Latest News
Clinical Sri Lanka take opening day’s honours
Relentless spells from Vishwa Fernando (4-51), Prabath Jayasuriya (3-67) and Asitha Fernando (3-24) helped Sri Lanka boss the opening day’s play against Afghanistan at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo on Friday (February 2). The trio’s efforts ensured that Sri Lanka’s latest Test captain Dhananjaya de Silva’s decision to bowl at the toss was vindicated, with Afghanistan folding for a low total of 198.
Rahmat Shah was the only batter for the visitors to show a solid resistance as he stroked his way to a 139-ball 91, studded with 13 fours. The Afghanistan No.3 looked composed at the crease and was rarely troubled by either pace or spin. Unfortunately for Rahmat, none of his partners hung around long enough for him to combine for a sizeable partnership.
The innings started on a false note for Afghanistan as Asitha trapped Ibrahim Zadran LBW off just the second ball of the match. Noor Ali Zadran looked fluent in his brief stay but fell to a soft dismissal against Vishwa who took a caught and bowled to remove the opener.
Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi dug in and was involved in a half-century stand with Rahmat as Afghanistan got to 109/2 in the 33rd over. It seemed like the visitors would gradually work themselves towards a position of comfort. However, Vishwa returned to get rid of Shahidi and that started a collapse from which Afghanistan never recovered. The left-arm spin of Jayasuriya plugged away at one end, reaping rewards for some attacking bowling and also aided by some half-hearted batting. Rahmat was the fifth batter out with the score reading 155 and the remaining five wickets added just 43 more.
Sri Lanka’s opening pair of Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka then drove home the advantage further with a solid unbroken stand. The former was the aggressor as he constantly peppered the gaps to find boundaries, allowing him to score at better than run-a-ball. While not matching his partner’s pace of scoring, Madushka also got going briskly as the pair took heavy toll of some listless bowling from the tourists.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 198 (Rahmat Shah 91, Noor Ali Zadran 31, Ikram Alikhil 21, Quais Ahmad 21, Vishwa Fernando 4-51, Asitha Fernando 3-24, Prabath Jayasuriya 3-67) lead Sri Lanka 80/0 (Dimuth Karunaratne 42*, Nishant Madushka 36*) by 118 runs.
Sri Lanka kept alive their slim hopes of making it to the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup with a nervy win over Scotland in Manchester.
Chasing 152, they found themselves needing seven from the final over. Nilakshika Silva and Sugandika Kumari took four off the first three balls of Rachel Slater before the seamer hobbled off with what looked like a knee issue. Priyanaz Chatterji came on to bowl the remaining three balls. She conceded a single off the fourth delivery but with two needed from two, Sugandika slashed through short third for four to seal the win.
Sri Lanka now rely on England beating New Zealand and Ireland handing a thrashing to West Indies to make it to the final four. On the other hand, Scotland would rue a golden opportunity of securing a direct qualification to the 2028 edition of the tournament.
Darcey Carter and Katherine Fraser gave Scotland a brisk start. Carter didn’t hesitate to take the aerial route and picked up four fours off the first ten balls she faced. Fraser too chipped in with a couple of boundaries but Silva’s excellent catch diving to her right at mid-off off Mithali Ayodhya ended her innings on 12.
Carter and Kathryn Bryce took the side to 45 for 1 in the powerplay. During this period, Carter also became the leading run getter in the tournament, going past England’s Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s tally of 193.
Sri Lanka made a comeback once the field restrictions were relaxed. Even though Kathryn hit Athapaththu for a six and a four off successive balls in the ninth over, she could manage only 23 off 23 before being caught and bowled by Kavisha Dilhari.
Carter tried to break the shackles but her aerial shots failed to clear or beat the boundary riders. After being 18 off ten at one point, she could manage only 16 off the next 26 deliveries she faced. As a result, Scotland could score only 43 in eight overs after the powerplay.
Sarah Bryce and Ailsa Lister put the Scotland innings back on track with a fourth-wicket stand of 53 in just 32 balls. The stand was broken when Lister was run out for 26 off 17 as Silva nailed a direct hit at the non-striker’s end after fielding the ball in her follow-through. Chatterji was also run out on the very ball but Sarah carried on. She hit two fours off Ayodhya in the final over to take her side past 150. That meant Scotland scored 63 in the last six overs.
Coming off an unbeaten 106 against Ireland, Athapaththu once again was at her attacking best. She started by smashing two fours off Kathryn in the opening over before taking down Gabriella Fontenla in the next. She hit Fontenla three fours and a six in an 18-run over. Imesha Dulani fell cheaply but Athapaththu and Hasini Perera took Sri Lanka past fifty in just 4.4 overs.
Just when it started to look like another easy chase for Sri Lanka, Fraser bowled Athapaththu from around the wicket for 33 off 16. Harshitha Samarawickrama showed good intent, hitting two fours off the first three balls, but just like the first innings, the scoring rate dropped after the powerplay. Kathryn then had Perera caught at mid-off in the ninth over and Fraser trapped Hansima Karunaratne lbw in the tenth to make it 78 for 4.
