Sports
Kamindu and Janith ride to Sri Lanka’s rescue
Sri Lanka clawed their way to a competitive 298 in the first ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare on Friday, thanks to a lower-order masterclass from Janith Liyanage (70 not out) and Kamindu Mendis (57). The pair staged a stirring late rally after the middle order had caved in under pressure adding 138 runs for the sixth wicket.
The visitors, still tinkering with their one-day formula, appear to have struck a promising balance by backing a seven-batsman strategy. With three of them able to roll their arm over, skipper Charith Asalanka suddenly had more strings to his bow when it came to juggling his bowling options.
At 161 for five, Sri Lanka looked on the ropes, staring at the ignominy of folding well short of their 50 overs. A modest 260 seemed the best they could hope for. Instead, Kamindu and Janith rewrote the script, taking calculated risks and counter-punching with authority to lift the total to a fighting 298 — a score that felt like manna from heaven.
The turnaround owed much to the hard yards put in during the off-season. Under English power-hitting guru Julian Wood, Sri Lanka’s batters have been drilled in clearing the ropes with conviction. Kamindu and Janith showcased that training to telling effect, repeatedly hitting straight and true down the ground.
Janith’s unbeaten 70 came off just 47 balls, laced with six fours and three towering sixes. Kamindu, dismissed off the final delivery, hammered 57 off 36 with four fours and two sixes. Their partnership transformed the mood, turning what could have been a damp squib into a competitive total.
Earlier, Zimbabwe’s new-ball pair Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava kept Sri Lanka’s openers muzzled. Nishan Madushka endured a torrid time, scratching around for 13 balls before perishing for a duck.
Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka steadied the ship with a century stand for the second wicket. Nissanka, all composure and timing, reached 76 off 92 balls before falling against the run of play. But just when the innings seemed to be ticking nicely, Sadeera Samarawickrama squandered his start and skipper Asalanka followed next ball — a double blow that left Sri Lanka wobbling.
That is when Janith and Kamindu strode out to play the firefighters’ role, dragging their side back from the brink. Their fearless strokeplay ensured Sri Lanka finished with a spring in their step.
The think-tank opted to bench young gun Pavan Rathnayake, preferring Sadeera in the XI. Whether that call holds for the second game on Sunday remains to be seen.
B Sai Sudarshan strengthened his case to retain the No.3 spot for the upcoming Test series in Sri Lanka, with his 168 for India A against Sri Lanka A in Galle. Sudharsan converted his overnight 104 not out into his career-best score for India A, helping his side stretch their lead to 175 by the end of the third day’s play. India A closed out the day on 541 for 8 in response to Sri Lanka A’s 366.
Devdutt Padikkal failed to add to his overnight 94 and Ruturaj Gaikwad retired hurt on 13, but India A zoomed ahead thanks to Sai Sudharsan, captain Dhruv Jurel (53), Shaik Rasheed (45) and Saransh Jain (68*).
Jurel’s innings was cut short when he was trapped lbw by left-arm spinner Dilum Sudeera, who also claimed the wicket of Sai Sudharsan. Allrounder Keshara Nuwantha, meanwhile, claimed the wickets of Padikkal and Shaik Rasheed, and Gurnoor Brar late in the day. Overall, he had figures of 4 for 158 in 50 overs.
Sri Lanka A toiled away, using as many as eight bowlers, but only Sudeera and Nuwantha were among the wickets until captain Sahan Arachchige struck late in the day.
India A’s bowling allrounders Saransh and Auqib Nabi (30) combined for an 81-run stand to take the visitors past 500.
Scores:
India A 541 for 8 in 142 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 168, Devdutt Padikkal 94, Druv Jurel 53, Saransh Jain 68*, Shaik Rasheed 45; Keshara Nuwantha 4-158, Dilum Sudeera 3-101) lead Sri Lanka A 366 in 110 overs (Sahan Arachchige 127; Gurnoor Brar 4-77, Saransh Jain 4-92) by 175 runs
(Cricinfo)
Vaobhav Sooriyavanshi at just 15 years and 99 days, has become the second youngest cricketer to play for a Full Member men’s team*, making his debut against England in Manchester. He enters a list of other precocious talents who had burst on to – and sometimes, gone away – from the international stage in their teenage years.
Hasan Raza (Pakistan), 14y 227d
Hasan Raza was a wonderful timer of the ball. He took the field against Zimbabwe before turning 15 in October 1996, and batted once, scoring 27 off 48 deliveries from No. 5.
Doubts, however, later emerged about his age, and the PCB withdrew the claim that Raza was the youngest men’s Test debutant in the history of the game.
Whether he was 14, or 15 as some claimed, he showed tenacity at the international stage but without the results. He played just one more Test before the turn of the century, and then was dropped from the side. A recall in 2002 resulted in his only two Test fifties, against Australia – slow knocks of 54* and 68. However, he never quite found the same success as he did in first-class cricket, where he scored 13,949 runs in a 20-year career.
Jhon Arias scored the only goal as Colombia beat Ghana 1-0 in sweltering conditions in Kansas City on Friday to reach the World Cup round of 16, continuing a quietly impressive campaign that has established them as dangerous outsiders.
Arias struck in the 14th minute, guiding home a cross from substitute Luis Suarez, and Colombia’s disciplined defence did the rest as Nestor Lorenzo’s side extended their unbeaten run and booked a meeting with Switzerland in the next round.
Colombia had largely flown under the radar at the tournament, despite going undefeated against Portugal, Uzbekistan and DR Congo to top Group K.
Their breakthrough on Friday came from two players who had not been expected to combine, as Suarez, thrust into action after Jhon Cordoba was forced off with an apparent groin injury in the eighth minute, delivered a pinpoint cross to the back post where Arias had somehow drifted unmarked.
With time and space to pick his spot, Arias calmly guided the ball into the bottom corner to hand his side a deserved lead.
The stadium felt more like Barranquilla than Kansas City as tens of thousands of Colombia supporters turned the clash with Ghana – a team ranked 60 places behind them – into a de facto home game, giving the South Americans a level of support rarely seen so far from home.
The stands were a writhing, dancing sea of yellow jerseys, twirling scarves and black-and-white sombrero vueltiao hats, that many used to fan their faces in the oppressive 30-degree Celsius (86-degree Fahrenheit) heat.
They bounced in unison, roared their team forward with every attack, and regularly broke into chants of “Vamos Colombia! Esta noche tenemos que ganar!” (Spanish for ‘Let’s go Colombia, tonight we have to win!’).
They need not have worried. Colombia were the better team by some distance.
Luis Diaz had numerous scoring chances. He fired into the side netting in the first half, then celebrated what he thought was the game’s second goal early in the second half when he slotted home Arias’s cross, but it was disallowed for offside.
Lorenzo’s men continued to push for a second goal, and Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi, who was excellent all night, made one terrific save after another in the dying minutes as Colombia’s fans cheered every one of their team’s touches of the ball.
Antoine Semenyo was Ghana’s biggest attacking threat, yet Colombia’s disciplined defence denied him a clear sight of goal.
Colombia became the fourth South American team to reach the last 16, joining surprise package Paraguay, who stunned Germany, along with Brazil and Argentina, both of whom survived scares of their own.
Colombia – whose best finish was reaching the quarterfinals in 2014 – play the Swiss on Tuesday in Vancouver.
[Aljazeera]
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