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Kamindu Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal turn tables for Sri Lanka in unbroken stand

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Kamindu Mendis celebrates his third Test hundred

Kamindu Mendis  brought up a brilliant third Test century as he and Dinesh Chandimal turned Sri Lanka’s daunting match situation on its head in an unbroken stand of 101 runs in 26.2 overs on the fourth morning at Emirates Old Trafford.

By lnch, Kamindu was unbeaten on 101 with Chandimal on 62, after a session that included a 30-minute rain delay plus a brief sighting of the second new ball that looks set to be crucial to England’s hopes of curtailing Sri Lanka’s lead. But, with five minutes remaining of the session, Kamindu cut Chris Woakes for the 13th boundary of his innings to march through to three figures from 167 balls, with no sign that his appetite is likely to be sated in a hurry.

Having let a promising position slip with the ball on the third morning, Sri Lanka’s focus with the bat was unwavering as they resumed on 204 for 6, with a slender lead of 82. By lunch, they had extended that advantage to a very handy 169, by which stage England’s problems had been compounded by the absence of their fastest bowler, Mark Wood. He left the field after feeling a twinge in his right thigh on Friday evening, and may now be a doubt for the rest of the series.
There had been some controversy overnight about the advantageous nature of a ball-change  after the 41st over that allowed England’s seamers to obtain significant swing on the third evening. However, after 20 further overs of wear and tear, there was little lateral movement on show as Kamindu seized on a hint of width in Woakes’ first over to flash his first boundary of the day through point.
That set the tone for a proactive half-hour, with Chandimal following his partner’s lead as he built on his overnight 20 not out. He soon picked off two boundaries in a 13-run over off Gus Atkinson, neither of them quite timed, though the intent was plain as he focused on seizing his scoring opportunities while the ball was offering little.
The fact that Chandimal was there at all was remarkable, given the gruesome blow to the thumb that Wood had inflicted on the third afternoon. He had retired hurt on 10, but after an X-ray had given him the all-clear, returned with no ill-effects as he marched on through to a 73-ball half-century with a nudged single into the covers off Shoaib Bashir.

Ollie Pope rang the changes for England, but none of them had any answer to a burgeoning stand. Kamindu came into this contest with an average in excess of 100 after two centuries and an unbeaten 92 in his three previous Tests, and the range of his strokeplay was apparent in back-to-back boundaries off Atkinson, driven and pulled respectively, plus a ruthless eye for anything loose from the spin of Bashir.

By the time of a heavy cloud burst, he had moved along to 90 not out, and when play resumed with an over of spin apiece from Dan Lawrence and Joe Root to hasten the arrival of the new ball, Kamindu was waiting to cash in, with a nudge for two off his pads and the decisive slash through deep third, to send England into lunch with a real battle on their hands.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka 236 and 291 for 6 (Kamindu Mendis 101*, Dinesh Chandimal 62*) lead England 358 (Jamie Smith 111, Harry Brook 56, Asitha  Fernando  4-102) by 169 runs



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Zimbabwe stun Sri Lanka to enter Super Eight unbeaten

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Sikandar Raza counterattacked to release the pressure [Cricinfo]

One time is a shock. Two times, and the second to beat hosts Sri Lanka at their own game, is Zimbabwe. Led by their canny bowling, Zimbabwe pulled Sri Lanka back from a flying start to keep them to 178 on a sluggish Premadasa track. Their opener Brian Benett, quickest scorer in their history, dropped anchor, stayed unbeaten like his team, and Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl and Tadiwanashe Marumani did all the damage from the other end to seal their second-highest successful T20I chase.

Sri Lanka’s innings had three neat divisions: first 29 balls for 54 for 0, next 72 for 82 for 4 and then a finishing kick of 42 for 3 off the last 19 balls. Zimbabwe went Bennett and non-Bennett. Bennett scored 63 off 48; the other three combined for 102 off 64 balls. Raza was the decisive hand: 45 off 26 after the asking rate had gone past 11.

Brief scores:
Zimbabwe 182 for 4 in 19.3 overs (Brian Bennett 63*, Tadiwanashe Marumani 34, Ryan Burl 23, Sikandar Raza 45; Dasun Shanaka 1-26, Dushan Hemantha 2-36, Dunith Wellalage 1-27) beat Sri Lanka 178 for 7  in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 62, Kusal Perera 22, Kusal Mendis 14, Pavan  Rathnayake 44, Dunith Wellalage 15*; Blessing Muzarabani 2-38, Graeme Cremer 2-27, Brad  Evans 2-35) by six wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Ex-UK Prince Andrew arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office

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Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the former United Kingdom royal, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, according to UK media reports.

A statement from Thames Valley police was released Thursday which said, “As part of the investigation, we have today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.

“The man remains in police custody at this time.”

“We will not be naming the arrested man, as per national guidance. Please also remember that this case is now active so care should be taken with any publication to avoid being in contempt of court, ” the statement added.

“Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said: “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office.

“It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence.

“We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”

Andrew, the former British prince, who was stripped of his title last year over his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, should cooperate with the US authorities in their investigation, the UK Prime Minister Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said.

[Aljazeera]

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts

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Advisory for Severe Lightning
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre  at 12.00 noon 19 February 2026 valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 19 February 2026

The public are warned that thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts after 2.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.

General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

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