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Asalanka, bowlers help Sri Lanka brush New Zealand aside for 1-0 lead
On a turning Dambulla track, Sri Lanka’s spinners claimed six wickets between them, kept a leash on the scoring rate, and restricted New Zealand to 135 all out. It should have been a straightforward chase, even despite the conditions. But it needed a cool head, which is what captain Charith Asalanka provided with his 35 not out off 28.
Sri Lanka got home with six balls to spare, and four wickets in hand, although the result was never super tense. New Zealand, remember, are trying out some young players at the very tail end of their long South-Asian spring.
The first six overs kind of set the tone for the whole thing. The ball was almost immediately turning square, as even Maheesh Theekshana – a modest turner of the ball usually – ripped it big in the first over of the innings.
Theekshana would only strike off the last ball of the innings, getting Will Young lbw for a run-a-ball 19. But before that, Dunith Wellalage nailed Tim Robinson in front with an arm ball, and Nuwan Thushara had Mark Chapman flick a slower ball to deep square leg.
All up, it was outstanding slow-pitch bowling from Sri Lanka. New Zealand were down at 31 for 3 when the fielding restrictions eased. They’d go on to control the middle overs too – New Zealand only made 66 off the next ten overs, and lost five further wickets.
Kusal Perera helped propel Sri Lanka through the powerplay, hitting 22 off 15 while the fielding restrictions were on, though his team lost Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis through this period.
And because this is is a Sri Lanka victory of this age, Kamindu Mendis has to have a hand in it too. He made 23 off 16, mostly after the powerplay ended.
After seeing what New Zealand did in the Tests in India, you can never be too sure they don’t have something special up their sleeves. Asalanka made sure that although Sri Lanka kept losing wickets, he was on hand to see the victory through, hitting two sixes off his first 11 balls to start, before toning it down and knocking it around as Sri Lanka knocked off the remaining runs.
In only his third international, bowling allrounder Zakary Foulkes brought all his skills to bear. First he cracked 27 not out off 16 to raise New Zealand from an embarrassing total to merely a modest one. With the ball, he bowled Nissanka with a fullish delivery, bounced Bhanuka Rajapaksa, then, had Wanindu Hasaranga holing out to collect figures of 3 for 20.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 140 for 6 in 19 overs (Charith Asalanka 35*, Kusal Perera 23, Kamindu Mendis 23, Wanidu Hasaranga 22; Zakary Foulkes 3-20, Mitchell Santer 1-30, Michael Bracewell 1-31, Glenn Phillips 1-12) beat New Zealand 135 in 19.3 overs (Michael Bracewell 27, Zakary Foulkes 27*; Dunith Wellalage 3-20, Nuwan Thushara 2-14, Maheesh Theekshana 1-21, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-20, Matheesha Pathirana 2-25) by four wickets
[Cricinfo]
Canada captain Dilpreet Bajwa won the toss and asked South Africa to bat in their World Cup opener in Ahmedabad.
South Africa have opted for a pace-heavy attack. Keshav Maharaj slots in as their only spinner, alongside the speedy quartet of Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. Tristan Stubbs also begins the tournament at the No. 6 spot – a position Jason Smith had occupied in their last T20I, while Stubbs had slid down to No. 7. Smith is in the World Cup squad but did not find a spot in South Africa’s starting eleven.
South Africa’s pace is expected to get the most out of a characteristically flat Ahmedabad black-soil pitch. But first, their batters will have a hit in a game they begin as overwhelming favourites against Canada, who are their second World Cup.
Canada’s new captain, Bajwa, will lead the side at a global tournament for the first time. He also slots in at the top of the order, alongside Yuvraj Samra, and their batting power will be key to their hopes of causing a massive upset.
Canada have lost both their warm-up games – to Italy and Nepal – but should their batters come off on a friendly pitch, South Africa will look to have the added insurance of a few more runs in the bank before dew takes over when Canada begin their chase at night.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
Canada: Dilpreet Bajwa (capt), Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva, Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel
(Cricinfo)
A Hong Kong court jailed pro democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai for 20 years on Monday after he was found guilty of national security offences last December
This is the harshest sentence under the controversial national security law, which China says is necessary for the city’s stability
Lai, who is a British citizen, was one of the loudest critics of Beijing, often wielding his pro-democracy paper, Apple Daily, as a tool of protest
Six former executives of the paper were also jailed on Monday – from six years and nine months to 10 years
Hailed a hero by the pro-democracy movement, Lai is seen as a traitor by Beijing. He has always denied the charges against him
The UK calls for the Chinese government to release Lai, saying it will “rapidly engage further” with Beijing. But Hong Kong’s chief executive welcomes the sentence, saying Lai used “used Apple Daily to poison the minds of citizens”.
Lai’s son, Sebastien, tells the BBC his father’s punishment is “basically a death sentence”.
(BBC)
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza decided to field first against Oman in the men’s T20 World Cup match at the SSC in Colombo. Both teams were pleased to arrive in Sri Lanka early to get themselves attuned to the conditions.
Zimbabwe have Blessing Muzarabani back in the squad after he missed the tri-series in Pakistan in November.
Oman, meanwhile, include 44-year-old Aaamir Kaleem the oldest player in the tournament – after he came into the side in place of Hasnain Shah, who was injured after the squad was named.
Zimbabwe return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition in West Indies and the United States of America. They had made it to the Super 12s of the 2022 T20 World Cup but failed to progress through the qualifiers for the 2024 tournament. They completed qualification alongside Namibia; Brian Bennett was the tournament’s top run-scorer, while Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were among the leading wicket-takers.
Zimbabwe are bolstered by the return of Graeme Cremer, whose November 2025 comeback marked the longest gap between T20I appearances.
Oman are one of three qualifiers from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Nepal and the UAE. They have previously appeared in the 2016, 2021, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.
Oman: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmad
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Canada bowl against pace-heavy South Africa
Hong Kong court jails media tycoon and British citizen Jimmy Lai for 20 years
Muzarabani returns as Zimbabwe opt to bowl against Oman
Munsey and Leask spoil Italy’s T20 World Cup debut2
Italy captain Wayne Madsen injures shoulder in T20 World Cup opener
Canada look for early splash against favourites South Africa
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