Misbah announces retirement
lahore: Pakistan's Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Thursday announced his retirement from international cricket, saying the upcoming series in the West Indies will be his last assignment. The 42-year-old has been leading the Test side since 2010, taking over the reins in the aftermath of the spot-fixing scandal in England. Misbah said he would continue to play domestic cricket. "I am announcing my retirement from international cricket. The upcoming series against West Indies will be my last," he said. Misbah, who was named one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year yesterday, has led his side in 53 Tests since taking over and won 24 times. Having taken the reins when the team was in the midst of a turbulent phase, Misbah guided Pakistan to the number one spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings.
Jayaram enters Malaysia Open Q/f
Kuching (Malaysia): India's Ajay Jayaram on Thursday entered the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open Super Series with a hard-fought victory over Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in a men's singles match here. The unseeded Jayaram stunned Axelsen, seeded fourth, 9-21, 21-14, 21-19 in a match that lasted 44 minutes at the Stadium Perpaduan. Jayaram will next clash with fifth seeded Son Wan Ho of South Korea. After going down tamely in the opening game, Jayaram got his act together to take an early lead in the second game and eventually sealed it 21-14 to take the match to the decider. Despite having a slight edge till the break, Jayaram conceded the advantage. However, the Indian managed to hold on to his nerves to wrap up the game in style at 21-19, and with it the match.
Bangladesh wins 2nd T20
COlOMBO: Bangladesh beat Sri lanka by 45 runs in their second Twenty20 to fittingly draw the series 1-1 on Thursday. The test and one-day international series were also drawn. Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and elected to bat first in his final T20. His batsmen scored 176-9, a bigger score slashed by a late hat trick by fast bowler lasith Malinga. But it was enough, as Sri lanka was bowled out for 131 with two overs to spare. Chamara Kapugedara led with 50 but, for Bangladesh, Mustafizur Rahman took 4-21 and Shakib Al Hasan 3-24. Kayes and Sarkar added 65 runs off 41 deliveries. Shakib was named player of the match.