Sports

‘Boks’ fail to impress and the Black juggernaut rolls on

Published

5 years ago

2021/09/20

by Rajitha Ratwatte

The current “world champions” trying to save face after the two-point defeat last week, took on the resurgent Wallabies in front of over 35,000 fans at the Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane. Great playing condition with the temperature in the mid-twenties and dry conditions underfoot. Michael Hooper the Australian skipper captaining for the 60th time! Dave Rennie the Kiwi-born and raised coach of the Australian side, had made a few changes and among them not playing Hunter Paisamy at no12 and replacing him with Len Ikitau, the “human cannonball”, hooker Taniela Taupo also got a start. The change in the center was justified with Len Ikitau forcing his way over the line in the 12th minute to score mid-left and Quade Cooper sullied his impeccable record by hitting the upright with his attempted conversion. 5–0 to the Wallabies. Handre Pollard got three points back for the Springboks with a penalty converted from 35 meters out and mid-right. 5–3 was the score until Taniela Taupo displayed his great strength and low center of gravity by making good ground and allowing Ikitau to ground his second try. This time QC made no mistake 12–3. Pollard did his thing again literarily shaving the right upright and in the 25th minute, the score read 12–6. The Wallabies reliable full-back Tom Banks suffered what is now thought to be a broken hand and was replaced by Reece Hodge 30 minutes into the game. Quade Cooper slotted another penalty taking the Wallaby lead to 15–6 until another ludicrous TMO intervention resulted in a yellow card for the Australian no 6 Lachlan Swinton. The Boks could only manage two penalties during the period in which they had numerical superiority taking the score along to 15–12 at halftime.

The South Africans were the first to score in the second half with their playmaker and nov9 Faf De Clerk kicking ahead to allow their no13 Lukhanyo Am to score far right. Pollard was unable to convert 15–17 and the Boks ahead for the first time in the game. Quade Cooper rectified matters converting a penalty from right in front of the posts and putting the wallabies back into the lead 18–17. Marika Korombeiti decided that it was time to show his skills, dotting down twice in quick succession once off a great pass from his skipper Hooper which QC converted, and then from a great turnover by Reece Hodge which Cooper couldn’t add the extra points to. 30–17 and the Wallabies convincing in their dominance of the World Champions who definitely seem to be fortunate to have the title. This win takes Australia to number three in the world ranking the computation of which seems to be understood only by the mandarins of the IRB and also gaining the Nelson Mandela trophy.

The crowd had swelled further for the second game of this week’s doubleheader. The Argentineans playing the NZ All Blacks for the second time inside seven days. Quinn Tupea wearing the no 12 black jersey for the first time due to injuries and Reiko Ioane very much a makeshift no 13 were the only perceptible areas of weakness in the NZ Line up. Santiango Carreras coming in at no10 for the Pumas was expected to make a difference. Ethan Blackadder at no 6 and Hoskins Sututu at no 8 showing the depth of selection available to the All Blacks. Damian Mackenzie starting at no 10 for only the second time in his All-Black career. That too probably due to Beauden Barret nursing a calf injury. Patrick Tuapoletu the Auckland Blues skipper playing in the second row led the way with the first seven pointer of the game in the fifth minute and the Pumas pulled one back three minutes later converting a penalty from right in front of the posts when Ethan Blackadder was pinged for being offside, 7-3. The ABs gave Jordie Barret the ball as he was doing the kicking for this game in the 11th minute to add further three points off a “gimme” penalty right in front of the posts, 10–3. In the 16th minute, Jordie Barret went over the line but was denied a score due to a forward pass, this was one of four occasions on which the ABs went over the line and were denied for infringements. The New Zealanders scored two more tries in the first half once off no 9 T.J. Peranara and again when a chip ahead created by Ardie Savea was picked up by Hoskins Sututu who passed to Topu Vaa’I in the no 5 jersey. Jordie Barret completed an impeccable first half of kicking duties with a penalty taking the score to 24–3 at halftime.

The Pumas came back roaring in the second half and scored first through a penalty 40 meters out but right in front. 24–6 Ethan Blackadder continued his hard unrelenting Mahi (Maori word for work) showing great handling skills, combining with Will Jordan, and sending Samisoni Taukeiaho over the line. Jordie Barret struck the left upright with his attempted conversion from the right touchline. 29–6 until Emiliano Boffelli in the no 11 jersey for the Pumas broke a three game drought of tries against the All Blacks and scored off a perfectly weighted cross-kick by their no 10 Santiago Carreras. This seven pointer took the score to 29–13. The All-Black bench came on and it must be said the Finlay Christie the Auckland no 9 looked a little out of his depth but the Canterbury Crusader no 8 Luke Jacobsen who had scored twice in the last game fitted right in. The Argentines’ found another gear and attacked relentlessly retaining 70% of possession but the NZ defence stood firm. The Black forwards began dominating the scrums and Taupo Vaa’i got his second from a great offload by Scott Barret his fellow second-rower. The conversion took the score to 36–13 where it remained until full time.

