Sports
Jaiswal and Chahal smash records and KKR
Rajasthan Royals reignited their IPL campaign in spectacular fashion, brushing aside the despondency of winning just one of their previous six games with a brutal takedown of Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens. Two of their big names stood up in big ways: Yuzvendra Chahal became the leading wicket-taker in IPL history while bagging his second successive four-wicket haul, and Yashasvi Jaiswal made a two-paced pitch look like a belter while scoring the IPL’s fastest-ever fifty.
Having restricted KKR to 149 for 8 after choosing to bowl, Royals chased down their target in just 13.1 overs, lifting their net run rate from an already healthy 0.388 to 0.633, the second best in the league behind table-toppers Gujarat Titans. It should hold Royals in good stead if they get into a NRR battle for playoffs qualification. They are now third on the table with 12 points from 12 games, above Mumbai Indians who have the same points total with a game in hand.
Trent Boult was back for Royals after missing their heartbreaking loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad, and he immediately made an impact with wickets in his first two overs. He usually takes early wickets by defeating top-order batters with new-ball swing – on this occasion he took them with some help from the fielders. Shimron Hetmyer sent Jason Roy back with a sprinting, jumping grab at deep square leg, while Sandeep Sharma ended Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s stay at the crease with a diving catch to his right at mid-off.
On a pitch where the odd ball was stopping on the batter, Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana made a ponderous start to their third-wicket partnership. The first 30 balls after Gurbaz’s dismissal brought KKR just 30 runs, with just the one boundary, and Venkatesh endured a particularly difficult struggle while moving to 11 off 20 balls.
But he started finding the boundary regularly from that point. He hit R Ashwin – who had conceded just eight runs in his first two overs – for a pair of sixes in an 18-run ninth over, and then hit Chahal for two sixes and a four in the 13th over. He was eventually dismissed at the start of the 17th over, for 57 off 42 balls.
Venkatesh’s dismissal was a classic death-overs wicket from Chahal – a loopy delivery hung wide outside off stump after angling across the left-hander, inviting the big hit that was miscued to a fielder inside the circle.
Chahal had already gotten among the wickets before that, having Nitish caught at deep backward square leg in the 11th over to go past Dwayne Bravo and become the IPL’s top wicket-taker.There would be two more on the night: Shardul Thakur lbw while missing a sweep in a double-wicket 16th over, and Rinku Singh caught at long-off in a three-run 19th.
If you bowl the first over for your team, Jaiswal is the last batter you want to bowl to. Coming into this game, Jaiswal had hit more fours (13) and more sixes (two) in the first over than any other batter in IPL 2023. It was interesting, then, that Nitish brought himself on to bowl the first over of Royals’ chase.
Nitish is better than part-time, but he hasn’t bowled regularly this season. He may have thought his offspin would match up nicely against Jaiswal’s left-handedness, or he may have gambled on buying a wicket if either opener went after him too hard.
In the event, Jaiswal tore into Nitish, going 6, 6, 4, 4, 2, 4 in the second-most expensive first over in IPL history, falling one run short of the record of 27, set by Royal Challengers Bangalore – Chris Gayle, mostly – against Mumbai’s Abu Nechim in Qualifier 2 in 2011.
A mix-up in the second over cost Jos Buttler his wicket, but that did nothing to slow Jaiswal down. He picked up a lucky four later in the over thanks to overthrows, and then hooked Harshit Rana for six. Then he went 4, 4, 4 off Shardul Thakur in the third over, driving and pulling and finding gaps as if there were no fielders on the 30-yard circle. Having thus moved to 49 off 12, Jaiswal tucked a single off his hip to bring up the IPL’s fastest fifty, going one ball better than KL Rahul and Pat Cummins.
Jaiswal’s masterful timing and placement suggested this pitch may have eased up, but Samson showed it still wasn’t straightforward to bat on, moving to 21 off 21 balls at the other end while having a skied return catch dropped by Sunil Narine.
Then he joined the party with three clean, straight sixes off Anukul Roy in the 11th over, and the end was nigh. All that remained to see was whether Jaiswal could get to his hundred, and it was still possible when the 14th over began with Jaiswal on 94 and Royals three runs from victory. A six would do it, but Jaiswal was going to get the winning runs as quickly as he could, however they came. He shuffled across to a wide full-toss from Thakur, and swiped it behind square for four, to finish on 98 off 47.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 151 for 1 (Jaiswal 98*, Samson 48*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 149 for 8 (Venkatesh 57, Chahal 4-25, Boult 2-15) by nine wickets
(Cricinfo)
In a diplomatic innings off the field, former Sri Lanka captain and 1996 World Cup hero Sanath Jayasuriya has made a heartfelt pitch to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging his support to build an international cricket ground in Jaffna – a region teeming with raw, untapped talent.
The iconic Sri Lankan side that pulled off a fairy-tale triumph in the 1996 Cricket World Cup – scalping heavyweights like India in the semi-final and Australia in the final – was invited by the Indian High Commission in Colombo to meet the visiting Prime Minister. Modi, a self-confessed cricket aficionado, is currently on a three-day state visit to Sri Lanka.
While six members of the World Cup-winning squad were missing – either abroad on business or deep in the trenches of the Indian Premier League – the rest of the squad turned up for the high-profile meet at Colombo’s popular Taj Samudra Hotel.
