India are No.1 in ICC rankings again but for how long?

venuszone.....
Two ODIs win in a row are all it took for India to topple England at the top of the ICC ODI rankings. India inched ahead and have 119 points to England’s 118 points. South Africa also went down to New Zealand in their first one-dayer, and that also helped India climb to the top.
South Africa, meanwhile, are third with 116 points while Sri Lanka and Australia are tied at 111 points.
However, in order to hold onto the top spot, India have to win the next ODI in Mohali on January 23. If they lose that game, then England will be back on top of the table.

Dhoni and Fletcher must be pretty surprised......

If India lose in Mohali to England, they will drop two rating points and will be with 117 while England will gain two rating points and move to 120.
Just a couple of matches back, India were playing bad cricket and they have been doing that for almost 18 months now. And now, they are suddenly the world’s best team. Something’s just not right.
And that isn’t the end of it either. Given how close things are, expect the top spot in the ODI rankings to change hands more than a couple of times as India-England and South Africa-New Zealand still have two ODIs left to play.
After that, South Africa will still have an ODI series against Pakistan to play.
But the ODI rankings don’t really matter too much. In a sense, it’s like the FIFA World rankings. You don’t care about the rankings, you only care about winning the World Cup.

Rolls-Royce Wraith coming this March:

venuszone.....

Geneva reveal for the new two-door model, which will be the fastest and most powerful Rolls-Royce in history

Jan 18, 2013

Rolls-Royce has named its forthcoming coupé version of the Ghost as Rolls-Royce Wraith. The model will be the most powerful in Rolls’s history, and is set to be revealed at the Geneva motor show in March.
Speaking at a dealer conference in London this morning, Rolls CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös said the Wraith would “draw superlatives” when it is revealed in Geneva.
“Expect the boldest design, the most dramatic performance and the most powerful Rolls-Royce that has ever played host to the famous Spirit of Ecstasy figurine,” he said.
“We will present a model whose starting point is luxury, refinement and exclusivity, traits that have made Rolls-Royce the world’s pinnacle luxury good for the last 108 years. This is a car not only defined by a timeless elegance, but one that encapsulates a sense of power, style and drama.”
The Wraith name was first used by Rolls in 1938.
Insiders have previously revealed the Wraith will produce as much as 600bhp from its highly tuned twin-turbo 6.6-litre V12 engine. Torque will rise by a proportional amount over the engine’s state of tune in the Ghost saloon, but insiders insist the famed Rolls refinement will be retained.
The Wraith will have a wheelbase around 180mm shorter than the Ghost’s 3295mm, with an overall length of around 5200mm expected. The kerb weight is tipped to be around 2300kg.
Rolls has said it will release a series of teaser images of the Wraith in the build-up to its Geneva launch on 5 March.

Best of 2012: Top 5 two-wheeler comparisons:

venuszone.....

Here's a look at the five best two-wheeler comparisons we did across 2012.

Dec 26, 2012

Superbikes, sportsbikes and streetbikes — we did some extensive comparing and figured which ones emerged supreme.






Ducati Multistrada 1200 vs BMW R 1200 GS

We compared these two rugged European machines to figure which is more capable of handling our roads.
 

Honda CBR150R vs Yamaha YZF-R15 V2.0
We pitted Yamaha’s latest avatar of its popular R15 against Honda’s newest sportsbike for India.







Kawasaki Ninja 650 vs Ducati Monster 795

We took the Italian-Japanese superbike duel to the next level with this comparison.







Honda CBR150 vs Yamaha YZF-R15 V2.0 track

After the comparison in daily use conditions, we took these two sportsbikes to the Sriperumbudur track outside Chennai for a face-off.







Bajaj Pulsar 200NS vs KTM 200 Duke
Two of India’s top-notch streetbikes fought it out for the top spot in this comparison.

New livery for 2013 Yamaha R15 V2.0 :

venuszone.....

India Yamaha is now offering four new paint schemes and graphics for its YZF-R15 V2.0. The 2013 model is available in white with blue, black with silver, white with red and black with green paint schemes. Other than this new livery, the R15 V2.0 remains unchanged.

 

The 2013 model will continue to house the four-stroke, 149.8cc, single-cylinder liquid cooled engine which outputs 16.7bhp at 8500rpm and a peak torque of 1.52kgm at 7500rpm, mated to a 6-speed gearbox. 

 

The R15 V2.0 is a class leading, capable on-track bike. With the revised paint schemes and new graphics, the company hopes to rope in more potential buyers for the bike. The R15 V2.0 is priced at Rs 1,12,455 (ex-showroom, Pune), and the bikes with new livery are already available at Yamaha showrooms.