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Dialog powers Royal – Thomian for 19th time

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Lasantha Thevarapperuma – Group Chief Marketing Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC handing over the sponsorship to Rev. Marc Billimoria – Warden, S. Thomas’ College and Thilak Waththuhewa - Principal, Royal College. Also pictured (L) Rehan Gunasekera – Co-Chairman, Royal Thomian Match Organizing Committee From RC, (R) Arjuna Waidyasekera – Co-Chairman, Royal Thomian Match Organizing Committee from STC.

Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, has extended corporate backing for the 19th year as official sponsor of the country’s blue ribboned cricket encounter, the ‘Battle of the Blues’ between Royal College, Colombo, and S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia on March 7, 8 and 9 at the SSC Grounds, Colombo. The limited-over ‘Mustang’s Trophy’ match will be on March 16, also at the same venue.

The 145th cricket encounter will be aired live on Dialog Television – ThePapare TV HD (Channel Number 126), live-streamed on ThePapare.com and the Dialog ViU App.

Further, Dialog initiated the ‘Play for a Cause’ charity initiative with a mission to uplift school cricket across Sri Lanka. Through a generous pledge of Rs. 1,000 for every run scored and Rs. 10,000 for every wicket taken, last year’s encounter raised a substantial donation of Rs. 1,128,000. The proceedings were distributed in consultation with the Principal of Royal College and the Warden of S. Thomas’ College. This commendable effort helped support and empower four deserving schools in the country.

In this year’s encounter, the boys from Mt. Lavinia will be led by Mahith Perera, while the lads from Reid Avenue will play under the captaincy of Sineth Jayawardena, the U-19 Sri Lanka skipper. The ‘Royal-Thomian’ series spans an impressive 144 years, making it the second longest uninterrupted cricket series in the world, behind the annual encounter between St. Peters College, Adelaide, and Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, Australia, which began just a year earlier.



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Dharmaraja and Kingswood set for historic rugby clash today

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Dharmaraja Rugby Captain Gayan Samarathunga, and Kingswood Rugby Captain Samantha Nadeesha. with William Weerasinghe Memorial Trophy

The annual rugby encounter between Dharmaraja College and Kingswood College, played for the William Weerasinghe Memorial Trophy, is set to take place today (July 11, 2026), at 4:00 PM at the Bogambara Stadium, Kandy.

The official unveiling of the trophy took place this week at the Dharmaraja College premises with the participation of the Principals of the two schools, teachers-in-charge of sports, coaches, the Rugby teams, and several distinguished guests, including Dharmaraja College Old Boys’ Association President Mahesh Wijetunga, Kingswood College Old Boys’ Association President Muditha Abeykoon,

Text and Pic by SK Samaranayake

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Dharmaraja and Kingswood set for historic rugby clash on Saturday

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Dharmaraja Rugby Captain Gayan Samarathunga, and Kingswood Rugby Captain Samantha Nadeesha. with William Weerasinghe Memorial Trophy. 

The annual rugby encounter between Dharmaraja College and Kingswood College, played for the  William Weerasinghe Memorial Trophy, is set to take place tomorrow (July 11, 2026),  at 4:00 PM at the Bogambara Stadium, Kandy.

The official unveiling of the trophy took place this week at the Dharmaraja College premises with the participation of  the Principals of the two schools, teachers-in-charge of sports, coaches,  the Rugby teams, and several distinguished guests, including Dharmaraja College Old Boys’ Association President Mahesh Wijetunga, Kingswood College Old Boys’ Association President Muditha Abeykoon,

 by S  K SAMARANAYAKE

 

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Mbappe and Dembele net as France beat Morocco to reach World Cup semifinal

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Kylian Mbappe of France, centre,celebrates after scoring his team's first goal with Dayot Upamecano, left, and Ousmane Dembele, right, during the FIFA World Cup 2026 match [Aljazeera]

Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were on target as France surged past Morocco 2-0 to book their place in the World Cup semifinals.

Mbappe curled in his eighth goal of the tournament on 60 minutes on Thursday before Dembele doubled Les Bleus’ lead six minutes later to settle a clinical victory at the Gillette Stadium outside Boston.

The win sends the 2018 champions into a last-four showdown against either Spain or Belgium in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday.

African champions Morocco had been tipped to pose a serious threat to France’s hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final.

But Didier Deschamps’ men were always in control against a limited Morocco side who failed to register a single shot on goal until an 83rd-minute free-kick by Azzedine Ounahi was parried away by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

France, though, struggled to find a breakthrough, and missed the opportunity to take the lead on 28 minutes when Mbappe saw a penalty saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

Mbappe had won the penalty after being brought down by Noussair Mazraoui but was forced to wait several minutes before being allowed to take the kick after a protracted VAR check.

Morocco managed to hold out to half-time, but it was always only a matter of time before France’s relentless pressure paid off.

The breakthrough came on the hour mark, with Mbappe bending a brilliant right-foot shot past Bounou from the edge of the area.

Paris Saint-Germain star Dembele made the game safe in the 66th minute, striding forward menacingly from midfield before steering a low finish into the bottom corner.

France now await the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal in Los Angeles between European champions Spain and Belgium.

[Aljazeera]

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