Yuvraj vows to return stronger

 

India s cancer-stricken World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh has vowed to return “stronger than ever” to competitive cricket, saying he was responding well to treatment in the United States.

 

The ace all-rounder, named man of the tournament after India s World Cup win in April last year, is currently undergoing chemotherapy for a rare condition, mediastinal seminoma, a malignant tumour located between his lungs.

 

“I have immense faith in the doctors here and by the grace of God I shall be back to my best soon,” Yuvraj said from his hospital in Boston in remarks published in the Times of India newspaper on Wednesday.

 

“I am on medication and doctors have time and again told me that I am responding well and that I would be back playing cricket. I am a fighter and I will return stronger than ever.”

 

A senior Delhi-based oncologist who has been treating the 30-year-old Yuvraj, Nitesh Rohatgi also said Monday the cricketer would be able to start active training by May.

 

“Initially, I was angry and confused. I was even repentant and kept thinking I could have done some things in life differently,” said Yuvraj, an aggressive left-handed batsman and effective spinner.

 

“However, I have a counsellor here who has helped me get over the initial shock of learning that I am suffering from cancer. I have come to terms with it now.”

 

Yuvraj said he drew inspiration from American cyclist Lance Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer to win numerous Tour de France titles.

 

“I am currently reading Lance Armstrong s book  It s Not About The Bike . I m sure the book will motivate me and pull me through this difficult time,” he said.

 

Yuvraj had a dream run in the World Cup, scoring 362 runs and grabbing 15 wickets in nine matches. He has not played competitive cricket since taking part in two of three home Tests against the West Indies in November.

 

Thousands of well-wishers, including team-mates, officials and politicians, sent messages of support. “It is the love of family, friends and fans that has kept me going,” said Yuvraj, who has scored 8,051 runs in 274 one-dayers and 1,775 runs in 37 Tests since making his international debut in 2000.

 

“Till a couple of days ago, I was responding to posts and tweets on my accounts on social networking sites, but the sheer volume of comments praying for my well-being would require people to be hired to ensure everyone is responded to.”
Yuvraj also appealed for an end to media speculation about his illness.

 

“I have asked my mother and friends not to speak to the media, as things may get sensationalised,” he said.

 

3rd Test: Pakistan lose 6 wickets for 39 runs

 

Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat against England in the third and final Test being played at Dubai Stadium.

 

Pakistan, leading the series 2-0 following their ten-wicket win in the first Test in Dubai and 72 run victory in the second Test in Abu Dhabi, brought back paceman Aizaz Cheema in place of Junaid Khan.

 

England remained unchanged from the Abu Dhabi Test, keeping faith with their batsmen despite their struggles against Pakistan s spinners in the first two matches.

 

Pakistan: Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman

 

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Monty Panesar.
 

Nicole Kidman Opens up on 60 Minutes

Nicole Kidman gave an interview to the Australian version of “60 Minutes”, she spoke candidly about motherhood and openly about her fertility issues. It was only very recently that she and Keith Urban announced that they are now parents for the second time.

Their new daughter Faith was born via a gestational carrier; this means that Faith is their biological daughter but she was carried by another woman. Both Nicole and Keith were present at the birth.

“It was so deeply emotional and moving, and having given birth and then being on the place of seeing my child being born this way. The love I felt for our gestational carrier…She was the most wonderful woman to do this for us,”

Nicole opened up and tearfully discussed her long struggle with fertility issues and about how grateful she is to the woman who carried their daughter Faith. And in case you’re curious, Conner and Bella, her children from her previous marriage to Tom Cruise have met their new sister.

