BCCI felicitates Tendulkar

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday felicitated Sachin Tendulkar for representing the country in 400 one-day internationals, a feat the 34-year-old ace completed in the series’ fifth tie against Australia at Vadodara on October 11, reports PTI from Mumbai.

Tendulkar was presented with a memento by Board president Sharad Pawar before the start of Wednesday’s final one-dayer.

Tara goes down to Adamczak

Tara Iyer on Wednesday made a first-round exit from the $25,000 ITF wo-men’s singles event in Gy-mpie, Australia after losing in straight sets to local ho-pe Monique Adamczak, reports PTI from New Delhi.

Tara put up a fight after losing the first set easily, but the fourth seed Monique prevailed in the second set tie-breaker to seal the Indian’s fate 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) at the hardcourt event.

Vijaya Bank storm into last four

Vijaya Bank, Bangalore cru-shed Maharashtra 89-44 in a men's Group 'A' match to qualify for the semifinals of the all-India Ramu memorial basketball tournament in Mumbai, reports DHNS.

Roshan Thankachan top-scored with 23 for Vijaya Bank, while Muralia M (12) and Deva Kumar (11) made other significant contributions. Adarsh Saxena (11) and Sanjay S (10) top-scored for Maharashtra .

Results: Vijaya Bank, Bangalore: 89 (Roshan Thankachan 23, Murali M 12, Deva Kumar 11) bt Maharashtra: 44 (Adarsh Saxena 11, Sanjay S 10). HT: 59-24.

‘Home advantage will be decisive’

Patrick McEnroe, the captain of the US Davis Cup team, hopes home advantage will make the difference against Russia in the final in Oregon from Nov 30, reports Reuters from New York.

Simarjeet holds one-stroke lead

India's top-ranked amateur Simarjeet Singh carded a level-par 72 to take the first round lead at the LG Samarvir Sahi Amateur Golf Championship on Wednesday, report agencies from Chandigarh.

Ambala's Manav Das stole the limelight by becoming the first golfer on the Indian Amateur Tour to ace the 14th hole. Das won a brand new Taylormade Golf Set for his hole-in-one.

Kapurthala's Ashbeer Saini fired a one-over 73 to occupy the second place, while Bangalore 's Abhishek Jha and Noida's Depankar Kaushal shot a two-over 74 each to share third place.

Messi magic  fuels Argentina

Lionel Messi added another superb goal to his collection to help Argentina beat Venezuela 2-0 away in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. Messi struck two minut-es before half time after his Barcelona team-mate Gabriel Milito had given Argentina the lead with his first goal on his 30th appearance. Argentina now have a perfect six points from two games.