Sports

It needs a mastermind to win in South Africa

Published

5 years ago

2022/01/9

by Rex Clementine

Indian cricket had reached new heights last year winning in Australia, sealing the series of all places at the Gabba, where the Aussies had been unbeaten for three decades. Given such an epic performance, you thought this Indian team will complete a series win in South Africa as well. But the Indians were cut to size as the Proteas chased down a tricky target showing guts in plenty with their skipper Dean Elgar putting up a super show at the Wanderers this week.

The series is leveled 1-1 and India could still go onto win it by emerging victorious in the final Test in Cape Town next week. The point is that you thought the series for this Indian side is a walk in the park given the parity between the two sides. If India do not win in Cape Town, Sri Lanka will be the only Asian nation to have won a Test series in South Africa. If you don’t get the impact of it, let us put it in simpler terms; only Sri Lanka, Australia and England have won Test series in South Africa where Test cricket has been played since 1889.

India’s got a formidable Test side that played in the finals of the World Test Championship. Sri Lanka’s is a weak unit where their best player is always injured. They have just got one bowler with 100 plus Test wickets and their batting is as brittle as a Chinese smart phone. So how did they win a series of all places in South Africa? Francois du Plessis and Dale Steyn were still part of the South African side when Sri Lanka won in Durban and Port Elizabeth in 2019. This should be a good case study for any student of the game.

This is where the brilliance of Chandika Hathurusinghe comes into the equation. There aren’t many smarter brains in cricket than his. Through meticulous planning he achieved the impossible. That leaked dressing room video moments after winning the series where players adore their coach just gives you a glimpse on the wonders that Hathurusingha could do and how much players respected him.

To start with there was some crazy scheduling. Sri Lanka toured New Zealand in December from where they went to Australia for a two Test series in February and then flew straight to Johannesburg from Canberra to play two more Tests in March. The players and coaching staff had not come home for four months and had been on the move constantly shifting from one hotel to the other and flying from one city to another. Usually when the scheduling is that hectic, the last leg turns out to be a nightmare and players are impatient to return home. Hathurusinghe found a way to keep them fresh and pull off the greatest heist in the annals of Sri Lankan Test cricket history.

It’s a bad idea to head into a Test series in South Africa without a warm-up game. That’s exactly what Sri Lanka had to do as the scheduling was so tight. Hathurusinghe had just five days to get the team ready. The biggest challenge that he faced was that a week before that the Aussie quicks had sent Kusal Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne crashing down with vicious bouncers. Both spent a night in the hospital. Hathurusinghe knew that with Steyn, Rabada and Olivier the short ball will be used to good effect. One of the things that he constantly worked on was the hand speed. Be prepared for the short ball and play positive cricket looking for methods to score. That worked. As we have seen time and again, when put under pressure, South Africa give in.

In Durban, KJP played a blinder with the last wicket stand with Vishwa Fernando taking the team over the line. In the second Test, Sri Lanka’s limited bowling resources did wonders. The seamers hardly had any threatening pace but Hathurusinghe’s method of staying discipline, sticking to good lengths did the trick. He proved yet again even though your attack did not possess anyone who bowled at 140kmph, there were means to take 20 wickets to win a Test match.

That series win was Hathurusinghe’s finest hour in his coaching career. Sadly, a few months later it was all over. It’s hard to find a better brain in cricket than that of Hathurusinghe. He could have, however, done far better things had he not compromised on his principles.

When Hathurusinghe came on board everyone told us that he will not tolerate indiscipline. That was a lie. He had favourites and tolerated them even when they had brought the game into disrepute.

Some of the resources he employed was just a waste of money. He roped in a psychologist from Brisbane who had a proven track record. But the point is, barring one or two players not many understood what the psychologist was trying to convey due to language barriers.

You also tend to get the feeling that Hathurusinghe only wanted to have in the coaching staff those whom he trusted. That was unprofessional. He did not place proper emphasis on fielding and as a result Sri Lanka’s fielding standards dropped so alarmingly that they were the worst fielding unit in the world. Again the issue could have been addressed with a professional fielding coach, but Hathurusinghe was against it and was happy to get the job done using amateurs. Steve Rixon was Fielding Coach when Sri Lanka won in South Africa and that recruitment was forced on the Head Coach.

When things were going off the track, Hathurusinghe was looking for scapegoats. His public condemnation of Angelo Mathews was in poor taste. Lasith Malinga was past his prime when Hathurusinghe decided to recall him. Those who were close to him literally were pleading not to do so as it may harm the team’s culture and unsettle a settled unit. He dismissed those suggestions saying that he could handle Lasith. That turned out to be wishful thinking.

Despite many flaws, Hathurusinghe is a super coach. He is meticulous with planning, unconventional, unafraid and understands the game and his players so well. Although he may not be back in the Sri Lankan fold again, here is a man who has got much to offer. Winning a series in South Africa was just unimaginable. India have just proven how tough it is to win a series in South Africa.

