Asia Cup: Pakistan beat India by 1 wicket

Shahid Afridi slammed an unbeaten 18-ball 34 to give Pakistan a thrilling one-wicket win over India with two balls to spare at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Sunday.

Chasing a target of 246, Pakistan almost lost the plot in the last few overs. They needed 13 runs from 12 balls with four wickets in hand. But then lost three quick wickets within a space of five balls.

Afridi, however, held his nerve and smacked spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for two cosecutive sixes in the last over as Pakistan reached 249 with two balls to spare.

Miachael Clarke puts Aussies in a good position

Michael Clarke completed one of the more heroic of his 27 Test hundreds as he steered Australia towards a huge first innings score on the second day of the series-deciding third Test against South Africa at Newlands on Sunday.

The tourists reached the lunch interval on of 434 for four a day after the Australian captain had survived a battering from pace bowler Morne Morkel, who struck him a number of times, including a sickening blow to the back of the head.

Clarke showed admirable composure to battle it out on what is a flat wicket and having been unbeaten on 92 overnight, the right-hander was able to bring up his hundred in the second morning session, despite spending a nervy 24 balls stuck on 99.

Didn't want to miss important names in farewell speech: Sachin

He delivered his farewell speech with such emotional conviction that many were left wiping tears but retired batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday said his only preparation for the stirring address was to remember the "important" names he wanted to mention.

The 20-minute speech, which Tendulkar delivered after his final Test in Mumbai last year, was lauded by one and all for its emotional clarity so much so that the spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and the millions glued to TV sets were left teary-eyed.

Reflecting on it, Tendulkar revealed that he planned on delivering a speech after his penultimate Test on a flight from Kolkata to Mumbai.

Bangladesh win ICC Under-19 World Cup Plate Championship

Bangladesh defeated New Zealand by 77 runs to win their fourth Plate Championship at the ICC Under-19 World Cup at the Zayed Cricket Stadium here on Thursday. Opener Shadman Islam scored 97 and Litton Das contributed 79 as the two batsmen put on 124 runs for the second-wicket to propel Bangladesh to 223 in 47 overs. Off-spinner Mosaddek Hossain then returned figures of 10-4-23-4 as New Zealand finished at 146/9 after Brett Randell followed up his 2/22 with 51 not out.

Bangladesh had previously won the Plate Championship in South Africa (1998), Bangladesh (2004) and New Zealand (2010).

Shadman, who hit 13 fours in a 113-ball innings, finished with an impressive series aggregate of 406 runs. He leads Pakistani Imam-ul-Haq by 36 runs with South Africa captain Aiden Markram occupying third place with 304 runs.

Afghanistan, playing in their third World Cup, finished an impressive seventh after defeating Sri Lanka by five wickets at the ICC Academy 2 in Dubai. This was their second big victory in the tournament after upsetting Australia by 36 runs.

Usman Ghani took 3/21 and Sayed Shirzad bagged 3/33 as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 114 in 34.3 overs. In turn, Afghanistan raced to victory in under 22 overs for the loss of five wickets with Ihsanullah scoring 37 not out.

Zimbabwe finished 11th in the 16-team tournament when they defeated hosts United Arab Emirates by 84 runs.

IPL 2014: Title sponsor Pepsi doesn't want IPL to go outside India

On the eve of the muchanticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council meeting in Bhubaneswar, title sponsors Pepsi have come out in support of not only the other sponsors, but also the eight franchises and said that they hope the BCCI comes up with a solution through which the tournament stays in India.

Despite the dates of the IPL clashing with the general elections, the BCCI has met the home ministry to request for permission to host the domestic T20 league in the country. But Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has made it clear that providing adequate security during general elections is impossible.

But with discussions on the venue of the seventh edition of the IPL being the top agenda in Friday's meeting, Pepsi has said they are on the same page as the other sponsors and franchises who want the IPL to be played in India.

"We hope BCCI will be able to find a solution, which is in the best interest of all stakeholders," PepsiCo India's spokesperson told Mail Today . It is no secret that even though Pepsi products are available in South Africa, it is Coke that dominates the market. But another senior official said that production and market supremacy isn't a major reason why the company wants the IPL to stay in India.

He said that moving out of the country every election year can't be the best solution.

"See, it is the Indian Premier League and needs to be played in India.

We can't be moving out of the country every fifth year. You need to understand that Pepsi's standing in the South African market doesn't count for much as it is the India wing which has done the deal and we can anyway promote our products inside the stadium - as we have a contract with all the franchises.

"Marketing and strategising isn't an issue. If that was the case, we would be happy to go to the Middle-East as we are market rulers there. Also, in case we move to South Africa, branding and ensuring that the matches are played to suit the Indian audience's viewing time isn't an issue. But building on the euphoria as the tournament comes closer and generating the hype is. To make things simple for the layman, there is always a difference in comfort level when you are staying at your own home and when you are staying at a friend's place," he said.

"Yes, we will suffer as far as revenue generation is concerned, but that will be heavier in case of the team owners. So it is more about ensuring that everybody benefits and the losses are minimal.

We are still keeping our fingers crossed ( smiles)."