Sports
Marvan’s blitz- Durban 2003
by Aravinthan Arunthavanathan
In a world full of glitz, glamour and grandeur more often than not the old schoolers often go unnoticed. Sri Lankan cricket has been blessed with many who have embodied the former and a few who have lived by the style of latter. Marvan Atapattu is the torch bearer for the old school traditionalist. Having opened with the flamboyant Sanath Jayasuriya for most of his career it is no surprise Marvan’s deeds have unfortunately being overlooked.
Recently a famous sports page in Sri Lanka ran a poll figuring out the best knock ever by a Sri Lankan in ODI cricket. A knock which glaringly failed to grab the limelight was Marvan Atapattu’s 124 vs South Africa in Durban during the 2003 World Cup. The knock in writer’s viewpoint shall rank amongst one of the top knocks by a Lankan for a plethora of reasons.
Sri Lanka going into the 2003 world cup were rank outsiders given a torrid run up to the tournament getting hammered in South Africa and Australia winning only three out of thirteen games. However as always Sri Lanka pulled their socks on the world stage gaining momentum in the tournament. Having beaten the Kiwis in the curtain raiser followed by bashing of minnows Sri Lanka were well on their way to the super eights. However an ambush by the Kenyans in Nairobi meant Sri Lanka were back to suqare one. A win against the Windies in Newlands set the campaign back on track. However ahead of the final group game against the home nation South Africa the complexities of qualification led to chaos. All of a sudden Sri Lanka risked elimination if handed a hammering. The skipper Jayasuriya and the management had expressed dissatisfaction at the ambiguity surrounding qualification. Nevertheless it was a situation where stakes were high.
Durban definitely had to be one of the last places Sri Lanka would have preferred to play a crunch game. It was a wicket which was green and hand bounce and sideways movement which exaggerated towards the evening session. It was a track where technique would prevail over flamboyance. This meant Sri lanka’s natural instincts had to be curbed. Given the hammering received in the run up a big loss was not an improbability.
Taking first lease of the wicket Marvan uncharacteristically raised the tempo early on the innings playing fabulous straight drives and a confluence of cover drives off proteas skipper Shaun Pollock helping Sri Lanka grab the momentum early in a crunch game. However faced with the early loss of Sanath Jayasuriya, Atapptu had to pull back to add stability to the innings.
However with Hashan and an out of form Mahela at the other end Marvan relaized he did not have the luxury of playing sedately, instead Marvan targeted the rookie Monde Zondeki cracking him through the covers and points for boundaries and stepped up the gaps against Andre Hall and Kallis who were the weak links in an attack led by Pollock and Ntini. Marvan’s time aggression led him reach his half century while the team score was around ninety showcasing the dominance he had displayed in the innings.
With Mahela too back in the hut Marvan was joined by Aravinda in whose company Marvan continued his domination. Marvan stepped repeatedly down the wicket to Lance Klusner’s cutters needling the off side field along the ground and through the aerial route a rarely seen feature in Atapattu’s standard approach. Keeping up the momentum Marvan would reach a marvelous century with a exquisite coverdrive with the Lankan score on 183.
Having reached his century before the 40th over, Marvan set foot on the accelerator boosting Sri Lanka’s score with effortless ease. Finally when he held out in the 45th over in the deep it was safe to say he had put Sri Lanka beyond the risk of elimination setting the platform for a 250 plus score.
The game would be filled with drama later on with rain and miscalculations of South Africa’s part but it was no reason to take the glee off one of the finest ODI knocks played by a Sri Lankan on the biggest of stages with high stakes. It’s a knock which is not recollected mainly because it did not rely on pyrotechnics and power but subtle touch and grace.
It is often said that when the going gets tough the tough gets going and Marvan certainly did that with aplomb in this instance and later on against Zimbabwe in the super six stage ensuring Sri Lanka’s qualification to the Semi Finals which was a surprise given the performance in the lead up to the tournament
Successful teams are built upon match winners. However for those glamorous match winners to do what they do best it’s the characters like Marvan who have to play the second fiddle when the going is good and step up when faced with storms. Marvan has played many similar knocks but this would definitely be a stand out.
Pakistan will play Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup semi-final on Friday after they secured a thumping win over Hong Kong in the final Group A contest. They finished second in their group with a 72-run win set up by a record-breaking spell of 6 for 7 from Nashra Sandhu and a resolute 35-ball 47 from Shawaal Zulfiqar.
Pakistan scored 143 for 8 after electing to bat first for the third time in as many matches, with Ayessha Zafar and captain Fatima Sana making valuable contributions of 26 off 19 and run-a-ball 24, respectively, before an excellent display of bowling saw Hong Kong fold for 71 in 19 overs.
