Sports
New Zealand on top despite Karunaratne’s twin fifties
New Zealand’s bowlers propelled their side to the brink of a 2-0 series whitewash over Sri Lanka, picking up ten wickets on the third day, forcing a follow-on and leaving the visitors still 303 runs behind with eight wickets and two days of cricket still to go.
At the crease for the visitors were Kusal Mendis, unbeaten on 50, and Angelo Mathews on 1 – the pair that had so memorably saved a Test at the same ground back in 2018. Back then they had batted out the entirety of the fourth day before rain intervened on the fifth to help secure the draw, and Sri Lanka will certainly be hoping history repeats itself – with rain forecast over the coming days.
But even the help of the weather gods might not be enough if Sri Lanka repeat their poor batting display from the third day.While credit must go to New Zealand’s bowlers for sticking to their plans diligently and maximising the conditions on offer, Sri Lanka’s batters were undoubtedly guilty of far too often failing to put a price on their wickets.
While the nightwatcher Prabath Jayasuriya received a delivery he was far too ill-equipped to deal with, one that pitched on a length and seamed away taking his edge in the process, Mathews could have no such excuse, edging a similar – but wider – delivery when fending outside off. This left Sri Lanka four down for 34 with barely an hour played in the morning.
But that setback would be followed by a solid period of consolidation between Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal, with the Sri Lakna captain, in particular, looking in good touch. He was patient with deliveries outside off, but not averse to punishing any that were overpitched. Together the pair would put on 80 for the fifth wicket, and the hope heading into lunch was that they could continue to make steady progress having already got in.
What followed though was Sri Lanka’s most inexcusable period of the entire series, losing their final six wickets for just 55 runs in the period between lunch and tea.
It was Chandimal that would trigger the capitulation. Having swept Michael Bracewell, who was finding some extra turn and bounce for his offbreaks, for four, Chandimal would charge him just a delivery later only to have the ball turn through bat and pad and offer Tom Blundell a straightforward stumping. A brain fade at the most ill-advised moment.
This was followed by Dhananjaya de Silva coming down the track and chipping an easy catch straight to short midwicket – put in place for precisely such a stroke – shortly after.
At 116 for 6, this would see Nishan Madushka, the debutant, enter. He would string together a 40-run stand with Karunaratne at the other end, who was continuing unfazed despite the chaos around him. In this period, Madushka even produced some stellar stroke play, especially when driving through the offside. But eventually he too would fall, courtesy of the extra bounce the pitch was more consistently producing, edging through to second slip.
After Kasun Rajitha was run out, Karunaratne’s patience would finally wear thin, uncharacteristically looking to beat the man in the deep, and holing out at long-off for a 188-ball 89. Last man Asitha Fernando would not last much longer either, as Sri Lanka were bowled out 164, with Matt Henry and Bracewell taking three wickets apiece.
With a 416-run lead, Tim Southee then had little hesitation in enforcing the follow-on, and back out came Karunaratne for his second essay a little over 10 minutes after he had been dismissed.Sri Lanka’s second effort with the bat definitely fared better, but two wickets lost against the run of play may still come to haunt them.
Oshada Fernando, who’s had a tour to forget, ended up flicking one off his hips straight to square leg, but the wicket that will hurt the most is that of Karunaratne’s.
Having struck at a rate of 47.34 in the first innings, Karunaratne’s second outing ticked along at 61.44, showing a more proactive streak and an inclination to take on the New Zealand bowlers. Alongside a similarly positive Mendis, the pair frequently took on a splattering of short stuff served up by the seamers on an increasingly bouncy track.
It would be the relative comfort with which they handle pulling and cutting however that will likely grate Karunaratne as he looks back on his dismissal this evening, as it was an umpteenth short ball that he wound up top edging to deep midwicket. It having come after reaching his second fifty of the day would only have been salt in the wounds.
Mercifully for Sri Lanka, they would lose no further wickets, with Mathews especially happy to shut up shop during his 40-ball knock for just a solitary run, but the visitors will know they’ll need to do much better if they’re to survive the next two sessions, let alone the next two days. (cricinfo)
Pakistan will play Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup semi-final on Friday after they secured a thumping win over Hong Kong in the final Group A contest. They finished second in their group with a 72-run win set up by a record-breaking spell of 6 for 7 from Nashra Sandhu and a resolute 35-ball 47 from Shawaal Zulfiqar.
Pakistan scored 143 for 8 after electing to bat first for the third time in as many matches, with Ayessha Zafar and captain Fatima Sana making valuable contributions of 26 off 19 and run-a-ball 24, respectively, before an excellent display of bowling saw Hong Kong fold for 71 in 19 overs.
Zulfiqar lives up to expectations
Zulfiqar made a thumping comeback to the T20I side last month in Sri Lanka and it made Pakistan persist with her at the top of the order despite the return of experienced Gull Feroza, who slid down to one-down. She could not build on a start against India with the wickets tumbling from the other end and the pressure mounting. But the right-hander fought through on Monday, despite the dismissals of experienced batters around her in Muneeba Ali (6 off 7) and Feroza (3 off 4).
Despite batting on a challenging surface that played slow and gripped, Zulfiqar timed the ball well as she struck six boundaries. She hit a few sparkling cover drives and stitched a sparkling partnership of 47 off 34 with Zafar before the latter fell in the 10th over. No Pakistan batter, barring Zafar and Fatima, was able to emulate the 21-year-old in an innings which saw only four batters post in the double digits.
