Mills ruled out of final Test
New Zealand pace bowler Kyle Mills has been ruled out of the third Test against England beginning in Napier on Saturday after breaking down during training. Mills had a scan on a niggling injury behind his left knee on Monday and declared himself fit before practice on Thursday, but he broke down after bowling about two overs in the nets. The injury was first sustained in February.
Sunitha reaches semifinal
Sunitha Rao rallied to beat seventh seed Sandy Gumulya of Indonesia 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 and advance to the semifinals of the US$ 25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament on Thursday, reports PTI from Greater Noida.
Sunitha will take on third seed Margit Ruutel of Estonia, who beat Thai Varatchaya Wongteanchai.
Superstars down Delhi Giants
Led by skipper R Sathish’s 46-ball 62 (5x4, 2x6) and Ian Harvey’s fine bowling performance of four for 24, Chennai Superstars crushed Delhi Giants by 56 runs in the Indian Cricket League’s 20s Challenge at the Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday, reports DHNS.
Brief Scores: Chennai Superstars: 180/5 (R Sathish 62, R Arnold 49; S Srivstava 2-27) bt Delhi Giants: 124 all out in 18.4 overs (M Mishra 38; Harvey 4-24, T Kumaran 3-12, Syed Mohammed 2-24).
Mahanama ref for Ind-SA series
Sri Lanka’s Roshan Mahanama will be the match referee for India’s three-match Test series against South Africa, reports PTI from Dubai.
Pakistani Asad Rauf and New Zealander Tony Hill will officiate in the Chennai Test (Mar 26-30) while Hill will be joined by Jamaican Billy Doctrove for the second Test in Ahmedabad from April 3. Rauf will team up with Doctrove for the third Test in Kanpur (Apr 11-15).
Joshna loses
in final
Joshna Chinappa’s quest for her maiden WISPA title at the Vietnam Open ended in disappointment as she lost to top seed Louise Crome in the finals at Hanoi on Thursday, reports PTI from New Delhi.
The Indian went down 7-9, 1-9, 7-9 in 47 minutesin the $ 8,000 event.
Lanka agree to ODIs in Pakistan
Sri Lanka have agreed to play an unscheduled five-match one-day series in Pakistan from April 23 to May 5, official sources confirmed on Thursday, reports PTI from Colombo.
Fitness tests for Dhoni, Bhajji
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh are expected undergo fitness tests at the National Cricket Academy on Friday, reports DHNS.
BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah had said while announcing the Indian Test squad on Monday that Dhoni and Harbhajan needed to clear their fitness tests failing which stumper Dinesh Kaarthick and leggie Piyush Chawla would be drafted in as replacements. Chawla, however, has already found a place in the squad with Murali Kartik injuring his left ankle on the day of the selection.
