Sports
Dhananjaya de Silva-Kusal Mendis stand gives Sri Lanka outside chance
South Africa took major strides towards wrapping up a series whitewash on day four in Gqeberha, dismissing Sri Lanka’s top five after setting a mammoth 348 to win.
An unbroken 83-run stand between Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis has given Sri Lanka mild hope going into the final day. But they are still 143 runs shy, and are the last batters are shielding a particularly inept tail – Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, and Asitha Fernando all having been No. 11s in other Sri Lanka sides. To win, Sri Lanka would not only have to defy South Africa’s bowling with the second new ball (due in 28 overs), they’d also have to contend with morning conditions, which have tended to be trickier than afternoon or evening ones so far this Test.
Sri Lanka will perhaps, take some heart from their previous chase in Gqeberha , however, which came in 2019. On that occasion they had needed 137 to win overnight, with eight wickets in hand, and got to the target without losing a wicket the following morning. It had been Kusal who had led that chase. He and de Silva were both 39 not out at stumps here.
Keshav Maharaj, working now with a pitch that was taking some turn on the fourth afternoon, made the most critical strikes to the Sri Lanka chase. Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis had struck up a 53-run stand, and had appeared to see off the worst of the seam-bowlers’ spells. But Maharaj slipped a straighter, flatter ball under Mathews’ big slog sweep to end the partnership, before, in his following over, he had Kamindu caught bat-pad by wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne, who dived desperately to get his glove under the dying chance. That double-strike had left Sri Lanka at a near-hopeless 122 for 5, until de Silva and Kusal defibrillated the innings.
Earlier, the quicks had dismissed Sri Lanka’s top three with the new ball. In the third over, Rabada rapped Dimuth Karunaratne in front of the stumps to dismiss him cheaply for the fourth time in the series. Pathum Nissanka, who had previously overturned an lbw call against him, nicked off driving at a full, wide, swinging delivery from Paterson, in the 13th over. Paterson would also dismiss Chandimal with an inducker, which Chandimal’s review suggested would have just grazed leg stump. He’d made 29 at that point.
Before that, it had been largely Sri Lanka’s day, as they claimed the seven remaining South Africa wickets for 126 runs. That they hung in the game was down largely to Prabath Jayasuriya, who racked up his 10th five-wicket haul, and his first overseas, in the morning session. He had tangoed with the rough outside the right-hander’s leg stump during many of his 14 day-four overs, and for his excellent control and variety, claimed three wickets to finish with figures of 5 for 129. The frontline seamers took one day-four wicket apiece.
The most dramatic dismissal of the day was the first. Tristan Stubbs and overnight partner Temba Bavuma had begun the day brightly, and had extended their fourth-wicket stand to 103, when Bavuma clubbed a Lahiru Kumara ball to deep midwicket and took off for a tight two. Stubbs hesitated upon turning for the second however, and attempted to turn Bavuma back but did so too late. The pair were caught mid-pitch for long enough that Kumara could get back to the non-striker’s stumps and run Stubbs out with ease. He was out for 47.
Bavuma, who early in the day completed his fourth half-century of the series (one of these had also been a hundred), then put on a 41-run stand with David Bedingham, whom Sri Lanka tested with the short ball with a stacked legside field (he had been dropped twice trying to pull in the first innings). South Africa got through that period, but Bavuma could not defy Jayasuriya forever. He was bowled trying to sweep the spinner, the ball leaping out of the rough. With this 66, Bavuma has 327 runs for the series.
Bedingham batted with much more caution than he had displayed in the first innings but edged Jayasuriya to slip on 35, the ball once again kicking off the surface to take the outside edge. Jansen attempted to hit out against Jayasuriya, and was caught on the deep midwicket boundary.
South Africa’s tail made what may turn out to be crucial runs after lunch though, with Maharaj, Rabada and Paterson clubbing two sixes and five fours between them. The last two wickets had also been costly for Sri Lanka in the first innings, when the ninth and tenth-wicket partnerships were worth 89 put together.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 328 and 205 for 5 (Dhananjaya de Silva 39*, Kusal Mendis 39*; Dane Paterson 2-33, Keshav Maharaj 2-62) need143 runs to beat South Africa 358 and 317 (Temba Bavuma 66, Aiden Markram 55; Prabath Jayasuriya 5-129)
[Cricinfo]
Shammi Silva has once again taken guard at the top of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), securing a fourth consecutive term as President at the Annual General Meeting, held amidst much fanfare at Colombo’s Cinnamon Grand Hotel yesterday.
Already calling the shots as President of the Asian Cricket Council, Silva’s crowning achievement in recent years has been bringing the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup to Sri Lankan shores. The marquee tournament will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India next year, a feather in the cap for the country’s cricket administrators.
