Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes banned

NEW DELHI: After the Narendra Modi government on Tuesday withdrew the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 note out of circulation in a major move against unaccounted wealth, the real estate sector has begun to feel the heat. But Jayashree Kurup, Editor of Magicbricks.com, thinks that in the long run, we're going to see a more responsible, transparent real estate sector thanks to the PM's move. Kurup on Friday also spoke to TOI about the immediate repercussions of the ban for the sector, and about the specific sub-sectors that will be affected most adversely.

Here's the transcript of Jayashree Kurup's interview with TOI.

Q: Could you talk us through the immediate impact that the Modi government's move to withdraw two denominations will have on the real estate sector?

A: The real estate sector functions differently in different parts of the country. So let's talk about North India, where you saw the largest number of cash transactions in property. What we have noticed - and what has been told to us by the industry - is that the secondary market is definitely going to face the heat. If you look across the NCR (National Capital Region) market, or, say places like Chandigarh, you saw that if you were selling a property, a large volume of that - 30, 40 per cent of that - used to be dealt in cash to save on taxes.

Even small retail buyers are quite okay with giving cash. This volume of secondary market transactions is going to face the heat for at least the next five-six months. But end-users who are looking at formal means of finance - which means mortgages - are not going to be impacted. In the South Indian markets and in a large part of the West Indian markets, except maybe parts of Mumbai, we see that the markets were much cleaner, there were much less cash transactions.

Q: You don't really see this as a long-term problem, you see the market stabilizing pretty soon?

A: I don't see this as a problem. I see this as a correction. I think with this, Prime Minister Modi has actually brought the end-user into sharp focus. Three years ago, when we had a spate of launches in the North Indian market, the end user was the eighth transactor in that process. There used to be somebody who would take 20, 40 apartments, and they would block those apartments. When the values went up another 200-400 rupees, they would sell that off to the first level of investors. There were five, six levels of investors before the end user actually entered - because the end user cannot take the risk of delaying construction.

Now what will happen is that all those petty investors who made 200, 400, 600 or maybe 2,000 rupees on a transaction will go away. And then, even if the consumer books at the early stages, and the leverage value goes up at the end of the cycle of construction, that's a good legitimate investor who has waited out three years, four years, and then decides to exit and then go away. That is good for the market, and I think that is what is going to happen. You'll see serious investors and you'll see a lot of end users becoming extremely active in the market.

Q: It sounds like you're saying that we're going to be looking at a more responsible, transparent real estate market.

A: Absolutely. Transparency was one thing that was completely lacking in this market.

You're going to see by April 2017, all states have to notify the norms of RERA (Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016), and they have to start setting up RERA councils, so that it becomes a reality. That's the first thing that was very, very positive in 2016. The other thing is the Benami Transactions Act. That struck a body blow on a lot of cash transactions. And along with that this demonetization,I think we are going to see a lot more transparency in this market.

Our National Game - Hockey or Cricket ??

The debate makes sense in the present scenario where the billions are relentlessly following each and every game of cricket where in only a handful turn out for spectacular hockey matches in our country.
 
Should our national game be not decided based upon the popularity of the sport among the masses??
Should it not be decided upon the number of enthusiastic citizens actually playing the sport, whether in streets, parks or grounds?
If we go by this criterion then surely cricket has an upper hand for being nominated as our national sport.
 
From commercial aspect of things, IPL is and will always be a much more money churning format than the IHL.
More sponsors, more media coverage, expensive Satellite rights, more prize money are a few factors which clearly hint out at cricket to be more popular and widely watched if not played sport in the country.
 
I feel now the question is, why is hockey our national sport?
A just and viable theory could be that at the time of deciding upon our national sport, hockey was far more ahead of cricket in terms of popularity, playability and of course offered better physical exercise than cricket.
Not to forget, the English brought cricket to India and hockey on the other hand was devised by Indians. We take pride in our findings and traditions and that emotional bonding with hockey will be everlasting in the minds of each and every Indian you will ever come across.
 
Moving forward with changing times and adapting to the present popularity among the citizens of our great nation, i would vote for cricket to be our national games.
Having said that, i would like to emphasize that the opinion cited is my personal and not motivated from any political, social or sports body.
 
I respect each and every individual's decision to choose their own national sport and that is why a national plebiscite would be the best way to decide, cricket or hockey as our national sport.

Gambhir, Uthappa and Russell knock Kings XI down

"One interesting decision and everyone forgets you hit a fifty in the last game." It seemed Glenn Maxwell was still smarting from an incorrect caught-behind decision in Kings XI Punjab's previous game against Gujarat Lions. He couldn't score any runs then, but on Wednesday, it was almost like he couldn't be stopped.