Fraser and Kirstie Gordon bowled enough dots to keep Sri Lanka under pressure. But with 27 required from 18 balls, Gabriella Fontenla dropped two catches in two overs. In the penultimate over, Kathryn also felt the pressure and gave away ten, including two in the form of wides. In contrast, the experienced Silva stayed calm and took her side home in the company of Sugandika.
Scores:
Sri Lanka Women 154 for 7 in 19.5 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 33, Hasini Perera 23, Harshitha Samarawickrama 27, Kavisha Dilhari 18, Nilakshiaka Silva 21*, Kaushini Nuthyangana 12; Kathryn Bryce 2-28, Rachel Slater 2-31, Kathryn Farser 2-25, Kirstie Gordon 1-24) beat Scotland Women 151 for 6 in 20 overs (Sarah Bryce 47*, Darcey Carter 34, Katherine Fraser 12, Kathryn Bryce 23, Alisa Lister 26; Mithali Ayodhya 2-34, Sugandika Kumari 1-25, Kavisha Dilhari 1-19) by three wickets
[Cricinfo]
“Obviously, it depends on the team management… what we plan to do in this match. That is a different thing. But I think it is a very thin line between trying to give somebody an opportunity and you being unfair to some other player.”
Seattle Orcas had won just one of their first three games in MLC 2026, but it all came together beautifully for them against Washington Freedom on Thursday. The 88-run win was enough for them to jump straight to No. 2 on the points table, behind the unbeaten Los Angeles Knight Riders.
Orcas got the sort of start they wanted, reaching 59 for no loss after the powerplay even as they slowed down to get to 79 for 2 at the halfway stage. But then they really turned in on thanks to Shimron Hetmyer and Marcus Stoinis. Matthew Breetzke had given the innings some momentum in partnership with Hetmyer, but when Breetzke got out in the 15th over, Orcas were solid without being spectacular at 138 for 3. Around 200 was expected, but not the 227 they got.
And that was down to Stoinis, their captain. Hetmyer was already on 44 off 20 balls and got to his half-century off 24 deliveries soon after, but Stoinis almost caught up with Hetmyer in a blaze of sixes. He hit five of them in one over, the 17th, bowled by medium pacer Ian Holland. From 4 off six balls, Stoinis was on 34 off 12, and though there was another big one in the next over, bowled by Marco Jansen, Stoinis fell for 42 off 16 deliveries the next ball.
Hetmyer, meanwhile, left it till the last over, which started with Orcas on 208 for 5. Jack Edwards was the bowler, and Hetmyer went 6, 6, 6 off the first three balls. That was enough to take Orcas to a huge total, and for Hetmyer to finish on 79 not out off 33 balls.
With that many runs to chase down, Freedom needed a solid start. Instead, they were 42 for 5 after the powerplay, having lost most of the big guns: Steven Smith, Mitchell Owen, Andries Gous, Glenn Maxwell and Edwards. Jasdeep Singh had four of the five wickets, including three in his second over – the fifth of the innings – where he got Gous first ball, Maxwell off the next, and Edwards off the fifth. Smith was already in the bag from his first over, and Jasdeep came back in the 14th to complete his five-for with Jansen’s wicket.
At one point, it looked like the record for the biggest victory margin (by runs) in MLC – currently 123 from when San Francisco Unicorns beat Freedom last season – would be broken. That it wasn’t was thanks to runs from Freedom’s Nos. 8, 9 and 10. Amila Aponso top-scored for Freedom with 31 not out from 13 balls from No. 10, and the men before him, Holland and Jansen, contributed 46 from 39 deliveries between them.
The latest defeat, their second in three games, left Freedom at the bottom of the table.
Scores:
Seattle Orcas 227 for 6 in 20 overs (Tim Seifert 37, Shayan Jahangir22, matthew Breetzket 32, Shimron Hetmyer 79*, Marcus Stoinis 42, Ali Sheikh 11; Marco Jansen 3-33, jack Edwards 1-56, Ian Holland 2-49) beat Washington Freedom 139 in 16.2 overs (Andries Gous 18.Obus Pienaar 10, Marco Jansen 20, Ian Holland 26, Amila Aponso 31*; Marcus Stoinis 1-20, Jasdeep Singh 5-24, ottneil Baartman 1-11, Cameron Gannon 2-16, Harmeet Singh 1-40) by 88 runs
[Cricinfo]
Heartbreak for Scotland as Sri Lanka clinch thriller to stay alive
Showers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
FSP complains of irregularities in a Guinness World Record event held in Sri Lanka
Opposition MPs sign motion demanding debate on prolonged failure to fill vacancies in superior courts
Another Lankan desperado deported from Malaysia arrested at BIA
SJB swift justice!
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Features6 days agoNanda Pethiyagoda Wanasundara as three generations of family saw her
-
Features5 days agoSri Lanka developing independent hydrographic capabilities
-
Editorial6 days agoFuel crisis: Beyond price debate
-
Opinion4 days agoRanasinghe Premadasa: The man who would not take ‘No’ for an answer
-
Latest News5 days agoSooryavanshi thumps fastest List A fifty as India A win tri-series
-
News4 days agoUS Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs meets President
-
Business5 days agoUniversity of West London opens Sri Lanka’s first full UK university branch campus
-
Features6 days agoThe Sirisena – Ranil conflict and events leading to MR’s return as PM