The unavailability of Australian batting stalwarts Steve Smith and David Warner has made India the front-runners to win the upcoming four-Test series Down Under, feels former stylish left-hander Vinod Kambli.
Impressed with Virat Kohli’s imperious form with the bat, Kambli also showered praise on the India skipper, who turned 30 on Monday and is breaking record after record, saying he is hungry for runs and gives 110 per cent on the field.
“Our chances are bright. We are going to win the series (in Australia). These two batsmen (Smith and Warner) are not there, so take full advantage,” Kambli told PTI Tuesday on the sidelines of the second camp of the Tendulkar- Middlesex Global Academy, which began at the MIG club in suburban Bandra.
Smith and Warner are facing a year-long ban after their involvement in the ball tampering scandal in South Africa.
India are heading to Australia for a long series, which comprises three T20s, four Test matches, which will be followed by three One Day Internationals. The first Test begins in Adelaide on December 6.
Kambli said, “He (Kohli) is hungry for runs. And the hunger to do well, that is what is very good to see in him. The work ethics plus the way he is on the field, he is giving his 110 per cent. So the main thing which I like about his playing and batting is the hunger for runs, he is very hungry.”
Kambli, 46, along with childhood friend and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar and former Rajasthan coach Pradeep Sundaram was mentoring children who came for the camp and also gave tips to Australia-bound young Mumbai opener Prithvi Shaw.
Shaw made a dream Test debut by notching up a century at Rajkot against West Indies and reminded Kambli, who played in 104 ODIs, of his own younger days in cricket.
“He is a stroke player, goes after the ball and likes to get runs. In fact he likes to play his shots,” said Kambli.
So what advice does Kambli have for Shaw?
“Play your natural game,” he said.
“I have always spoken to him (Shaw) and I just said to him, ‘play your natural game’. I said ‘don’t think too much, just go out there, enjoy your game and just be confident’. That is very important, when (he goes) for tours like Australia or plays anywhere else. I hope that he does the same,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Kambli said they spotted some good talent at the D Y Patil Stadium in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, where the first camp concluded on Sunday.
“We had the first camp in D Y Patil (Stadium) and it went very well. We have wonderful coaches. The first lot in D Y Patil was good to work with. This was Sachin’s dream to give back something to the game. I have been associated with kids, this is another experience to meet good talent,” he signed off.
From bunk beds and unreserved train tickets to staying in five-star hotels and flying business class, women’s cricket has undergone a “massive” change, feels one of its biggest stars Jhulan Goswami.
Jhulan, the only bowler in the women’s game with over 200 ODI wickets, reflected on her time in international cricket and also looked ahead to the upcoming ICC Women’s World T20 in the West Indies starting November 9.
“I remember staying in an accommodation with bunk beds for my first World Cup, in 2005. For domestic matches, we often travelled unreserved in trains, and played on grounds where getting injured would have been very easy,” the 35-year-old wrote in her column for the ICC.
“There were countless junior tournaments where we stayed in dormitories and slept on mattresses on the floor. There’s been such a massive change to women’s cricket since I started playing.”
The World Cup’s league matches will be played in Guyana and St Lucia from November 9-18 with the two semifinals and the final in Antigua on November 22 and 24, respectively.
This being the first ever standalone Women’s World T20, Jhulan feels it will generate more publicity.
“I was a part of all the previous ICC Women’s World T20s right from the first one in 2009…Those were tournaments held alongside the men; yes, people were watching, and there was good publicity for the women’s games, but what I found was that by having it simultaneously with the men, the women would be in the shadows.”
Jhulan once led the ICC Women’s Player Rankings for ODI Bowlers, before announcing her retirement in August from the shortest format ranked 30th after making 68 appearances.
On the previous world events being held simultaneously with the men’s tournaments, she added, “Before the semifinals, people would not be aware about the women’s games, as only the semifinals and the final were televised. So, we didn’t get the publicity that we should have received.”
While she called the 2017 World Cup the best in terms of organisation, Jhulan said things started to change with the 2009 edition in Australia.
