Sports
Sri Lanka take on England with an eye on World T-20
Avishka Fernando returns to the side after being axed in January.
One of the joys of covering the Sri Lankan cricket team in the UK is that you get to go to all the small cricket centers of the country such as Cardiff, Bristol, Chester-Le-Street, Taunton and Canterbury while big boys like India and Australia frequent Lord’s, Trent Bridge, Old Trafford and Headingley. The Sri Lankans are in the Welsh capital of Cardiff where today’s first T-20 International will be played.
A two hour train ride from London and a ten minute walk from the train station to the ground passing Wales’ gigantic rugby stadium and the 12th century Cardiff Castle, the city is a mixture of modern marvels and ancient monuments.
The Sri Lankans don’t have much fond memories here though. It was here Thisara Perera put down a sitter off Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed to be kicked out of the Champions Trophy in 2017. Pakistan went onto win the title beating arch-rivals India and Sarfraz rubbed salt into Sri Lankan wounds by conceding that he would remember that drop catch for the rest of his life and Thisara would remember for the rest of his life.
It was also here that Sri Lanka were blown away just over a session for 82 runs in 2011, their lowest total ever against England.
The thing with Cardiff is that it always moves around and you are never settled. You can be 200 for one at one moment and 20 minutes later 225 all out.
This is a T-20 though so the batters will throw caution to wind.
If you ask the Sri Lankans, they will tell you that they want to win the series desperately. But to be honest, they have bigger things to worry about. Already forced to play the qualifying tournament of this year’s T-20 World Cup, the Sri Lankans will be getting their unit right for that challenge. A series win will be the last thing on their minds.
Avishka Fernando returns to the side after being axed in January having failed multiple fitness tests. He was overlooked for back to back international assignments and that forced him to get his act together. He is expected to open the innings with Danushka Gunathilaka with Kusal Perera slotted to bat at number three followed by Kusal Mendis.
There will be lot of focus on Dushmantha Chameera as well who with his raw pace has impressed many in recent months.
England have recalled all-rounder Chris Woakes and left-arm quick David Willey.
The first two T-20 Internationals will be played in Cardiff followed by the third game in Southampton.
Sri Lanka
(Probable XI): Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera (Captain), Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Isuru Udana, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep, Lakshan Sandakan or Akila Dananjaya.
England
(From) : Eoin Morgan (Captain), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.
Kolkata Knight Riders picked up their fourth win on the trot, their spin bowlers (12-0-76-3) capturing Delhi Capitals in a vice-like grip and never letting go Finn Allen made sure that wouldn’t repeat in the second innings. He pulverised DC’s spinners (9-0-102-1) to score his first IPL century even though he only had 143 to chase.
Pathum Nissanka scored a good half-century. He made 50 of DC’s first 85 runs at a strike rate of 172. The other end could only contribute 33 at a strike rate of 103. It was symbolic of how hard it was for a new batter to settle in and how much pressure comes on the set batter on a pitch like this. Even though he was going at a good clip, and had hit the previous ball for four, he still left his crease looking for more and was stumped off Anukul Roy. The left-arm spinner took another wicket, four balls later.
DC were 74 for 2 after eight overs. But only four of those overs were from spin bowlers and three of them were inside the powerplay. Given the comfort of five fielders on the boundary, and a pitch that was slow and turning, Roy, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy started to dictate proceedings. At one point, DC scored just 11 runs in 30 balls. This was between overs 12 to 16. No IPL team in nearly two decades has ever been this sluggish in this period of play.
Roy set this choke up, stumping Nissanka out with a slower and wider delivery and bowling Tristan Stubbs out with the exact opposite of that. That was solid range for a bowler with no mystery about him.
With DC at 89 for 5, Axar Patel in wretched form (his 44 runs, with only three boundaries, are the fewest by any batter this season having faced at least 50 balls) and the conditions not helping run-scoring, all Narine and Varun had to do was what they do so well. Amp up the mystery. Aim at the stumps. Narine finished with 4-0-17-1. Varun, badly limping when he bowled his final over which cost 16 runs, finished with 4-0-28-0.
Ashutosh Sharma broke a boundary drought that last 38 balls in the 17th over. He reverse swept Vaibhav Arora, coming around the wicket, for six in the 19th over. His cameo – 39 off 28 balls – carried KKR to 142 for 8.
For the first time in his IPL career, Allen played through the powerplay. This was his eighth innings. He might have felt bad for running out his captain Ajinkya Rahane when his straight drive flicked Mitchell Starc’s outstretched finger and deflected onto the stumps but he quickly got over it. DC played a part in that a well with Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam bowling balls right in the slot. Allen is superb down the ground and needed no second invitation. From 20 off 17, he launched 10 sixes, the last of them when KKR needed two to win and he needed six to bring up 100.
Allen had a strike rate of 235 against spin (73 off 31). The next best, from both teams, was Rahane with 167, benefiting from playing just three balls and scoring five runs.
In a match where his former team’s spinners held so much sway (economy rate 6.33), Kuldeep suffered, going at 13.66 an over even though he was spared the trouble of bowling in the powerplay. Axar bowled three with the field up and still finished with figures of 4-0-27-1.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 147 for 2 in 14.2 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 13, Finn Allen 100*, Cameron Green 33*; Axar Patel 1-27 ) beat Delhi Capitals 142 for 8 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 50, KL Rahul 23, Axar Patel 11, Ashutosh Sharma 39; Kartik Tyagi 2-25, Anukul Roy 2-31, Vaibhav Arora 1–29, Sunil Narine 1-17, Cameron Green 1-12) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
Fourteen-year-old opener Miyuru Bandara produced a remarkable batting performance to guide DS Senanayake College to a commanding position on the opening day of their annual Big Match against arch rivals Mahanama College at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Friday.
Electing to bat first in a weather-interrupted day one, D. S. Senanayake ended on 195 for four wickets, largely due to the vauable century by their Under-15 opening batsman Bandara.
Displaying maturity beyond his age, Bandara anchored the innings while building two crucial partnerships at the top of the order. He first added 67 runs for the opening wicket with Sithru Gunarathna before combining in a 51-run stand for the second wicket with Bihan Gamage.
The young opener occupied the crease for more than 55 overs and frustrated the Mahanama bowling attack with a patient yet authoritative knock. His innings finally came to an end when he became the first wicket claimed by Chamika Heenatigala, who finished the day with two wickets.
Bandara’s memorable innings included 13 boundaries and a six as he faced 156 deliveries, placing DS Senanayake firmly in control at the close of play on the rain-affected first day.
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