Sports
Phil Salt sets up big win for Dambulla Giants
Phil Salt hammered 64 in 27 balls and Nuwan Pradeep and Ramesh Mendis picked up three wickets each as Dambulla Giants beat Kandy Warriors by 20 runs in the second match of the Lanka Premier League played at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday.
In reply to Giants’ 190 runs, Warriors could post only 170 as Padeep and Mendis shared six wickets between them.
Phil Salt was the Player of the Match for his 64 which was inclusive of four fours and five sixes. “I’m just going out there trying to play positive cricket,” he said. “I know from playing out here a few times that the new ball doesn’t stay new for very long, and you’ve got to make the best of it.”
Salt and Niroshan Dickwella gave a superb start to the tournament for Giants as they put on 97 runs together in the first 7.4 overs. From that point on, it was always going to be tough for Warriors. Dickwella scored 37 runs inclusive of six fours. Skipper Dasun Shanaka chipped in with 24 runs while Ramesh Mendis hit an unbeaten 22 runs in 11 balls.
Warriors did fight with the bat thanks largely to Rovman Powell’s 42 off 21, but the best they could do was get close enough so their net run rate wasn’t too badly damaged.
Scores:
Dambulla Giants 190 for 7 in 20 overs
(Niroshan Dickwella 37, Phil Salt 64, Dasun Shanaka 24, Ramesh Mendis 22n.o.; Lahiru Kumara 3/34, Al-Amin Hossain 2/36)
Kandy Warriors 170 for 8 in 20 overs
(Angelo Perera 24, Rovman Powell 42, Sachindu Colombage 27; Nuwan Pradeep 3/31, Ramesh Mendis 3/21)
Mikel Merino scored in the 88th minute from a rebound yielded by backup Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens, and Spain advanced to the World Cup semifinals with a 2-1 victory.
Merino was the late hero for the second straight match for Spain, who advanced to face tournament favourite France in the semifinals on Tuesday in Dallas.
Merino came on in the 86th minute and scored from his second touch of the match, charging into the box and pouncing after Lammens spilled a Pau Cubarsi shot from outside the area.
The Arsenal forward also scored as a substitute early in injury time to secure Spain’s 1-0 victory over Portugal in the last-16.
Lammens, the Manchester United keeper, was forced into the match in the 71st minute after longtime Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois left with an apparent thigh injury.
Belgium desperately pressed for an equaliser in the final minutes, but Aymeric Laporte volleyed their best chance out of the box.
Fabian Ruiz scored the opening goal in the 30th minute for Spain after Courtois had parried a shot from Dani Olmo from Pedro Porro’s cut-back from the right of the area, but Belgium forward Charles De Ketelaere scored the first goal allowed by Spain in the entire World Cup in the 41st minute.
His header from Timothy Castagne’s cross from the right ended a record streak of 649 minutes without conceding at the World Cup.
The annual rugby encounter between Dharmaraja College and Kingswood College, played for the William Weerasinghe Memorial Trophy, is set to take place today (July 11, 2026), at 4:00 PM at the Bogambara Stadium, Kandy.
The official unveiling of the trophy took place this week at the Dharmaraja College premises with the participation of the Principals of the two schools, teachers-in-charge of sports, coaches, the Rugby teams, and several distinguished guests, including Dharmaraja College Old Boys’ Association President Mahesh Wijetunga, Kingswood College Old Boys’ Association President Muditha Abeykoon,
Text and Pic by SK Samaranayake
The annual rugby encounter between Dharmaraja College and Kingswood College, played for the William Weerasinghe Memorial Trophy, is set to take place tomorrow (July 11, 2026), at 4:00 PM at the Bogambara Stadium, Kandy.
The official unveiling of the trophy took place this week at the Dharmaraja College premises with the participation of the Principals of the two schools, teachers-in-charge of sports, coaches, the Rugby teams, and several distinguished guests, including Dharmaraja College Old Boys’ Association President Mahesh Wijetunga, Kingswood College Old Boys’ Association President Muditha Abeykoon,
by S K SAMARANAYAKE
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