1. Duminy, De Villiers Take South Africa to a 7-wicket Victory
Rohit Sharma’s blistering century went in vain as South Africa began their long tour of India on a winning note by scripting a thrilling seven-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 International cricket match in Dharamsala on Friday.
Sharma (106) notched up his maiden T20 International century to give India a competitive total of 199 for 5 but the visitors rode on some sparkling strokeplay by JP Duminy (68 not out) and AB de Villiers (51) to overhaul the target with two balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20 series.
2. Virat Fastest to 1,000 T20I Runs
Virat Kohli became the fastest batsman to score 1,000 T20 international runs in terms of innings played, during the 1st T20 against South Africa in Dharamsala on Friday. The Indian star batsman took just 29 innings to achieve the feat.
The record was earlier held by England’s Kevin Pietersen and Alex Hales, who had taken 32 innings each.
Kohli is also the first Indian to score 1,000 T20 international runs.
3. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis Reach Wuhan Open Final
The Indo-Swiss duo of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis reached the final of the Wuhan Open on Friday and is eyeing their seventh title together.
The top seeds brushed aside the challenge of No.4 seeded Chinese Taipean duo of Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan 6-2, 6-1 in just 53 minutes.
They won 53 of the 88 total points and converted five of the 10 break points received in a lop-sided affair to set up a title clash with the unseeded Romanian pair of Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu.
4. Inzamam to Coach Afghanistan
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was appointed as the coach of the Afghanistan cricket team on Friday.
Inzamam was thrilled to be taking on a team whose rise has been the game’s Cinderella story.
Inzamam accepted a 25-day role to coach Afghanistan on their tour of Zimbabwe, where they play five one-day internationals and two Twenty20s starting from October 16.
I have accepted the role of Afghanistan team coach only for the tour of Zimbabwe. It will be exciting and I would love to put their enormous passion on the right track.
— Inzamam-ul-Haq
5. Sourav Ganguly to Miss ISL Opener
Defending champions Atletico de Kolkata will miss their star team co-owner Sourav Ganguly when they take on Chennai in FC in the Indian Super League opener on Saturday.
The former Indian cricket captain, who is also the president designate in the Cricket Association of Bengal after the demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya, will fly to Mumbai to attend the BCCI’s special general meeting on Sunday.
I’m going to Mumbai for the Board meeting so won’t be able to go to Chennai for the ISL opening match. The team is better than last year and I’m confident that they will do well in the first match.
— Sourav Ganguly
6. Mourinho Calls This Season the Worst Period of His Career
Chelsea’s manager Jose Mourinho called this season as his worst period in his career after his team won just four out of eleven matches. The English champions, who are in the 14th spot in the table have won only two matches in the premier league.
I define this as the worst period in my career. It’s a fantastic experience, even though I don’t want to repeat it again. Players know when they make mistakes. I don’t know what it’s like in your offices, but nobody seems to care about your mistakes.
— Jose Mourinho
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