Sports
Dhananjaya puts on a show in Galle
Rex Clementine in Galle
When he gets going Dhananjaya de Silva makes batting look all too easy and after a couple of hostile spells by Pakistan’s quicks, Sri Lanka’s number six put up a splendid show and rescued the team from a tricky situation.
Sri Lanka had been reduced to 54 for four after Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi claimed four wickets in the morning session and it was left for Dhananjaya and Angelo Mathews to rescue the innings.
Mathews had looked shaky against Pakistan’s quicks, but once the spinners came on he looked much more comfortable and although the quicks were called back to have another crack, by that stage he was well set. Both the fast bowlers didn’t have much venom once the new ball had lost its shine.
Shaheen finished with three wickets with the first wicket taking his tally to 100 Test wickets. Naseem bowled so well but with little luck and certainly deserved more than the solitary wicket.
Mathews added 131 runs for the fifth wicket with Dhananjaya as Sri Lanka fought their way back after the shaky start.
Dhananjaya was the more dominant partner cutting loose with clever use of his feet. Pakistan’s spin looked ordinary sending down too many loose balls and you wondered whether they would have been better off with the additional seam bowling option rather than going into the game with three spinners.
Mathews was dismissed for 64 when he was caught behind by Sarfraz Ahmed off the bowling of Abrar Ahmed.
Dhananjaya then added 57 runs for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper Sadeera Samarawickrama, who looked positive from the start.
Samarawickrama was dismissed in the last over before stumps for 36 having hit four fours while Dhananjaya was on 94 off 157 balls with nine fours and three sixes.
It has been a solid effort by Dhananjaya under pressure and if Sri Lanka were able to post a total beyond 300 that could give them the edge in the game.
Only 65.4 overs of the scheduled 90 were possible on the opening day due to rain. Play will get underway 15 minutes early today to catch up for the lost time.
A 1-0 series win will help Sri Lanka overtake Pakistan in the ICC Test Rankings. Pakistan are ranked sixth, just above Sri Lanka.
This is both teams’ first game in the World Test Championship.
The second Test begins at Sinhalese Sports Club ground next week.
New Zealand and Pakistan will share the points after rain forced a washout in Colombo. The officials waited over two hours from the official start time for an improvement in the weather conditions, but the steady drizzle that began at the toss only grew heavier and never quite relented.
With puddles forming on the covers and the overhead conditions no closer to improving, the umpires made the inevitable call.
There was a strong chance of showers as toss time approached. The previous day, Pakistan’s evening training session had to be cancelled due to rain. At the toss, which Pakistan won with Salman Agha opting to bat first, a drizzle began as the captains were speaking, and the ground staff began to move the covers into position. From thereon, the fate of the game was sealed.
Pakistan had left Khawaja Nafay out and brought in Fakhar Zaman, while New Zealand made three changes, including welcoming their captain Mitchell Santner back into the XI.
Both teams got off the mark in the Super Eight, but are left with little room for error. Pakistan will play England next on Tuesday and Sri Lanka a week from today, while New Zealand take on Sri Lanka on Wednesday and England on Friday. All games in this group take place in Sri Lanka.
(Cricinfo)
Sri Lanka took a 1-0 lead in the ODI series with a tense ten-run win over West Indies, thanks largely to a match-defining performance from Inoka Ranaweera.
After being asked to bat, Sri Lanka posted 240 for 6, built on half-centuries from Hasini Perera (61 off 86) and Harshitha Samarawickrema (66 off 105). Captain Chamari Athapaththu made 27, while useful middle-order contributions from Nilakshika Silva and Kavisha Dilhari kept the innings moving at a controlled rate. A late cameo from Dewmi Vihanga, who struck 14 off six balls, ensured Sri Lanka pushed towards a competitive total in St George’s in Grenada.
But it was Ranaweera who tilted the contest. The experienced left-arm spinner returned figures of 4 for 44 from her ten overs. She removed the No. 3 Shemaine Campbelle cheaply, dismissed Chinelle Henry soon after, and then returned to break the dangerous stand of 89 between Stefanie Taylor and Jannillea Glasgow in the 40th over, just as West Indies were threatening to surge ahead. Ranaweera also accounted for Shawnisha Hector at the death.
Taylor’s 66 off 83 balls and Glasgow’s 50 off 67 had revived West Indies from early setbacks, and with Aaliyah Alleyne in the middle, the chase remained alive deep into the game. West Indies needed 18 from the last two overs, and 12 from the last six balls. However, Sri Lanka’s spinners held firm, with Dilhari finishing with three wickets, including two in the final over, to complement Ranaweera’s starring role.
West Indies were eventually bowled out for 230 in 49.4 overs. Sri Lanka have now won four of their last five ODIs against West Indies since 2017.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Women 240 for 6 in 50 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 66, Hasini Perera 61; Hayley Matthews 2-46, Karishma Ramharak 2-57) beat West Indies Women 230 in 49.4 overs (Stefanie Taylor 66, Jannillea Glasgow 50; Inoka Ranaweera 4-44, Kavish Dilhari 3-49) by ten runs
[Cricinfo]
Left arm spinner Sharada Jayaratne took bowling honours of the day’s Under 19 cricket encounters as he took six wickets for Ananda to restrict Richmond to 168 runs in the traditional match at Ananda Mawatha.
Richmond were strongly placed at one stage with Risinu Rupasinghe (40) and Senuk Dulneth adding 91 runs for the first wicket. But when skipper Kithma Widanapathirana broke the stand, Richmond collapsed. Kithma and Sharada shared all ten wickets to fall.
In response the home team were 37 for three wickets at stumps with Vihanga Mihiranga inflicting early dammage.
At Darley Road, Wesley had a promising start with openers Shamma Fernando and Rasheed Nahyan putting on 58 runs for the first wicket before Nushan Perera and Sri Lanka Under 19 spinner Vigneswaran Akash shared seven wickets between them to restrict the Campbell Park team to 161 runs.
In reply St. Joseph’s reached 74 for no loss at stumps. The Joes amassed those runs in just 12.1 overs with Aveesha Samash hammering an unbeaten 53 in 38 balls (6x4s, 4x6s).
At De Soysa Stadium, Moratuwa, Mahanama posted 350 for nine wickets declared against Prince of Wales as Dulnith Sigera (74), Eshan Withanage (71n.o.) and Sineth Veerarathne (59) made half centuries.
For the Cambrians Nethul Anuhas took five wickets.
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