Sports
Labuschagne, Warner blaze tons in Australia’s romp to 2-0 lead
Two days can make a lot of difference. At the same Mangaung Oval that saw a 222-plays-225 contest 48 hours ago, Australia turned up the batting oomph to post a gargantuan 392 before burying their hosts under this mountain of runs to take a 2-0 series lead in the ODI series, reinforcing their credentials as one of the early favourites at next month’s World Cup. This was still a mostly experimental side from the five-time champions but they still packed enough punch to pummel their hosts to the tune of 123 runs. Leading their batting charge was Marnus Labuschagne with a second straight demonstration of why he should also be on the plane to India. He hit 124 off just 99 balls with David Warner dovetailing brilliantly with his 20th ODI ton. Adding the gloss to the performance was a four-fer from the continually impressive Adam Zampa, who took 4 for 48 from nine overs of excellent legspin bowling to douse South African hopes.
The visitors turned up on a true batting surface with an aggressive approach. This was predicated on the fact that they fielded one proper bowler less. They handed debuts to Aaron Hardie and Tim David while Nathan Ellis came on for Josh Hazlewood. Incidentally, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma made three changes — Shamsi, Anrich Nortje and Andile Phehlukwayo in for Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee and Keshav Maharaj — of his own and opted to field.
Very early it became apparent that this wasn’t going to conform to the script of the opening game. The pace and carry was true and batters could hit through the line. The first two overs of the innings saw as many five boundaries struck with Head hitting four of them, including three off Kagiso Rabada’s first over. After his lead pacer went for 20 from his first two overs, Bavuma was quick to ring in a bowling change but after giving away just three runs from his opening over, Nortje was taken apart for 17 in his second with both Head and Warner hitting a six each
After eight overs, Australia had raced off the blocks to 71/0 and the South Africa captain turned to spin for respite. None of it was forthcoming as Warner put away two short deliveries from Aiden Markram before playing a pleasing inside-out loft over extra cover to complete a 12-run initiation. In the next over, Head launched two more sixes off Nortje to race to a 26-ball half-century and give his side a PowerPlay score of 102/0 — the highest in ODIs in South Africa.
South Africa caught a break eventually in the 12th over when Head mishit a loft off Shamsi, South Africa’s best bowler of the evening, and saw David Miller complete an excellent catch running back from mid-on. The left-arm legspinner struck for a second time a ball later when Mitchell Marsh missed an attempted reverse sweep and was dismissed LBW courtesy a DRS review.
After a 109-run opening partnership, Australia had lost two in two. But that was no reason to dial down the tempo of the innings. Labuschagne joined Warner and instantly displayed the kind of nimble footwork that was on show two nights ago when he arrived to the series as a ‘Concussion Substitute’. His battle against Shamsi had a bit of an edge to it with the batter looking to pull out the sweeps and the bowler not shy of returning words. At the other end, Warner, surprisingly, took a less dramatic route to a half-century and then marked the milestone by launching Phehlukwayo for a six.
By the 27th over, this third-wicket pair had given Australia their second century stand of the innings. Warner raced away to 93 off 77 while Labuschagne had serenely motored along to a run-a-ball 49. The veteran opener completed his 20th ODI century with a four and a trademark leap in the middle of a 16-run over from Shamsi that saw Labuschagne hit a six and four of his own. The right-hander followed that up by taking Nortje for three more fours in the following over. Such was Labuschagne’s acceleration post his half-century that he was already on 85 off 67 when Warner eventually fell – bowled to a ball that kept low – for 106.
Labuschagne eventually got to his second ODI ton off just 80 balls and shared another quickfire 83-run partnership with Josh Inglis, who added to the mayhem with a 37-ball 50. South Africa did, however, come back well in the final phase of the innings, with Shamsi taking two more wickets to finish with excellent returns of 4 for 61 and put the lid somewhat on the big hits. Australia managed only 134 for 6 from the final 18 overs, but the 48 fours and 9 sixes their batters achieved meant the score was only just shy of the rather ridiculous 400-mark.
