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Henry’s three wickets set up the win as New Zealand cruise past Zimbabwe

Published

11 months ago

2025/07/19

Priyan

[File photo] Matt Henry followed his 3 for 34 against South Africa with 3 for 26 against Zimbabwe [Cricinfo]

New Zealand took the lead in the Zimbabwe T20I tri-series points table after a second successive win, this time over the hosts. After New Zealand’s bowling attack kept Zimbabwe to 120, the lowest first-innings total of the tournament so far, their batters polished off the required runs inside 14 overs, which helped their net run rate balloon to 1.919.

Zimbabwe remain without a point, and with much work to do to avoid being knocked out of their own competition. They need to win both of their next two games, against South Africa and New Zealand, to progress to the final, and will need a major improvement in their batting to get there.

Although Zimbabwe played more aggressively than in their opening match – according to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, 27.5% of their shots were attacking in this innings compared with 20.83% in their previous game, against South Africa – they hit the same number of fours (11), two fewer sixes (one in this innings, three on Monday), and scored lesser runs overall on Friday than against South Africa.

Zimbabwe’s highest partnership against New Zealand was the opening stand of 37, which could not stand up to New Zealand’s two half-century stands. After the loss of Tim Seifert in the second over of the chase, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra put on 59 off 44 balls before Conway and Daryl Mitchell combined for 58 off 32 deliveries to ease New Zealand to a win.

New Zealand will also be satisfied with the performance of their bowling attack. Matt Henry followed up his 3 for 34 against South Africa with 3 for 26 against Zimbabwe, and used the short ball to good effect. On a surface that turned substantially, New Zealand’s spinners Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell and Ravindra claimed a wicket each, and conceded just 43 runs in nine overs collectively.

Zimbabwe had no one to match either that wicket-taking or that economy. Blessing Muzarabani took a wicket, and conceded only at 6.75 runs an over. But that was good as it got for Zimbabwe. Their decision to leave out a spinner in Wellington Masakadza for seamer Tinotenda Maposa will also cause questions over their team balance.

Wesley Madhevere flicked the first ball off his pads and past Seifert to start Zimbabwe off with a boundary. Three balls later, he used his wrists to whip Henry behind square for four more. Zimbabwe had 11 runs from the opening over, more than double they scored against South Africa – and all of them belonged to Madheve. He came into this match under pressure – with only one score over 20 in his last 11 innings – and showed that he was willing to take things on, even if he didn’t always get it right.

In the second over, Madhevere advanced towards Jacob Duffy, swung hard but missed, and then tried to scoop. Together with Brian Bennett, Madhevere got Zimbabwe to 36 runs from the first five overs, and then with Clive Madande to 61 for 2 at the halfway stage. But his ambition got the better of him when he backed away and was too late on a shot off Adam Milne to be bowled for 36. At least, it was his highest score in 14 innings since his 43 against India a year ago.

Madhevere’s dismissal came 14 balls after Madande was deceived in flight from Ravindra, and stumped in the middle of a collapse of 5 for 37 that put the breaks on Zimbabwe. Ryan Burl struck two fours before he tried to reverse sweep against Bracewell and was caught at backward point. Sikandar Raza played across the line, and got a leading edge off Santner to be caught at extra cover. Tashinga Musekiwa tried to pull a short ball from Henry but top edged, and was well caught by Duffy at fine leg.

Zimbabwe were 98 for 6 in the 17th over, and lost the middle order in the space of 43 balls. They scored just 21 runs off the last three overs, and could not finish with any kind of flourish.

After reducing South Africa to 17 for 2 earlier this week, Richard Ngarava could have had a wicket with his first ball against New Zealand. He went on a back of a length, and got an outside edge off Seifert, but the chance fell short of Burl at slip. Four balls later, Conway, on 1 at the time, reached out for a wider delivery, and edged to short third but Blessing Muzarabani fluffed the chance.

Muzarabani made up for that when he removed Seifert with his first ball, albeit not his best one. He went short and wide outside off, and Seifert hit in the air to Musekiwa at cover. Ngarava was not quite as lucky, though. In his next over, Ravindra was beaten by a ball that moved away late, and then Ngarava thought he had Conway out caught behind but the umpire was unmoved.

