Sports
Khawaja, Smith put Australia in the driver’s seat with masterclass
Rex Clementine in Galle
Hundreds from Usman Khawaja (147) and Steve Smith (104) propelled Australia into the box seat on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka, as they reached 330 for two before rain played spoilsport, bringing an early halt to proceedings in Galle yesterday.
The duo stitched together an unbroken 195-run stand for the third wicket, coming tantalizingly close to breaking the record of 200 runs between Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist, set in Kandy back in 2004.
The day, however, belonged to Steve Smith, who etched his name in cricket’s hall of fame by becoming just the 15th batter in Test history to breach the 10,000-run mark. He joined an elite club of Australian greats – Allan Border, Steve Waugh, and Ricky Ponting – who had previously crossed the milestone.
Arriving in Galle on 9,999 Test runs, Smith wasted no time in getting the monkey off his back, nudging his very first ball from Prabath Jayasuriya to mid-on and scampering through for a single. It could have been an early walk back to the pavilion, though, as Jayasuriya grassed a sharp return catch in the same over – a chance Sri Lanka would come to rue. Smith made the hosts pay dearly, crafting a sublime 35th Test century, his third in four matches, reaffirming his stature as Australia’s rock in the middle order.
Khawaja, too, had a few lives, with a couple of edges falling just short of the close-in fielders. He survived a major let-off on 74, when Sri Lanka chose not to review a caught behind shout. On 90, another opportunity slipped through Sri Lanka’s fingers as Kusal Mendis, slow to react behind the stumps, spilled a bat-pad chance.
For the stylish left-hander, the hundred was long overdue—his first since the Ashes in June 2023. The 17-Test drought ended in style when he flicked Asitha Fernando to the fine leg boundary, a stroke brimming with elegance and relief.
Despite overcast conditions, Sri Lanka’s lone seamer Asitha Fernando struggled to extract movement, while the spinners failed to keep the batters in check with their inconsistent lines. Fernando did have Travis Head trapped leg before wicket early on, but Sri Lanka, once again, failed to review after the on-field umpire ruled in the batter’s favor.
Head, promoted to open, threw caution to the wind, blazing his way to 57 off just 40 balls. His aggressive stroke play forced Sri Lanka onto the back foot, though his counterattack ended when he holed out to long-on while trying to take on Jayasuriya.
Still, the damage had been done – Head’s early fireworks scattered the field, allowing Khawaja to settle in and play the anchor role. His unbeaten 147, coupled with Smith’s 104 not out, has laid the foundation for a massive first-innings total.
With three specialist spinners in their ranks, Australia hold all the aces, especially with the pitch expected to deteriorate as the game progresses. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will need something extraordinary to claw their way back into the contest.
Having been under covers for long periods, the surface showed some stickiness in the previous Super Eights game here, making run-scoring far from straightforward. However, with no rain around now, the pitch has had time to settle, which could aid better batting compared to the England-Sri Lanka game. That said, spin is still expected to play a major role. On the weather front, there is no rain forecast for Tuesday.
Even though Shaheen Afridi spent a fair amount of time bowling in the practice session on the eve of the game, it appears unlikely that the left-armer will return to the XI, with Salman Mirza set to retain his place. Pakistan brought back Fakhar Zaman into the mix against New Zealand in place of Khawaja Nafay. With the game getting washed out, they would want to stick to their call and give the experienced Zaman a go.
In that scenario, Babar’s role could be limited to that of a stabiliser at No. 4 in case of early wickets.
[Cricbuzz]
A blistering 93 not out from Sune Luus, and an all-round bowling display from the South Africa bowlers overpowered Pakistan in a rain affected first ODI in Bloemfontein. A weather delay meant the contest had been reduced to 41 overs-a-side at the Manguang Oval. Put in to bat first, South Africa lost two early wickets but were steadied by skipper Laura Wolvaardt. She had reached 43 when she fell to Nashra Sandhu, leaving South Africa at 84 for 3 after 17 overs.
