Sports
Concussion sub Labuschagne eclipses Bavuma one-man show
Australia beat South Africa in the first ODI in Bloemfontein, courtesy a lower-order rescue act by concussion substitute Marnus Labuschagne and all-rounder Ashton Agar. After Australia were in a crisis, at 113/7 chasing 223, Agar and Labuschagne put on a century stand to take Australia to victory, despite Temba Bavuma’s one-man show in the first innings.
Marco Jansen got rid of David Warner early in the chase, getting him to chop a delivery that got stuck in the surface, onto his stumps. A flurry of boundaries followed, and Australia looked like they were in a hurry, with Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh putting on 37 in 29 balls.
However, Kagiso Rabada broke through soon enough, getting Marsh to edge one to the keeper. It was then that Cam Green, facing his second ball, was struck on the helmet by Rabada and had to go off the field with a concussion. Labuschagne was announced to be the like-for-like concussion substitute for Green.
Josh Inglis was the next man in, but departed soon after, knocked over by Rabada, and Australia were in real trouble when Head played one shot too many to hand a catch to Rabada off Lungi Ngidi. Alex Carey was knocked over by Gerald Koetzee soon after, and Marcus Stoinis, who got off to a brisk start, handed Heinrich Klaasen a catch. Sean Abbott was soon knocked over by Keshav Maharaj and it seemed all but over for Australia, before Agar came in to join Labuschagne.
The two put on a 112 for the eighth wicket, and looked far less hurried than the top order, milking the singles and creaming the poor balls for boundaries. Labuschagne got to his half-century, but kept his head down, taking Australia over the line with ease in the end, with nearly ten overs and three wickets to spare. The win gave Australia a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Earlier, Australia asked South Africa to bat first after winning the toss, and picked up wickets at regular intervals, including Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram. South Africa also lost Klaasen and David Miller in quick succession and to be cornered at 100/5. However, some defiance from Marco Jansen alongside Bavuma yielded a partnership of 57 to take the score to 157/6.
Another flurry of wickets followed, but a stubborn stand for the tenth wicket between Ngidi and Bavuma allowed the latter to get to a heroic century, and lifted South Africa to 222. Ngidi lost his wicket with the six balls left in the innings, meaning Bavuma carried his bat through the innings on the way to 114*.
Australia face play South Africa in the second ODI at the same venue on Saturday (September 9).
Brief scores:
South Africa 222in 49 overs (Temba Bavuma 114*, Marco Jansen 32, Josh Hazlewood 3-41) lost to Australia 225/7in 40.2 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 80*, Ashton Agar 48*, Gerald Coetzee 2-44) by 3 wickets.
A 36 ball 63 by Sahan Arachchige and three wickets each by Eshan Malinga [3-13] and Tharindu Rathnayake [3-19] helped Galle Gallants defeat Jaffna Kings by 60 runs in the 10th match of the Lanka Premier League 2026. Galle Gallants lead the points table with three wins from four outings.
Scores:
Galle Gallants 193/8 in 20 overs [Chris Lynn 46, Sahan Arachchige 63, Dasun Shanaka 12, Dinura Kalupahana 10, Mohammad Nawaz 27; Mohamed Shiraz 1-23, Dunith Wellalage 1-13, Shakib Al Hasan 1-27, Dilshan Madushanaka 2-35, Lizaad Williams 2-37]
Jaffna Kings 133 in 17.5 overs [Kamil Mishara 15, Ibrahim Zadran 11, David Weise 22, Dunith Wellalage 56; Dasun Shanaka 1-21, Tharindu Rathnayake 3-19, Akif Javed 1-22, Eshan Malinga 3-13, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 1-32]
Half centuries by Rubin Hermann and Janith Liyanage and a three wicket haul by Mujeeb Ur Rahman helped Colombo Kaps defeat Kandy Royals by 24 runs in the 9th match of the Lanka Premier League 2026 played at Dambulla on Thursday [23rd July]’
Scores:
Colombo Kaps 192/9 in 20 overs [Rubin Hermann 53, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 14, Janith Liyanage 52*, James Neesham 24, Binura Fernando 21; Vijay Shankar 1-0, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-34, Nuwan Thushara 1-31, Moeen Ali 2-31, Dushan Hemantha 2-20]
Kandy Royals 169/8 in 20 overs [Kusal Perera 19, Dale Phillips 38, Vijay Shankar 30, Angelo Mathews 39*, Dushan Hemantha 11*; Shahnawaz Dahani 1-35, Wanuja Sahan 1-24, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3-34, Malsha Tharupathi 1-29, James Neesham 1-07]
Hosts Sri Lanka made a winning start to their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV campaign, edging out Qatar 2-1 in a closely contested opening-day tie at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts in Colombo on Wednesday.
The visitors struck first when Mubarak Alharrasi defeated Sri Lanka’s Apna Perera 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a hard-fought opening singles encounter, giving Qatar an early 1-0 lead.
Sri Lanka bounced back in the second singles as Thehan Wijemanne produced a spirited comeback to overcome Mossa Alharrasi 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. After dropping the opening set, Wijemanne showed great composure to win the next two sets and level the tie at 1-1.
The decisive doubles match proved to be a tense affair, with Apna Perera returning to partner Saha Kapilasena. The Sri Lankan duo held their nerve in two tie-breaks to defeat Jabar Al Mutawan and Mossa Alharrasi 7-6, 7-6, sealing the tie 2-1 for the hosts.
Sri Lanka’s ability to recover from the opening singles defeat highlighted the team’s resilience as Wijemanne’s comeback victory and the doubles pair’s clutch performance ensured a successful start to their campaign. The hosts will now look to build on the opening-day victory as they continue their quest for promotion in the Asia/Oceania Group IV competition.
Sheikh Hasina ally resigns as Bangladesh’s president
Oil prices hit $100 for the first time since May
US hits dozens of trading partners with new wave of tariffs
Arachchige, Rathnayake and Malinga pump Jaffna
Hermann, Liyanage and Mujeeb steer Colombo Kaps to a 23 run win
Showers expected in the Western and North-western provinces and in Galle and Matara districts
‘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 agoTwo memorable excerpts from a former SLAF commander’s memoir
-
Business6 days ago‘Giving up was never an option’: The fisherman who fought back after losing millions in SL
-
Latest News6 days agoDavis cup Asia/Oceania Group IV 2026 to be held in Colombo from 20th to 25th July
-
Life style6 days agoTaste of the Swiss Alps comes to Colombo
-
Features6 days agoErdoğan’s New Republic
-
Midweek Review3 days agoThree high-profile alleged suicides shaping key investigations
-
News7 days agoEvidence recorded in money laundering case against Yoshitha Rajapaksa
-
News7 days agoDengue outbreak gallops ahead: Infections surpasses 73,455, leaving 50 dead