Siraj donates player-of-the-match prize money to Sri Lankan groundstaff
Colombo (PTI): Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj on Sunday donated his player-of-the-match cash prize of USD 5,000 to the Sri Lankan groundstaff who worked tirelessly through the rain-hit Asia Cup.
"This cash prize goes to the groundsmen. They deserve it fully, this tournament wouldn't have been possible without them," Siraj said at the post-match presentation after India's 10 wicket win over Sri Lanka in the final.
Siraj bowled a devastating spell in which he took four wickets in the fourth over en route to a career-best 6/21 to help India bowl out Sri Lanka for a paltry 50 in the final.
Earlier on Sunday, the Asian Cricket Council chief Jay Shah also announced a cash reward of USD 50,000 for the groundsmen in Kandy and Colombo as an acknowledgment for their efforts in making the field of play ready.
Almost all the matches in the Sri Lankan leg of the Asia Cup were affected by rain. Even the final on Sunday had a delayed start because of wet outfield.
While India's opening fixture against arch-rivals Pakistan in Pallekele was washed out, a couple more encounters throughout the competition saw rain interruptions bringing the Duckworth Lewis method into effect.
The Super-4 meeting between India and Pakistan spilled on to the reserve day, when the former prevailed.
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Rupee rises 6 paise to 90.85 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee rose 6 paise to 90.85 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday on the back of a weaker greenback and FII inflows.
A positive start to the session at the domestic equity markets lent further support to the local unit while a rise in global crude oil prices, coupled with geopolitical uncertainties, capped sharp gains, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.86 against the greenback before inching up to 90.85, higher by 6 paise from its previous close.
The rupee stayed range-bound and settled with a gain of 4 paise at 90.91 against the US dollar on Wednesday.
"As the dollar index fell and Asian currencies gained today (Thursday) the rupee opened higher... A risk-on sentiment in the markets and RBI selling near 91.00 levels ensured yesterday (Wednesday) also that rupee is unable to cross 91.00 levels with FPIs being buyers of equity and sellers of dollars," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.13 per cent down at 97.57.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.21 per cent to USD 71.00 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex climbed 303 points to 82,579.16 in early trade, while the Nifty rose 85.1 points to 25,567.60.
On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 2,991.64 crore, according to exchange data.
