Spinners Kushal Bhurtel and Lalit Rajbanshi shared seven wickets between them to give Nepal a winning start to their cricket campaign in the Asian Games, in Nishin. They restricted Afghanistan to 102 for 7 in 20 overs, after which Nepal chased the target with five wickets and 16 balls to spare.

This was Afghanistan’s first defeat in the competition after they had also started with a win against Japan on Thursday.

After opting to bat, Afghanistan were reduced to 16 for 3 in the fifth over, with left-arm fingerspinner Rajbanshi accounting for all three wickets in his three overs in the powerplay. Faisal Ahmadzai, who was making his T20I debut for Afghanistan, scored 30 off 33 balls and Najibullah Zadran chalked up an identical score to help their team recover briefly.

Bhurtel, the legspinner, though ran through the middle order, bagging figures of 4 for 21 in his four overs. Apart from Najibullah and Ahmadzai, no other Afghanistan batter passed 20.

Bhurtel then fell for a duck in the first over of Nepal’s chase and by the seventh over, they were wobbling at 31 for 3. Sundeep Jora (34) and former captain Rohit Paudel (33 not out) then stabilised the chase and put Nepal back on the path to victory. Paul remained unbeaten, along with Gulsan Jha, to get the job done for Nepal in the 18th over.

Scores:  Nepal 103 for 5 in 17.2 overs  (Sundeep Jora 34, Rohit Paudel 33*, Dipendra Singh Airee 15; Fairdoon  Dawoodzai 1-10, Abdollah Ahmadzai 1-15, Arab Gull 1-13) beat Afghanistan 102 for 7  in 20 overs (Faisal Khan Ahmadzai 30, Najibullah  Zadran 30,  Nangeyahlia Khan 17*; Kushal Bhurtel 4-21, Lalit Rajbanshi 3-13) by five wickets

[Cricinfo]

The St. Lawrence’s Convent Past Pupils Association will bring together former students from several leading schools for a day of cricket and camaraderie when the ‘Clash of the Sisters ’26’ takes place at the Wesley College Grounds, Campbell Park, on Sunday, October 4.

The tournament will feature a series of fast-paced 10-over softball cricket matches, with past pupils renewing old friendships while representing their respective schools in a spirit of friendly rivalry.

The women’s competition will feature teams representing St. Lawrence’s Convent, St. Bridget’s Convent, Holy Family Convent, St. Anne’s BMV Wattala, Ave Maria Convent Negombo, Ladies’ College, Musaeus College and Methodist College.

A men’s invitational exhibition match will also be staged, with the Old Wesleyites Sports Club taking on the S. Thomas’ College OBA.

Organisers are also planning a carnival atmosphere away from the cricket, with food stalls, games, entertainment and other activities lined up for alumni, families and visitors.

The event is being organised by the St. Lawrence’s Convent Past Pupils Association 2026/27 with the aim of bringing together different alumni communities and strengthening ties between past pupils through sport.

With eight schools involved in the women’s competition and an exhibition fixture adding further interest, organisers expect the event to provide a lively mix of cricket, fellowship and school spirit.

by Rex Clementine

Former Sri Lanka captain Ranjan Madugalle urged the next generation of cricketers to wear the national colours with passion and pride, reminding youngsters that there is no greater honour in the game than representing their country.

The ICC’s Chief Match Referee was speaking at a ceremony at the P. Sara Oval where Tamil Union’s players and coaching staff were felicitated following their triumph in the domestic T-20 competition a fortnight ago.

“I hear that four players from this team will be travelling to Japan tomorrow to represent Sri Lanka at the Asian Games. That’s a very good achievement for any club and I urge you to play with passion and be committed. There is no bigger honour than representing your country,” Madugalle said.

Madugalle, who charmed cricket lovers with his elegant stroke play during his playing days, held the gathering spellbound with an eloquent address that also took him on a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

“I have many fond memories of P. Sara Oval. I walked into this ground as an 11-year-old to watch the Royal-Thomian. I played our inaugural Test here, but above all, my most memorable moment at this ground was when we won our maiden Test against India in 1985.”

The P. Sara Oval occupies a special place in Sri Lankan cricket history. It hosted the country’s inaugural Test against England in 1982 and, three years later, the island’s maiden Test victory when Sri Lanka stunned India.

Madugalle also paid tribute to several Tamil Union stalwarts who had played an influential role in his cricketing journey.

“This club has several stalwarts of the game and there are three people I looked up to. One was Sathi Coomaraswamy, who invited me into the dressing room when I was a kid and ignited the passion in me for the game. Then, of course, there are other gentlemen like Chandra Schaffter and T. Murugaser, who were managers when I was representing the Sri Lankan team.”

Madugalle, a former Head Prefect of Royal College, received a prolonged ovation at the conclusion of his address. Also present was another former Royal Head Prefect, Eran Wickramaratne, who represented Tamil Union in First Class cricket and currently heads Sri Lanka Cricket.

Tamil Union’s championship winning players and coaching staff were felicitated during the ceremony, while club patron Chandra Schaffter made a personal donation of Rs. 1.5 million to the players.

SLC officials, Tamil Union members and several former presidents of the club, including S. Skandakumar, Dinal Philips, A.R. Rasiah, Selva Perumal, Kandos Kandasamy and N. Vasanthakumar, were among those present.

Tamil Union enjoyed a remarkable run in this season’s T-20 competition, winning nine matches on the trot before overcoming SSC in the final. The side was captained by wicketkeeper batter Minod Bhanuka.

The club had further reason to celebrate with four of its playersl Tharindu Rathnayake, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Binura Fernando and Sineth Jayawardene selected to represent Sri Lanka at the Asian Games in Japan.