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Showers about 100 mm are likely at some places in Sabaragamuwa, Central, Uva, Eastern and North-central provinces and in Vavuniya, Mullaittivu and Kurunegala districts

Published

1 year ago

2025/04/27

Priyan

WEATHER FORECAST FOR 27 APRIL 2025
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 27 April 2025 by the Department of Meteorology

The Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (where winds from the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere converge) affects the island’s weather.

Misty conditions can be expected at some places in Central and Uva provinces during the morning.

Several spells of showers may occur in Western province and in Puttalam, Mannar, Jaffna, Galle and Matara districts in the morning while showers or thundershowers will occur at most places of the island during the afternoon or night. Heavy rain fall about 100 mm is likely at some places in Sabaragamuwa, Central, Uva, Eastern and North-central provinces and in Vavuniya, Mullaittivu and Kurunegala districts.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

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Little time to unpack as India open in Christchurch

Published

3 mins ago

2026/10/21

Priyan

India have had four days to swap Bengaluru for Christchurch [Cricbuzz]

India have barely unzipped their suitcases this month. The Asian Games assignment in Japan ended on October 3; three days later they were in Lucknow for a five-match series that ran through Ranchi, Indore and Hyderabad before closing in the Bengaluru rain late on October 17. Four days on, they start again in Christchurch, with the jet lag surely travelling with them.

New Zealand is a tricky tour at the best of times. India come here less often than they go to England or Australia, and a turnaround this short only sharpens the challenge. For Shreyas Iyer, it may feel familiar. He spoke about acclimatisation in his pre-series press conference in Christchurch, and with reason: his tenure began with India out of rhythm in Ireland, where they lost 0-2, before England beat them too.

It is an occupational hazard of the modern Indian cricketer, and there’s a good chance that conditions won’t meet them halfway either. White-ball cricket may have standardized conditions, but early-season New Zealand can still offer a different challenge. The last 200 in this country came nine T20Is ago, a world away from the kind of cricket India have been involved at home.

When these sides last met, in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad in March, India piled up 255. Much has changed since, not least Iyer’s elevation to the captaincy. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi debuted in Manchester at 15 but has struggled for game time behind World Cup-winning openers. The bowling, meanwhile, has kept reaching for experience, culminating in Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s recall after two excellent IPL seasons with RCB.

But two lynchpins remain missing. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested with the Test series in mind, and Hardik Pandya hasn’t played international cricket since that night in Ahmedabad. Finding the right balance is India’s first puzzle in Christchurch, and they may have to solve it before their body clocks catch up.

Varun Chakaravarthy returns after another spell on the sidelines with injury, though fitting him into the XI could be tricky if India opt for three frontline seamers in a season opener. Nman Dhir wax the find of the series against West Indies, but he may be the one to make way if India go with two seam-bowling all-rounders in Nitish Reddy and Shivam Dube.

Without Mark Chapman and Rachin Ravindra, the hosts have a top-three spot for Devon Conway. They have as many as six seamers in the squad to pick from, with Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell offering part-time spin in a fairly stacked bowling attack.

India Probable XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav/Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh

New Zealand Probable XI: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson

[Cricbuzz]

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Bangladesh and Nepal to host Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup from January 21 to February 6

Published

1 hour ago

2026/10/21

Priyan

Defending champions India won the first two editions of the tournament, in 2023 and 2025 (Cricinfo)

Four venues in Bangladesh and Nepal will host the 2027 Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, which is set to run from January 21 to February 6. Chattogram, Sylhet, Kirtipur and Mulpani are the four venues, with Chattogram set to host the two semi-finals on February 4 as well as the final on February 6.

The 16-team event will feature four groups of four teams each, with the group stage set to be followed by a two-group Super Six stage, and then the semi-finals and final.

This is the third edition of the tournament, with India having won the first two back-to-back in 2023 and 2025. The defending champions have been drawn in group A alongside Ireland, West Indies and Nepal. Group B has 2025 runners-up South Africa as well as New Zealand, Pakistan and Samoa.

Australia, Bangladesh, Nigeria and UAE make up Group C, while England, Sri Lanka, USA and Scotland have been drawn in Group D.

The tournament will kick off with four matches on January 21, with Sylhet hosting Bangladesh vs UAE and Australia vs Nigeria, and Mulpani hosting Sri Lanka vs Scotland and England vs USA. The other two venues and other eight teams will be involved on January 22: New Zealand vs Samoa and South Africa vs Pakistan in Chattogram, and Nepal vs Ireland and India vs West Indies in Kirtipur.

All 41 games of the tournament will be played during the day. Morning matches will begin at 9.30am local time, and afternoon games at 1.30pm local time.

“The ICC U19 World Cup is the stage that showcases the future of our sport and serves as the ultimate platform for young players to make the leap towards elite careers representing their countries,” ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta said. “These future stars representing 16 teams will garner the world’s attention and become relatable role models for many young girls playing the sport, serving inspiration for their continued cricket journeys.

“The choice of our hosts – Bangladesh and Nepal – is also reflective of the ICC’s belief and investment in the future of the cricket ecosystem. With deep passion for cricket and nearly 40% of the two countries’ populations below the age of 20, they serve as the ideal hosts for one of the world’s biggest youth sporting events.”

(Cricinfo)

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President pays last respects to Most Venerable Kappetiyagoda Siri Wimala Thera

Published

24 hours ago

2026/10/20

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake today (20) paid his last respects to the remains of Most Venerable Kappetiyagoda Siri Wimala Thera, Anunayake of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya and Chief Incumbent of the Rajopawanaramaya Temple in Gatambe, Kandy, who passed away.

The President visited the Rajopawanaramaya Temple in Gatambe, Kandy, where the remains of the Thera are lying, and paid his last respects. He subsequently expressed his deepest condolences to the Maha Sangha and the temple’s Dayaka Sabha, who are mourning the passing of the Thera.

Central Province Governor and Consultant Physician Dr Harsha Suranga Fernando, Kandy District Secretary Indika Udawatta and several others were present.

President’s Media Division (PMD)