Almost, because Piyush Chawla found a way, and did so at the perfect time. Maxwell fell for 68 off 42 balls with his side still 45 runs away from a target of 165 with only 26 balls in hand. A well-populated Eden Gardens reveled in the tension. So did a bowling attack that featured six internationals. Kolkata Knight Riders closed out a victory by seven runs and climbed to the top of the table.

Andre Russell had 11 runs to defend in the final over and he did so by picking up one wicket, apart from two run-outs, to finish with 4 for 20 in four overs. He was Knight Riders' battering ram, but he needed Chawla to make that decisive dent. By contrast, Kings XI were reliant on one man and he had far too much to do.

Maxwell took on the challenge though. He came in with the score on 13 for 3 and his determination to contribute was apparent in the shots he played - flicks and cuts against the Knight Riders quicks, who bowled too short at him, and powerful lofts down the ground against the spinners. Essentially, Maxwell wanted to limit the risks he took. His fifty came off only 29 balls, by which time he had played only one reverse sweep.

Towards the end of his innings, the cross-batted shots kept coming out and one of them did him in. Maxwell misread a googly from Chawla, played a reverse sweep against the turn and was adjudged lbw by umpire Anil Chaudhary. The batsman walked off unhappy because he felt he was hit outside the line of off stump, and while replays indicated more than half the ball had been outside the line, some of his anger may have been directed at himself. He was the only Kings XI batsman who showed any kind of control and with him out of the way, Knight Riders breezed past the finish line.

The result seemed never in doubt when Russell had knocked over Marcus Stoinis and Vohra in his first two overs. Morne Morkel had M Vijay caught at mid-off in the fourth over as the Kings XI top order paid the price for not taking time to understand a slow pitch.

Knight Riders fared better in that department as well. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa struck fluent half-centuries and added 101 runs for the opening partnership. Though the run-rate they maintained was only 7.48, they laid an excellent foundation for the big-hitters down the order by punishing a bowling line-up that couldn't get their length right.

On a sluggish pitch, short-pitched bowling allowed the batsman time to pick his spots, as Stoinis found out in the third over when Gambhir pulled a couple of fours away. It also allowed time to recover after making a mistake, as Mohit Sharma found out in the fourth over when Uthappa came forward to a back of a length delivery and was still able to drive it past point.

On top of that, Kings XI dropped Uthappa three balls after Gambhir was run-out. The culprit, Mohit, recovered well though. He and Sandeep Sharma switched to a mix of yorkers and slower deliveries for the last five overs. That meant Yusuf Pathan and Russell could not bring their power-hitting into play and Knight Riders had to settle for only 43 runs in that period.

Kings XI have dropped to the bottom of the table with six losses in eight games. They went in with only three overseas players on Wednesday - Maxwell, Stoinis and David Miller - after Shaun Marsh's back injury ruled him out of the IPL two days ago. Hashim Amla, who was brought in as a replacement, sat out because he had arrived in India on the day of the match and had had very little time to prepare.

Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Yuvraj set to return for Sunrisers Hyderabad

A six-day break since their last match has left Sunrisers Hyderabad in the bottom half of the IPL 2016 points table. They will look to move back up when they host Gujarat Lions, a team they hadthrashed earlier in the season.

Sunrisers have plenty of muscle at the top, with David Warner scoring 386 runs in seven matches at an average and strike rate of 77.20 and 168.55, but the middle order seemed thin. Kane Williamson's fifty after recovering from a hamstring injury should help in that regard. Sunrisers will like some of the Indian batsmen to increase their productivity. Maybe Yuvraj Singh can help with that. An ankle injury had kept him out for over a month, but he batted and bowled fluently in the nets in Hyderabad and is set to make his debut for the franchise.

Dwayne Bravo had been under an injury cloud as well - he missed Lions' previous game againstDelhi Daredevils - but was quite active at training and is expected to slot back in the XI.

Lions coach Brad Hodge had been concerned about his batsmen's Powerplay failures a couple of days ago. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman will want to take advantage of that. The two Sunrisers fast bowlers have taken 18 wickets, swinging the ball, slowing it down and nailing the yorkers.

Dinesh Karthik, meanwhile, has sensibly built or rebuilt the innings from the middle order with 215 runs at an average and strike rate of 35.83 and 127.21. That Jadeja struck his first 30-plus score after 27 IPL innings should boost Lions.

Form guide

Sunrisers Hyderabad WLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Gujarat Lions LLWWW

In the spotlight

An inclination to play the ball as late as possible makes Williamson adept against pace or spin. He accumulates runs in risk-free fashion and it was on display during his first IPL half-century, against Royal Challengers. His presence at No. 3 will take some pressure off Warner and Shikhar Dhawan.

Praveen Kumar has taken only two wickets in nine matches, but has been a vital to Lions' plans at the start and end of every bowling innings. His yorkers denied a rampaging Chris Morrison Sunday and it is with his assistance that Dhawal Kulkarni is the team's second-highest wicket-taker, with seven in seven matches.

