Sports
Rainbow nation on cloud nine
by Rex Clementine
South Africa have won a record fourth Rugby World Cup beating the All Blacks in a nail-biter in Paris. Can their cricket team follow suit is the question many are asking in India.
The South African cricket team is known as Proteas while their rugby team is called the Springboks. Both have had contrasting results in World Cups. While the Springboks have reached four World Cup finals and won all four of them, the Proteas haven’t even reached the finals once despite entering multiple tournament (1996, 1999 and 2003) as firm favourites.
The Springboks didn’t compete in the first two World Cups as South Africa were alienated by rest of the world for their government’s apartheid policies. To win four out of the next eight tournaments is a remarkable achievement.
Time was when Springboks were a symbol of racism as rugby was exclusively a white man’s sport. But over the years, blacks have embraced the sport as well and today South African rugby captain is a black – Siya Kolisi.
White South Africans tend to move out of the country to other parts of the world as the quota systems operating in sports promotes black players, but that doesn’t seem to stop them from winning World Cups.
South Africa is a country that is mad about sports. They have top notch facilities with mega stadiums and training facilities. The development programs which various sports bodies run help them to identify talents early and their scientific approach to coaching isn’t far behind Australia.
A country that promotes sports to maintain healthy lifestyles, you see lot of South Africans involved in sports well past their prime.
Most South Africans would have watched their team win the world title with a ‘braai’ – a term used in South Africa for barbecue. They’ll be doing the same over the next three weeks hoping that their cricket team does something remarkable.
South African cricket team is a side that has all bases covered. Solid top order, big hitting middle order, genuine all-rounders, mean fast bowlers and crafty spinners. They have always had fabulous sides but at the sport’s biggest stage find ways to lose games in dramatic styles. In cricketing terms, their team is called, ‘chokers’. They nearly choked against Pakistan in Madras the other night. It is a popular belief that when put under pressure, South Africans fails to deliver. Everyone remembers Kumar Sangakkara’s famous sledge to South African captain Shaun Pollock in 2003 knock out in Durban, ‘Weight of expectations of 42 million South Africans on the captain.’
But boy, what cricketing talents they have got. They are a dangerous side as Sri Lanka found out in this World Cup in their opening game in Delhi. They are also unpredictable as they proved by losing to Netherlands. They are through to the semis and in the process have beaten some big teams – Australia, England and Pakistan.
Spending time in the press box during mega cricket events you also meet many current and former greats who have made watching the sport a pleasant experience.
Match Referee Javagal Srinath pops up to the press box during the England – Sri Lanka game to have a word to some reporters he knows. The game is played in his hometown of Bangalore and many are his friends in the media.
Srinath is a fine man and Sri Lanka were lucky that he was Match Referee in 2018 when they tampered with the ball and then brought the game to disrepute by failing to take to the field.
There is also Dinesh Karthik who enjoys curd rice in the dining area. You wonder whether he is vegetarian, but that he is not. ‘This brings the South Indian in me,’ he says before reminding that curd rice ideally should be consumed by hand and not spoon.
Karthik is a fabulous character, and he remains quite popular in Sri Lanka for that last ball six against Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy final in 2018.
A lot was expected of him when he made his India debut at Lord’s aged 19, but then, a few years down the line came a wicket keeper called M.S. Dhoni and Karthik’s opportunities were limited.
Karthik has endured a lot more off the field than on the field. Post retirement he is making good progress as a commentator and genuine folks like him should go onto have successful careers.
Having listened to top class commentators of yesteryear like Richie Benaud, Ian Chappell and Tony Greig you feel like the current lot are nowhere near to them. But guys like Karthik, Michael Atherton and Sunil Gavaskar are fun to listen to. You just wish that Gavaskar would tell you more old stories. There’s no better storyteller in cricket than him.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) bossed both the powerplays en route to their second successive win in IPL 2025. After opting to bowl on a fairly two-paced red-soil pitch, they left Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at 39 for 3 in six overs. Abdul Samad and Ayush Badoni helped LSG overcome that poor start and post 171 for 7, which was a par score according to Nicholas Pooran the holder of the Orange cap.
Pooran’s assessment, however, might have changed quickly after Prabhsimran Singh clattered a 23-ball half-century in the chase. Prabhsimran claimed 45 of the 62 runs PBKS had scored in the powerplay. There would be no way back for LSG, who suffered their second defeat in three games. Shreyas Iyer completed PBKS’ demolition job with an unbeaten 52 off 30 balls.