Silva’s administration has made a concerted effort to bridge the yawning gap between domestic and international cricket. One of the bold strokes in this innings has been trimming the number of First-Class teams – a move aimed at upping the quality and sharpening the edge of domestic cricket.
SLC Ex-Co also played a straight bat when it comes to developing cricket beyond Colombo’s city limits. High Performance Centres have sprung up across the outstations, rolling out the red carpet for raw talent from the hinterlands, who had previously been left in the pavilion.
The school cricket circuit too has been given a shot in the arm, with infrastructure development and skill enhancement taking centre stage. By strengthening the grassroots, the current administration hopes to widen the talent pool and unearth future stars of the game.
SLC’s balance sheet tells its own story – healthy and in the black. Over the past five years, the board’s financial stability has not only benefited cricket, but has also allowed it to lend a helping hand to other sports disciplines, at the request of the Ministry of Sports.
With over three decades of experience under his belt as a sports administrator, Shammi Silva is the long-serving President of the Colombo Cricket Club (CCC), one of the game’s oldest institutions in the country.
The 64th AGM was largely a case of “same XI, new season,” with only one notable change to the playing field – Secretary Mohan de Silva making way for seasoned campaigner Bandula Dissanayake. No stranger to the inner workings of SLC, Dissanayake has previously chaired the Tournament and Umpires Committees, and brings a wealth of experience to the table.
Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa and former First-Class player Ravin Wickramaratne retained their Vice-President slots, while Sujeewa Godaliyadda continues to hold the Treasurer’s post. Chryshantha Kapuwatta and Lasantha Wickremasinghe will once again don the hats of Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, respectively.
The election, part of SLC’s biannual cycle, was overseen and greenlit by the Election Committee chaired by retired Court of Appeal Justice Malani Gunaratne.
Vidyaloka College fought back on the back of a valuable century by Nimesh Aavinda to pull off two wickets victory over Kingswood in the Under 19 Division II Tier ‘B’ cricket tournament final played at Saliyapura, Anuradhapura on Monday.
Vidyaloka had a deficit of 36 runs in the first innings but a combined effort helped them restrict Kingswood to 161 runs in the second essay. They were left with a target of 198 runs to chase. And they achieved it with Nimesh Aavinda top scoring with 115 runs.
Scores
Kingswood
227 all out in 83.3 overs (Chanul Kodituwakku 33, Aadil Sheriff 69, Kavija Gamage 25, Nikeshala Nanayakkara 56; Seniru Ninduwara 4/74, Lidula Nuwanga 2/58, Nimesh Aavinda 2/48, Pulindu Chamuditha 2/19) and 161 all out in 65.3 overs (Kavija Gamage 57, Nikeshala Nanayakkara 45; Seniru Ninduwara 2/45, Pulindu Chamuditha 2/07)
Vidyaloka
191 all out in 79.3 overs (Lidula Nuwanga 81, Seniru Ninduwara 34, Tharusha Jayamith 23; Kavija Gamage 4/63, Upadi Jayawardane 2/41) and 200 for 8 in 48.3 overs( Nimesh Aavinda 114, Lidula Nuwanga 34, Seniru Ninduwara 28; Kavija Gamage 3/80, Dominsara Peiris 2/51)
by Reemus Fernando
There was a growing sense of uncertainty surrounding the hosting of the 120th edition of the Lovers’ Quarrel Big Match after Richmond College raised concerns over an attempt by Mahinda College to field a newly recruited player in the team at the historic match which was scheduled to commence on Thursday.
Richmond College authorities have informed Mahinda that they would pullout from the match if the newly recruited player who played for St. Aloysius’ in the just concluded Under 19 cricket tournament is included in the Big Match team.
According to sources Mahinda College have recruited St. Aloysius’ skipper Charya Paranavithana at the end of the Under 19 cricket tournament and are yet to register him under their name with Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association. They have included the player in the Big Match squad.
A source close to Mahinda said that though the player is included in the squad he was not certain to be in the playing XI.
Tourists and residents evacuated as volcano erupts in Iceland
Mandalay was the ‘city of gold’ – now it reeks of death
PM visits France to attend high-level conference at UNESCO
-
Sports3 days agoSri Lanka’s eternal search for the elusive all-rounder
-
Features7 days agoCelebrating 25 Years of Excellence: The Silver Jubilee of SLIIT – PART I
-
News4 days agoGnanasara Thera urged to reveal masterminds behind Easter Sunday terror attacks
-
Business7 days agoCEB calls for proposals to develop two 50MW wind farm facilities in Mullikulam
-
Business5 days agoAIA Higher Education Scholarships Programme celebrating 30-year journey
-
Features7 days agoNotes from AKD’s Textbook
-
News2 days agoBid to include genocide allegation against Sri Lanka in Canada’s school curriculum thwarted
-
News3 days agoComBank crowned Global Finance Best SME Bank in Sri Lanka for 3rd successive year