India A to take on Australia A in women's clash
Mumbai: India A will take on their Australian counterparts in the first of three women's limited overs games here at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra-Kurla complex facility on Monday. The latter two matches are also to be played at the same venue on October 17 and 19. The games are expected to test the bench strength of hosts and all eyes will be on skipper Poonam Raut. Poonam, who played a key role in the Indian team reaching the World Cup final last year, will like to lead from the front. Along with her there are likes of Mona Meshram, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Shikha Pandey in the squad. They will all be eyeing to put up an impressive show in front of the selectors and force their way into the senior team. The 50-overs series will be followed by a T20 series and the BCCI will announce the squad for it later. The visitors will be also looking to begin the series on a winning note, but will have a tough task at hand in adapting to the wicket and weather conditions.
Shubhankar finishes T-10 in CMB Classic
Paris: Overnight joint leader Shubhankar Sharma could not play his best golf on the final day, managing only an even par round to finish Tied-10th at the $ 7 million CIMB Classic on Sunday. Coming on the heels of a period during which he has had six missed cuts in nine starts, a joint lead by round three augured well for the 22-year-old from India. However, it did not turn out be his day and he was understandably disappointed at not being able to convert his second career 54-hole lead into a maiden PGA Tour title. The genial Australian Marc Leishman, who came close to quitting the game in 2015 when his wife was discovered with a rare life-threatening condition, continued his fine run to win his fourth title on the PGA Tour. Leishman, playing a very high level of golf since his second round 62, carded a 7-under 65, that took his total to 26-under 262, equalling the tournament record set in 2015 by Justin Thomas. Leishman ended five shots ahead of second placed trio — first round leader, Bronson Burgoon (68), Emiliano Grillo (66) and Chesson Hadley (66) — who finished T-2 with 21-under 267.
Final South Africa-Zimbabwe T20 abandoned
Benoni: Rain and a wet outfield caused the abandonment of the third and final Twenty20 between South Africa and Zimbabwe on Sunday. South Africa won the series 2-0 after winning an earlier one-day series 3-0. The matches were largely one-sided and South Africa used them to test the depth of their resources, using 22 players across the five matches. South Africa travel to Australia later this month to play three one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international, while Zimbabwe depart later this week for Bangladesh where they will play three one-day internationals and two Tests. The first ODI is in Dhaka next Sunday. JP Duminy, who was due to captain South Africa on Sunday, said the objective of giving opportunities to several players had been achieved. "The selectors got a look at quite a few guys," he said. "We will be going into Australia with some confidence, although it is a work in progress."
Surya Varathan wins JK Novice Cup
Coimbatore: Chennai's Ashwin Datta moved a step closer to his maiden Euro JK title in the 21st JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship as a dramatic Round 3 -- replete with ups, downs and upsets -- came to an end here on Sunday. Ashwin (74 points after Round 3), who was just two points ahead of Nayan Chatterjee (66 after R3) as the action began on Saturday, made the most of Nayan's DNF to widen his lead. But Chennai's Karthik Tharani (68 after R3) won the next two races to come back into the equation. The final race of the weekend, however, saw a totally new set of winners, with Nirmal Uma Shankar, Brayan Perera and Yash Aradhya claiming the podium places. Ashwin finished fourth, though, ahead of his key competitors to be 6 points ahead of the field.