In the memory of Sanjeev Kumar

He broke all the rules of stardom and yet was a star, a romantic hero and an all-rounder par excellence. 47 was no age for one of Hindi cinema’s brightest talents to go, but on November 6, 1985, Sanjeev Kumar passed away, leaving fans, friends and the Hindi film shell-shocked.
Gulzar remembers Sanjeev Kumar
“For me, he was the complete actor. I have always said that I had two anchors – one was Sanjeev Kumar, and the other was R.D.Burman.
What most people do not know is that I knew Haribhai (as I called him) from the late 1950s. We were both with the Indian National Theatre where I would write for the plays and he was a stage actor. Sanjeev was a student of P.D.Shenoy, who was also teaching at the Filmalaya School of Acting and later turned film director.
Sanjeev was just over 20 years old, and he was playing a father! Leela Chitnis was playing his wife and Manvendra Chitnis his son, and what a performance Sanjeev gave as the old man! We struck a rapport somewhere, began sharing cups of tea – which was the best way to cement friendship and practice economy simultaneously! We also began to discuss acting, and realised that he was quite a knowledgeable man.
Sanjeev was born for excellence and for getting compliments! One day, after the performance, Sanjeev happened to meet Prithviraj (Kapoor)ji, who did not recognise him without make-up and told him, “That old man was really wonderful!”, thrilling Sanjeev no end!
Then one day, he overheard a Gujarati lady say, without knowing that Sanjeev was a Gujarati too, that he looked a lot like Joy Mukerji, who was a big name and was the son of S.Mukerji, the Filmalaya chief! Sanjeev was so happy that he resembled a successful film hero as he thought that he thus had a brighter chance of becoming a star!
So far as movies are concerned, our first film together was Sunghursh, in which I was the dialogue writer. To say that Sanjeev Kumar matched both Dilip Kumar and Balraj Sahni was an understatement! I still recall the first shot he gave – a chess sequence with Dilipsaab. What confidence he displayed – and what precision! I overheard Dilip Kumar asking H.S.Rawail, the producer-director, “Iss ladke ko kahaan se dhoond ke laaye aap? He is such a good actor!”

As an actor and as a human being, Sanjeev Kumar earned immense respect from everyone right from his theater days. Far from being the miser he was said to be, he quietly helped out everyone who needed assistance, right from his theater friends to his staff and others. I know that he bought a taxi for someone, a machine for someone else and so on.
After Sunghursh, we came together in Aashirwad and then I approached him for Vinod Khanna’s role in my directorial debut Mere Apne. He told me, “You know that I can’t say ‘No’ to you. But please try and understand, this film belongs to the actress who will play the old lady.” But I always felt that jo aur koi nahin kar sakta hai woh Sanjeev to kar hi lega, so I approached him next for the cameo of Jaya Bachchan’s father in Parichay and he accepted it. After that, he would never ask me for the story and would blindly trust me.
An interesting story followed. I knew that no one else could play the deaf-mute to perfection in my third film Koshish. The gap between these two films’ releases was a month, and the main theatres in Mumbai for them were a few buildings apart as Parichay was still running. Sanjeev came to me and voiced his apprehensions, saying that he was playing Jaya’s father in Parichay but her husband in Koshish. How could the people accept that? I conceded that he had a point and went to producer N.C.Sippy. And Sippysaab simply said, “You forget what a good actor he is! People forget who Sanjeev is because he becomes the character. This will be a test for him and of my faith in him.”
As it happened, Koshish was also a hit and Sanjeev even got his second National award for it. In the same year, he was Jaya’s boyfriend again in Anamika. Among their later films, he also played her father-in-law in Sholay! Mausam, Namkeen, Angoor for me and Faraar, Arjun Pandit and Devata in which I was only the writer – Sanjeev was always a dependable force for me, and I also wrote lyrics for his Anubhav, Grihapravesh and Swayamvar.
On the sets of Namkeen, Sanjeev upset all the four ladies – Waheeda Rehman, Sharmila Tagore, Shabana Azmi and Kiran Vairale – because he would always report late. They would also blame me because I never chided him, so they would not speak to him when he arrived. Sanjeev would instinctively sense this, but remain completely indifferent! But the shot he gave would bowl them over and break their resolve! They would end up teasing him, suggest improvements in his wardrobe, bully him affectionately and finally tell him, “We forgive you only because you are such a terrific actor!”
Sanjeev had a great sense of humour – a must if one has to do all those comic roles that he did so brilliantly. Comedy is all about timing – you either have it or you don’t. Sanjeev was a rare actor – he was attracted only to roles. It did not matter what role it was. Like his nine roles in Naya Din Nayi Raat – who else could have done them with such distinction? One day, after his bypass surgery from which he never really recovered, he was standing late at night outside his home with Boney Kapoor – he never really changed his lifestyle for the better – and I was passing by and asked him how he was. He said, “They have put a vein from my leg in my heart, so it is learning to kick!” Earlier, he would drop into my home as late as 1 a.m. in the night and needed a Black Label every time. “If you can’t afford it, I will get it!” he would joke. My sister lived with me then and would love to cook a non-vegetarian meal for him that late. Sanjeev was mad about non-vegetarian food as it was never cooked at his home!