The first ball that Arshdeep Singh bowled to Mitchell Marsh stopped on him, seamed away from a leg-stump line, and had him skying a catch to Marco Jansen at short third. After having hit fifties in his first two innings this season, Marsh departed for a golden duck.
It was Lockie Ferguson who shared new-ball duties with Arshdeep, ahead of Jansen. Ferguson usually operates with the older ball for New Zealand and various franchises, but PBKS inverted his role on Tuesday to take advantage of a match-up with Pooran. Before this fixture, and across all T20s, Ferguson had snared Pooran four times in 17 balls at a strike rate of 7.05.
However, Ferguson ended up bowling just three balls to Pooran on the day. After being picked away for three fours by Aiden Markram, Ferguson bowled him via an inside edge for 28 off 18 balls.
With two left-handers in the form of Pooran and Risbah Pant in the middle, PBKS matched Glenn Maxwell’s offspin up with them. Maxwell removed Pant for the third time in four innings in the IPL. The IPL’s most expensive signing at INR 27 crore, Pant has managed just 17 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 65.38.
Despite wickets falling at the other end, Pooran remained positive, hitting Maxwell for back-to-back fours in the seventh over. A cat-and-mouse game then ensued between Pooran and Yuzvendra Chahal. The wristspinner’s plan was to hide the ball away from the swinging arc of Pooran with wrong’uns. In his first over, Pooran cracked his wrong ‘uns away for a brace of fours, but in his next Chahal had Pooran holing out to wide long-off for 44 off 30 balls with a loopier wrong ‘un.
When Jansen had his South African compatriot David Miller caught behind for 19 off 16 balls, LSG slipped further to 119 for 5 in the 16th over. Badoni and Samad then briefly changed the mood and tempo of the game with a 47-run partnership off only 21 balls. Samad had launched his first ball, from Jansen, for six after stepping out and then left jaws on the floor when he reverse-scooped Arshdeep over the keeper in the 18th over, which cost PBKS 20 runs. Arshdeep had both batters holing out in the final over, though, to keep PBKS below 180.
Prabhsimran relishes pace on the ball and it was no different on Tuesday. Unlike the first innings, the ball skidded onto the bat in the second, with Prabhsimran ramping Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan for six and four respectively in the first two overs.
Pant responded by throwing mystery spinner Digyesh Rathi at Prabhsimran and Priyansh Arya. Rathi created a chance with his second ball, but Marsh fluffed an overhead catch at slip. The drop, though, cost LSG just one run as Rathi had Arya caught by Thakur at mid-on for 8.
Prabhsimran took down Ravi Bishnoi in the last over of the powerplay. He lined up his wrong ‘uns and slog-swept him with the turn over mid-on and square leg. He then greeted dart-it-in left-arm fingerspinner M Siddarth, who was picked ahead of Prince Yadav as LSG’s Impact Player, with a switch-hit four. He brought up his fifty in more sedate fashion with a tucked single.
It felt like LSG needed something special to dismiss Prabhsimran. That something special was a tag-team catch near the boundary from Badoni and Bishnoi. He holed out for 69 off 34 balls.
PBKS required 62 off 59 balls, which was enough for Iyer to knock off a fifty of his own. He forged an unbroken 67-run stand off 37 balls with Impact Player Nehal Wadhera to finish the job with more than three overs to spare.
PBKS established themselves as the early pace-setters, alongside Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC), in IPL 2025 with two wins in two games.
Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 177 for 2 in 16.2 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 69, Shreyas Iyer 52, Nehal Wadhera 43*; Divesh Rathi 2-30) beat Lucknow Super Giants 171 for 7 in 20 overs (Aiden Markram 28, Nicholas Pooran 44, Ayush Badoni 41, David Miller 19, Abdul Samad 2; Arshdeep Singh 3 for 43, Lockie Furgeson 1-26, Glenn Maxwell 1-22, Marco Jansen 1-28, Yuzvendra Chahal 1-36) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
106th Hill Country Battle of the Blues
Arch rivals Trinity College Kandy and St. Anthony’s College Katugastota have remained as two of the highest ranked schools cricket teams in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ cricket tournament this season. After having reached the business end of both the two-day tournament and the limited overs tournament, the two teams can take the enviable title as ‘the most successful Big Match rivals’ this season. That will serve as an inspiration for both teams when they meet for the 106th time at the annual big match starting on Thursday.
