1. Viral Fever Rules Raina Out of First ODI
Suresh Raina, who was brought back into the ODI side after a gap of one year, has been ruled out of the first one-dayer against New Zealand due to viral fever.
"The BCCI Medical team has confirmed that Suresh Raina, who is recovering from a bout of viral fever, is ruled out of the first ODI against New Zealand. There will be no replacement in the team," the BCCI said in a statement.
Raina was looking to feature in his first ODI since October 2015. The opening match of the five-ODI series will be played in Dharamsala on October 16. India have already swept the Test series 3-0.
2. Yuvraj Hits 164* as Punjab Post Record Day 1 Score
Yuvraj Singh shrugged off rustiness as he hammered Madhya Pradesh to submission with a superb knock of unbeaten 164 as Punjab posted a record 347 for 3 on the first day on a track helpful for the seamers in a Ranji Trophy encounter.
Yuvraj scored his 25th first-class hundred which was studded with 24 boundaries, off 241 balls. Punjab's total, which was also propped by India discard Gurkeerat Mann's undefeated 101 is the highest on a first day at Lahli surpassing Haryana's 339/7 against Rajasthan during last edition of the tournament.
3. Paes-Begemann in Final of Tashkent Challenger
Leander Paes earned himself a shot at his third ATP Challenger level title of the season by reaching the final of the USD 125000 Tashkent event with partner Andre Begemann.
The third seeded Indo-German duo annihilated local pair and giant-killers Sanjar Fayziev and Jurabeck Karmov 6-2 6-0 in the semifinals of the hard court event.
Paes and Begemann needed only 42 minutes to win the match, in which they broke their rivals five times.
4. Pakistan Women's Football Team Striker Dies in Accident
Pakistan's women's football team striker Shahlyla Ahmadzai Baluch has died in a car accident. Police officials said that Shahlyla was returning with her cousin, Fadeayan Baluch, with whom she was engaged too, from a restaurant when the Toyota Cruiser she was travelling in went out of control and crashed into a sidewalk and iron pool.
Baluch, 21, was one of the finest strikers for Pakistan women's football team. She represented the country at the South Asian Football Federation Women Football Championship 2014 in Islamabad, which was the last international event that Pakistan women's team competed in. She also had the honour of being the first Pakistani woman footballer to get a hat-trick abroad when she played for a club in Maldives last year.
5. Jessica Ennis-Hill Announces Retirement
British athletics great Jessica Ennis-Hill, who won heptathlon gold at the 2012 Olympics, announced her retirement from athletics on Thursday. In a post on social media the 30-year-old reigning world champion described it as "one of the toughest decisions I've had to make".
"I've always said I wanted to leave on a high and have no regrets. I know that retiring now is right," she wrote on Instagram.
Ennis-Hill, a two-time world champion in 2009 and 2015, had hinted at retirement after claiming silver at the Rio Olympics.
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