Sports
Sammy calls 2-1 series loss ‘moral victory’ on turning tracks in Sri Lanka
West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has declared a “moral victory” for his side in the aftermath of the 2-1 T20I series defeat to Sri Lanka, and questioned the wisdom of the home side pivoting to turning tracks for the final two games, both must-wins for Sri Lanka.
In a fairly scathing assessment, Sammy argued that while the next T20 World Cup – in 2026 – was going to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka, such turning tracks would not be the norm with the ICC having primary input over the curation of the wickets.
“For us, to see the last two games, and the nature of the wicket from what it was at the start, I thought we actually won the contest,” Sammy said following the third T20I which Sri Lanka won by nine wickets. “Because we were the away team and in conditions set before us, we challenged them with a squad that was not our full squad, and they had to react to that.
So I told the guys, ‘yes, when the World Cup comes we won’t get these conditions – the ICC will make sure the pitches are good’. So it was a moral victory for us from the first game to the second game.”
While Sri Lanka may no doubt contest Sammy’s views, it wasn’t long ago that many within Sri Lanka’s camp were themselves clamouring for more batter friendly pitches. The calls had followed Sri Lanka’s dismal display in the 2023 World Cup in India, where their batters struggled to match the attacking approach of the top sides. This plan seemed to have taken root, to a fair amount of success, in the early part of the year where high scores were seen more frequently – particularly during the series against Afghanistan where Sri Lanka narrowly failed to chase down a target of 210.
Fast forward to the present, and Sri Lanka have just enjoyed their first-ever T20I bilateral series win against West Indies, which itself followed an ODI series win against India. Both triumphs have, however, taken place on turning tracks, which has brought up the uncomfortable question: are short-term results being prioritised in place of long-term gains?
Sri Lankan captain Charith Asalanka – who had been one of those calling for better batting tracks – doesn’t think so, as he instead opted to focus on Sri Lanka’s strengths, in this case their spin bowling.
“Sri Lanka’s strength has always been spin, and we still believe that it’s with spin that we will be able to win the most,” he said following Sri Lanka’s win in the third T20I. “So we made pitches to support that strength. When that’s working for us, I think it’s a lot easier for us to win.”
Asalanka’s point is a valid one in many ways. In Maheesh Theekshana, Wanidu Hasaranga and Dunith Wellalage. Sri Lanka boast a spin attack that would be the envy of most sides in the world, and so playing to those strengths makes sense. Sammy, though, believes this could be to the detriment of their fast-bowling contingent.
“When you have pacers, like the two slingers (Nuwan Thushara and Matheesha Pathirana) not getting an opportunity to bowl on good wickets, when the true test comes that’s where you really test your team.
“I mean, there’s home advantage, but what good does that make for the development of your squad, especially your fast bowlers, in being able to bowl and have an impact on the game?”
Sammy’s point holds some merit. In the final T20I, both Pathirana and Thushara bowled just two overs each, with the former being introduced as a seventh bowling option – after both part-time spinners Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis. In contrast, in Sri Lanka’s series win earlier in the year against Afghanistan, only two spinners had been used in each game.
And this might be where Asalanka and Sammy perhaps can find some common ground. While Asalanka has championed Sri Lanka’s spinners, he too acknowledges that they need to bolster their fast-bowling ranks.
“We have a lot of fast bowlers on our bench. Today you saw Nuwan Thushara and Matheesha Pathirana, and they bowled well when called upon. As a team, however, we need our fast bowlers to improve a little more. Aside from those currently in the side, we need more coming in. That’s how we will be able to play well in any conditions.”
Bowling and pitches aside, one immutable fact is that Sri Lanka’s batters turned up more often than did those of West Indies. Sammy, who had stated ahead of the series that he was looking to test their squad depth, is keenly aware of the improvements that need to be made on that front.
“We came here with the T20 World Cup I think less than 20 months away. Having seen the way we played on a typical Dambulla wicket – what we expected from what all the stats said – I thought we dominated.
“We started the series with a squad looking to see the depth, and the home side had to change the whole set-up to make sure that their spinners got the advantage. Ideally, yes, our men did not respond well to the spin. However, with the mindset that we have in our team being a championship winning team, we must be able to play in different conditions. You know, by letting [our] bowlers be challenged and also our batters be challenged.”