“I recall so many funny memories when I think about multiple teams sharing one bathroom. Back then, the IWCC (International Women’s Cricket Council) and the WCAI (Women’s Cricket Association of India) did a very creditable job with the resources they had.
“But we could really see the difference in the 2009 World Cup in Australia, which was the first one organised by the ICC. All of a sudden, we had the best hotels, great grounds, a daily allowance.
“Even for domestic tournaments, the BCCI’s entry meant that flights replaced trains.
Giving an update on the development of “A Quiet Place” sequel, actor-director John Krasinski has said he has “mapped out” an idea for the second part.
The 38-year-old actor had written and directed the original film which became a massive hit in the United States and also performed well in other countries.
The film, which featured Krasinski and his wife Emily Blunt in the lead, was praised by critics for its visuals and story. After the movie’s success, Paramount Pictures had green lit a sequel.
“I’m writing it now. I’ve mapped out an idea and hopefully it’s good enough to shoot,” Krasinski told agencies.
“Paramount’s been unbelievably supportive and I’m just excited to have a second one and so we’ll see how it goes,” he added.
The actor was attending the 10th annual Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards to present his sound editors Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn.
“Sound was everything to our movie. I couldn’t have made this movie without them. Any sort of attention I get from the movie I owe to them. So I’m happy to be here for them,” Krasinski said.
Actor Natalie Portman, who won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan”, has said she was surprised by final look of the film.
The 37-year-old actor told Vanity Fair that she thought she was shooting for a “documentary style” feature when she acted in the film and never imagined that it would be an “over the top thriller”.
“When I saw the final cut I was completely surprised by what the movie was like. I thought we were shooting something like almost documentary style, and then I watched it and it was an over the top thriller,” Portman said.
“It was an amazing wake-up call that film is a director’s medium and as an actor you have no idea what’s going on and you’re being led and shaped,” she added.
Despite the surprise, Portman has fond memories of working on the film and revealed that Aronofsky was “genuinely interested” in her input during the making.
“It was an incredible experience for so many reasons. I had always loved dance so much. It is the art I am most moved by, that expresses things that can’t be expressed by other media. It took 10 years for it to come together.
“Darren was a great collaborator. Darren was genuinely interested in my point of view and my input. It felt like a partnership,” she said.
Portman is currently awaiting the release of “Vox Lux”, which had its world premiere at the 75th Venice International Film Festival last month.
Rapper Mac Miller died from an accidental overdose due to a combination of alcohol and drugs, including fentanyl, the coroner’s report has stated.
The report, posted on the official website of Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner – Coroner on Monday, said the 26-year-old rapper’s cause of death was “mixed toxicity,”.
The report said that the coroner found cocaine, alcohol and the powerful opioid fentanyl in Miller’s system and his death has been ruled as “accident”.
The rapper, whose real name was Malcolm James McCormick, was found unresponsive in his home in the Studio City neighbourhood on September 7.
Miller had long suffered from substance abuse and was even vocal about it.
In his deeply personal 2014 mixtape “Faces”, the rapper had addressed his drug addiction.
Miller went through a well-publicised break-up with singer Ariana Grande earlier this year.
The pair, who met in 2012, collaborated on a number of songs and performed together at the One Love Manchester concert in 2017.
In August, Los Angeles police charged the rapper with driving under the influence when he crashed his car into a pole.
Miller became popular at the age of 18 with his mixtape ‘K.I.D.S.’ in 2010. His best-known songs include “Loud”, “Smile Back”, and a collaboration with Grande called “The Way”.
His most commercially successful album was 2011’s ‘Blue Side Park’.
Actor Noah Centineo, the breakout star of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved”, is set to play the lead in the feature “Valet”.
The film will be directed by Assaf Bernstein, best known for helming Netflix’s political thriller series “Fauda”, reported agencies.
The 22-year-old actor will portray a young valet driver, who gets involved in a government mission to take down an international arms dealer.
“American Sniper” scribe Jason Hall is writing the script for the feature with Mark Burg, Daniel Herther, Brad Kaplan and Brent Baum producing it.