This completes nine wins in a row from the New Zealand All Blacks and unless the algorithms and permutations used in calculating the IRB world rankings have another unfathomable calculation, should result in the All Blacks regaining their well-deserved place at the top of the rankings.

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Sports

Sri Lanka kickstart Asia Cup campaign with record win

Published

5 hours ago

2026/08/31

Thilina Walpola

Mithali Ayodhya returned figures of 3 for 14. (Getty)

Sri Lanka began their Women’s Asia Cup campaign in emphatic fashion, cruising to a nine-wicket win over the UAE after bowling them out for just 79. Mithali Ayodhya and Chethana Vimukthi led the way with three wickets apiece, while Sugandika Kumari took two, before Chamari Athapaththu’s unbeaten 48 off 25 balls and Imesha Dulani’s 25 off 18 powered the defending champions to the target in just 7.5 overs. The victory, completed with 73 balls to spare, was Sri Lanka’s biggest in T20Is in terms of balls remaining.

‎Sri Lanka made an ideal start after opting to bowl, with Mithali Ayodhya striking in the fourth ball of the innings to bowl Theertha Satish for a duck. Chethana Vimukthi then joined in, bowling a disciplined spell and removing Lavanya Keny in the fourth over to leave UAE at 8 for 2. Esha Oza and Heena Hotchandani tried to rebuild, but scoring remained difficult, with Sri Lanka’s bowlers giving little away. Oza’s first boundary, which was also the first of the innings, did not come until the 4.1 over, and UAE reached only 16 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay.

‎The pressure continued after the field spread, and Oza was eventually dismissed for 18 off 24 by Sugandika Kumari. By the halfway stage, they had crawled to 31 for 3, having played out 37 dot balls. Hotchandani fell for 10 off 18 to Chamari Athapaththu soon after, and although Rinitha Rajith provided some impetus with 15 off 16, wickets kept falling around her. Samaira Dharnidharka made 17 off 25 before Kavisha Dilhari had her caught and bowled in the 15th over, and Rajith followed in the 19th over. Ayodhya then returned to remove the final two batters, bowling UAE out for under 80.

‎In contrast to the first innings, Sri Lanka made a flying start to the chase, with Dulani and Athapaththu dealing in regular boundaries. Dulani was particularly fluent, striking five fours in her 18-ball 25, while Athapaththu became the first to reach 500 runs in Women’s Asia Cups, with a six off Esha Oza in the fourth over.

‎‎The pair raised a half-century stand inside the Powerplay before Dulani was run out for 25 when a drive from Athapaththu ricocheted off the bowler and hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Athapaththu, though, continued the assault with Sanjana Kavindi for company. Having struck two boundaries off Athige Silva, she hit a six off Oza before finishing off the chase with a couple as Sri Lanka began their Asia Cup campaign with a facile win.

‎‎Brief scores:

‎UAE 79 in 19.5 overs (Esha Oza 18; Mithali Ayodhya 3-14, Chethana Vimukthi 3-16, Sugandika Kumari 2-18)

‎Sri Lanka 80/1 in 7.5 overs

(Chamari Athapaththu 48, Imesha Dulani 25) (Cricbuzz)

Sports

Sri Lanka complete vital win over Kyrgyzstan in FIBA Asia pre-qualifiers

Published

5 hours ago

2026/08/31

Thilina Walpola

The Sri Lanka Men’s National Basketball Team delivered a composed performance to defeat Kyrgyzstan 72-65 yesterday at the Baluan Sholak Sport Palace in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in the FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers Group B.

In a tightly contested first half, Sri Lanka trailed narrowly at the break 31-33. Team Sri Lanka regrouped in the second half, outscoring Kyrgyzstan 20-16 in the third quarter and 21-16 in the fourth quarter to secure a crucial two points in the group standings.

Simron Yogananthan led the way with a game high 27 points and was instrumental in the fourth quarter comeback.

Praneeth Udumalagala also supported well with 22 points and a last moment match winning three pointer.

With this win, Sri Lanka took a massive step towards qualification for the next round of the FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers.