Luus then staged a recovery through the middle overs in the company of Annerie Dercksen: for the fourth wicket, they stitched together a partnership of 80 in just 12.2 overs. However, the acceleration was halted when Dercksen fell for a 37-ball 31 to Syeda Aroob Shah. It was the first of three wickets to fall in a clump: South Africa lost 3 for 6 at one point.
Luus ensured that no further wickets were lost in the remaining nine overs of the innings. She laced eight fours and one six on her way to an unbeaten 76-ball 93. But the finishing kick came from the keeper-batter Sinalo Jafta, who made a career-best 57 not out off 38 deliveries. Her strike rate of 150 would end up being the best from either side, and launched South Africa to a total of 260 for 6.
Requiring more than a run-a-ball from the get go, Pakistan struggled in their chase. They were reduced to 5 for 2 within their first four overs, with strikes from Ayanda Hlubi (1 for 22) and Nadine de Klerk (2 for 36). Sidra Amin (68) and Ayesha Zafar (81) stitched together a 116-run partnership for the third wicket to keep Pakistan in the contest, though they went just below six an over during these 20.3 overs.
By the time Amin had been ripped out by Luus – who finished with 2 for 31 from six overs – the required rate had risen above seven. Pakistan huffed and puffed, with Aliya Riaz’s quickfire 26-ball 31 keeping them interested. But when she was stumped off Nonkululeko Mlaba’s left-arm spin, Pakistan had been held down to 217 for 8.
Three overs remained, and they needed an improbable 44 runs off them.Tumi Sekhukhune was at the front of the mop-up job with a lower order that did not come close to threatening this equation. She picked up the remaining two wickets to finish on figures of 3 for 50, and Pakistan were bowled out for 223 to hand South Africa a 1-0 lead.
Brief scores:
South Africa Women 260 for 6 in 41 overs (Sune Luus 93*, Laira Wolvaardt 43, Sinalo Jaffa 57*; Nashra Sandhu 2-45) beat Pakistan Women 223 in 38.5 overs (Ayesha Zafar 81, Sidra Amin 68; Nadine de Klerk 2-36, Tumi Sekhukhune 3-50, Sune Luus 2-31) by 37 runs
[Cricinfo]
Deandra Dottin was given out obstructing the field as West Indies suffered their second narrow defeat as Sri Lanka clinched the ODI series 2-0.
In the 30th over, Dottin went for a sweep against Chamari Athapaththu, the ball slipped down the leg side and was called wide. But it ballooned off the pads of wicketkeeper Kaushini Nuthyangana back towards Dottin who tapped it away with her bat then caught the ball. Umpires Candace la Borde and Vrinda Rathi conferred and Dottin was given out.
It left West Indies 116 for 6 chasing 209 and they fell further to 146 for 8. However, Janiellea Glasgow nearly hauled them over the line with her second half-century in consecutive matches. She added 45 for the ninth wicket with Afy Fletcher, before she was last player dismissed, brilliantly held on the rebound at cover by Kavisha Dilhari.
Sri Lanka had produced some impressive pieces of fielding throughout the innings with Hasini Perera taking a sharp catch at slip to remove Chinelle Henry and Nilakshika Silva taking a brilliant catch at long-off from Shawnisha Hector’s lofted drive.
Vishmi Guneratne’s half-century had been the main contribution of Sri Lanka’s innings. A series of useful top-order partnerships had taken them to 166 for 4 in the 36th over before the last six wickets fell for 42 as Karishma Ramharack finished with 3 for 26.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Women 208 in 47.1 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 32, Harshitha Samarawickrema 35, Vishmi Gunaratne 58, Nilakshika Silva 29; Hayley Matthews 2-44, Karishma Ramharack 3-26, Afy Fletcher 2-40) beat West Indies Women 194 in 48 overs (Shemaine Campbelle 30, Stefanie Taylor 27, Jannillea Glasgow 50, Afy Fletcher 20; Inoka Ranaweera 3-44, Sugandika Kumari 3-38, Dewmi Vihanga 2-33, ) by 14 runs
[Cricinfo]
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