Sports

Limp batting show costs South Africa the series

Published

3 years ago

2022/12/30

South Africa began this Test series with all the bravado and promise of a side that comes from having won on each of their last three visits to Australia. They conceded their proud streak on the sixth day of cricket on this 2022-23 tour after another limp display of batting succumbed them to a defeat by an innings and 182 runs in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

At the end of another forgettable day in the series, South Africa’s predicament was perfectly encapsulated by two run-outs on a perfectly good batting surface against an opponent who were one-and-a-half bowlers down, a reflection of the muddle that Dean Elgar has to lift his team out of. For Australia, who are all but assured of playing the Test Championship final after missing out last time due to their overrate transgression at this very venue, this series win sets them perfectly for the India challenge that starts in Nagpur in 40 days’ time.

South Africa began the fourth day 371 runs away from making Australia bat again and while that always seemed like a mountain too steep to climb, the conditions – clear skies and a blameless surface – were in their favour to stretch the fight. South Africa’s overnight batters, Theunis de Bruyn and Sarel Erwee, even made a steady start against Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc even if scoring opportunities were scarce. It took until the sixth over of the day’s play for Australia to create a half chance. Starc drew an edge from de Bruyn but the edge fell well short of Steve Smith in the slips.

While Cummins was at his parsimonious best, it was Starc that seemed most likely to give the hosts their first breakthrough of the morning. And so it proved when the left-armer swung a full ball into the boots of Erwee and cleverly called for a review even when the on-field umpire deemed that the ball may have hit the bat first. Hot Spot proved that the ball had indeed clipped the batter’s toe before striking the bat and ruled Erwee out LBW.

Scott Boland then produced a near-unplayable ball that climbed onto de Bruyn and flew to second slip off the batter’s edge. Smith’s 150th catch was special in that he was blind-sighted by Marnus Labuschagne diving across him. South Africa then slipped further when Bavuma called Khaya Zondo over for a non-existent single only for the latter to be run-out by an under-armed direct-hit by Travis Head.

At 65 for 4, South Africa seemed headed to a collapse that has become ever so familiar on this tour but Bavuma and Vereyyne combined to offer some resistance through a counter-attack that saw them complete a half-century stand in just 70 balls. The two batters didn’t shy away from playing their shots, whether it was sweeping Nathan Lyon or going up and over against the quick bowlers.

But once Boland ended the 63-run stand straight after Lunch by nipping a delivery back into Verreynne’s pads, things unravelled rather quickly for the visitors. Marco Jansen was out LBW to a Nathan Lyon delivery that straightened after pitching before Keshav Maharaj was out run-out after another mix-up. Bavuma then fell to an uncharacteristic slog sweep for a well-made 65. Lyon and Steve Smith polished off Australia’s win with only Lungi Ngidi’s slogs helping South Africa avoid the ignominy of eight straight innings with a sub-200 score.

Brief scores:

Australia 575/8 decl. (David Warner 200, Alex Carey 111; Anrich Nortje 3-92) beat South Africa 189 & 204 (Temba Bavuma 65; Nathan Lyon 3-58) by an innings and 182 runs

(Cricbuzz)

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Sooryavanshi’s stunning 93 takes Rajasthan Royals closer to IPL playoffs

Published

2 hours ago

2026/05/20

Priyan

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi brought out a new celebration, after reaching fifty [Cricinfo]

No Riyan Parag? No Ravindra Jadeja? No fast start for Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi? No problem for Rajasthan Royals (RR) as they hunted down 221 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and moved up to No.4 on the points table. If RR also win their final league game against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, they will firm up their playoffs spot, irrespective of other results.

In RR’s chase of 221, Sooryavanshi got off to an unusually slow start – he was on 11 off 12 balls at one point. After watching his opening partner and RR stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal dominate the powerplay, Sooryavanshi cranked up to top gear when he lined up left-arm seamer Akash Singh for two sixes and three fours in the ninth over. He then went on a more familiar six-hitting spree and by the time he was dismissed for 93 off 38 balls in the 14th over, he extended his sixes tally in IPL 2026 to 53. Only Chris Gayle has smashed more sixes in an IPL season, back in 2012 when Sooryavanshi was a year old.

Dhruv Jurel sealed the chase for RR with a calm fifty in the company of Donnovan Ferreira.

Jofra Archer ran in hard and hit the Jaipur deck harder, but even his extreme pace and bounce wasn’t going to bother Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis, the Western Australia boys. In the first over, Marsh advanced down the track, manufactured swinging room and flayed Archer for a four and a six over the covers.

Inglis was more fluent square of the wicket or behind square. He scooped Archer over short fine leg for four in the third over and by the end of the powerplay, LSG racked up 83 for 0. Four of LSG’s top-five powerplay scores in the IPL have come in this season. RR’s attack, meanwhile, went wicketless in the powerplay for a fourth successive game.

Wristspinner Yash Raj Punja bowled the first boundary-less over in the first innings. In the 13th over, he conceded only seven runs to go with the wicket of Nicholas Pooran (16). That over triggered a passage of play where LSG went 22 without a boundary. Earlier, he had stopped LSG’s opening stand at 109 in the ninth over when he tossed up a wrong’un on an in-between length and bowled Inglis for 60 off 29 balls. Punja returned figures of 4-0-35-2, demonstrating why RR trusted him and promoted him into their main squad after he was a net bowler with the side in the previous season.

Marsh brought up his fifty off 25 balls, but could manage only 43 off his last 32 balls on the day. The lack of pace from Punja, Sandeep Sharma and Dasun Shanaka slowed him down. “To be honest, felt like torture out there,” Marsh summed up the back-end of his innings. He suggested that he may have left a few boundaries out there.

