Sports
Jaffna Kings Win Back-to-Back LPL Titles
It was a repeat performance of last year’s final as Jaffna Kings, skippered by the hard-hitting Thisara Perera, beat the Galle Gladiators in an exciting final where the Gladiators, who chased after a mammoth total of 202, fell short at 178/9 at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota.
Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, Dialog Axiata PLC, was the Telecommunication Partner for the 2021 edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL). Five franchise teams, Colombo Stars, Dambulla Giants, Galle Gladiators, Jaffna Kings, and Kandy Warriors battled it out across 24 leagues and knockout matches in the 2021 tourney which commenced on 05th December.
“The high quality of cricket we have seen played at the LPL is testimony to the new talent that is in abundance in Sri Lanka that without a tourney such as this would have been almost impossible to discover,” Hon. Namal Rajapaksa MP, Minister of Youth and Sports said. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Anil Mohan, the Founder CEO of the IPG Group for organizing this magnificent tourney, the franchise owners, all the sponsors, and the public for all the support they have rendered towards making the LPL a resounding success,” Minister Rajapaksa further said.
“The 2021 edition of the LPL will lay as a platform for SLC selectors to identify select and nurture new talent that will with time progress on to the national pool and represent their motherland at the international stage and also provide the much-needed experience of playing against world-class cricketers from Sri Lanka and the rest of the world. The LPL in its second season has proven that Sri Lanka has the talent to play with and against the best players in the world,” Shammi Silva, President – SLC said.
Speaking at the awards ceremony of the grand finale, Anil Mohan, Founder, and CEO of the IPG Group said, “On behalf of the IPG Group, I would like to thank the Sports Minister, Namal Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka Cricket, Shammi Silva, all our sponsors, players, match officials and most importantly the cricket-loving people of Sri Lanka who came out wholeheartedly to support the second season of the Lanka Premier League. With the support of all our stakeholders, we have been able to deliver an outstanding season of LPL. Our aim is to make this league a perfect launchpad for young cricketers from Sri Lanka and the world and make this game bigger, better, and stronger.”
“As a corporate that supports Sri Lanka sports and an avid supporter for the development of cricket in Sri Lanka, Dialog Axiata is pleased to have stepped forward as the Telecommunication Partner of the 2021 edition of the Lanka Premier League,” Harsha Samaranayake, Senior General Manager – Brand and Media, Dialog Axiata PLC said. “Cricket is a game that cuts through all boundaries in Sri Lanka and the wonderful audience that has come to witness the grand finale here today is testament to that.”
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IPL 2025: Chennai Super Kings suffer fifth loss on the trot as Kolkata Knight Riders register monster win
So that’s what happens when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) get the kind of pitch their spinners like. Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Moeen Ali (12-1-55-6) went into Chepauk and burgled wickets away from the five-time IPL champions until they were a pale, weak shadow of themselves. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) crumbled to 103 for 9, their lowest IPL total at home, suffered a fifth successive defeat, which had never happened before in their entire history, and are marooned in ninth place on the points table. Welcome back to captaincy, MS Dhoni.
The major characteristic of a black-soil pitch is that it is slow and it grips. It felt like home, which is ironic because home hasn’t felt like home for them this season. KKR would prefer to play most of their matches in conditions like this but their efforts to procure them at the Eden Gardens hasn’t gone well. Ajinkya Rahane doesn’t even want to talk about it now. He did, however, spearhead a phenomenal bowling performance. He brought Moeen into the XI and set him loose on CSK’s two left-hand openers. Devon Conway couldn’t overcome the handicap. The KKR offspinner pocketed a wicket maiden. In the next over, Rachin Ravindra was gone. CSK were bleeding by the end of the powerplay, their 31 for 2 only slightly better than the season low of 30 for 3 that they themselves had set, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Exposing this CSK team’s middle order is the only thing their oppositions need to do to win against them. Rahul Tripathi was brought in as Ruturaj Gaikwad’s replacement but he couldn’t figure out whether he wanted to hit out or play through and that indecision was reflected in his final score – 16 off 22. Vijay Shankar could have been dismissed for a duck, or for 20, had KKR held onto their catches. Even with those two lives he couldn’t push on to make a big score. Shivam Dube walked out with CSK at 59 for 3. He had faced only 13 balls and that was still enough time for the score to slip to 75 for 8, at which point his team was in danger of recording their lowest total in IPL history.
For the 16th time in his IPL career, Narine bowled his four overs without conceding a boundary. No one, having got through their full quota, has done it more times. He also knocked off Tripathi, who didn’t know which way the ball would turn, and Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni, who didn’t know which way the ball would spin. There was some doubt over the Dhonii lbw, though. UltraEdge showed what looked like faint murmurs as the ball passed the bat.
CSK were being smothered. They had to wait 63 balls between boundaries – only two teams have ever been that emphatically silenced in this tournament – and hit just three after the eighth over (one of them off a top edge). They had to bring in Deepak Hooda as Impact Player, accepting the risk of going in with a bowler short when they would have to defend this total. But even that gamble backfired. Hooda fell for a duck and one of their key players, Matheesha Pathirana, could not take part in the game.
Defending 103 is a thankless job because bowlers tend to go hard searching for wickets and in that process they leak runs. After under-performing in their batting powerplay, CSK underwhelmed with their bowling powerplay. KKR ransacked 71 runs in the first six overs. This game was no contest.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 107 for 2 in 10.1 overs (Sunil Narine 44, Quinton de Kock 23, Ajinkaya Rahane 20*, Rinku Singh 15*; Anshul Kamboj 1-19, Noor Ahmad 1-08) beat Chennai Super Kings 103 for 9 in 20 overs (Devon Conway 12, Rahul Tripathi 16, Vijay Shankar 29, Shivam Dube 31; Sunil Narine 3-13, Varun Chakravarthy 2-22, Harshit Rana 2-16, Moeen Ali 1-20, Vaibhav Arora 1-31) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
Egypt forward Mohamed Salah has signed a new two-year contract with Liverpool.
The 32-year-old’s previous deal was scheduled to run out in the summer and there had been doubts he would stay with the Reds following comments from him during the season and speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
However, he is staying and will have the chance to add to his 243 goals and 109 assists for the club in 393 appearances.
“Of course I’m very excited – we have a great team now,” said Salah.
“Before also we had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football.
“I have played eight years here, hopefully it’s going to be 10. I’m enjoying my life here, enjoying my football. I have had the best years of my career here.”
Salah has scored 32 goals in all competitions this season, including 27 in the Premier League as the Reds chase a 20th top-flight title. Liverpool are 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal with seven games remaining.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from Roma in 2017, has won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Fifa Club World Cup with the Reds.
He was one of three key Liverpool players who will be out of contract this summer, along with right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
Netherlands defender Van Dijk has said there has been progress on talks over a new deal but Alexander-Arnold has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.
[BBC]
IPL 2025: Chennai Super Kings suffer fifth loss on the trot as Kolkata Knight Riders register monster win
Sun directly overhead Adiyakulam, Veppankulam, Padawiya and Kuchchaveli at about 12:11 noon today [12]
Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Central, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Western and Uva provinces and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts during the afternoon or night.
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