“We had about 45 minutes with the Prime Minister, and it became clear early in the conversation that he’s not just a statesman but also a true cricket tragic,” said Jayasuriya, the Player of the Series in 1996 and now Head Coach of the Sri Lankan team, speaking to Telecom Asia Sport. “It gave us the perfect opportunity to thank him for India’s unwavering support during our economic collapse – when we were batting on a sticky wicket.”
The conversation then took a turn towards development and legacy.
“Sanath seized the moment and floated the idea of building an international-standard cricket ground in the north or east of the country,” said Marvan Atapattu, another former Test captain and Head Coach.
“He told the PM that the north and east are brimming with talent. But without proper infrastructure, those future stars are left playing in the rough. The PM was all ears. He nodded, said he’d take it to his team, and would get back to us.”
The meeting ended on a sentimental note. Aravinda de Silva, the architect of Sri Lanka’s historic World Cup final win, handed over a special souvenir to Prime Minister Modi – a commemorative box of medallions, each bearing the signature of the entire 1996 squad.
India and Sri Lanka, bound by geography and a shared cricketing heartbeat, have long been partners both on and off the field. Their friendship stretches back centuries, with recent years seeing a tightening of bilateral ties. Several new agreements were inked during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit.
In the cricketing realm, India has played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka’s journey. It was India that championed Sri Lanka’s Test status in 1981, and welcomed the islanders for a Test Match in Madras the following year.
Now, as both nations prepare to co-host the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, the hope is that this partnership will grow from strength to strength.
(Telecom Asia Sport)
Kandy Sports Club survived some anxious moments against a fighting CR&FC outfit before winning the Clifford Cup final with a 41 points to 33 win in the decider which was worked off at Nittawela grounds in Kandy on Sunday (yesterday).
Kandy SC played attacking rugby in both halves of the game and scored five tries, five conversions and a penalty, but CR were hot on the heels of the Kandy side and responded with five tries and four conversions. Kandy led 17-14 at half time.
The game began with a bang with Kandy SC scoring early in the game with a try by Diluksha Dange and a penalty and conversion by Nigel Ratwatte. But that lead for Kandy was short lived because CR’s Chamod Muthunayake sliced through the Kandy defence with a jinxing run and ended up under the posts. Murshid Doray’s conversion coming right gave indications that it would be a long day for Kandy.
CR pressed with their forwards and earned a try through Omalka Guneratne. But Kandy were in no surrendering mood and snatched the lead back with a peach of a try by Ratwatte, who retired from rugby on Sunday after playing his final game.
Kandy kept rolling with their forwards and earned their third try after half time when Kenula Hettiarachchi went over off a forwards rush. Ratwatte’s conversion put the winners ahead by ten points with the scores reading Kandy 24 as against CR’s14.
CR hit back strongly at this stage of the game and produced two vital tries through Omalka Guneratne and Murshid Doray and saw that their team was only trailing Kandy by a point. It was at this stage that the game got a bit out of hand in the middle, but referee Gihan Yatawara steadied proceedings by offering two yellow cards to CR and one to Kandy. The referee was clearly heard barking out orders to both sides to maintain discipline.
Kandy’s replacement player Dilshad Fareed smashed his way to a try with the game eight minutes away from full time. Zumry made a classis touchline conversion. But CR made one last gasp attempt to wrestle control of the game with a try by Manika Ruberu. Doray added the extra points and gave some hope for CR who were now just point behind Kandy. But when it seemed like everyone was struggling to produce the next try, scrum half Heshan Jansen ran through the CR defence to score close to the posts and seal the game for Kandy.
By A Special Sports Correspondent
The highly anticipated 91st Battle of the Saints cricket encounter between St. Joseph’s College and St. Peter’s College, sponsored by Dialog Axiata PLC, concluded in a tame draw at the SSC Grounds on Saturday.
St. Joseph’s resumed day two at 150-3, chasing St. Peter’s first innings total of
243. Despite Yenula Dewthusa’s composed knock of 86, which anchored the Josephian innings, they failed to capitalize fully on their solid overnight position. Dewthusa formed crucial partnerships of 91 runs with Senuja Wakunugoda (48) for the fourth wicket and a further 64 runs with Rishma Amarasinghe (27) for the fifth—but the Josephian batting order couldn’t push for a substantial lead, declaring at 240-7.
Joshua Sebastian emerged as the pick of the Peterite bowlers, claiming four wickets for 80 runs, while Lashmika Perera provided excellent support with figures of 3 for 64.
Under pressure to set a challenging target, St. Peter’s faltered dramatically in the second innings, losing three wickets for just 29 runs before collapsing further to 30-4. Nathan David offered resistance with a fighting half-century (53), while Jason Fernando contributed 45, but the Peterite middle order struggled against Maanasa Madubashana’s devastating spell of 5-57.
St. Peter’s were event)lly dismissed for 168, setting St. Joseph’s a modest victory target of 172. However, with limited overs remaining, the Josephians managed only 70-2 when stumps were drawn, with Abishek Jayaweera unbeaten on 31.
Special Awards
Best Fielder:
Senuja Wakunugoda (St. Joseph’s)
Best Bowler:
Manasa Madubashana (St. Joseph’s)
Best Batsman:
Nathan David (St. Peter’s)
Best All-rounder:
Lashmika Perera (St. Peter’s)
Man of the Match:
Yenula Dewthusa (St. Joseph’s)
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