Marsh, Rishabh Pant and Ayush Badoni all departed in the final over of the innings, bowled by Archer, which cost RR only five runs.

RR came out swinging in the powerplay in the chase, but it was Jaiswal, and not Sooryavanshi, who was doing most of the swinging during that phase. He was responsible for 39 of the 71 runs RR scored in the powerplay. Jaiswal latched onto anything that was remotely wide of off. His four fours off Akash in a 23-run first over, bowled by Akash, set the tone for the chase.

By the end of the powerplay, Sooryavanshi was on 25 off 16 balls, which was measured by his standards. All of 15, he had the maturity that he could catch up on a pitch where the ball came onto the bat nicely. He reached his half-century off 23 balls with a reverse-sweep and threatened to convert it into a century until Mohsin Khan stopped him. He finished with a strike rate of almost 245.

Prince Yadav, who had earned a call-up to India’s ODI squad earlier in the day, was pumped for back-to-back sixes. The other Yadav – Mayank – wasn’t spared either, with the teenage phenom launching him for back-to-back sixes in the next over.

Sooryavanshi holed out while attempting his 11th six, but by then he had snatched the Orange Cap from Marsh. Jurel then anchored the chase while Ferreira applied the finishing touches.

Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 225 for 3 in 19.1 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 43, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 93, Dhruv Jurel 53*, Donovan Fereira 16*; Akash Singh 1-54, Mohsin Khan 1-31) beat Lucknow Super Giants 220 for 5 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 96, Josh Inglis 60, Nicholas Pooran 16, Rishabh Pant 35; Jofra Archer 1-39, Yash Raj Punja 2-35) by seven wickets

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Sri Lanka women’s volleyball team ready for Central Asian challenge

Published

3 hours ago

2026/05/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka women’s volleyball team will leave for Central Asian Volleyball Championship today.

The Sri Lanka women’s volleyball team, powered by Dialog Axiata is set to depart the country today to compete in the 2026 Central Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship, which will be held from 22 to 29 May with the participation of eight nations from across the region.

The tournament will be played in two preliminary groups, with the Sri Lankan side, captained by Ashani Chamodika, drawn in Group ‘B’ alongside Kazakhstan, Iran and Bangladesh. Group ‘A’ will feature India, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives and hosts Nepal.

Sri Lanka Head Coach Amila Wijepala believes the team is well prepared to face the challenge despite being drawn in a highly competitive group.

“Our group is comparatively more challenging than Group ‘A’. Kazakhstan recently secured third place at the Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship after defeating China, making them our toughest challenge. We are confident of overcoming Bangladesh, while I also believe our players possess the ability to defeat Iran. Our objective is to win at least two matches and qualify for the semi-finals,” he said.

Vice President of the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation, Mahinda Bandara, expressed confidence in the squad and praised the players for their commitment during the preparation period.

“We are fielding a very strong side for this tournament. The players have undergone close to two months of residential training at the Watupitiwala Indoor Stadium. We are grateful to the Ministry of Sports for its invaluable assistance in facilitating this tour. We also sincerely appreciate the continued sponsorship and commitment shown by Dialog Axiata towards Sri Lanka’s national sport and this international campaign,” he said.

The Sri Lanka squad for the Central Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship includes high-ball hitters Dilukshi Harshani, Nimeshika Sewwandi, Preethika Pramodani, Timi Mary, Arana Sanjeewani and Shalu Thilakshana. Short-ball hitters are Sanjeewani Karunaratne, Dilki Nethsara, Sesandi Ruwanya and Piumi Bhashini.

Naduni Nimansala and Kavindi Asanthika will serve as liberos, while captain Ashani Chamodika and Dilki Charuka have been named as setters.

The support staff includes Head Coach Amila Wijepala, Assistant Coach Udaya Rukmal, Trainer Upendra Perera, Women’s Team Officer Renuka Nilmini and Team Manager Mahesh Kariyawasam.

Sports

Dayan Indunil powers Brandix Apparel to the final

Published

3 hours ago

2026/05/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

15TH STAFFORD MOTORS – MCA G DIVISION T20 LEAGUE CRICKET TOURNAMENT

Dayan Indunil starred with both bat and ball [86 off 48 balls and 4-10 in 4 overs] to power Brandix Apparel to a 70 run win over Stafford Motors at the Nalanda College grounds on Sunday [17] and qualify for the final of the Stafford Motors sponsored MCA G division T20 cricket tournament.

Invited to bat first on a cloudy day, Brandix were 108/1 at the halfway stage of their innings but were unable to keep up the run rate after the fall of the second wicket and were bowled out for 151. Chasing 152 to qualify for the final, Stafford Motors fell victim to the Brandix bowlers led by Dayan Indunil and Sampath Jayalath and were bowled out for 81 runs in 14.3 overs.

Brandix will meet Maliban Biscuits ‘B’ at the MCA ground next Sunday for the final.

Brief scores:

Brandix Apparel

151/10 in 19.1 overs [Dayan Indunil 86, Sampath Jayalath 14, Sasitha Ashan 13; Janith Maduwantha 3-29, Shanaka Sampath 2-25, Vihanga Malith 1-36, Sanjaya Fernando 1-17, Asanka Kumarage 3-20]

Stafford Motors

81/10 in 14.3 overs [Gajindu Yasas 24, Vihanga Malith 10, Vishwa Rajapaksha 27; Janaka Weerapokuna 1-20, Dayan Indunil 4-10, Sampath Jayalath 3-18, Akila Dhanuddara 2-14]