Sports
Kandy stands strong as a mountain in rugby decider against CR
By A Special Sports Correspondent
Kandy Sports Club stamped its class in domestic rugby by beating CR & FC and finishing first in the points table of the ongoing inter-club league rugby tournament.
It was a win that was essentially needed, not just to prove their might this season, but to avenge last season’s double defeats at the hands of the Red Shirts. Kandy blew CR’s defence into pieces with a power packed display of fast open rugby. The winners ran down five glorious tries and the victory was spiced by the hard work put in by the old hands at the Nittawela Club. This is a time when many youngsters are knocking on the Kandy Sports Club door to win the red, white and blue jersey. But players like Dhanushka Ranjan, Tharinda Ratwatte, Kavindu Perera, Nigel Ratwatte and skipper Srinath Sooriyabandara led from the front through rousing displays in the sport of rugby union, which, if captured on camera and retained for posterity, could be used to positively influence the next generation of players.
Kandy SC has enrolled some of the best schoolboy players of recent years. Kandy now has players like Dahan Wickremaarachchi, Kenula Mihisara and Shahid Zumri in their ranks. Wickremaarachchi was at his brilliant best last Sunday scoring a cracker of a try and being one of the mainstays in the Kandy SC’s marauding ‘eight’. Winger Kavindu Perera was also a sensation and touched down twice in the game against CR.
There was a time when Kandy SC had players like Nalaka Weerakkody, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, Radeeka Hettiarachchi, Haris Omar, Indrajith Bandaranayake, Sajith Mallikarachchi, Prasad Liynage and Fazil Marija who were household names with the rugby fans of the Central Hills. Just take one look at the Kandy SC three quarter line and you realize that the Nittawela side is once again riding on a wave of success that ensures ecstasy as well. The Kandy three quarters comprising the Ratwatte brothers, Ranjan, Kavindu, Dinal Ekanayake and Sooriyabandara is good enough to make up a virtual ‘Sri Lanka’ national team back division. And whenever the backs start running, the forwards complement them with a power house display of ‘slap bang’ rugby that bruises the ribs of anyone standing in their way.
Kandy SC has worked its moves around two players, skipper and full back Sooriyabandara and centre Tharinda Ratwatte. The latter has his ways of bamboozling players in the opposite teams. This he does with his ability to slice through a defence using quick thinking and weighing his options when encountering a tackler. ‘Soori’- the name fondly used by Sooriyabandara’s teammates when addressing him- on the other hand plays so well in the corners of the field in attack and by jealously guarding the Kandy SC goal line as the last line of defence.
Mention must also be made of Kandy’s front five comprising Malitha Wijesundara, Dilshad Fareed, Milan Weerasinghe, Thilina Bandara and Chathura Soysa for carrying Kandy’s hopes in the forwards’ battle. This is a year where the Kandy coaching staff began earnestly in adding strength to their ‘eight’ and its enlightening to see how wonderfully these forwards have shaped up this season in meeting rugby’s challenges with gusto.
For the record, Kandy SC finished on top of the points table after the first round of the league tournament. In second place is Havelocks SC followed by CR&FC and Air Force in third and fourth places respectively. These four teams now battle it out in the Super Round of the league tournament with Kandy SC slated to meet Air Force on March 1 in Ratmalana and CR&FC expected to scrum down with Havelocks Sports Club on March 2 at Longden Place.
Also this piece on the first round of the league rugby tournament is followed by a sad note on the demise of former rugby referee Anura Rankothge who has passed away. His funeral will take place today (Wednesday) at the Mahaiyawa Cemetery in Kandy.
Is it 2023 again ? Mumbai Indians [MI] and Delhi Capitals [DC], two consistently good teams with all-star line-ups, meet again in the WPL final. While DC have breezed into the final this season, MI are coming in battle-hardened, having had to take the circuitous route by playing three matches in four days to get there.
DC have been strong in most departments, and have got their selection calls right throughout the season. Their captain Meg Lanning hit form late in the tournament, Shafali Verma has continued to churn out the runs at the top of the other, and the move to promote Jess Jonassen to No. 3 has paid off. But for DC to look more threatening, they’d want their middle order to step up further. Their middle order (Nos. 4 to 7) collectively averages 17.50, the lowest this season, and have struck at 116.66, which is the second-lowest among all teams.
MI’s line-up also drips with power and strength. Powerplay bowling has been one of DC’s strongest suits, but only MI have bettered that. DC’s bowlers have taken 50 wickets at 23.84 in this phase, while MI have 61 wickets at 22.68.