It was always going to be a steep ask from the Proteas to keep up with the scoreboard pressure. But they did make a fist of it in the early running when Quinton de Kock and Bavuma added 81 runs in 9 overs before the keeper-bat fell to a sharp return catch from Nathan Ellis for 45. The introduction of Zampa then put the brakes on the chase with the ace legspinner trapping Bavuma LBW for 46 while attempting a paddle sweep and then having Aiden Markram caught. When Rassie van der Dussen dragged a Hardie delivery on to his stumps, the game appeared to have been settled.
But Heinrich Klaasen kept South Africa in the game with a series of superb strikes, especially off the bowling of Head. Zampa returned to castle him with a skidder. David Miller kept the flame of the chase flickering for some more time but when he became the fourth South African batter to get out in the 40s, the writing was on the wall. The final rites were read in the 42nd over.
Brief scores:
Australia 392/8 in 50 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 124, David Warner 106; Tabraiz Shamsi 4-61) beat South Africa 269 in 41.5 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 49, David Miller 49; Adam Zampa 4-48) by 123 runs
(Cricbuzz)
No Riyan Parag? No Ravindra Jadeja? No fast start for Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi? No problem for Rajasthan Royals (RR) as they hunted down 221 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and moved up to No.4 on the points table. If RR also win their final league game against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, they will firm up their playoffs spot, irrespective of other results.
In RR’s chase of 221, Sooryavanshi got off to an unusually slow start – he was on 11 off 12 balls at one point. After watching his opening partner and RR stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal dominate the powerplay, Sooryavanshi cranked up to top gear when he lined up left-arm seamer Akash Singh for two sixes and three fours in the ninth over. He then went on a more familiar six-hitting spree and by the time he was dismissed for 93 off 38 balls in the 14th over, he extended his sixes tally in IPL 2026 to 53. Only Chris Gayle has smashed more sixes in an IPL season, back in 2012 when Sooryavanshi was a year old.
Dhruv Jurel sealed the chase for RR with a calm fifty in the company of Donnovan Ferreira.
Jofra Archer ran in hard and hit the Jaipur deck harder, but even his extreme pace and bounce wasn’t going to bother Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis, the Western Australia boys. In the first over, Marsh advanced down the track, manufactured swinging room and flayed Archer for a four and a six over the covers.
Inglis was more fluent square of the wicket or behind square. He scooped Archer over short fine leg for four in the third over and by the end of the powerplay, LSG racked up 83 for 0. Four of LSG’s top-five powerplay scores in the IPL have come in this season. RR’s attack, meanwhile, went wicketless in the powerplay for a fourth successive game.
Wristspinner Yash Raj Punja bowled the first boundary-less over in the first innings. In the 13th over, he conceded only seven runs to go with the wicket of Nicholas Pooran (16). That over triggered a passage of play where LSG went 22 without a boundary. Earlier, he had stopped LSG’s opening stand at 109 in the ninth over when he tossed up a wrong’un on an in-between length and bowled Inglis for 60 off 29 balls. Punja returned figures of 4-0-35-2, demonstrating why RR trusted him and promoted him into their main squad after he was a net bowler with the side in the previous season.
Marsh brought up his fifty off 25 balls, but could manage only 43 off his last 32 balls on the day. The lack of pace from Punja, Sandeep Sharma and Dasun Shanaka slowed him down. “To be honest, felt like torture out there,” Marsh summed up the back-end of his innings. He suggested that he may have left a few boundaries out there.
Marsh, Rishabh Pant and Ayush Badoni all departed in the final over of the innings, bowled by Archer, which cost RR only five runs.
RR came out swinging in the powerplay in the chase, but it was Jaiswal, and not Sooryavanshi, who was doing most of the swinging during that phase. He was responsible for 39 of the 71 runs RR scored in the powerplay. Jaiswal latched onto anything that was remotely wide of off. His four fours off Akash in a 23-run first over, bowled by Akash, set the tone for the chase.
By the end of the powerplay, Sooryavanshi was on 25 off 16 balls, which was measured by his standards. All of 15, he had the maturity that he could catch up on a pitch where the ball came onto the bat nicely. He reached his half-century off 23 balls with a reverse-sweep and threatened to convert it into a century until Mohsin Khan stopped him. He finished with a strike rate of almost 245.
Prince Yadav, who had earned a call-up to India’s ODI squad earlier in the day, was pumped for back-to-back sixes. The other Yadav – Mayank – wasn’t spared either, with the teenage phenom launching him for back-to-back sixes in the next over.