Team news

Yuvraj is set to make his debut for Sunrisers, perhaps in place of Deepak Hooda, who has five single-digit scores in six attempts. Sunrisers may also consider bringing in left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma or legspinner Karn Sharma for seam-bowling allrounder Ashish Reddy.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable): 1 David Warner(capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Yuvraj Singh/Deepak Hooda, 5 Naman Ojha(wk), 6 Moises Henriques, 7 Ashish Reddy/Bipul Sharma/Karn Sharma, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Barinder Sran 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Ashish Nehra

If Bravo is fit, he is likely to replace either Dwayne Smith or Aaron Finch. Ishan Kishan, who has looked uncertain whether his role in the side is to attack or defend, may make way for Akshdeep Nath.

Gujarat Lions (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Suresh Raina(capt), 4 Dinesh Karthik(wk), 5 Ishan Kishan/Akshdeep Nath, 6 Ravindra Jadeja ,7 Dwayne Bravo/Dwayne Smith, 8 James Faulkner, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Shivil Kaushik

Pitch and conditions

Four of five games at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium have been won by the chasing side this season. Pre-monsoon rains have given Hyderabad relief from the scorching heat, and showers have been forecast for Friday evening too.

Stats and trivia

• Bhuvneshwar and Mustafizur have a combined dot-ball tally of 123 from a sample size of 318.
• Dwayne Bravo could play his 300th T20 and 100th IPL match on Friday.

Quotes

"Yuvraj adds a lot to our side because it is not only his ability with the bat and being a left-hander which is going to add to our strengths; it is also about what he can do with the ball."
Sunrisers coach Tom Moody on why Yuvraj would be an invaluable addition to the side

"It is important not to start changing things up just because things have not gone your way for two games."
Lions' wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik is not in favour of knee-jerk reactions

Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Bolstered Supergiants secure vital win

Rising Pune Supergiants had been marred by four major injuries in the last two weeks and were reeling at the bottom half of the points table with six losses from eight matches. But against Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla, they fell back on the reliable shoulders of Ajinkya Rahane, Rajat Bhatia and a brisk innings from IPL debutant Usman Khawaja to hand the hosts their second loss in their last four matches.

Supergiants first restricted Daredevils to 162 by slowing them down in the middle overs and taking regular wickets. The top order then, led by Rahane's unbeaten and unflustered 63, made sure the chase, which got slightly tense towards the end, was sealed with five balls to spare.

This looked like anyone's game when Supergiants needed 37 from the last three overs. Captain MS Dhoni, who promoted himself to No. 4, struck a four and a straight six off Mohammed Shami, soon after five wides earlier in the 18th over, to bring the equation down to 17 from 12. Iman Tahir removed Dhoni with the first ball of the 19th over but two lusty sixes from Thisara Perera meant Supergiants needed three from the last over and Rahane finished it with a flicked four.

Khawaja and Rahane accelerated in the chase after the third over by mainly targeting the quicks. They saw through Jayant Yadav's three overs of offspin and reached 50 when the Powerplay ended. Amit Mishra's googly and thrift then combined to stump Khawaja, who had already been dropped on 8 and had survived run-out chances on 9 and 22, for 30.

Rahane continued in his usual risk-free and unruffled fashion and he was hardly troubled by JP Duminy and Carlos Brathwaite in a second-wicket partnership of 45 with Saurabh Tiwary. But Tahir had Tiwary caught at deep midwicket in the 14th over. By then, Supergiants were still 59 adrift with 40 balls remaining.

Dhoni smashed his fourth ball for a six and after Supergiants took 13 runs off the next 16 balls, they needed 37 from 18. Duminy gave the ball to Shami who sent five wides way down the leg side on the second ball of the over and once Dhoni took strike, he tilted the momentum back with consecutive boundaries to make it easier for Rahane.

Daredevils, who were asked to bat, were largely anchored by their stand-in captain Duminy, as Zaheer Khan had a niggle, but other batsmen could not convert starts into big scores. Once Dinda knocked over Rishabh Pant's off stump in the third over, Karun Nair and Sanju Samson started scoring boundaries on both sides of the pitch to lift the run rate above eight. But Samson handed a simple catch to midwicket on the last ball of the Powerplay.

Duminy, meanwhile, kept the score ticking by scoring at nearly run a ball but was running out of partners. Bhatia took the pace off the ball for another economical spell and Nair soon holed out to sweeper cover, for 32 off 23, while trying to break free.

Sam Billings combined with Duminy to quickly score 24 runs out of the 45 they put together in five overs. Billings had struck R Ashwin for two consecutive sixes and posed a big threat before a switch-hit ended his innings. Brathwaite then took on M Ashwin for two more sixes but impressive fielding from Rahane and Tiwary resulted in two run-outs. Pawan Negi's unbeaten 19 off 12 balls provided Daredevils a late push but it wasn't enough.