Zulfiqar lives up to expectations
Zulfiqar made a thumping comeback to the T20I side last month in Sri Lanka and it made Pakistan persist with her at the top of the order despite the return of experienced Gull Feroza, who slid down to one-down. She could not build on a start against India with the wickets tumbling from the other end and the pressure mounting. But the right-hander fought through on Monday, despite the dismissals of experienced batters around her in Muneeba Ali (6 off 7) and Feroza (3 off 4).
Despite batting on a challenging surface that played slow and gripped, Zulfiqar timed the ball well as she struck six boundaries. She hit a few sparkling cover drives and stitched a sparkling partnership of 47 off 34 with Zafar before the latter fell in the 10th over. No Pakistan batter, barring Zafar and Fatima, was able to emulate the 21-year-old in an innings which saw only four batters post in the double digits.
Zulfqar was eventually outsmarted b Joyleen Kaur as she smashed a flighted ball outside off right back to the bowler to be caught and bowled in the 12th over. Pakistan seemed well in control until she was at the crease, but could add only 51 runs in 8.4 overs after her dismissal.
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Pakistan Women 143 for 8 in 20 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 47, Ayesha Zafar 26; Fatima Sana 14; Iqra Sathar 2-27, Kary Chan 2-33, Joyleen Kaur 4-19) beat Hong Kong Women 71/10 in 19 overs (Yasmin Daswai 13, Kary Chan 30, Joyleen Kaur 10; Fatima Sana 1-07, Sadia Iqbal 1-08, Um e Sabi1 1-21 Nashra Sandhu 6-07, ) by 72 runs
The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Udaygiri arrived at the Port of Colombo on an official visit today, 8 September 2026, where it was received by the Sri Lanka Navy in accordance with time-
honoured naval traditions.
INS Udaygiri is a 149.02m long Frigate, Commanded by Captain Vikas Sood. Meanwhile, the Commanding Officer of the visiting ship is scheduled to call on Commander Western Naval
Area, Rear Admiral Harsha De Silva at the Western Naval Command Headquarters.
Captain Sood served as the Defence Adviser at the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka from July 2020 to October 2023.
During their stay in the island, the crew of INS Udaygiri will participate in several goodwill events organized by the Sri Lanka Navy to enhance camaraderie between the two forces.
The visiting personnel are also scheduled to visit prominent tourist and cultural locations across the island.
Additionally, Sri Lanka Navy personnel are expected to visit the ship for capability observation and knowledge sharing, and will conduct onboard training during its stay.
Sri Lanka’s women continue to provide compelling evidence that they could be genuine contenders for the next World Cup, while their male counterparts have, in recent years, largely been making up the numbers at global events.
The defending Asia Cup champions, who stunned formidable India in Dambulla two years ago to lift the title, marched into this year’s semi-finals with an unbeaten record.
Sri Lanka topped their group with three wins from three games and importantly, will avoid India in the semi-finals. Their opponents in Friday’s knockout clash will be either Pakistan or Thailand.
For years, Sri Lanka have leaned heavily on their talismanic captain Chamari Athapaththu, one of the greats of the women’s game. More recently, however, others have begun putting their hands up when the skipper has fallen cheaply. That growing depth has also given Chamari greater freedom to play her natural, attacking game.
Last week, Nilakshika de Silva produced a rescue act against Indonesia. On Sunday, after the captain fell to only her second ball, it was the turn of vice-captain Harshitha Samarawickrama to take charge and steer Sri Lanka home through choppy waters.
Chasing 115 to win their final group game against Bangladesh at Dubai Sports City, Sri Lanka were quickly in trouble as seamer Marufa Akter sent both openers packing cheaply. With wickets continuing to tumble at the other end, Harshitha kept her head while others were losing theirs.
At 44 for five, with half the side back in the pavilion, Sri Lanka were staring down the barrel. Harshitha and Nilakshika then began the repair job, adding 38 for the sixth wicket to drag the innings back from the brink.
Marufa has been an outstanding find for Bangladesh and they rely heavily on her for breakthroughs. With one over remaining in her quota, she was summoned back to break the partnership and did precisely that, removing a well set Nilakshika as she attempted to improvise.
There was, however, no stopping Harshitha.
She found a reliable ally in wicketkeeper Kaushini Nuthyangana and the pair calmly took Sri Lanka across the line with an unbroken 33 run stand for the seventh wicket. Harshitha finished unbeaten on 38 off 47 balls, striking four fours and two sixes.
Sri Lanka got home with four balls to spare, maintaining their perfect record in the competition. Yet beneath the celebrations there will be a nagging concern: the batting has collapsed too often, leaving one or two players with far too much heavy lifting to do. That is something they will need to address before the stakes rise further.
Sri Lanka will play the second semi-final on Friday, with the final scheduled for Sunday.
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