Muzarabani got Conway to miscue a pull, and then hit the ball in the air towards mid-off. But both chances landed safely. New Zealand were 19 for 1 after four overs, and had only hit one boundary until then, which showed Zimbabwe’s ability to put them under pressure. But a hat-trick of boundaries from Ravindra off Trevor Gwandu meant Zimbabwe could not keep them there.

While Ravindra settled in the powerplay, Conway’s stay at the crease was streaky. He top-edged Muzarabani for his first boundary, and Maposa for his second. Maposa almost dismissed Conway off another top edge when he rushed Conway into a pull, but the chance fell short of fine leg. Immediately after that, Conway was nearly down on his haunches, and appeared to be struggling with his health.

But later in the over, he sliced Maposa over backward point. Still, he was nearly run-out two overs later when Mitchell called him through for a quick single, and he was not in the frame when the throw came in at the striker’s end. It was only when Conway smashed Ngarava over the deep-midwicket boundary for six that he looked like he was in control. He went on to send Raza over long-on for a second six, and brought up his fifty off 34 balls. It was Conway’s highest score in six T20I innings dating back to last year’s T20 World Cup, and his second half-century in his last 15 T20I innings.

Brief scores:
New Zealand 122 for 2 in 13.5 overs (Devon Conway 59*, Rachin Ravindra 30, Daryl Mitchell 26*; Blessing Muzarabani 1-27, Tinotenda Maposa 1-17) beat Zimbabwe 120 for 7 in 20 overs (Wessley Madhevere 36, Brian Benett 21, Sikander Raza 12, Ryan Burl 12, Tony Munyonga 13; Matt Henry 3-26, Adam Milne 1-30, Mitchell Santner 1-18, Michael Bracewell 1-15, Rachin Ravindra 1-10) by eight wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Special Dengue Prevention Week declared in Colombo District from June 15 to 21

Published

2 hours ago

2026/06/13

Priyan

A decision has been taken to declare a Special Dengue Prevention Week from 15 to 21 of June by the Colombo District Dengue Control Committee to curb the spread of the disease in the Colombo District.

This decision was taken at the meeting of the Colombo District Dengue Control Committee held on Friday (12) at the Colombo District Secretariat under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.

Compared to last year, the number of dengue cases reported this year has increased significantly. According to the National Dengue Control Unit, approximately 39,100 dengue cases have been reported island wide to date, of which 25.8% have been recorded in the Colombo District. Following this situation, the Colombo District has been identified as a high-risk district.

Health authorities informed that the increasing spread of the disease has been influenced not only by the nature of circulating virus but also to the lack of sufficient immunity among the population. They further noted that the recent period of heavy rainfall has aggravated the spread of Dengue.

It was also identified that the current outbreak is being reported more frequently from public places such as government institutions, private establishments, schools, and religious venues rather than from residential premises. Observations have identified improperly managed solid waste and drainage systems in offices and other public locations as major breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Accordingly, during the Dengue Prevention Week from 15 to 21 June, a series of measures will be implemented, including, organising community clean-up campaigns in government and private institutions, schools, residential areas, and other public spaces; Conducting inspections of high-risk premises by Divisional Secretariats and taking legal action, where necessary, followed by awareness programmes; Distributing informational leaflets, displaying banners, and carrying out public awareness campaigns through the media. Health authorities also requested school administrations not to involve students below Grade 10 in school cleaning programmes and to immediately notify the relevant Medical Officer of Health (MOH) office if a student is diagnosed with dengue.

The programme is expected to receive the active support and participation of the district’s political leadership, religious leaders of all faiths, public officials, local government institutions, the tri-forces, the police, and the general public.

The event was attended by the Chairperson of the District Coordination Committee, Members of Parliament, representatives of local government authorities, government secretaries, police officers, and officials representing the education and health sectors, among others.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

Business

SpaceX IPO debuts in US markets, Musk becomes world’s first trillionaire

Published

2 hours ago

2026/06/13

Priyan

The Musk led company sold $75bn in shares before the market debut [Aljazeera]

SpaceX has debuted on US markets with a market valuation of more than $2 trillion, minting CEO Elon Musk as the world’s first trillionaire.

Shares opened on Friday at $150 per share, marking a 11 percent increase from the initial public offering (IPO) price of $135, valuing the company at $1.96 trillion and putting the aerospace company on track to become the sixth-largest company in the United States.

The stock surged 18 percent to $159 per share, up from the $135 it had been priced at, as the trading day came to a close.