Another incident I recall was of Noorjahan, the famous singer, coming down to Mumbai – she adored Sanjeev and invited him for dinner at a famous restaurant. She was accompanied by her sister and brother-in-law and Sanjeev coaxed me into accompanying him, stating that he would need me if she began to speak in chaste Urdu that he would not undrestand! It turned out to be a memorable experience and I owe Sanjeev the privilege of meeting that great lady!
Lots has been written about why Sanjeev never married, but the truth was that he firmly believed that there was a curse on his family that the males would never live beyond the age of 50. His father had passed away early, and Sanjeev, as the eldest of three brothers, was very attached to his mother, because of whom, despite his success, he did not move to a bigger house but lived with her and youngest brother Nikul or Baba, and his family. In the ’80s, he helped Nikul launch a film, Do Waqt Ki Roti, which never released. Then suddenly Nikul died, strengthening his belief in the curse. Sanjeev died at the age of 47, and less than two years later, the second brother Kishore also died. It was strange!
Well, what else can I say? Sanjeev always knew his capability and would plan what he would do with the number of sequences he had in a film. He was a hero of his own kind, not in the cliched sense of the definition of a film hero. And I miss him!
(As told to Rajiv Vijayakar)
A torrent of talent
Like water, Sanjeev Kumar simply took on the shape of the role and film in which he was placed. The master of natural acting in the Ashok Kumar-Pran-Motilal-Balraj Sahni mould, Sanjeev Kumar had paradoxically dabbled in theatre before entering cinema. Coming from a lower middle-class family, Harihar Zariwala (his real name) got his first break in the cameo of a cop in Filmalaya’s Hum Hindustani (1960), since he was also a student of the Filmalaya School of Acting.
The stunt film Nishan (1965) was his first solo lead. The first turning-point came in 1968 when he stole the scene as the inspector in the Asha Parekh-Dharmendra murder mystery Shikar. In the same year, L.V. Prasad’s swashbuckling Raja Aur Runk was Sanjeev’s first A-grade solo hit, and the film saw the first of his many chartbusters, Phirkiwali tu kal phir aana. Both films proved Golden Jubilees.

