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Tharindu’s double blow keeps Bangladesh in check at lunch
A morning that had begun with a felicitation and guard of honour for the retiring Angelo Mathews, ended with a new face taking the plaudits as debutant Tharindu Rathnayake grabbed two wickets to help Sri Lanka edge the first session of the first Test of the new WTC cycle.
Bangladesh however had the experienced pair of skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease as lunch was called, with the pair having put on 45 so far.
Rathnayake was one of two debutants for the hosts, alongside top-order batter Lahiru Udara, and was into the attack as early as the eighth over. With three of Bangladesh’s top five being left-handed, the ambidextrous spinner opted to bowl his right-arm off breaks throughout the morning, and he was in the thick of it almost immediately with an unsuccessful lbw review in just his second over against Mominul Haque.
His third over, following a change of ends, saw a tough chance dropped at slip by Dhananjaya de Silva – Mominul the batter once more – but in in his fourth he got his reward. Shadman Islam, who had been reserved in his 14 off 53, pressed forward to one that was flighted around off. The drift, dip and turn did the rest as Dhananjaya made no mistake this time, holding on to a low chance.
An over later, Tharindu would eventually get Mominul as he would once more attempt the cut, but this time the edge was snaffled by Dhananjaya – nearly identical in position at left shoulder height to the one that was dropped two overs earlier.
Asitha Fernando, meanwhile, had got the ball rolling in the fifth over of the morning, getting one to seam away from Anamul Haque and grab the edge.
Tharindu’s debut spell however wasn’t cheap; his 10 overs went for 52 runs, with Mominul, Shanto and Mushfiqur all taking the attack to him.
It meant that while Sri Lanka would have been happy with the session, on a fairly batter friendly surface Bangladesh will feel confident in their ability to turn this position around over the coming sessions.
Brief scores: Day 1 Lunch
Bangladesh 90 for 3 (Monimul Haque 29, Najmul Hossain Shanto 25*, Mushfiqur Rahim 20*; Tharindu Rathnayake 2-52) vs Sri Lanka
[Cricinfo]
Mikel Merino scored in the 88th minute from a rebound yielded by backup Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens, and Spain advanced to the World Cup semifinals with a 2-1 victory.
Merino was the late hero for the second straight match for Spain, who advanced to face tournament favourite France in the semifinals on Tuesday in Dallas.
Merino came on in the 86th minute and scored from his second touch of the match, charging into the box and pouncing after Lammens spilled a Pau Cubarsi shot from outside the area.
The Arsenal forward also scored as a substitute early in injury time to secure Spain’s 1-0 victory over Portugal in the last-16.
Lammens, the Manchester United keeper, was forced into the match in the 71st minute after longtime Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois left with an apparent thigh injury.
Belgium desperately pressed for an equaliser in the final minutes, but Aymeric Laporte volleyed their best chance out of the box.
Fabian Ruiz scored the opening goal in the 30th minute for Spain after Courtois had parried a shot from Dani Olmo from Pedro Porro’s cut-back from the right of the area, but Belgium forward Charles De Ketelaere scored the first goal allowed by Spain in the entire World Cup in the 41st minute.
His header from Timothy Castagne’s cross from the right ended a record streak of 649 minutes without conceding at the World Cup.
The annual rugby encounter between Dharmaraja College and Kingswood College, played for the William Weerasinghe Memorial Trophy, is set to take place tomorrow (July 11, 2026), at 4:00 PM at the Bogambara Stadium, Kandy.
The official unveiling of the trophy took place this week at the Dharmaraja College premises with the participation of the Principals of the two schools, teachers-in-charge of sports, coaches, the Rugby teams, and several distinguished guests, including Dharmaraja College Old Boys’ Association President Mahesh Wijetunga, Kingswood College Old Boys’ Association President Muditha Abeykoon,
by S K SAMARANAYAKE
It has been reported quoting family sources that veteran singer Mariazelle Goonetilleke has passed away this morning (10) at the age of 68
She had been receiving treatment at the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital.
Spain leave it late to book semifinal date with France
Showers will occur in the Sabaragamuwa, Western and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
US$ 2.5 mn cyber heist exposes system failures
Opposition signs no-confidence motion against Justice Minister for dereliction of duty over Negombo Prison deaths
AG informs SC of e-visa agreement review
Navy, Coast Guard seize smuggled pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in Puttalam
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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