Markets more broadly ticked higher amid a possible interim peace deal between the United States and Iran that could open the Strait of Hormuz. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.6 percent, the Nasdaq is up 0.2 percent, and the S&P 500 is up 0.35 percent as trading wraps up for the week.

The company sold $75bn in shares, immediately valuing it at $1.77 trillion. The IPO was oversubscribed four times higher than was otherwise expected, according to the Reuters news agency.

Of the institutional investors allocated, according to Bloomberg News, as much as 70 percent went to what are called long-only investments — a strategy in which holders buy assets based on the expectation that their value will grow over time — and sovereign wealth funds, including those from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as well.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen rang the opening bell at Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City at 9:30am local time as US markets opened.

On Thursday, protesters gathered outside the MarketSite to protest the IPO amid continued allegations that Grok, part of xAI, a subsidiary of SpaceX, allowed users to create non-consensual deepfake sexualised images before the IPO debut.

Shares of SpaceX did not trade until the middle of the trading day as the exchange collected buy and sell orders and underwriters delayed trading until supply and demand were balanced.

“We would expect SpaceX to see an immediate pop in trading due to the hype around the deal, north of 20 percent perhaps,” said Samuel Kerr, global head of equity capital markets at Mergermarket. “Anything lower would actually make me nervous.”

Exchanges and trading firms are eager to avoid the technical mishaps that marred Meta’s 2012 debut. With SpaceX widely viewed as a dress rehearsal for a new generation of mega-listings, market participants will also be watching for signals on investor appetite in advance of forthcoming IPOs for AI heavyweights Anthropic and OpenAI.

The landmark listing cemented Musk’s status as the first trillionaire ever and propelled SpaceX into the ranks of the world’s most valuable companies — even though the firm posted a loss of nearly $5bn last year and generated only a fraction of the revenue brought in by similarly valued tech giants.

The surge comes amid growth driven by its Starlink subsidiary, which drives as much as 80 percent of its revenue.

On Friday, SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket with 29 satellites into space from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

[Aljazeera]

Latest News

Co-hosts Canada begin 2026 World Cup campaign with a draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Published

2 hours ago

2026/06/13

Priyan

Canada's forward Cyle Larin scores the equalizer during the 2026 World Cup Group B football match between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Canada substitute Cyle Larin made an instant impact as his goal rescued a point for the co-hosts as they began their 2026 World Cup campaign with a draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Southampton striker Larin had only been on the pitch for just over two minutes when he superbly spun away from Tarik Muharemovic and fired past Nikola Vasilj, aided by a slight deflection.

It was the first time Canada had avoided defeat in the World Cup finals, after they had been beaten in all three games in 1986 and then again in 2022.

Bosnia, who gained penalty shootout wins in the qualifying play-offs over Wales and then Italy to secure their place in North America, took a 21st-minute lead in Toronto.

Jovo Lukic grabbed his first goal for his country when he headed in after ex-Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac had flicked on Ivan Basic’s corner.

Canada nearly equalised early in the second half as Richie Laryea’s shot was going in, only for Kolasinac to produce an excellent clearance by diverting the ball on to the crossbar and away.

The hosts pushed for a leveller and had another good opportunity, only for Nikola Katic to clear off the line from Tani Oluwaseyi’s goal-bound header.

But, in a thrilling end-to-end match, Canada got a deserved equaliser in the 78th minute for their first ever World Cup draw.

Canada are one of three host nations for the 2026 World Cup, along with Mexico and the United States, and were looking to record a win, just as Mexico did when they beat South Africa 2-0 in Thursday’s tournament opener.

The Toronto Stadium was packed, with the majority of the home fans wearing red shirts and those away supporters in blue, with both groups contributing to a superb atmosphere.

After Alanis Morissette had sung the Canadian national anthem, the fans were treated to an entertaining, open game.

Canada, managed by former Leeds boss Jesse Marsch, had seen Jonathan David, Oluwaseyi and Stephen Eustaquio all guilty of missing opportunities, with Bosnia looking to hold on to their one-goal advantage.

But Marsch’s attacking substitutions proved successful, with Larin’s goal coming 121 seconds after he was introduced.

Group B always looked like being one of the closest, and Canada will still fancy their chances of advancing with games against Qatar on 18 June and Switzerland on 24 June still to come.

[BBC]