Slowly, A-grade directors (Prasad again, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Asit Sen, Dulal Guha, A.Bhim Singh, H.S.Rawail, G.P.Sippy, N.N. Sippy, Govind Saraiya) were coming forward to sign him in lead or parallel roles (Aashirwad, Anokhi Raat, Chanda Aur Bijli, Jeene Ki Raah, Bandhan, Satyakam) and Sanjeev even did his first negative turn in the Shammi Kapoor-Sadhana-starrer Sacchai.
In early 1970, H.S.Rawail’s Sungharsh was a box-office dud, but the world noticed that Sanjeev Kumar loomed very tall in the triangular histrionic confrontation with powerhouse performers Dilip Kumar and Balraj Sahni. Weeks later, Prasad’s Khilona hit the screen. As the lover-boy-poet who goes insane, it still ranks among the most magnificent essays of both his career and that decade.
In 1971 and 1972, the actor clinched two consecutive National awards for Dastak and Koshish. Haribhai’s simple looks never came in the way of powerful and variegated performances, like the lighthearted doctor boyfriend (Seeta Aur Geeta), the old musician (his cameo in Parichay), the middle-class husband in a discord with his wife (Anubhav) or the philandering executive (Pati Patni Aur Woh).
In the mid-’70s, Sanjeev did a whole parade of multi-hero films, unworried by what footage he had or whether the film would benefit him. Shashi Kapoor, Jeetendra, good friend Shatrughna Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan remained his favourite male co-stars.
And though he became a saleable hero only after Anubhav, Seeta Aur Geeta, Koshish, Anhonee and Anamika in the early ’70s, it was a rare filmmaker like B.R.Chopra and Mahesh Bhatt, who worked only once with Sanjeev Kumar. Besides Prasad, Atma Ram, A.Bhim Singh and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, even Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Ramesh Sippy, Gulzar, Shakti Samanta, Ravi Tandon and many more went that extra mile to cast him, or conceive subjects with him.
In 1974-’75, Sanjeev Kumar’s remarkable essays of nine roles in A. Bhim Singh’s Naya Din Nayi Raat (a remake of Sivaji Ganesan’s 1964 Navarathiri) and his magnificent portrayals as the husband of a political leader (Aandhi) and the Thakur of Sholay proved more landmarks. Not surprisingly, in 1976, Sanjeev was signed by Satyajit Ray for his first tryst with Hindi cinema, Shatranj Ke Khiladi, in which he again dazzled as Mirza. And let us not forget that K.Asif, in his only film after Mughal-E-Azam, chose Sanjeev for Love And God. Sadly, the film was to release only after both Asif and Sanjeev had gone. But Sanjeev was known never to leave his house for work without paying respects to Asif’s framed photograph in his living room.
The super performances Sanjeev gave in multiple films in middle-aged/old man roles (Arjun Pandit, Mausam, Zindagi, Trishul, Hum Paanch) outshone his ‘young’ roles later. But one could never typecast this actor in whose dictionary the word “limitation” did not exist. Apart from his “old” roles, the crème-de-la-crème of his oeuvre, included his comic roles in Seeta Aur Geeta, Manchali, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Nauker, Biwi O Biwi, Angoor and Hero, with his uncanny excellence at comedy through deceptively-casual tweaks of his voice, eyes and even hands! And for a man who neither had a romantic image nor was an adept dancer, Sanjeev Kumar inspired his composers to come up with amazing songs like Khilona jaan kar tum to / Khilona, Tere naam ka diwana / Suraj Aur Chanda, Hawa ke saath saath / Seeta Aur Geeta, Tere bina zindagi se / Aandhi and Dil dhoondta hai / Mausam. Mohammed Rafi even tweaked his voice to suit the actor.
When he died suddenly of a massive heart-attack, the actor had eight films on hand! Sanjeev Kumar proved conclusively that true talent always writes its own rules.
Screen India

Musharraf to return from exile as ‘saviour’ of Pakistan

LONDON: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said that he never saw himself as a dictator, even though people called him that, but now he would be a politician on normal terms after his return to the country.

“The people have reached the end of their hopes, and I want to try to rekindle their faith in both themselves and Pakistan itself. It would be better to try and fail rather than not to try at all,” Musharraf told The Sunday Telegraph in an interview last week.

“I am very comfortable travelling around the world on lectures, but I am going into politics for the greater cause of Pakistan.”

As the military ruler of Pakistan in the turbulent period after 9/11, former president Pervez Musharraf has no shortage of ideas on how to fight extremists and pacify both his homeland and neighbouring Afghanistan.

Now the former general is about put his

Salman apologises for his remarks on 26/11 attacks; may go off Twitter

Salman Khan has always been known to speak right from his heart. Not the one to mince his words, he has got into trouble with the media a lot of times because of being either misunderstood or misquoted. No wonder then that he shied away from media attention for so long. He never trusted reporters and believed that media was always out to get him. Sometimes being called a bad boy and at other times painted as a hot headed, careless celebrity, he was always reported for his unlawful activities rather than his philanthropic acts which are many.

How is it then that he has still maintained his connect with the common man? The truth is that the janta loves Salman for the simple fact that you get what you see. Not the kind to create drama or indulge in blarney, he is the most believable star of this century who is far from being two faced.

It took a while before Salman decided to become media friendly. It took a while before he started interacting with people on shows and public forums and everyone loved Sallu for what he spoke. Be it his style, his jokes or his devil-may-care attitude. But have we drawn him back into the shell he used to be in? Have we again driven him away? The recent controversy surrounding Salman Khan does hint at just that.

In an interview to a Pakistani TV channel, the reporter asked Salman to comment on the anti-Pakistan sentiment in the country to which Salman was quoted as saying, “Everybody knew the (Pakistani) government was not behind it and that it was a terror attack.” He further went on to comment on the coverage received during 26/11 calling it an elitist hype raising a hue and cry in the entire country including state government and political parties.

