Sports

From frying pan to fire as India pick Patel

Published

4 years ago

2022/03/9

Rex Clementine in Mohali

Maybe Sri Lanka’s preparations and strategy ahead of their tour of India could have been better, but spare a thought for the batsmen when you imagine the quality of opposition’s attack.

Rohit Sharma had plenty of deadly weapons at his disposal.

There’s Jasprit Bumrah, the full package of a quality fast bowler rarely sending down a loosener and pinning down batsmen with his deadly yorkers. Mohammad Shami, the leader of the attack has both pace and gets movement and in Mohali was quite handy getting the old ball to reverse swing to deadly effect.

Ravichandran Ashwin with 436 Test scalps to his name has just gone past Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 wickets. He’s only behind Anil Kumble (619) and it’s only a matter of time before he goes onto become the highest wicket taker for India in Test cricket. Man of the Match in Mohali, Ravindra Jadeja backed up his 175 not out with nine wickets in the game. He’s on 241 Test wickets and by the end of this year would have overtaken Bishan Singh Bedi (266) as India’s most successful left-arm spinner.

The quartet of bowlers have 1004 wickets among them and no bowling attack in the world is as strong, penetrating and lethal as India’s.

The only weak link in the attack is Jayant Yasav, whose off-spin didn’t fetch him a wicket in Mohali. While Yadav provided the only breathing space for the Sri Lankans with the other four putting relentless pressure, Sri Lanka didn’t have many scoring opportunities.

The second Test in Bangalore could be tougher as India have named Axar Patel in the side. The 28-year-old left-arm orthodox spinner is returning from injury and replaced Kuldeep Yadav in the squad and it will be surprising if he doesn’t take the place of Jayant Yadav in the playing XI.

Unlike Yadav, Patel could bring further misery to the visitors as his brief Test career has been highly successful. He has featured in only five Tests but already has 36 wickets. His average is astonishing; 11:86 and that includes five five-wicket hauls.

Some may argue that India will look to play the additional seam option of Mohammad Siraj in Bangalore, which is a day-night game. But, the wicket at Chinnaswamy Stadium offers both turn and bounce and playing the extra spinner won’t be a bad idea.

Sri Lanka have a tough ask in Bangalore and the batting unit is thin on confidence. It needs a big effort from their captain Dimuth Karunaratne to overcome one of the toughest challenges they have faced in recent years.

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Sports

Arachchige, Rathnayake and Malinga pump Jaffna

Published

11 hours ago

2026/07/24

Priyan

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]

Sports

Hermann, Liyanage and Mujeeb steer Colombo Kaps to a 23 run win

Published

12 hours ago

2026/07/24

Priyan

Janith Liyanage scored an unbeaten 52 [LPL]

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]

Sports

Sri Lanka edge Qatar in Davis Cup opener

Published

18 hours ago

2026/07/24

Thilina Walpola

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.