Tendulkar hits 14,000th run

India batsman becomes first to pass the milestone in Tests while IPL Twenty20 league in turmoil as teams thrown out.

Tendulkar
undefined
Tendulkar raises his bat in Bangalore as he cements his place as the highest run-scorer in Test history [AFP]

Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to score 14,000 Test runs as he steadied the India innings in response to a Marcus North-inspired Australian total in Bangalore.

North’s career-best 128 was the cornerstone of the Australian first innings which folded for 478 at tea on day two of the second Test, but not before their lower half had added 193 runs to their overnight score of 285 for five wickets.

In reply, India made an explosive start before Virender Sehwag was caught on the boundary for 30 and Rahul Dravid was caught behind for one.

Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 44 with opener Murali Vijay on 42 at the other end with India still trailing Australia by 350 runs.

Elsewhere in India, two Indian Premier League (IPL) teams had their contracts terminated over financial irregularities.

The 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals, captained by ex-Australia spinner Shane Warne, and the Kings XI Punjab were thrown out of the league, casting its future in doubt.

A third franchise, from Kochi, was warned to sort out disputes over its ownership.

Illustrious

Playing his 171st Test, Tendulkar passed the latest milestone of an illustrious career in the 27th over of the Indian innings, hitting off-spinner Nathan Hauritz for a boundary.

Earlier, North’s 149-run sixth-wicket stand with fellow overnight batsman Tim Paine’s 59 defied the Indian bowlers in the morning session and took the tourists past the 400-run mark.

North mixed caution with occasional aggression, slog-sweeping Pragyan Ojha for the first six of the innings before retreating into his defensive shell.

Paine’s was a more eventful knock in which he was caught behind off a Shanthakumaran Sreesanth no-ball and was dropped by Suresh Raina off Ojha before the left-arm spinner returned to settle the score.

North completed his fifth Test century in the next over and eventually fell to Harbhajan Singh after a resolute 240-ball knock with 17 boundaries and a six in it.

Australia trail the series 1-0.

Meanwhile India’s cricket board (BCCI) said on Sunday that they had terminated the contracts of the Punjab and Jaipur teams from the IPL Twenty20 competition.

The decision followed a meeting of the IPL governing council in Mumbai to “decide on the breaches” committed by three teams, BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.

‘Terminated forthwith’

“It was unanimously decided that the franchise agreements with (Punjab owner) K.P.H. Dream Cricket Pvt. Ltd. and Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt. Ltd. be terminated forthwith based on the legal opinions obtained by BCCI in the matters,” he said.

“It was further unanimously decided to issue a notice to the unincorporated joint venture holding the Kochi franchise calling upon them to resolve all their disputes and form a joint venture company which will hold the IPL franchise rights.”

The $4 billion Twenty20 league that began with eight teams in 2008 before adding two more for 2011 onwards has run into trouble of late.

Former commissioner Lalit Modi is battling charges of financial irregularities while an ownership row has been rumbling for some time.

Source: News Agencies