For MI,Nat Sciver-Brunt has been at her brutal best, Hayley Matthews has delivered with both bat and ball, and captain Harmanpreet Kaur has hit high tempo. The rest of the line-up, though, has blown hot and cold.
But MI will be playing at their home ground – a venue where they’ve lost just once in seven games – and that tilts the scales in their favour. DC, though, have had a good seven days break, and will be coming in without the pressure of having had to scramble for a place in the final. Two heartbreaking finals later, will third time be the charm for them?
MI had promoted Amelia Kerr to the opening slot, and pushed Yastika Bhatia down the order for a couple of games. While Yastika was able to make quick runs from her new position, Kerr, who hasn’t been in the best of form with the bat, wasn’t able to capitalise on her starts. The order went back to what it was in the Eliminator against Gujarat Giants (GG), but neither player made an impact. Will MI switch their positions again to get the best out of Yastika?
MI had also brought in left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque in place of Parunika Sisodia for the Eliminator. Will they pick Ishaque again for the final after she bowled just one over against GG?
DC, who were last in action on March 7, are unlikely to make any changes to their line-up.
Mumbai Indians (probable): Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Amanjot Kaur, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Sajana, G Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque
Delhi Capitals (probable): Meg Lanning (capt), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Sarah Bryce (wk), Niki Prasad, Minnu Mani, Shikha Pandey, Titas Sadhu
[Cricinfo]
Dinara de Silva secured a place in the singles semi-final and also booked a spot in the doubles final at the ITF Junior Circuit J30 Week 1 tournament continued at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts on Friday.
Dinara de Silva overcame a first set defeat to beat Gwen Emily Kurniawan of Indonesia 2-1 (4-6, 6-0, 6-1) in the quarter-final.
Dinara is set to meet Shivali Gurung of Nepal in the semi-final.
In the doubles semi-final Dinara joined China’s Yijia Zhao to beat Japan’s Sakino Miyazawa and Eyuyo Shida 6-4, 4-6, 10-5.
Debutant Malki Madara’s three-for combined with two-fors from Kavisha Dilhari and Inoshi Priyadharshani set up a comfortable victory for Sri Lanka in the T20I series opener in Christchurch. Chamari Athapaththu’s unbeaten 64 off 48 balls then took the visitors home with seven wickets in hand. This was Sri Lanka’s first T20I win in New Zealand and second win overall against New Zealand in the format.
Emma McLeod (44) was New Zealand’s highest scorer but only two of her team-mates got into double figures, and there was only one partnership that stretched past 20 balls.
Despite Priyadharshani dismissing Georgia Plimmer early, the hosts got off to a decent start thanks to captain Suzie Bates’ 14-ball 21. Madara, Sri Lanka’s fourth bowling option, brought on in the fifth over, got the big wicket of Bates which dried up the scoring. The next two overs went for just five runs.
Dilhari, the seventh bowler, struck twice upon being introduced in the ninth over as New Zealand slipped from 39 for 1 to 52 for 4. Maddy Green being run out cheaply had New Zealand play with caution as illustrated by the next two partnerships which produced a combined 29 runs off 41 balls.
McLeod, who had three fours in her first five balls, finished without adding to that tally across her 46-ball innings. She was the last New Zealand batter to fall as Madara ended the innings in the penultimate over.
Athapaththu then hit seven fours and took Sri Lanka to 46 for 0 at the end of the powerplay. Jess Kerr removed Vishmi Gunaratne and Harshitha Samarawickrama in successive overs while Dilhari’s innings was cut short by a run out. Sri Lanka slipped to 66 for 3 but that didn’t stop their captain from attacking.
She hit Eden Carson for four immediately after Dilhari’s exit and smacked two sixes and a four off Bree Illing, the first of the sixes brought up her fifty off 43 balls. It left the hosts no room to make an unlikely comeback as Sri Lanka romped to a victory with 35 balls to spare.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Women
102 for 3 in 14.1 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 64*, Kavisha Dilhari 12, Nilakshika Silva 12*; Jess Kerr 2-18) beat New Zealand 101 in 18.5 overs (Suzie Bates 21, Emma McLeod 44, Jess Kerr 10; Sugandika Kumari 1-18, Malki Madara 3-14, Kavisha Dilhari 2-18, Inoshi Priyadharshani 2-25, Chamari Athapaththu 1-10) by seven wickets
(Cricinfo)
Our government has reaffirmed its commitment to breaking barriers that limit women’s full participation in the economy, recognizing their vital role in national development. – Dr. Harini Amarasuriya
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