Latest News
India’s chance to test themselves and their bench strength
All the three games in this series have followed a similar pattern so far. India have won three tosses – yup, you read that right – elected to bowl, and then used dew to their advantage to chase down modest totals unchallenged.
With a T20 World Cup around the corner, and an unassailable 3-0 lead in their pocket, it would be prudent for India to start challenging themselves and look to set totals if their luck with the toss continues.
They’d also want to perhaps find a way to expand their squad depth a bit more – the lower-order firepower seemed lacking in the 2024 tournament. G Kamalini brings with her the same big-hitting promise Richa Ghosh did as a teenager in 2020. Maybe it’s time to unleash her?
For Sri Lanka, simply being able to challenge India for long enough has been quite a task. They continue to be heavily reliant on Chamari Athapaththu – it’s a bit like how Mithali Raj carried India’s batting for nearly a decade before Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur took centre stage.
Sri Lanka continue to mix and match to find their own versions of Mandhana and Harmanpreet and, while there has been promise here and there, consistent performers have been hard to find.
After Radha Yadav, Tanuja Kanwar, Saika Ishaque and N Shree Charani, 20-year-old Yaishnavi Sharma is the latest to break into India’s left-arm spin club. But, she’s the only one among the five to do so without the WPL giving her a leg up. Vaishnavi finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy with 21 wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 6.47. She backed it up in the inter-zonal tournament and again in these three games against Sri Lanka. Her composure has been striking. So too the courage to keep tossing the ball up.
When Sri Lanka stunned India to win last year’s Asia Cup final, top-scorer Harshitha Samarawickrema seemed a player of immense promise. But in the 17 months since, such moments have been rare. Coach Rumesh Ratnayake continues to back her and believes a turnaround is imminent, and she’ll be keen to repay the faith. Since the start of the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year, she is yet to score a half century in nine innings.
With a T20 World Cup just six months away, this is India’s chance to expand their talent pool and to that end, they may want to bring 17-year-old wicketkeeper Kamalini into the mix and see what she can do.
India (probable): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh/ G Kamalini (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Renuka Singh/Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, Shree Charani
As a response to their batting needing more support, Sri Lanka made three changes in the last game and ended up posting just 112. There may be more changes on Sunday.
Sri Lanka (probable): Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Imesha Dulani, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Kavisha Dilhari, Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera, Malsha Snehani, Nimasha Meepage
[Cricinfo]
Latest News
Over 1,500 flights cancelled as winter storm Devin hits US holiday travel
Thousands of flights have been cancelled and delayed in the United States due to winter storm Devin, airline monitoring website FlightAware reports, dealing a blow to air travel during peak holiday time.
A total of 1,581 flights “within, into or out of the” US were cancelled and 6,883 delayed as of 4pm US Eastern Time (21:00 GMT) on Friday, according to FlightAware, which describes itself as the world’s largest flight tracking data company.
The delays and cancellations came as the US National Weather Service warned of winter storm Devin causing “hazardous travel conditions” and heavy snow forecast across parts of the Midwest and northeast.
More than 40 million Americans were under winter storm warnings or weather advisories on Friday, plus another 30 million under flood or storm advisories in California, where a so-called atmospheric river has brought a deluge of rain.
New York City, the largest US city, was bracing for up to 250mm (10 inches) of snow overnight on Friday, the most expected in four years. Temperatures were forecast to drop into the weekend when an Arctic blast is expected to swoop down from Canada.
New York’s John F Kennedy airport, Newark Liberty international airport and LaGuardia airport warned travellers of potential delays or cancellations. More than half of the flight cancellations and delays took place at these three airports, according to FlightAware.
[Aljazeera]
Foreign News
Thailand and Cambodia agree on ceasefire to end weeks of deadly fighting
Thailand and Cambodia said they have signed a ceasefire agreement to end weeks of fierce fighting along their border that has killed more than 100 people and displaced more than half a million civilians in both countries.
“Both sides agree to an immediate ceasefire after the time of signature of this Joint Statement,” the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers said in a statement on Saturday.
“Both sides agree to maintain current troop deployments without further movement,” the ministers said.
The ceasefire took effect at noon local time (05:00 GMT) on Saturday [27] and extends to “all types of weapons” and “attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas”.
Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, reporting from the Cambodian border city of Poipet, said the “guns seem to have fallen silent” as both sides adhered to the truce.
“But I must tell you, right up until the point of that ceasefire being implemented, there was some intense firing going on… really, really intense – right up until that moment. And it kind of gives you the idea of how fragile this actually is,” Baig said.
“That doesn’t instil a great deal of confidence in people here who want to return home and will be watching if this ceasefire will hold,” he said.
[Aljazeera]
Latest News
Latha Walpola passes away at the age of 92
Sri Lankan singer Latha Walpola has passed away today (27) at the age of 92.
-
News5 days agoMembers of Lankan Community in Washington D.C. donates to ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Flood Relief Fund
-
News3 days agoBritish MP calls on Foreign Secretary to expand sanction package against ‘Sri Lankan war criminals’
-
News6 days agoAir quality deteriorating in Sri Lanka
-
News6 days agoCardinal urges govt. not to weaken key socio-cultural institutions
-
Features5 days agoGeneral education reforms: What about language and ethnicity?
-
News5 days agoSuspension of Indian drug part of cover-up by NMRA: Academy of Health Professionals
-
News6 days agoCID probes unauthorised access to PNB’s vessel monitoring system
-
Opinion6 days agoRanwala crash: Govt. lays bare its true face
