Sports
Devapathiraja record historic win against Dharmaraja
By Reemus Fernando
Devapathiraja College, Ratgama recorded a historic victory as they rode on a century by Dharshaka Sandeep to beat Dharmaraja by an innings and 14 runs in the Under 19 Division I tournament Tier ‘B’ match at Ambalangoda on Friday.
After restricting Dharmaraja to 108 runs, Devapathiraja amassed 300 runs as Dharshaka anchored their innings with 122 runs. In their second essay Dharmaraja were bowled out for 178 runs.
The victory will help Devapathiraja, which is one of the new teams in the top division, take a top position in the points table in their Group in the Tier ‘B’ tournament.
Holy Cross, which is yet another newly promoted team to the Division I category, suffered an eight wickets defeat at the hands of Thurstan on Friday as Thurstan chased a target of 104 runs 18 in overs.
Match Scores
Devapathiraja in innings win at Ambalangoda
Dharmaraja 108 all out in 41.4 overs (Onija Sesath 25; Payhum Shaminda 3/29, Sandaru Malshan 2/14) and 178 all out 72.2 overs (Lakvin Bandara 69, Arosha Mahagedara 24, Dulara Bandulasena 22; Chaminda Sandaruwan 4/20, Sandaru Malshan 2/40, Gimhan Rasanjana 2/37)
Devapathiraja 300 all out in 86 overs (Yasiru Lakshan 34, Arosha Sithumina 35, Dharshaka Sandeep 122; Gimhan Rasanjana 61; Lakvin Bandara 2/48, Dulara Bandulasena 5/89, Dakshika Manukalpa 2/34)
Thurstan record eight wickets win at Bandaragama
Holy Cross 130 all out in 45.2 overs (Anuhas Seeman 23, Nadeera Deshan 34; Vihas Thewmika 3/41, Rachintha de Silva 5/27) and 187 all out in 53.3 overs (Sanuka Cheran 25, Sonal Awadika 59, Nadeera Deshan 64; Vishwa Dhananjaya 2/38, Vihas Thewmika 3/50, Pathum Dananjaya 3/02)
Thurstan
214 for 4 decl. in 44.1 overs (Dinal Induwara 51, Tanuja Rajapaksa 83, Shanikya Deshapriya 27; Hivin Kenula 2/44) and 104 for 2 in 17.4 overs (Dinal Induwara 31, Thanuja Rajapaksa 51n.o.)
DSS earn first innings honours at DSS ground
Gurukula 192 all out in 59 overs (Yuwaneth Madusanka 39, Denura Dimansith 39, Thathsara Eshan 24, Janith Mihiranga 20n.o.; Akmal Fazly 3/49, Gaviru Senhas 4/26) and 152 for 9 in 47.4 overs (Nethan Dishen 32, Denura Dimansith 35, Seneshka Nethsara 20; Akmal Fazly 2/35, Randisha Bandaranayaka 3/23, Randula Peiris 3/36)
DSS 321 all out in 90.1 overs (Gaviru Senhas 54, Pesandu Weerasinghe 29, Chanul Athale 22, Randisha Bandaranayaka 43, Chanul Athale 38, Shanal Binuksha 26, Dilash Kumaranayaka 70; Thathsara Eshan 2/36, Mohomad Mursad 4/70, Hiruna Nimsara 2/47)
Trinity post 297 runs on day one against Wesley at Campbell Park
Trinity 297 for 9 in 100 overs (Viduka Dhammage 55, Janith Ravishka 134n.o.; Uvin Perera 3/39, Linal Subasinghe 2/51, Nilupul Liyanage 3/51)
Dinura, Ranindu score big for Mahinda at SSC
Mahind a 389 all out in 91.2 overs (Tharusha Dilshan 96, Dinura Kalupahana 91, Ranindu Nimsara 69n.o.)
Naland a 18 for no loss in 8 overs
Ananda 202, Dharmasoka 129/3 at Ananda Mawatha
Ananda 202 all out in 59.2 overs (Danindu Sellaperuma 38, Kanchana de Livera 49, Ayesh Shashimal 35; Ishan Anuradha 5/49)
Dharmasoka 129 for 3 in 40 overs (Senitha Helambage 72n.o.; Kaveesha Mendis 2/27)
Isula, Yasindu score centuries for Royal at Reid Avenue
Royal 364 for 5 decl. in 99 overs (Isula Geeganage 122, Yasindu Dissanayake 152n.o; Lashen Pushpakumarage 3/35 Dilana Damsara 2/34)
St. Peter’s 6 for 1 in 3 overs
Egypt forward Mohamed Salah has signed a new two-year contract with Liverpool.
The 32-year-old’s previous deal was scheduled to run out in the summer and there had been doubts he would stay with the Reds following comments from him during the season and speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
However, he is staying and will have the chance to add to his 243 goals and 109 assists for the club in 393 appearances.
“Of course I’m very excited – we have a great team now,” said Salah.
“Before also we had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football.
“I have played eight years here, hopefully it’s going to be 10. I’m enjoying my life here, enjoying my football. I have had the best years of my career here.”
Salah has scored 32 goals in all competitions this season, including 27 in the Premier League as the Reds chase a 20th top-flight title. Liverpool are 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal with seven games remaining.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from Roma in 2017, has won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Fifa Club World Cup with the Reds.
He was one of three key Liverpool players who will be out of contract this summer, along with right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
Netherlands defender Van Dijk has said there has been progress on talks over a new deal but Alexander-Arnold has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.
[BBC]
MS Dhoni will lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the remainder of IPL 2025 after Rutraj Gaikwad was ruled out of the rest of the season with an elbow injury.
CSK head coach Stephen Fleming confirmed the development on the eve of the home game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday. It is a significant blow to CSK, who have made a bad start to their campaign by losing four of their first five matches. They are currently ninth in the points table, above only Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Gaikwad suffered the injury during CSK’s match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati on March 30. He was struck on his unprotected elbow after stepping out to fast bowler Tushar Deshpande and missing the ball in the second over of CSK’s unsuccessful chase, but continued batting and scored 63 in that game. He played two more games after that and made 5 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Chennai on April 5 and 1 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on April 8. After five games, he was CSK’s second-highest run-scorer with 122 runs at a strike rate of 150.61; he was CSK’s highest run-scorer in IPL 2024.
“He [Gaikwad] got hit in Guwahati. He’s been operating with an amount of pain,” Fleming said in Chennai. “We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck.
“So we’re disappointed, and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he’s gone to in terms of trying to play, but unfortunately, he’d be out of the tournament from now. We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL.”
Dhoni, 43, had led CSK from 2008 until 2024, when he handed the captaincy to Gaikwad. He had also handed the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja in 2022, but took back the leadership some way into the season after the team went through a bad run of results. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, CSK have won five IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023 and two Champions League trophies as well.
“He [Dhoni] had no hesitation to step up and help guide us out of this if we can,” Fleming said. “So that was never a doubt. We’ll look at replacements. We’ve got some good players in the squad that have been with us a while, so we’ll look from within first. But yeah, there is an opportunity to see how we can enhance the squad probably moving forward into subsequent years.”
After their home game against KKR on today, CSK play two away games against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 14 and Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 20.
[Cricinfo]
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