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Sports

Royal edge out Thomians to win Under 17 Division I cricket title

Published

4 hours ago

2026/09/12

Thilina Walpola

A five-wicket haul by Mahiru Kodituwakku and a fighting unbeaten knock of 92 runs by Manuth Dasanayake were the highlights as Royal College Colombo beat arch-rivals S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, to win the Under-17 Division I cricket title at P. Sara Stadium on Friday.

‎Chasing 206 runs for victory, S. Thomas’ lost wickets at regular intervals as Mahiru Kodituwakku led the bowling attack with a five-wicket haul to dismiss them for 133 runs.

‎Kodituwakku demoralized the Thomian batting lineup by taking early wickets. They lost their first four wickets for 31 runs inside seven overs, before being bowled out in the 33rd over.

‎Kodituwakku completed impressive figures of 7.5-0-32-5.

‎The victory looked a distant possibility halfway through Royal’s first innings. Tharul Jayasuriya struck early blows, removing Savain Gamage and Nithesh Jayasinghe cheaply, before Shenuk Fernando accounted for Mudith Gunasekara and skipper Dushen Udawela to leave Royal struggling at 73 for four wickets. However, after being five wickets down at 86 at one stage, Royal recovered to post a competitive total, thanks to an unbeaten 92 from Manuth Dasanayake.

‎Manuth held the batting lineup together with his dogged knock, which came off 87 balls. He cracked eight fours and five sixes in an entertaining performance.

‎‎Scores

‎Royal 205 for 9 in 50 overs

(Mudith Gunasekara 38, Manuth Dasanayake 92n.o.; Shenuk Fernando 2/20, Tharul Jayasuriya 2/61)

‎S. Thomas’ 133 all out in 36.5 overs

(Reshon Solomans 38, Tharul Jayasuriya 29; Mahiru Kodituwakku 5/32, Gagan Gamage 2/42) (RF)

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Sri Lanka thwart Fatima Sana challenge to secure Asia Cup final spot

Published

6 hours ago

2026/09/12

Priyan

Chamudi Praboda took two wickets in the middle overs to dent Pakistan [Asian Cricket Council]

Sri Lanka survived an all-time all-round display from Fatima Sana to triumph over a spirited Pakistan and seal a second-straight Asia Cup final berth against India.

Sana, a rare Player of the Match from the losing side, struck 47 off 36 to drag Pakistan to 130 for 5, and then finished with figures of 4 for 38 – inclusive of two double-wicket overs – but Sri Lanka’s all-round excellence eventually overcame Sana’s bloody mindedness.

In their chase, Sri Lanka were reduced to 5 for 2, and then 33 for 4, but a match-defining partnership of 67 off 59 between Harshitha Samarawickrema (36 off 31) and Kavisha Dilhari (33 off 33) turned the tide in Sri Lanka’s favours.

Sana’s second double-wicket intervention saw the backs of both Samarawickrama and Dilhari, but Sri Lanka’s batting depth came to the fore as Nilakshi Silva and Kaushini Nuthyangana saw the game off with eight balls to spare.

As Sri Lanka’s players celebrated on the sidelines as Nilakshika ramped Sana for one final, definitive boundary, the Pakistan skipper was on her haunches, tears streaming down her face. It’s not been an uncommon sight with Sana, but it was yet another example of just how much of herself she had put into the game – just that in this instance, it was simply not enough.

Run-scoring hasn’t been easy in Dubai this Asia Cup, with spinners in particular thriving. And that narrative was not about to change as Sri Lanka put Pakistan into bat – even as the data suggested the team batting first had won nine of the previous 13 games at the venue.

It proved to be the right call as the tournament’s unlikely leading wicket-taker, Chamari Athapaththu, struck early once more, getting Shawaal Zulfiqar and Ayesha Zafar in each of her first two overs. Left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari meanwhile had removed Muneeba Ali in her first over as well. Seventeen-year-old left-arm spinner Chamudi Prabodha continued the pattern when she completely did an advancing Sadaf Shamas in the flight to have her stumped in the 10th over.

At the halfway point of the innings, Sri Lanka’s plan was going just as envisioned. Pakistan were reeling on 52 for 4 and they would need a minor miracle to post a respectable, if not challenging, target.

The calls for Sana to bat higher up the order seem to grow with every passing day, and when you watch innings like the one she produced on Friday it’s not hard to see why.

For her first six deliveries, she sought to get her eye in – even in a semifinal where her side had nearly lost half the batting – and played out six dot deliveries. With most other players, you might assume this would build pressure. But Sana is made of sterner stuff, a ball of self-belief and willpower.

The seventh ball she faced, she drilled four down through, hard to Chamudi’s left – the youngster perhaps saved some pain by not getting a hand on it. On her 10th she swept Dilhari for four, and then on her 11th she skipped out and launched a maximum over square leg.

And just like that Sana was on her way, and the momentum was shifting.