Vishal Dikshit is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Source:http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2016/content/story/1008645.html

Kohli fined INR 24 lakh for slow over rate

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has been fined INR 24 lakh (USD 36,000 approx) for his team's slow over rate in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday night. Kohli had already been found guilty of an over-rate offence earlier in the competition, when he was fined INR 12 lakh. Another such instance will fetch him a one-match suspension.

The rest of the Royal Challengers team were fined INR 6 lakh each.

The IPL has usually been severe on teams maintaining slow over rates. In 2010, Kings XI Punjab captain Kumar Sangakkara received a one-match ban for a third such offence, following fines of USD 20,000 and USD 40,000.

Opposition captain Gautam Gambhir also picked up a fine after Monday's game, for breaching the code of conduct article related to "abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during a match".

Royal Challengers lost the game in dramatic fashion, going down by five wickets after Knight Riders had required 81 off 36. Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell teed off at the end resulting in the asking rate coming crashing down, before Suryakumar Yadav joined Yusuf to take the team home. When Suryakumar swept chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi for four in the penultimate over to bring the equation to two runs required off eight balls, Gambhir showed his emotions by kicking a chair in the dugout. That reaction, presumably, lost him 15% of his match fee.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Source : http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2016/content/story/1007859.html

Gambhir, Uthappa and Russell knock Kings XI down

"One interesting decision and everyone forgets you hit a fifty in the last game." It seemed Glenn Maxwell was still smarting from an incorrect caught-behind decision in Kings XI Punjab's previous game against Gujarat Lions. He couldn't score any runs then, but on Wednesday, it was almost like he couldn't be stopped.

Almost, because Piyush Chawla found a way, and did so at the perfect time. Maxwell fell for 68 off 42 balls with his side still 45 runs away from a target of 165 with only 26 balls in hand. A well-populated Eden Gardens reveled in the tension. So did a bowling attack that featured six internationals. Kolkata Knight Riders closed out a victory by seven runs and climbed to the top of the table.

Andre Russell had 11 runs to defend in the final over and he did so by picking up one wicket, apart from two run-outs, to finish with 4 for 20 in four overs. He was Knight Riders' battering ram, but he needed Chawla to make that decisive dent. By contrast, Kings XI were reliant on one man and he had far too much to do.

Maxwell took on the challenge though. He came in with the score on 13 for 3 and his determination to contribute was apparent in the shots he played - flicks and cuts against the Knight Riders quicks, who bowled too short at him, and powerful lofts down the ground against the spinners. Essentially, Maxwell wanted to limit the risks he took. His fifty came off only 29 balls, by which time he had played only one reverse sweep.

Towards the end of his innings, the cross-batted shots kept coming out and one of them did him in. Maxwell misread a googly from Chawla, played a reverse sweep against the turn and was adjudged lbw by umpire Anil Chaudhary. The batsman walked off unhappy because he felt he was hit outside the line of off stump, and while replays indicated more than half the ball had been outside the line, some of his anger may have been directed at himself. He was the only Kings XI batsman who showed any kind of control and with him out of the way, Knight Riders breezed past the finish line.

The result seemed never in doubt when Russell had knocked over Marcus Stoinis and Vohra in his first two overs. Morne Morkel had M Vijay caught at mid-off in the fourth over as the Kings XI top order paid the price for not taking time to understand a slow pitch.

Knight Riders fared better in that department as well. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa struck fluent half-centuries and added 101 runs for the opening partnership. Though the run-rate they maintained was only 7.48, they laid an excellent foundation for the big-hitters down the order by punishing a bowling line-up that couldn't get their length right.

On a sluggish pitch, short-pitched bowling allowed the batsman time to pick his spots, as Stoinis found out in the third over when Gambhir pulled a couple of fours away. It also allowed time to recover after making a mistake, as Mohit Sharma found out in the fourth over when Uthappa came forward to a back of a length delivery and was still able to drive it past point.

On top of that, Kings XI dropped Uthappa three balls after Gambhir was run-out. The culprit, Mohit, recovered well though. He and Sandeep Sharma switched to a mix of yorkers and slower deliveries for the last five overs. That meant Yusuf Pathan and Russell could not bring their power-hitting into play and Knight Riders had to settle for only 43 runs in that period.

Kings XI have dropped to the bottom of the table with six losses in eight games. They went in with only three overseas players on Wednesday - Maxwell, Stoinis and David Miller - after Shaun Marsh's back injury ruled him out of the IPL two days ago. Hashim Amla, who was brought in as a replacement, sat out because he had arrived in India on the day of the match and had had very little time to prepare.

Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Source:http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2016/content/story/1008239.html