Asalanka, for his part, had no such qualms about his batters. Indeed, the scores over the course of the West Indies T20Is indicate that Sri Lanka’s batting has been performing well – they scored at least 160 in each game – despite the nature of the tracks.
“We were expecting a spinning wicket in the first game as well, but it didn’t play as we expected,” Asalanka said. “Then in the second game it turned a lot more, but we still managed to score 162, and in this game we chased down 163 in 18 overs. I think, if you look at the scores you can’t really say it’s a bad wicket.”
But what about on better tracks? While that is a question that can only be answered definitively once Sri Lanka have to deal with such conditions, Asalanka is confident that their batting line-up is primed to deal with whatever challenges are put before them.
“As a team, our goal is that if we get a good wicket abroad, we should be able to score 200-250, but if it’s a harder wicket then we should be able to score 160-170 or in that range.
“Against India, we were chasing 200 or so, but after a good start we were unable to finish it off. Even in the last game, we were on the verge of winning but then our set batters were unable to finish the game. On pitches like this it’s important that the batter that is set, as much as possible, takes the game long or finishes it off.”
(Cricinfo)
Kagiso Rabada has admitted to testing positive for recreational drug use and serving a provisional suspension, which led to his departure from IPL 2025 on April 3. At the time, Rabada’s team Gujarat Titans said he had returned home to deal with a “significant personal matter,” and did not indicate if or when he would return to India.”
ESPNcricinfo understands that Rabada’s transgression took place during the SA20 in January-February this year. He represented MI Cape Town in that tournament. While the exact length of his sanction has not been confirmed, he has since traveled back to India and his return to play is imminent. Rabada has not played a match since March 29.
In statement issued by Rabada through the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), Rabada apologised for his actions and recommitted himself to the game.
“As has been reported, I recently returned to South Africa from participating in the IPL for personal reasons,” Rabada said in his statement. “This was due to my returning an adverse analytical finding for the use of a recreational drug. “I am deeply sorry to all those that I have let down. I will never take the privilege of playing cricket for granted. This privilege is much larger than me. It goes beyond my personal aspirations.
“I am serving a provisional suspension and I am looking forward to returning to the game I love playing.
“I couldn’t have gone through this alone. I’d like to thank my agent, CSA, and Gujarat Titans for their support. I’d also like to thank SACA and my legal team for their guidance and counsel. Most importantly I’d like to thank my friends and family for their understanding and love.
“Moving forward, this moment will not define me. I will keep doing what I have always done, continuously working hard and playing with passion and devotion to my craft.”
SACA have declined to answer questions relating to the matter while the South African Agency for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) is expected to release a statement early next week explaining the situation. SAIDS is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which means that any sanction SAIDS oversees would need to be ratified by WADA.
In the last four years, there has only been one instance of an athlete receiving a one-month ban from SAIDS: powerlifter Matt Bekker, who was banned in April 2021 for testing positive for THC, which is found in cannabis. In November last year, New Zealand cricketer Doug Bracewell was effectively banned for a month for cocaine use – a sanction that was reduced from three months after Bracewell satisfactorily completed a treatment program. ESPNcricinfo has established that Rabada’s case is expected to be similar.
There are no concerns from sources close to CSA over Rabada missing any more cricket, including the World Test Championship final against Australia in June.
[Cricinfo]
Another Gujarat Titans (GT) match, and we are again left wondering how they will go if their top three fall early with Rashid Khan at no. 7. Once again, Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler and B Sai Sudharsan dominated a bowling attack, albeit the listless Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) one, to post 224 on a black-soil pitch that was slow to begin with. All three of them are now in the top four run-getters this IPL, with Sudharsan reclaiming the Orange Cap with his 48 off 23 balls.
GT failed to defend 209 in the last game, which did raise the question, but that was a par score. Here, SRH’s ordinary start with the all – arguably the worst all year – set GT the platform for a clearly above-par total. In the run chase, the GT bowlers then bashed the hard lengths to stifle the SRH batters despite a 74 for Abhishek Sharma. Prasidh Krishna bowled four overs for just 19 runs, and two wickets to bring the Purple Cap as well to GT.
GT are now second with 14 points, the same as table-toppers Mumbai Indians, but with a game in hand. SRH were left on the brink, each of their remaining games a must-win affair but still no guarantee to take them through to the playoffs.
The GT template has been to be measured for the first three overs in order to assess the conditions. However, that doesn’t mean they will look a gift horse in the mouth. Mohammed Shami, a former Titan, looked sluggish and kept missing his line. Gill got a pick-up six in the first over, and Sai Sudharsan cut and pulled five fours in the third.