Sports

Kandy and Jaffna set up Premier League tennis final

Published

5 hours ago

2026/08/31

Thilina Walpola

Kandy Kings and Jaffna Flamingos emerged as the top teams of Groups A and B respectively to book their places in the final of the Sri Lanka Tennis Premier League, following the completion of the group stage at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts.

‎Kandy finished on top of Group A with 122 points, while Jaffna topped Group B with 120 points, setting up a highly anticipated clash for the title.

‎On the penultimate day of the competition, Kandy Kings recorded a 38-26 victory over Colombo Chargers to consolidate their position at the top of Group A. Although Colombo’s Annaya Norbert produced an emphatic 6-0 win over Savini Jayasuriya in the women’s singles, Kandy dominated the remaining ties.

‎Thehan Wijemanne beat Akaash de Silva 6-2 in the men’s singles, while Navya Banagala defeated Sethuli Muthugama 6-2 in the girls’ Under-15 event. Dehan Wickramasinghe continued Kandy’s dominance in the boys’ Under-15 category with a 6-0 victory over Yudhiraya Atapaththu.

‎Colombo gained another point through Aqeel Khan and Annaya Norbert, who defeated Mineth Navarathne and Tuvini de Alwis 6-4 in the mixed doubles. However, Kandy sealed their convincing overall victory when Thehan Wijemanne and Mineth Navarathne defeated Aqeel Khan and Lithum Jayabandu 6-2 in the men’s doubles.

‎Baticaloa ACES also ended their group campaign on a winning note, defeating Kurunagala Royal 35-25. Sandithi Usgodaarachchi gave Baticaloa an early advantage by beating Biyanka Acquistapace 6-2 in the women’s singles, while Barker Ullaha defeated Ganuka Fernando 6-1 in the men’s singles.

‎Kurunagala fought back through Jennifer Mercy, who beat Sayuri Muthuthantiri 6-2 in the girls’ Under-15 match, and Eshan Bandara, who overcame Udeera Gunasinghe 6-3 in the boys’ Under-15 contest.

‎However, Baticaloa prevailed in both the mixed and men’s doubles. Jaithra de Seram and Sandithi Usgodaarachchi defeated Saha Kapilasena and Biyanka Acquistapace 6-4, before Jaithra de Seram and Barker Ullaha beat Ganuka Fernando and Saha Kapilasena 6-3.

‎The Group B contest between Weligama Warriors and Nuwara Eliya Highlanders proved closely contested, with Weligama prevailing 34-30.

‎Yuhansa Peiris defeated Gehansa Methnadhi 6-2 in the women’s singles, while Aahil Kaleel edged Ifram Husein 7-5 in the men’s singles. Risindi Hewawasam added another win for Weligama by defeating Taaliya Silva 6-1 in the girls’ Under-15 event.

‎Nuwara Eliya responded strongly in the remaining categories, with Methvan Wijemanne and Gehansa Methnadhi defeating Harishwer Parameshwaran and Yuhansa Peiris 6-1 in the mixed doubles. Revan Amarasinghe beat Chirath Subasinghe 6-1 in the boys’ Under-15 match.

‎Aahil Kaleel and Harishwer Parameshwaran, however, ensured victory for Weligama by defeating Ifram Husein and Methvan Wijemanne 7-5 in the men’s doubles.

‎Jaffna Flamingos underlined their position at the top of Group B with an impressive 42-29 victory over Negombo Icons.

‎Janali Manamperi gave Jaffna a hard-fought start, defeating Akesha Silva 7-6 in the women’s singles, before Muzammial Murataza comfortably beat Ashlin de Silva 6-1 in the men’s singles.

‎Samaira Fernando defeated Eliza Kahagalla 6-4 in the girls’ Under-15 event, while Damsath Peiris beat Shennon Sandheera 6-3 in the boys’ Under-15 category.

‎Negombo claimed the mixed doubles through Dilvan Herath and Akesha Silva, who defeated Aravind Fernando and Janali Manamperi 6-4. However, Jaffna completed their dominant performance when Aravind Fernando and Muzammial Murataza defeated Dilvan Herath and Ashlin de Silva 6-3 in the men’s doubles.

‎At the end of the group stage, Kandy Kings finished comfortably on top of Group A with 122 points, followed by Baticaloa ACES on 105. Colombo Chargers finished third with 95 points, while Kurunagala Royal ended fourth with 78.

‎Jaffna Flamingos topped Group B with 120 points. Weligama Warriors finished second with 99 points, closely followed by Negombo Icons on 97, while Nuwara Eliya Highlanders finished with 93 points.

‎With the end of group stage, Group A winners Kandy Kings and Group B leaders Jaffna Flamingos were set battle for the Sri Lanka Tennis Premier League title yesterday evening.

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