Zulfqar was eventually outsmarted b Joyleen Kaur as she smashed a flighted ball outside off right back to the bowler to be caught and bowled in the 12th over. Pakistan seemed well in control until she was at the crease, but could add only 51 runs in 8.4 overs after her dismissal.
Joyleen brings joy to Hong Kong
Pakistan’s bowlers too good for Hong Kong
Nashra Sandhu makes history
Pakistan Women 143 for 8 in 20 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 47, Ayesha Zafar 26; Fatima Sana 14; Iqra Sathar 2-27, Kary Chan 2-33, Joyleen Kaur 4-19) beat Hong Kong Women 71/10 in 19 overs (Yasmin Daswai 13, Kary Chan 30, Joyleen Kaur 10; Fatima Sana 1-07, Sadia Iqbal 1-08, Um e Sabi1 1-21 Nashra Sandhu 6-07, ) by 72 runs
The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Udaygiri arrived at the Port of Colombo on an official visit today, 8 September 2026, where it was received by the Sri Lanka Navy in accordance with time-
honoured naval traditions.
INS Udaygiri is a 149.02m long Frigate, Commanded by Captain Vikas Sood. Meanwhile, the Commanding Officer of the visiting ship is scheduled to call on Commander Western Naval
Area, Rear Admiral Harsha De Silva at the Western Naval Command Headquarters.
Captain Sood served as the Defence Adviser at the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka from July 2020 to October 2023.
During their stay in the island, the crew of INS Udaygiri will participate in several goodwill events organized by the Sri Lanka Navy to enhance camaraderie between the two forces.
The visiting personnel are also scheduled to visit prominent tourist and cultural locations across the island.
Additionally, Sri Lanka Navy personnel are expected to visit the ship for capability observation and knowledge sharing, and will conduct onboard training during its stay.
Sri Lanka’s women continue to provide compelling evidence that they could be genuine contenders for the next World Cup, while their male counterparts have, in recent years, largely been making up the numbers at global events.
The defending Asia Cup champions, who stunned formidable India in Dambulla two years ago to lift the title, marched into this year’s semi-finals with an unbeaten record.
Sri Lanka topped their group with three wins from three games and importantly, will avoid India in the semi-finals. Their opponents in Friday’s knockout clash will be either Pakistan or Thailand.
For years, Sri Lanka have leaned heavily on their talismanic captain Chamari Athapaththu, one of the greats of the women’s game. More recently, however, others have begun putting their hands up when the skipper has fallen cheaply. That growing depth has also given Chamari greater freedom to play her natural, attacking game.
Last week, Nilakshika de Silva produced a rescue act against Indonesia. On Sunday, after the captain fell to only her second ball, it was the turn of vice-captain Harshitha Samarawickrama to take charge and steer Sri Lanka home through choppy waters.
Chasing 115 to win their final group game against Bangladesh at Dubai Sports City, Sri Lanka were quickly in trouble as seamer Marufa Akter sent both openers packing cheaply. With wickets continuing to tumble at the other end, Harshitha kept her head while others were losing theirs.
At 44 for five, with half the side back in the pavilion, Sri Lanka were staring down the barrel. Harshitha and Nilakshika then began the repair job, adding 38 for the sixth wicket to drag the innings back from the brink.
Marufa has been an outstanding find for Bangladesh and they rely heavily on her for breakthroughs. With one over remaining in her quota, she was summoned back to break the partnership and did precisely that, removing a well set Nilakshika as she attempted to improvise.
There was, however, no stopping Harshitha.
She found a reliable ally in wicketkeeper Kaushini Nuthyangana and the pair calmly took Sri Lanka across the line with an unbroken 33 run stand for the seventh wicket. Harshitha finished unbeaten on 38 off 47 balls, striking four fours and two sixes.
Sri Lanka got home with four balls to spare, maintaining their perfect record in the competition. Yet beneath the celebrations there will be a nagging concern: the batting has collapsed too often, leaving one or two players with far too much heavy lifting to do. That is something they will need to address before the stakes rise further.
Sri Lanka will play the second semi-final on Friday, with the final scheduled for Sunday.
UN Delegation Meets Chief of Staff to the President
Afghanistan to host Zimbabwe, Bangladesh in ODI tri-series
Sandhu’s 6 for 7 seals Pakistan’s semi-final spot
INS Udaygiri makes port call in Colombo
Showers in the Uva, Central and Eastern provinces and in Polonnaruwa district
22A: Exclusion of 8 petitions questioned, action filed against SC Registrar, others
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News6 days agoDenied of promotion to SC despite vacancies, justice Gurusinghe retires
-
Latest News6 days agoGrade 5 scholarship exam results released
-
News6 days ago22A: SC urged to suspend hearing, appoint full bench
-
Midweek Review7 days agoThe local and global dynamics of Sri Lanka’s 22nd Amendment
-
News4 days agoNamal remanded until Sept. 18 over Airbus deal investigation
-
Latest News3 days agoTharanga creates history with Diamond League crown in Brussels
-
News6 days agoGovt. seeks NATO assistance
-
News7 days ago40 professional organisations and TU oppose proposed 22A