But he clarified saying that, “Since it was the elite who were targeted this time on and it involved the 5 Star hotels that it was so widely spoken about. Attacks have happened in trains and small towns too, but no one talked about it so much. The attacks happened because our security failed.” The point that Salman was trying to make was that every human life is equal and should receive equal treatment. When the media painted Salman as insensitive and political parties were up in arms, he created a clarification video and put it up on twitter to get the real point across. He went ahead and said, “A terrorist has no nationality, no religion and no guts.” He apologised to one and all if anything he said or did hurt people’s sentiments while he assured his faith in the countries armed forces and intelligence.

It is sad that we time and again call ourselves as a democratic Nation with freedom of speech being part of our preamble while we render a celebrity to cut a sorry figure when he/she expresses their views. No wonder then that Salman went on twitter and posted “Next time mein apnne sub interview sub khud bhi record karoonga , kya bolte ho ? Takeh yeh sub controversies nahi ho.”

Where at one end Salman had to feel apologetic for simply stressing on equality and value of human life, his dad had to come out to the media and apologise on his behalf saying his son isn’t articulate enough. But isn’t that the exact thing that Salman’s fan love about him? But it possibly won’t last for long. The trouble his family and he had to go through on the eve of Eid thanks to the hooplah around his interview has made Salman retract from any public forum. He might just quit twitter where he enjoys a following of 400,063 fans. As he tweeted today saying “Looks like I mite have to get off twitter. Don’t want to but what to do? I think I messed up, so sorry guys, sorry bolne mein koi sharam nahi.” Hope the over reactive politicians and trouble making media is happy now.

After Kajol, Kareena too hard-pressed on time to promote We Are Family

He adores Kajol and Kareena Kapoor and although Siddharth Malhotra felt like he was part of one big family while making We Are Family, both his “heroes” Kajol and Kareena have no time to promote the film now.

Kajol of course has a perfectly legitimate reason for her absence in this last crucial lap of the film’s journey into release. To her credit this super-spirited diva has been giving interviews and building a bank of promotional activities before her maternity leave was to begin.

Now Kareena has left for a month-long schedule of Saif Ali Khan’s home production Agent Vinod.

Trying to smile through this setback to his project, director Siddharth Malhotra says, “Earlier this month she was on a holiday with Saif which she said she had to take. On 26th night she had to leave for another shoot (Agent Vinod). She was back in India to promote the film from 23rd to 26th. And she really did her best. After that there are Karan -Arjun (producer Karan Johar and the film’s leading man Arjun Rampal) to push and promote We Are Family.”

When told that the time given by Kareena is very little considering Kajol’s absence, Siddharth replies, “I guess Bebo is doing the best she can. For the rest, what can I do, except keep the faith? I guess these are the perks of working with super-busy stars.”

Siddharth has no complaints about Kajol. “I can’t say the same for Kadz. Even at this advanced stage of her pregnancy she has gone out of her way to promote the film in whatever way she can.”

Siddharth attempts a feeble defence for Kareena. “Bebo is trying. But I guess her over-committed schedule doesn’t permit her to give more time to We Are Family. In any case I’ve already stressed myself out regarding the marketing. Finally, it’s the film that counts. And I know I’ve made my film from the heart. It’s better to believe in yourself and your work rather than depend on extraneous factors.”

More American think Obama is a Muslim

WASHINGTON: Nearly two years after Barack Obama’s election as U.S. president, a growing number of Americans misidentify his faith as Muslim, according to a new poll released Thursday.

Despite Mr. Obama’s attendance in church and his repeated public statements about his Christian faith, nearly one in five respondents on the survey said they believed he is a practitioner of Islam, while only 34% of Americans correctly identified him as a Christian, down sharply from a year earlier.

The poll was conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Meanwhile, the percentage of people who say they are unsure what religion Obama practices has risen to 43%, from 34% a year ago.

The poll found one third of conservative Republicans believe Mr. Obama is a Muslim, a figure that has nearly doubled. But the president’s faith was incorrectly identified by rising

Dutch advance after victory over Slovakia

DURBAN: Arjen Robben and Wesley Sniejder fired the Dutch team to a 2-1 victory over Slovakia here on Monday to set up a World Cup quarter-final against either Brazil or Chile.

