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Inspired Sri Lanka humble the holders in Bengaluru

Published

2 years ago

2023/10/26

Priyan

Nissanka and Samarawickrama added 137* for the third wicket in the chase (Cricbuzz)

In another chapter of the ever increasing set of surprise results in this World Cup, Sri Lanka hammered England by eight wickets in Bangalore on Thursday (October 26). A one-sided result wasn’t totally unexpected but it was a role-reversal of sorts as the defending champions crashed to their fourth defeat of the tournament, leaving their title defence on the ropes.

Technically, it isn’t an upset, given that Sri Lanka had been winning this duel since the previous four editions. The game was done at the halfway mark itself once England collapsed to a low total of 156 after opting to bat. From there on, it was only a matter of Sri Lanka holding their nerves and they did that quite well.

David Willey did ignite a glimmer of hope in the English camp with his twin strikes in the first Powerplay. The left-arm pacer got rid of Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis to put some pressure on Sri Lanka. However, Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama conjured unbeaten fifties in a 137-run stand to see the side through without further hiccups. With such a low total to defend, it was always going to be an uphill task for the English bowlers on a pitch that got increasingly easier to bat on as the game progressed. The Nissanka-Samarawickrama stand was a masterclass in eye-catching strokeplay as they put the bowling to the sword.

That the target was achieved with approximately half the allotted overs left should tell a story in itself. However, it’s hard to overtly criticize England’s bowlers, given that they barely had any runs to play with. Another batting disaster earlier in the afternoon is what proved critical to England’s fortunes. It’s one thing to know the generic conditions of a venue and quite another to adapt when the tracks at that particular place behave differently. Today’s Chinnaswamy surface wasn’t the usual slam-bang-wallop kind of track where power-hitters usually make merry. The deck was on the slower side and the odd ball did stop a bit too.

England were too late to realise this fact and by then, they had just the tail left. From the get-go, indications were clear that the reigning champions would go hard in their bid to post a big score. Australia in their previous game and South Africa frequently had done this in the tournament. Given England’s explosive brand of cricket, it was a surprise that they hadn’t produced even a single performance of such menace. The batting unit wanted today to be that day where their turnaround started and blindly trusted the Chinnaswamy surface to be their ally. Unfortunately for them, this wasn’t that kind of a track.

The first five overs of the England innings was the only time in the entire game where they seemed to have some confidence. Dawid Malan stroked a few boundaries upfront, as did Jonny Bairstow but once comeback man Angelo Mathews and Maheesh Theekshana were introduced, the tables turned. The veteran started the fightback with the key breakthrough of Malan and then was influential in the run out of Joe Root as England started to stutter. Theekshana continued to keep it tight while the pace duo of Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha then sliced through the rest of the English batting line-up. Ben Stokes was the only one to show some resistance but even he lacked his usual tempo. It was the sort of batting implosion that leaves teams with no way back.

Brief scores:
England 156 in 33.2 overs (Jonny Bairstow 30, Dawid Malan 28, Ben Stokes 43; Kasun Rajitha 2-36, Lahiru Kumara 3-35, Angelo Mathews 2-14) lost to Sri Lanka 160/2 in 25.4 overs (Pathum Nissanka 77*, Sadeera Samarawickrama 65*) by eight wickets

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Trump says US will ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants if Strait of Hormuz not open before 48-hour deadline

Published

6 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

President Donald Trump says the US will “obliterate” Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not open within 48 hours – the waterway is vital for global oil shipping.

Iran warns it will retaliate against all US-linked energy infrastructure in the Middle East if its power plants are attacked.

Trump also says he has achieved his war aims “weeks ahead of schedule”, adding: “Iran wants to make a deal. I don’t”

More than 100 people have been injured after strikes on southern Israel. The target appears to have been a nuclear facility 13km away from the city of Dimona

Meanwhile, Israel says it launched a wave of strikes on the Iranian capital. It follows an attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, Tehran says

An attempted Iranian strike on the joint UK-US base on Diego Gracia happened late on Thursday night into Friday morning, the BBC understands. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says the UK won’t be drawn into wider conflict

[BBC]

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Trump at a crossroad in US-Israel war with Iran

Published

11 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

Three weeks after the joint US-Israeli war against Iran began, the conflict has reached a fuzzy state of mixed messages and uncertainty, with Donald Trump’s public comments often seemingly contradicted by realities on the ground.