Centineo is currently shooting for TV series “Good Trouble” and he will also be seen in Elizabeth Banks’ “Charlie’s Angels” remake, alongside Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska.
Katrina Kaif has been upping the excitement of the fans by sharing behind-the-scenes videos from the upcoming multi-starrer film ‘Thugs of Hindostan.’
While previously, she had been posting clips from her dance rehearsals, today the actor shared an interesting scene from the sets, in which she can be seen nailing a tough step in the song ‘Suraiyya’.
“This step was a bit tough to do beyond a point in rehearsals,” Katrina wrote, “I practiced a few times, the team explained me the technique but still it was tough to do repeatedly, so I really wasn’t confident of the step, so on the last day of the song shoot Prabhu sir asked me if I was ok to try doing the shot, and I wanted to finish the song knowing we had done everything he gave me to do, so we kept if for last shot of the song.”
The video captures a camera’s viewfinder which is shooting Katrina’s dance. Dressed in a sequined choli and harem pants, the ‘Zero’ star gives a perfect shot as she aces the arduous dance steps.
‘Thugs of Hindostan’ is based on Philip Meadows Taylor’s 1839 novel ‘Confessions of a Thug’ and is about a gang who posed a serious challenge to the British Empire in India (then known as Hindustan or Hindostan) during the early 19th century.
The film – which also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Jackie Shroff and Shashank Arora – is all set to hit the theatres on November 8.
Rani Mukerji said that she knew that Indian films were popular in China but it was still a surprise to witness the love and respect the audiences have for Bollywood stars when she visited the country to promote “Hichki”.
In “Hichki”, Rani played the role of a teacher who suffers from Tourette syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary vocalisations.
The film, which released in India in March this year, is currently doing well in theatres in China and the actor was on a multi-city tour to promote the movie there. The film has earned over Rs 150 crore at the Chinese box office.
Rani said it was phenomenal to see people connect to the story the way an Indian audience would do.
“They understood each and every emotion of the film. They knew about the film, they had seen the film so there was a lot of positivity everywhere I went. It was surprising because I knew that Indian films are popular but to what degree, I found it when I went there,” Rani told agencies in an interview.
The actor said that she decided to be a part of the promotions in China because she wanted to witness the love first hand and it has been an enriching experience for her.
Rani said “Hichki” has been a special film for her because it was her first film after the birth of her daughter, Adira.
The actor believes Indian films do well in China because the two neighbours share a lot of cultural similarities.
“The language of cinema and emotions is universal. When you make a film which is about human emotions, it kind of clicks in any part of the world and I guess ‘Hichki’ doing that consolidates the fact. It makes you believe in good content, good cinema and also makes you believe that if you back a project which has heart and soul, there will always be an audience somewhere who will appreciate it,” Rani said.
Alia Bhatt has always spoken highly of her ‘mentor’ Karan Johar, who brought her into showbiz with ‘Student of the Year’.
The 25-year-old, along with Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan, made her debut with the 2012-film.
And now, Alia, who is reuniting with the ace filmmaker in ‘Takht’, has revealed that she finds it “therapeutic” to work with him. Apart from her, the film features Kareena Kapoor Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Anil Kapoor.
The actor was speaking to a fashion and lifestyle magazine, Vogue, where she also opened up about Ayan Mukerji’s ‘Brahmastra’. “It’s my most action-heavy film but it’s a different kind of organic action, not dishoom-dishoom,” she said.
The ‘Dear Zindagi’ star further dismissed reports that it’s a superhero film. “If you call it that, then people will imagine us running around the city in red underwear,” she stated.
‘Brahmastra’ is a three-part fantasy trilogy which also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Mouni Roy. She will also be seen in Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Gully Boy’ and Abhishek Varman’s ‘Kalank’.
On the back of festival sales and anti-evasion measures, the GST collections for the month of October crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark. The total gross GST revenue collected in the month of October is Rs 1007.10 crore. The pickup in the revenue collections is a good news for the government, which is struggling to meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of the GDP. As the people received a bonus and advance salary, the purchasing power has increased and they are on a spending spree.