Though both teams have done equally well this season, Trinity led by Malith Rathnayake are in the annual battle as the team to beat. They have reached the finals of both the two-day tournament and the limited overs tournament.
Trinity’s strong batting line up includes one of the tournament’s highest run scorers in Dimantha Mahavithana who has a double century and four centuries against his name. Chaniru Senaratne, Pulisha Thilakaratne, Vathila Udara and Dinal Fernando have often propelled Trinity to challenging scores.
Thisal Yapa is likely to open their bowling attack, while skipper Rathnayake leads the spin department. Rathnayake is among the top ten wicket takers of the two-day tournament.
St. Anthony’s are led by Charuka Ekanayake. St. Anthony’s reached the quarter-finals of the two-day tournament under Ekanayake’s captaincy. They reached the semi-finals of the limited overs tournament where they were eliminated by the arch rivals.
Ekanayake is expected to play a lead role in both batting and bowling. He has scored over 500 runs and taken over 50 wickets with his left-arm spin. Deputy skipper Januka Rathnayake who opens batting, all rounders Kevan Ramika and Ryan Gregory and speedster Bimash Samarasinghe are the players to watch in the St. Anthony’s camp.
These two teams have often found two days of cricket insufficient to decide a winner. This year the big match is played as a three-day encounter. Both teams will be eager to end a winless stretch which is 13 years long now. No team have recorded a victory after Trinity last won under the captaincy of Niroshan Dickwella in 2012. St. Anthony’s last won under U.D. Alwis’ captaincy in 1992.
Trinity lead the victory tally 23-11. The big match has witnessed 71 encounters end in draws.
Teams
Trinity (from): Malith Rathnayake (Captain), Vathila Udara (Co Vice Captain), Dimantha Mahavithana (Co Vice Captain), Jayavi Liyanagama, Puleesha Thilakaratne, Rajindu Thilakaratne, Kavindu Jayarathne, Dinal Fernando, Sethmika Seneviratne, Adham Hilmy, Thisal Yapa, Ranul Gunaratne, Chaniru Senaratne, Kanilka Anthony, Oshana Lokuge, Praveen Rukunayake, Mahendra Abeysinghe, Viduneth Dammage, Sweath Anurajeewa.
Officials: Naveen Ekanayake (Head Coach), Thisaru Dilshan (Asst.Coach), Bryan Senaratne (Master in Charge), Bandula Pushpakumara (Trainer), Thilanka Dissanayake (Physiotherapist).
St. Anthony’s College Team with officials.
St. Anthony’s (from): Charuka Ekanayake (Captain), Januka Rathnayaka (Vice Captain), Sanuka Kalpana, Okitha Fernando, Kawshika Kumarasinghe, Kevan Fernando, Bimash Samarasinghe, Dinura Ganegoda, Rayan Gregory, Sadew Amarakoon, Naden Ebert, Thilina Edirisinghe, Dinul Wijesinghe, Nikil Abilash, Yohan Senanayake, Vishwa Thilakarathne, Imeth Rajapaksha, Kavindu Nawanjana, Dasun Welianga.
Officials: Bandula Ekanayake (MiC), Priyantha Kumara (Trainer), Kavinda Jayasooriya (Head Coach).
by Reemus Fernando
Colombo Basketball Club jetted off to Madras last evening, ready to stake their claim at the SABA Club Championship, South Asia’s premier club-level basketball showdown, set to unfold in the bustling South Indian city.
This five-team tournament brings together the crème de la crème of South Asia’s domestic basketball scene, and Colombo BC earned their stripes after edging out Colombo Bulls in a one-sided finale of the local championship held last month.
Colombo’s traveling squad boasts a dynamic blend of experience and youth, featuring: Narvin Ganesh, Charuka Fernando, Mindika Wijenayake, Sanjeewa Kulamina, Nimesh Fernando, Baratha Ranatunga, Dasun Mendis, Sasindu Gajanayake, Rukshan Atapattu, Methika Jayasinghe, Brent Thevakumar, Sharo Perera, and Simron Yoganathan.
Gaja Sports and Sunil Traders are backing their campaign as main sponsors while My Cola steps in as the official clothing sponsor.
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