Sooryavanshi holed out while attempting his 11th six, but by then he had snatched the Orange Cap from Marsh. Jurel then anchored the chase while Ferreira applied the finishing touches.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 225 for 3 in 19.1 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 43, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 93, Dhruv Jurel 53*, Donovan Fereira 16*; Akash Singh 1-54, Mohsin Khan 1-31) beat Lucknow Super Giants 220 for 5 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 96, Josh Inglis 60, Nicholas Pooran 16, Rishabh Pant 35; Jofra Archer 1-39, Yash Raj Punja 2-35) by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
The Sri Lanka women’s volleyball team, powered by Dialog Axiata is set to depart the country today to compete in the 2026 Central Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship, which will be held from 22 to 29 May with the participation of eight nations from across the region.
The tournament will be played in two preliminary groups, with the Sri Lankan side, captained by Ashani Chamodika, drawn in Group ‘B’ alongside Kazakhstan, Iran and Bangladesh. Group ‘A’ will feature India, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives and hosts Nepal.
Sri Lanka Head Coach Amila Wijepala believes the team is well prepared to face the challenge despite being drawn in a highly competitive group.
“Our group is comparatively more challenging than Group ‘A’. Kazakhstan recently secured third place at the Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship after defeating China, making them our toughest challenge. We are confident of overcoming Bangladesh, while I also believe our players possess the ability to defeat Iran. Our objective is to win at least two matches and qualify for the semi-finals,” he said.
Vice President of the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation, Mahinda Bandara, expressed confidence in the squad and praised the players for their commitment during the preparation period.
“We are fielding a very strong side for this tournament. The players have undergone close to two months of residential training at the Watupitiwala Indoor Stadium. We are grateful to the Ministry of Sports for its invaluable assistance in facilitating this tour. We also sincerely appreciate the continued sponsorship and commitment shown by Dialog Axiata towards Sri Lanka’s national sport and this international campaign,” he said.
The Sri Lanka squad for the Central Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship includes high-ball hitters Dilukshi Harshani, Nimeshika Sewwandi, Preethika Pramodani, Timi Mary, Arana Sanjeewani and Shalu Thilakshana. Short-ball hitters are Sanjeewani Karunaratne, Dilki Nethsara, Sesandi Ruwanya and Piumi Bhashini.
Naduni Nimansala and Kavindi Asanthika will serve as liberos, while captain Ashani Chamodika and Dilki Charuka have been named as setters.
The support staff includes Head Coach Amila Wijepala, Assistant Coach Udaya Rukmal, Trainer Upendra Perera, Women’s Team Officer Renuka Nilmini and Team Manager Mahesh Kariyawasam.
15TH STAFFORD MOTORS – MCA G DIVISION T20 LEAGUE CRICKET TOURNAMENT
Dayan Indunil starred with both bat and ball [86 off 48 balls and 4-10 in 4 overs] to power Brandix Apparel to a 70 run win over Stafford Motors at the Nalanda College grounds on Sunday [17] and qualify for the final of the Stafford Motors sponsored MCA G division T20 cricket tournament.
Invited to bat first on a cloudy day, Brandix were 108/1 at the halfway stage of their innings but were unable to keep up the run rate after the fall of the second wicket and were bowled out for 151. Chasing 152 to qualify for the final, Stafford Motors fell victim to the Brandix bowlers led by Dayan Indunil and Sampath Jayalath and were bowled out for 81 runs in 14.3 overs.
Brandix will meet Maliban Biscuits ‘B’ at the MCA ground next Sunday for the final.
Brief scores:
Brandix Apparel
151/10 in 19.1 overs [Dayan Indunil 86, Sampath Jayalath 14, Sasitha Ashan 13; Janith Maduwantha 3-29, Shanaka Sampath 2-25, Vihanga Malith 1-36, Sanjaya Fernando 1-17, Asanka Kumarage 3-20]
Stafford Motors
81/10 in 14.3 overs [Gajindu Yasas 24, Vihanga Malith 10, Vishwa Rajapaksha 27; Janaka Weerapokuna 1-20, Dayan Indunil 4-10, Sampath Jayalath 3-18, Akila Dhanuddara 2-14]
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