The war is “very complete, pretty much”, Trump has said, but new American ground forces – including a Marine expeditionary unit – are moving into the region. It is “winding down”, but US and Israeli bombing and missile strikes on Iranian targets continue unabated.

Opening the Strait of Hormuz, the geographic choke point through which 20% of the world’s oil export travels, is a “simple military manoeuvre”, but for now only Iranian-approved ships are transiting the waters.

The Iranian military is “gone”, but drones and missiles are still striking targets in the region and targets have extended as far as the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia.

In a Friday evening Truth Social post published while he was flying from Washington to his Florida resort for the weekend, the US president provided a numbered list of American military objectives for the Iran war, which he said the US was “getting really close” to fulfilling.

The items, comprising his most detailed statement on the subject since the war began, included degrading or destroying Iran’s military, its defence infrastructure and its nuclear weapons programme, as well as protecting American allies in the region.

Not included was the goal of securing the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump said should be the responsibility of other nations that are more dependent on oil exports from the Gulf. The president has frequently noted that the US is a net exporter of energy and does not rely on oil from the Middle East – although such a view glosses over the global nature of the fossil fuel market, where price fluctuations directly impact the price at American gas pumps.

Trump’s Truth Social post also made no call for Iranian regime change. Gone are any references to approving the nation’s next leader or “unconditional surrender”, which Trump had insisted on in the early days of the war.

In Trump’s latest outline of his objectives, it is possible that the US could end its operation with Iran’s current anti-American leadership in power, its oil exports still flowing and its ability to assert some measure of control over the Strait of Hormuz intact.

If that is an unappealing resolution to a war that the president and his aides have said began with the 1979 Iran Revolution and that they would finish, there is an alternative route that involves the US ground forces presently on the way to the Middle East region.

Just over a week ago, US media reported that a Marine expeditionary unit, with about 2,500 combat soldiers and supporting ships and aircraft, had been dispatched from Japan to the Middle East, which it should reach in the coming days. Another Marine force of similar size recently departed its base in California with its arrival expected in mid-April.

Military analysts have suggested that the US could be planning to capture Kharg Island. an 3-sq-km (8-sq-mile) slice of land that contains Iran’s primary oil export terminal. Doing so could, in theory, cut off the nation’s oil shipments, depriving the nation of much-needed revenue and forcing it to make greater concessions to the Americans in exchange for an end to hostilities.

Trump on Friday said that he wasn’t sending ground troops to Iran, but added: “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you”. Clarity, it seems, is not his intention.

The threat of such a move prompted Iran’s state media to report on Saturday that any attack on Kharg Island would lead Iran to cause “insecurity” in the Red Sea, another key global shipping transit point, and “set fire” to energy facilities throughout the region.

Iran’s warning underscores the dangers that would accompany a US escalation that further exposes American military forces to Iranian reprisals.

Earlier this week, US media reported that the Trump administration was preparing to ask Congress for $200bn (£150bn) in emergency funding for the ongoing Iranian military operation. Such a request would suggest that, far from winding down, the White House is preparing for a long, expensive fight.

The initial reaction from Congress, including from Trump’s Republican allies, was cautious at best.

“We’re talking about boots on the ground. We’re talking about that kind of extended activity,” said Republican Congressman Chip Roy of Texas.

“They have got a whole lot more briefing and a whole lot more explaining to do on how we’re going to pay for it, and what’s the mission here.”

The so-called “fog of war” doesn’t just cloud the thinking of military planners, it also affects the perception of politicians and the public.

The Iran war, it seems, is at a pivot. But which direction it takes from here is a puzzle.

(BBC)

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Heat Index likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts

Published

11 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology
at 3.30 p.m. on 21 March 2026, valid for 22 March 2026.

Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in
Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.