Vengsarkar, Bhuvi, Rohit awarded
Mumbai: Former captain Dilip Vengsarkar on Friday received the prestigious BCCI-instituted Col. C K Nayudu lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Indian cricket. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rohit Sharma, both members of the squad that is to leave for Australia tonight, were also rewarded for their stupendous displays in the season. Kumar received the Polly Umrigar award and a cheque of `5 lakh for his superb display with the ball and bat while Sharma received a special award for slamming a world record 264 in the fourth ODI against Sri lanka in the recent series.
Sanga asked to review retirement
Colombo: Sri lankan veteran Kumar Sangakkara has been asked to review his retirement plans after he had told national selectors in April of hanging up his boots post the 2015 World Cup in Australia. The 37-year-old left-handed batsman might still be keen on giving up ODIs after the 50-over World Cup but is learnt to be re-thinking his Test future after the request from the selectors. According to ESPNcricinfo report, the opposition to Sanga’s retirement stems from the fact that the team would be better served if Sangakkara remained in the Test side until it was more settled. Sri lanka have yet to play a Test since Mahela Jayawardene’s retirement in August this year and, if Sangakkara also quits following the forthcoming New Zealand Tests as he had planned, the Islanders would find themselves without two of their senior batsmen. The selectors have also viewed Sangakkara and Jayawardene as mentors for the young players within the side.
Pandey guides Karnataka to SFs
Vadodara: Talented Manish Pandey continued his good form in limited overs format as his unbeaten 99 helped defending champions Karnataka beat Mumbai by four wickets to enter the semi-final of the National One Day Championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Brief Scores — Mumbai: 286/8 (Shreyas Iyer 77, Suryakumar Yadav 67, Abhimanyu Mithun 2/57, Srinath Aravind 2/73) lost to Karnataka: 287/6 (Manish Pandey 99 no, Stuart Binny 58, Saurabh Netravalkar 2/43) by 4 wickets.
Yuvi’s 50 helps Punjab beat Railways
Vadodara: Delightful half-centuries from Yuvraj Singh and Gurkeerat Singh Mann helped Punjab outplay Railways by 5 wickets and enter the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament semi-finals, here on Friday. Chasing 243 at the Motibaug Cricket Ground, the Harbhajan Singh-led rode a 75-run fourth-wicket partnership between Yuvraj (56) and Gurkeerat (56 not out) to achieve the target in 47.2 overs. Brief Scores — Railways: 242/9 (Anustup Majumdar 76, Asad Ullah Khan Pathan 31; Baltej Singh 5/33) lost to Punjab: 247/5 (Yuvraj SIngh 56, Gurkeerat Singh Mann 56 not out; Amit Mishra 3/42) by 5 wickets.
RCB acquire Abdulla
Kolkata: Royal Challengers Bangalore has acquired Iqbal Abdulla from Rajasthan Royals as a part of the first Indian Premier league trading window, which was opened on October 6. The Window is open till December 12 and five players have been traded so far.
Mithali to continue leading India
Mumbai: Right-hander Mithali Raj will skipper the Indian women’s cricket team against visiting South Africa in the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series and the lone Twenty20 International. The two teams have already played the lone Test in Mysuru, which the home team comprehensively won by an innings and 34 runs. The three ODIs will be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru November 24, 26 and 28 while the only T20I will take place Nov 30, also at the same ground.
Mathews wants settled side
Colombo: Sri lanka captain Angelo Mathews wants a settled side to face England in their limited-overs series starting next week, and avoid the wholesale changes that resulted in a woeful tour to India in which his team lost all five of its matches. Rival captain Alastair Cook said on Thursday that England was desperate to make amends for a 3-2 home series loss to Sri lanka in May and June. The teams are playing seven one-day internationals, the first on Wednesday in Colombo. Mathews conceded the India tour, organized at the last minute after the West Indies pulled out of its India tour, was disappointing but said it was important to “flush it out of the system soon.” “We experienced quite a bit in India, we know our players now,” Mathews said. Agencies