When Gull Feroza fell at the end of the 16th over, it wasn’t ideal. Feroza had clawed her way to a 32-ball 21, but with the death overs approaching Sana would have been hoping for Feroza to finally unleash. Sana however adjusted her plans and made the most of what was on offer; after a quiet 16th over, she managed a boundary in two of the final three overs, while Tuba Hasan also chipped in with a valuable 12 off 10 to push Pakistan to 130 for 5 with 78 runs coming off the final 10 overs.

An above waist-high no-ball, a first six of her career for Kaushini Nuthyangana, the equation suddenly down to 5 needed off 11. It was cruel irony that that moment had occurred off Sana’s bowling, because up until then she had been the almost solitary barrier between Sri Lanka and a second successive Asia Cup final.

She had removed two of Sri Lanka’s top three – including Athapaththu – in her first spell, and then returned late in the chase to get rid of the set pair of Samarawickrama and Dilhari. But in between Sri Lanka had done just about enough to get across the line in a hard-fought semi-final.

Losing four wickets inside the opening 10 overs is never ideal, and there would have been a time when Sri Lanka would have folded quite easily in such a scenario. But this Sri Lanka side is one with a growing belief that there will always be someone to step up.

Samarawickrama had been the one against Bangladesh, and here she was there again – this time flanked by the always involved Dilhari. With the required rate reaching about eight an over midway through the chase, the pair took to heart the words offered by coach Jamie Siddons during the drinks break and came out with a plan.

With boundaries in front of square not forthcoming, the pair looked behind. Two quick boundaries got the ball rolling, and the indefatigable pair also ran hard between the wickets.

It was a low target, and in that sense only a few good overs were required to keep the rate within touching distance, but Pakistan were bowling well. Sri Lanka however proved once again that they have the wherewithal to weather tough in-game situations and shift pressure back on to their opponents – a skill that will likely come very handy against India on Sunday.

Scores:
Sri Lanka Women 134 for 6 in 18.4 overs (Imesha Dulani 24, Harshitha Samarawickrama 36, Kavisha Dilhari 33, Nilakshika Silva 18*, Kaushini Nuthyangana 10*; Sadia Iqbal 1-21, Fatima Sana 4-38, Umm-e-Hani 1-19) beat Pakistan Women 130 for 5 in 20 overs (Shawal Zulfiqar 24, Gull Feroza 21, Fatima Sana 47*, Tuba Hassan 12*; Sugandika Kumari 1-20, Chamari Athapaththu 2-24, Chamudi Praboda 2-25) by four wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Rizwan and Imam quizzed by Pakistan’s cybercrimes investigators

Published

16 hours ago

2026/09/11

Priyan

Mohammad Rizwan's wild slog to be dismissed in the second Test came in for criticism [Cricinfo]

Mohammad Rizwan and Imam ul Haq were questioned by Pakistan’s National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Lahore, as the fallout from Pakistan’s disastrous Test tour of England continued.

The two, who were in the group of seven players who were dropped from the Pakistan squad and sent back home after the defeat in the second Test at Lord’s, were sent summons to appear before the NCCIA. They appeared on Thursday. At least one of the players is believed to have been there for several hours.

It is not clear yet what the questioning was about, or whether it is related to the PCB’s own inquiry, which they announced earlier this week. The board did not name any players then but said it had “initiated an internal disciplinary inquiry following media reports concerning discipline and conduct, which are currently being reviewed internally”. That process, the board said, was being “conducted under PCB regulations”.

Cricinfo understands that at least one of the players has been given a questionnaire to respond to and return to the NCCIA next week.

At the end of the Lord’s Test, which Pakistan lost by 194 runs after losing the first by an innings and 103 runs, seven players as well as the head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were removed from the squad. In their place, seven other players travelled to England, five of whom were uncapped at international level.

Rizwan’s form with the bat on this tour had been poor, with scores of 12, 41, 7 and 1, following low returns in two Tests in the Caribbean as well. His glovework, however, has been exemplary on both tours and until the West Indies series, he had been Pakistan’s leading Test run scorer since January 2024. But an ungainly hoick to be dismissed for 1 in the second innings at Lord’s attracted plenty of criticism.

Imam, meanwhile, was diagnosed with a grade-1 tear in his left calf after the conclusion of the first day’s play at Lord’s and did not appear on the field during either of Pakistan’s innings. On the final morning, during pre-game warm-ups, he came out to attempt some gentle knockdowns but struggled physically. Aaqib Javed, the PCB’s chief selector and director of high performance publicly questioned Imam’s injury and warned then of an inquiry into it.

In defending the squad changes, the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi alluded to wider factors at play, without expanding. “We have had a discussion to ascertain the reasons behind it. They include factors beyond performance and we will get to the bottom of it.”

The selection of both the players for the West Indies and England tours was also the subject of a notice sent by the PCB to selectors after the Lord’s Test. The notice asked for a written explanation outlining the reasons for their selection and the process through which it was arrived at, within 24 hours of the receipt of notice. Misbah-ul-Haq, one of the selectors, resigned from the post following the changes to the squad.

[Cricinfo]