Robben made a 20-minute appearance against Cameroon in the Netherlands” final group game after recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the opening two matches.

But coach Bert van Marwijk started the Bayern Munich winger here and he repaid his faith by scoring a textbook goal in the 18th minute against a side that roundly failed in their bid to repeat their giant-killing 3-2 group win over defending champions Italy.

Robben latched onto an excellent long ball from Sneijder, cut back in past the retreating Jan Durica and Radoslav Zabavnik, and drilled a left-footed shot in at the near post past the despairing dive of Jan Mucha.

Sneijder was on hand to convert a clever Dirk Kuyt cross in the 85th minute after the Liverpool striker had robbed an out-of-position Mucha of the ball with the Slovak defence in disarray.

With the last kick of the game, Robert Vittek scored a penalty for Slovakia after Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Martin Jakubko in the area.

The fact the scoreline was kept to a respectable margin fell in large part to Mucha, who produced three excellent saves in the second-half prior to Sneijder”s goal.

An early chance fell to Slovakia”s Eric Jendrisek who blasted a shot just over the crossbar and skipper Marek Hamsik shot wide after being given too much space.

Robin van Persie had an excellent chance in the eighth minute, his header from a Kuyt cross just ricocheting off Zabavnik for a corner.

The Arsenal player then laid off Sneijder in the box, but the Inter Milan midfielder could only drill an underpowered shot at Mucha.

Mucha was on hand to make two great saves in a matter of minutes early in the second period, firstly parrying a Robben cutback and drive, and then brilliantly fending off a close-range Gregory van der Wiel stab.

The keeper, who has signed for Everton from Polish outfit Legia Warsaw, then punched away an in-swinging free-kick from van Persie, with the Dutch looking very dangerous on the ball.

Having spent the first hour not having made a save of note, Stekelenburg produced two fine efforts in quick succession to keep out efforts from Miroslav Stoch and Vittek.

Kuyt went close with a header from a Sneijder free-kick and then forced Mucha into a good save with a low 25-yard shot.

Dutch advance after victory over Slovakia

DURBAN: Arjen Robben and Wesley Sniejder fired the Dutch team to a 2-1 victory over Slovakia here on Monday to set up a World Cup quarter-final against either Brazil or Chile.

Robben made a 20-minute appearance against Cameroon in the Netherlands” final group game after recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the opening two matches.

But coach Bert van Marwijk started the Bayern Munich winger here and he repaid his faith by scoring a textbook goal in the 18th minute against a side that roundly failed in their bid to repeat their giant-killing 3-2 group win over defending champions Italy.

Robben latched onto an excellent long ball from Sneijder, cut back in past the retreating Jan Durica and Radoslav Zabavnik, and drilled a left-footed shot in at the near post past the despairing dive of Jan Mucha.

Sneijder was on hand to convert a clever Dirk Kuyt cross in the 85th minute after the Liverpool striker had robbed an out-of-position Mucha of the ball with the Slovak defence in disarray.

With the last kick of the game, Robert Vittek scored a penalty for Slovakia after Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Martin Jakubko in the area.

The fact the scoreline was kept to a respectable margin fell in large part to Mucha, who produced three excellent saves in the second-half prior to Sneijder”s goal.

An early chance fell to Slovakia”s Eric Jendrisek who blasted a shot just over the crossbar and skipper Marek Hamsik shot wide after being given too much space.

Robin van Persie had an excellent chance in the eighth minute, his header from a Kuyt cross just ricocheting off Zabavnik for a corner.

The Arsenal player then laid off Sneijder in the box, but the Inter Milan midfielder could only drill an underpowered shot at Mucha.

Mucha was on hand to make two great saves in a matter of minutes early in the second period, firstly parrying a Robben cutback and drive, and then brilliantly fending off a close-range Gregory van der Wiel stab.

The keeper, who has signed for Everton from Polish outfit Legia Warsaw, then punched away an in-swinging free-kick from van Persie, with the Dutch looking very dangerous on the ball.

Having spent the first hour not having made a save of note, Stekelenburg produced two fine efforts in quick succession to keep out efforts from Miroslav Stoch and Vittek.

Kuyt went close with a header from a Sneijder free-kick and then forced Mucha into a good save with a low 25-yard shot.

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