President Anura Kumara Dissanayake visited the “Ranaviru Sevana” Rehabilitation Centre in Ragama this morning (19) and inquired into the well-being of military personnel receiving residential treatment there.

During the visit, the President engaged in cordial discussions with the soldiers and commended the sacrifices made by all of them in safeguarding the unity of the motherland.

Thereafter, President Dissanayake also held discussions with the medical staff, including doctors serving at the “Ranaviru Sevana” Rehabilitation Centre, and looked into the possibility of further improving medical and other welfare facilities available for the military personnel undergoing treatment.

Minister of Science and Technology Professor Chrishantha Abeysena, Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retired), Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Lasantha Rodrigo, Director of Ranaviru Services and Rehabilitation of the Sri Lanka Army Brigadier R.G.L.K. Weerakoon, and Chairman of the Ranaviru Seva Authority Brigadier Senarath Kohona (Retired) were among those who attended the occasion.

(PMD)

It’s taking longer than most expected, but Bangladesh are inevitably moving towards history. Bangladesh and Pakistan will go into a fifth day in Sylhet, with Bangladesh on the cusp of another 2-0 clean sweep of Pakistan. They need just three wickets to get there, with Mohammed Rizwan, unbeaten on 75, the final, valiant point of resistance for a visiting side who still need an improbable 121 for victory.

It was thanks primarily to Rizwan, and his 134-run partnership with Salman Agha in the final session, that kept Bangladesh waiting for so long when they appeared to be on course to finish Pakistan off. But two crucial wickets from Taijul Islam – who bowled more than a third of the overs on Tuesday – in the final half hour saw that partnership broken, and the hosts burrow deep into Pakistan’s tail.

Rizwan and Agha got together off the back of three quick wickets, and a resurgent Bangladesh sniffing for a quick knockout. Instead, they held them at bay for over three hours, counterattacking early on before seeing off wave after wave of spin and seam from Bangladesh. Even as Bangladesh attacked with the field, the duo kept run-scoring front and centre of their survival strategy, using their feet against spin and timing the ball expertly when pace returned.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s new transformation committee has had “cordial and constructive” discussions with Imran Khwaja, the ICC’s deputy chair, according to a member of the new SLC committee.

Khwaja had been in Ari Lanka over the last few days to gather information as the ICC decides what its response to the sweeping government-led changes at SLC should be. During the course of that visit, Khwaja not only spoke with members of SLC’s transformation committee, but also met with Sri Lanka’s president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, whose government had installed the committee after ousting the previous board.

Sidath Wettimuny one of the committee’s nine members, said SLC’s new administrators were hopeful the ICC would continue to treat the board as a regular Full Member.