Top Stories: Things that made News in the Cricket World Today

Top Stories: Things that made News in the Cricket World Today:

AB de Villiers slams ton, as practice match ends in tame draw:

• Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur pushed South Africa to the backfoot before the classy AB de Villiers rallied the tourists with a typically aggressive century on the second and last day of the practice game against Board President’s XI, which ended in a draw on Saturday. When play was called off, the hosts were 92 for no loss in their second innings.

Brief scores:

Board President’s XI: 296 and 92 for no loss (K L Rahul not out 43, C Pujara not out 49).

South Africa: 302 (AB de Villiers 112, D Vilas 58, D Steyn 37; S Thakur 4 for 70, Jayant Yadav 2 for 37, Kuldeep Yadav 2 for 24).

Ravichandran Ashwin undergoes short fitness workout at Brabourne:

• Racing against time to get fit for the first Test against South Africa, India’s premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday had a short fitness workout at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. He is now scheduled to join up with the rest of the Indian Test squad members at Mohali ahead of the opening game of the four-Test rubber starting on November 5.

Misbah-ul-Haq: Sharjah Test could be my last:

• The 41 year old said “I was trying to make a decision before this Test but now I have just left it, I will really think about what I should do because there is a long gap before our next series,” referring to Pakistan’s next series in England in July next year. (Read more about the story here)

England desperate to square off series:

• The three-match series is set for a grand finale in Sharjah, where the hosts will aim to keep their winning tradition in the Gulf alive by sealing the series 2-0. England will however, give everything  that they have come Sunday, with the aim of drawing the series and sharing the honours. (Read the preview here)

West Indies look for revival in ODIs:

• While the Sri Lankans will be looking forward to carry forward the momentum of the Tests, the West Indies would like to sweep the disappointing performances in the longer format under the rug and try to even out the terms by winning the ODI series. (Read the preview here)

Ranji Trophy Round up:

• Rajasthan 219 for 7 (Bhatia 99) trail Karnataka 281 (Agarwal 66, Samarth 65, Gopal 48, Choudhary 5-77) by 62 runs
• Haryana 186 for 8 (Rohit 52*, Mukesh 4-49) trail Bengal 329 (Chandila 65, Shaw 54, Ojha 51, Dinda 45, Rana 5-46) by 143 runs
• Maharashtra 144 for 6 (Gugale 42) trail Vidarbha 332 (Fazal 120, Shrivastava 63, Jangid 40, Mundhe 3-60, Sanklecha 3-60) by 188 runs
• Delhi 245 for 7 (Milind 59, Shorey 42, Gambhir 41, Pradhan 4-83) v Odisha

IPL 2016: Two new franchises won’t get money from BCCI’s central pool:

• The two new franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL), who will be allowed only for two years in the tournament in place of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, will not be eligible to receive a share of the central revenue pool unlike the other teams from the Board of Control for Cricket in India. These two teams, however, will be eligible for prize money and additional performance-based income from the central revenue pool, in case they qualify in the top-four in the Twenty20 cricket tournament.

Vengsarkar appointed to resolve the Naik- Shastri controversy:

• The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) managing committee on Friday appointed vice president Dilip Vengsarkar to look into the controversy concerning Indian cricket team director Ravi Shastri and Wankhede Stadium curator Sudhir Naik and submit a report on it before it’s next meeting scheduled on November 5. Shastri allegedly made abusive remarks about the track as he crossed paths with MCA curator Naik after the India-South Africa match in Mumbai on October 25.

Cremer returns to Zimbabwe squad for Bangladesh series:

• Zimbabwe’s national selectors have recalled leg spinner Graeme Cremer and wicketkeeper-batsman Regis Chakabva for the upcoming limited-overs matches against Bangladesh. A Zimbabwe Cricket release confirmed that Elton Chigumbura will lead the 16-member squad for both the three ODIs and the two T20Is, starting November 7. (Read more about the story here)