On top of that, Pat Cummins dished out three half volleys in his first over to let Gill catch up with Sai Sudharsan. The result was GT’s best-ever powerplay at 82 for 0, but also another undesirable statistic for SRH. GT scored 79 of those 82 runs with shots they were in control of, the third-highest of the season; three of the top four, including the top, have come against the SRH bowlers.
By the time the SRH bowlers got a hang of things, they needed nothing short of a collapse to make a comeback into the contest. All they managed was one wicket, that of Sai Sudharsan on a late cut off a Zeeshan Ansari wrong’un. Two quiet overs followed, but then Gill started to pierce gaps with surgical precision. He didn’t need any gifts anymore. In fact, he offered SRH one when he slowed down in an attempt to take what is now regarded a regulation single to short fine leg.
The resultant run-out gave SRH their best period in the field. Cummins began to use the middle of the pitch, Jaydev Unadkat followed suit, and 17 balls went without a boundary. Buttler, who looked like the extreme heat – it was 41 degrees at the start of the match – was getting to him, then took a few risks and brought the innings back on track. Of GT’s top three batters, he faced the toughest conditions and bowling, which showed in his slower strike rate. But his 64 off 37 balls was key to GT getting the above-par score they had threatened all along.
Abhishek danced down at Mohammed Siraj off the first ball he faced, and lofted him over wide long-off. Travis Head crashed his second ball through covers for four. They punished the new ball the best they could, but still, at 45 for 0 in four overs, they were barely keeping up with the asking rate.
Prasidh has been using hard lengths and changes of pace all IPL to be among the top wicket-takers, but on a pitch with low bounce, he decided to do away with slower balls. He just kept banging the middle of the pitch from his high release to trouble the batters. Well, Prasidh did try one yorker early, which Head managed to squeeze out for a four in what would be the only boundary off Prasidh.
The next ball got big on a Head pull, and ended up in a sensational catch for Rashid, who ran 32 metres to his right from deep square leg, and still had to put in a dive. The tall bowlers then completely blocked boundaries from one end, which left Abhishek as the one fighting. They don’t last when you are chasing such big totals.
The asking rate reached 12 at the end of the powerplay, 13 at the end of the ninth over, 14 with ten overs to go, and jumped from 14.57 to 16.33 in one Prasidh over, the 14th. Eventually, the wickets started to fall, and only an off night for Rashid, the bowler – he went for 50 runs in three overs, his worst economy rate in a match – reduced the net-run-rate bonus for GT.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 224 for 6 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 76, Jos Buttler 64, Sai Sudharsan 48, Washington Sundar 21; Jaydev Unadkat 3-35, Pat Cumins 1-40, Zeeshan Ansari 1-42) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 186 for 6 in 20 overs (Travis Head 20, Abhishek Sharma 74, Ishan Kushan 13, Heinrich Klaasen 23, Nitish Kumar Reddy 21*, Pat Cummins 19*; Prasidh Krishna 2-19, Mohammed Siraj 2-33, Ishant Sharma 1-35, Gerald Coetzee 1-36) by 38 runs
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka completed their fourth highest successful run chase in women’s ODIs and subjected South Africa to a second successive defeat in the tri-series in Colombo. A record fourth wicket stand of 128 between Kavisha Dilhari and Harshitha Samarawickrema, both of whom scored half-centuries, ensured Sri Lanka controlled proceedings against a South African side that struggled with the slowness of the pitch and problems with personnel.
Seventeen-year-old wicket-keeper Karabo Meso had to leave the field after 14 overs of the Sri Lankan innings with a heat-related illness and was replaced by Sinalo Jafta while Sune Luus who bowled eight overs and took 1 for 34, jammed her knee into the turf and suffered bruising, forcing her off the field. Ultimately neither of those things hampered South Africa as much as their inability to take wickets on a surface that Sri Lanka’s attack mastered. Debutant offspinner Dewmi Vihanga became the second Sri Lankan to take three wickets on ODI debut while Malki Madara, playing in just her second game, picked up 4 for 50.
South Africa’s total of 235, built largely on Annerine Dercksen’s first ODI half-century, looked competitive at the halfway stage but when Sri Lanka lost Chamari Athapaththu in the third over, it seemed it could be match-winning. Vishmi Gunaratne and Hasini Perera rebuilt steadily for a second-wicket stand of 69 before Dilhari and Samarawickrama kept the required run-rate in control to seal victory with 21 balls to spare.
