Sports
Sebs beat Thomians as Chanthuka bags 11 wickets
Under 19 Cricket
by Reemus Fernando
Skipper Manuja Chanthuka led the way with a match bag of eleven wickets as St. Sebastian’s beat S. Thomas’, Mount Lavinia by three wickets in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ tournament match at Moratuwa on Saturday.
Chanthuka picked up four wickets in the second innings to complete a match bag of eleven wickets. The left-arm spinner shared seven wickets with Ryan Dissanayake as the visitors were bowled out for 155 runs. The Thomians batted for 72 overs in the second innings but Sebs had enough overs to chase down the victory target.
Ushen Silva top scored with 44 runs for the winners.
Meanwhile in another Division I Tier ‘A’ encounter Royal College earned first innings points against St. Anne’s as they reached 205 for seven wickets in reply to visitors’ 201 runs before rain curtailed the final day’s play at Reid Avenue on Sunday.
Results
St. Sebastian’s beat S. Thomas’ at Moratuwa
Scores:
S. Thomas’ 131 all out in 42.1 overs (Dineth Goonewardene 59, Kavindu Dias 15; Manuja Chanthuka 7/40) and 155 all out in 71.5 overs (Senadhi Bulankulame 48, Dineth Goonewardene 40; Manuja Chanthuka 4/60, Ryan Dissanayake 3/21, Malintha Silva 2/39)
St. Sebastian’s 174 all out in 58.4 overs (Ushen Silva 23, Janaka Silva 21, Nadeesh Fernando 44n.o.; Abheeth Paranawidana 5/34, Dineth Goonewardene 3/33) and 116 for 7 in 26.1 overs (Ushen Silva 44, Navod Fernando 29; Ashen Perera 2/13, Nathan Caldera 2/20)
Royal in first innings win over St. Anne’s at Reid Avenue
Scores:
St. Anne’s 201 all out in 72.4 overs (Buddhima Nandasiri 23, Kushan Subasinghe 33, Vageesha Ranasingha 33, Yashmin Jayasundara 27, Pramod Sisira Kumara 27n.o.; Thamod Yasodhya 2/23, Sineth Jayawardana 3/36, Bulan Weeratunga 3/32)
Royal 205 for 7 in 59.1 overs (Rehan Peiris 32, Yasidu Dissanayake 29, Sineth Jayawardena 31, Anush Polonnovita 31, Ovina Ambanpola 43, Nethwin Dharmaratne 17n.o.; Yashmin Jayasundara 3/46, Kevin Nanayakkara 2/46)
When my good friend Nimal Welgama requested me to pen a few lines about Sir Gary Sobers as I had the privilege of playing for Sri Lanka against the mighty West Indies as they were known then, I was wondering whether I can do justice to this awesome cricketing all rounder.
In this particular game Sir Gary fell short of scoring his usual hundred. Sir Gary had a flair for unique stylishness which no other cricketer matched and it came naturally to him. He wore his shirt open all the way down to the navel perhaps to keep himself cool from the hot weather one encounters when playing cricket.He walked into bat leaning forward slightly with a gait that that had confidence written all over it.I had the good fortune of viewing on a video clip of an innings of 230 plus he made in a Match against Australia against a formidable attack headed by fearsome Dennis Lillee where he tore the the bowling to shreds.This innings was described by probably the greatest batters of all time Sir Donald Bradman as the best innings he has witnessed live.A tribute difficult to ignore. I wish to conclude by saying that Sir Garfield Sobers was an all rounder of exceptional ability which void will be hard to fill.
by Anura Tennekoon ✍️
Ferran Torres scored in the 106th minute to lift Spain to their second World Cup title with a 1-0 win im extra time over 10-man Argentina in the final.
Torres’s deserved winner on Sunday came 16 years and eight days after Andres Iniesta also scored in extra time to lift the Spaniards to their first World Championship with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands.
It came on La Roja’s 20th shot in the contest against defending champions Argentina that failed to manage any to that point and struggled to wrest possession away from their superior Iberian opponents.
That was true at even strength and became more difficult when La Albiceleste’s numbers were reduced when Enzo Fernandez’s late challenge on Pau Cubarsi left referee Slavko Vincic no choice but to produce a second caution just before the end of normal time.
Spain remain the only nation ever to win a European Championship and World Cup in successive tournaments, having now done so a second time. They are also the first World Cup champions ever to concede only once across an entire tournament.
Lionel Messi’s Argentina failed to earn a title for the first time in three major tournaments, having also captured the 2021 and 2024 Copa Americas either side of their 2022 World Cup triumph.
The 39-year-old eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi finished the competition with eight goals and four assists, but had little time on the ball in the final until Spain finally took the lead. And he never seriously looked like he would lift his side to another great moment as he has so many times in the last two World Cup cycles.
Emi Martinez made 11 saves for La Albiceleste, who fell short in their bid to be the first consecutive World Cup champions since Brazil won the 1958 and 1962 titles.
What had felt so difficult for the first 105 minutes suddenly looked easy after 37 seconds of play in the second period of extra time.
Pedro Porro curled in an out-swinging cross from the left to the back post, Nico Williams won the header and nodded it back into space, and Torres hammered a half-volley at last past the flailing Martinez.
It was his only goal of the tournament, making him the seventh player to score during a tournament in which his side never trailed.
Asked about his goal, Torres said after the game: “Honestly, I didn’t think too much. I just saw the ball coming to me, and I just shot with the power of all the Spanish people.”
The win made Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, at 65, the oldest coach ever to lead a team to the World Cup title
“We are world champions,” de la Fuente said. “It was together we reached this stage.”
There was some pushing and shoving after the final whistle, which was quickly cleaned up, and Spain commenced their celebration as most Argentina players sat on the turf in disbelief.
Cooler heads prevailed, and Spain’s players lined up minutes later to form an honour guard of sorts for Argentina’s squad to walk through on their way to the stage for the runner-up medals.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni admitted that Spain were the better team.
“They were the better side – that’s the truth – but I’ll cherish the memory of them [his side], of what they achieved, and of the value of making it this far,” Scaloni said.
“We have to place immense value on this, because it takes so much effort.”
(Aljazeera)
HONOUR MCA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2026
Sampath Bank powered by a 53 ball 79 by Adithya Siriwardena and excellent bowling performance led by Chamath Dilsara, Dulaj Ashen and Hansaja Bandara registered their third win in the MCA Champions league cricket tournament sponsored by HONOUR mobile phones by crushing MAS Intimates by 131 runs at the Colts Cricket Club Ground on Saturday.
Batting first Sampath Bank powered by Adithya’a 79 and notable scores from Chamara Dilsara [34], HansajaBandara [42] and 20 plus scores from Gajitha Kotuwegoda ,Abhishek Anandakumara and Dumindu Sewmina posted 284/8 in their allocation of 50 overs after which the bowlers led by Chamath Dilsara restricted MAS Intimates to 153.
Scores:
Sampath Bank
284/8 in 50 overs (Hansaja Bandara 41, Adithya Siriwardena 79; Ruvin Senevirathne 2-41)
MAS Intimates
153/10 in 36.1 overs (Maheesha Sithum 39; Dulaj Ashen 2-13, Chamath Dilsara 3-21, Hansaja Bandara 2-15)
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