to cash in on the opportunities that are provided to you," Tiwary told PTI. "For me, the Emerging Players Tour in Australia was a big confidence-booster and I would like to carry my good form to England.

"I think my 188 against New Zealand A was one of my best innings. The ball did seam around and I batted confidently. I have been on A tours before but thanks to coach Bharath Arun who let me bat at my preferred No. 4 slot, which did my confidence a world of good."

It has been a tough tour for India so far, losing 4-0 in the Tests and the solitary Twenty20 match as well. "That's a big challenge for me," Tiwary said. "If I have to cement my place then I have to score in a pressure scenario."

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Who will direct Ajith post Billa - 2??

We all know that the shooting of Ajith's much awaited Billa 2, directed by Chakri Toleti, is progressing briskly in Hyderabad. According to sources, the team will soon move to Goa and Tuticorin to shoot some important sequences. A portion of this film is likely to be shot in Russia. Popular model Huma Qureshi, who has appeared in ads for many leading brands, will play the love interest of David Billa in this film. Bollywood star Sudhanshu Pandey, Bruna Abdullah and Malayalam actor Manoj K. Jayan will play prominent roles in this film, made with a whopping budget of Rs. 35 crores. Billa 2's technical team includes cinematographer Hemant Chaturvedi, editor Sreekar Prasad and music director Yuvan Shankar Raja.

But the big question is: Who will direct Ajith post Billa 2? Well, according to sources, Thala is likely to team up either with Madrasapattinam Vijay or Vishnuvardhan. Ajith and A.L. Vijay have earlier worked together in Kireedom and the actor is looking forward to working with him again. Vishnuvardhan, who directed Ajith in Billa and missed doing Billa 2 due to clash of dates, is also in the race.

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