With slower balls proving far more effective than pace on, Gunaratne and Perera were severe on South Africa’s seamers upfront, forcing spin to be introduced in the first powerplay. But both Luus and Nokululeko Mlaba were unable to maintain pressure in their initial overs as they struggled with their lengths and boundaries came in almost every over. When Mlaba strung three dots together, Gunaratne lost her patience and went for a reverse sweep. She missed and was struck in front of off stump.
Three more boundary-less overs followed before Perera tried to flick Luus legside, where Laura Wolvaardt leapt forward and took the catch low down. Replays confirmed she had her fingers under the ball and Sri Lanka were 90 for 3 after 18 overs.
Given that the middle-order has not always been reliable, there may have been some nerves, especially when Samarawickrama’s first boundary came off the outside edge. Dilhari was more confident and hit Mlaba back over her head. That proved to be a favourite area for her, and was also where she smashed Chloe Tryon for six. When Ayabonga Khaka was brought back for a second spell, both Dilhari and Samarawickrama got stuck in and in an over that cost 12 brought the required run-rate down to under five an over.
Samarawickrama got to fifty off 65 balls with a straight drive and Dilhari followed, off the 61st ball she faced, when she carved Tryon through the covers. By then, Sri Lanka needed 44 runs off 11 overs and the game was all but up. Neither of the two set batters saw it through to the end, with South Africa plucking some late wickets but in the end, they may feel there were around 30 runs short, especially after they staged a decent recovery from 120 for 5.
South Africa lost their openers early when Tazmin Brits was bowled in the fourth over, staying back to a Sugandika Kumari ball that turned past the inside edge, while Wolvaardt was deceived by a slower ball from Madara. Wolvaardt was Madara’s first ODI wicket.
That left Lara Goodall and Meso with the responsibility of stabilising the innings. Goodall was given the length to play two sumptuous cover drives and took it and South Africa ended the powerplay on 40 for 1. Inoka Ranaweera was introduced in the 11th over and created a chance off her fourth ball when Goodall, on 14, mistimed an attempted hit down the ground back to Ranaweera. She got hands to it but could not hold on.
Meso struggled to score runs and she faced 21 dot balls in her innings of 27 and the pressure got too much for her. When Ranaweera tossed one up outside off, Meso drove aerially, straight to Athapaththu at short cover. Ranaweera should have had Luus for a duck two balls later, again off her own bowling. That chance cost Sri Lanka.
Luus and Goodall put on 54 runs for the third wicket in a stand that included some delightful strokes. Goodall hit Ranaweera back over her head for four and pulled out the paddle sweep off Gunaratne but was put down again on 41 when she gave Athapaththu a regulation chance at mid-on, off Vihanga, but the Sri Lankan captain dropped it. She added five more runs to her score and was on 46 when she tried to hit Vihanga over long-on but was caught on the boundary. Goodall’s effort was her highest since her career-best 93 not out against Ireland in Dublin in June 2022, 14 innings ago.
Luus was on 31 at the time, using her feet well and playing aggressively but in the next over, she walked across her stumps and played on to give Vihanga her second. Four balls later, Athapaththu hit Dercksen on the back pad and thought she had her out lbw but the umpire did not agree. The rest of that over cost Sri Lanka nine runs and momentum shifted South Africa’s way. Tryon and Dercksen were energetic in the middle and shared a run-a-ball stand of 62 before a wonder catch from Nilakshika Silva broke their stand. Tryon tried to hit Vihanga over long-on, Nilakshika ran to her left and reached the ball just in time to take the catch one-handed as she hit the ground. South Africa entered the final 10 overs on 182 for 6.
Dercksen got to fifty with a stunning six over Kumari but she did not have much lower order support. Nadine de Klerk was bowled by a Madara yorker and Masabata Klaas and Mlaba both top-edged as they tried to hit Madara out of the ground.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Women
237 for 5 in 50 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 77, Kavisha Dilhari 61, Hasini Perera 42, Vishmi Guneratne 29; Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-44) beat South Africa Women (Annerie Dercksen 61*, Lara Goodall 46, Sunee Luus 31, Chloe Tryon 35; Malki Madara 4-50, Dewmi Vihanga 3-41) by five wickets
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