As in the past, the festival season encourages for sporadic shopping and we witness shopping every day before the festival of lights. The sale in shops is going up and online purchases are the order of the day. Malls in and around Mumbai/Navi Mumbai are the best place to shop. There is sufficient space to move around and shop with joy and there are different choices available and maximum discounts offered during the peak purchasing time. Customers really enjoy shopping during the festival season. It is indeed a nice time to see people flock for purchases. Shopping for Diwali usually starts from the last day of October and the sales also increase Diwali is nearing day by day.
Shopping is really a grace and passion and ladies enjoy shopping more than men. Children accompany parents to enjoy the big shopping experience. With the introduction of credit/debit cards and as ATM kiosks are available at every shopping Mall, it is not difficult to withdraw money and shop. Shopping malls offer great discounts from 50 to 60 per cent to woo the customers. The saying goes like this “Save something for the Festive season”. But the shops offer best discounts during the seasonal sale to make the old stock move.
It is the best time for shop owners to move their old stock by offering slash in prices. Somehow, the consumers are falling in this trap. The general trend is to give ‘buy one get one free’, on the purchase of a shirt worth Rs 1,000 as a Diwali offer. There are terrific offers on watches, jewellery, and fragrances just like in clothes and other consumer items. The best way to buy is to go to shops and make purchases instead of doing online purchases and get cheated in the process.
Despite all the drawbacks of online shopping, it is doing soaring business during the festive season with lots to offer for the buyers. Online shopping is a great resource for finding products that are from past seasons or that are being liquidated. Housing this type of product in a central warehouse allows the retailer to sell products longer by letting them sit unsold, without destroying the profit margin. This practice can then result in significant savings for customers, who do not need to purchase the most current products. The margin of profit is passed on to the consumers also and the buyers feel happy to go online to get competitive rates on commodities of their choice and liking by picking the product by going through the tariff online.
Communication with online shoppers is often streamlined with automatic responses to questions and follow-up, often with more professional and corporately trained employees than those found in brick-and-mortar operations. Customer services and policies are clearly stated on reputable sites to lessen any consumer confusion. Well-trained ‘live’ sales representatives are made available to those who have questions without waiting in long queques or searching the aisles for a store associate. Even online questionnaire is posted to regular clients to know the quality of service and product rates comparing to regular shopping.
Price-comparison sites such as Price Grabber enable shoppers to shop smarter, through utilising services that compare the prices of a product at several stores. Shoppers not only get competitive pricing information but also product reviews and site reviews to help with their decision of what and where to buy online. Many online stores waive GST charges or shipping costs and offer free home delivery to entice shoppers to make an online purchase more affordable. Also, reputable sites offer toll-free numbers for customers, who do not post their personal information and credit card numbers online.
The sale is not just restricted to clothes, shoes, and jewellery, but also to household goods. From bed sheets, bedspreads, curtains, floor mats, crockery, the list is endless. For office goers, it is not possible to shop on a regular basis, thus, when such sales are on, you can buy them in bulk. The big Diwali sale also ensures that you not only splurge on essential things but also spend a little on luxury items. From television, music systems, refrigerator, AC, washing machine, mobiles, laptops, the sale on electronic items is definitely one not to be missed. It is the best time of the year for the shopaholics to go on a complete shopping spree, and this Diwali season is no different. Whether it is the roadside shops or the branded ones, the Diwali sale is driving everyone crazy and how. Weekend sales attract everyone including the office goers. Whether it is clothes, shoes, jewellery, electronic goods or household item, there is plenty to choose from. Keep your credit card active and remember the pin number when you go on for a shopping spree and make sure that you achieve a win-win situation. Please also ensure that the items purchased by you do not have any defects before you go to pay the bill. Diwali shopping trends are on the go and make hay when the sun shines.
Online stores have experienced tremendous growth in the recent years. Smart retailers are responding with improved user-friendly sites, more direct promotional events, enticing customer loyalty programs, and good old-fashioned customer service. The festive season discount sales is a bonanza and it is the time to stop, drop and shop through a personal visit to shop or browse through your mouse for online shopping.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
