Sports
Mayon, Dilki establish new meet records
Sir John Tarbat Junior Athletics Championship
by Reemus Fernando
St. Joseph’s College, Darley Road thrower Mayon Rajasinghe established a new meet record to win the Under 15 boys’ javelin throw event on day one of the Sir John Tarbat Junior Athletics Championship at Matara on Monday.
Rajasinghe cleared 56.07 metres to establish the new meet record. He was the only athlete to clear the 50 metres barrier.
In the girls’ category, Dilki Karunaratne of Visakah Vidyalaya Colombo produced an outstanding throw to win the Under 15 shot put. She cleared a distance of 12.59 metres to win in a new meet record performance.
P.M.A. Semindi of Vijitha MMV Dickwella cleared 1.38 metres to win the
Under 12 girls high jump.
O. Dewrada of Good Shepherd Convent, Kotahena cleared 28.32 metres to win the
Under 14 girls’ discuss throw.
-
- Dilki Karunaratne of Visakha Vidyalaya Colombo won the Under 15 girls’ shot put.
-
- R.D.S. Denuwan of Halmillaketiya M.V. competes in the Under 12 boys’ long jump. Denuwan cleared 5.01 metres to win the title.
Avyn Abeywardene of the British School in Colombo completed a fine double at the SKA Challenge Slogan Stars Novices Tennis Championship held at the Army Tennis Courts in Narahenpita.
Avyn was in excellent form throughout the tournament as he clinched the Boys’ Green Ball Singles title and followed up by claiming the Doubles event in the same category.
In the Boys’ Green Ball Singles final, Avyn defeated Anuhas Athukoralage 4-1 after having outplayed Rehan Jayakody 4-0 in the semi-final encounter.
Anuhas made it to the final by overcoming Jenul Mendis 4-1 in the second semi-final fixture. Both Avyn and Jenul received a bye in their respective quarter-finals.
In the Boys’ Green Ball Doubles, Avyn partnered with Jenul, recorded a 4-2 win over the pair of Chanuga Rajapaksa and Kevon Serasinghe.
In the deciding encounter Avyn and Jenul completely outplayed the combination of Chathum Perera and Thinula Yugeeth 4-0 to emerge champions.
The tournament was conducted under the supervision of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association.
In his third IPL match, the 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi brought down to their knees seasoned pros from the best bowling unit in the tournament, some of whom have been playing for longer than he has lived.
The youngest T20 centurion, among the youngest handful centurions in all representative cricket, the second quickest century in the IPL in 35 balls, joint-most sixes – 11 – for an Indian in an IPL innings, highest boundary percentage in a T20 ton, with 94 of his runs coming in boundaries, Suryavanshi knocked off plenty of records. Oh, did we mention that it sealed the chase of 210 in 15.5 overs, the fastest successful chase of 200-plus in an IPL match, after Rajasthan Royals (RR) had lost three straight chases despite bossing 35 overs of those matches?
Suryavanshi’s opening partner Yashaswi Jaiswal played a lovely unbeaten T20 innings of 70 off 40, but he was the first one to admit he was left in the background by “one of the best innings I have seen”.
Suryavanshi tried to hit boundaries off 26 out of the 38 balls he faced. He nailed 15 of those attempts, but also got 25 off the 11 false shots when he tried to attack. The most impressive was a six over long-off off a slower hard-length ball from the tall Prasidh Krishna.
A perfect mix of intent, skill and luck. All at an age when most kids are dreaming of doing exactly what he did. Or do they even dare dream so high?
Surely, there must be teams thinking it is a matter of two wickets, and GT can be toppled. Yet their top three keep churning out runs while making them look easy and risk-averse. At the end of the 20 overs, GT had all their top three in the top six run getters in IPL 2025.
B Sai Sudarshan regained his orange cap, but he wasn’t quite at his most fluent. Dropped on nine, he was dismissed for 39 off 30, but thanks to Shubman Gill’s quick start, GT still had 93 in 10.2 overs. This was the fifth stand of 50 or more for the pair in just nine innings.
Sai Sudharsan’s wicket brought a period of lull created by Wanindu Hasaranga’s three boundaryless overs. There was a period of four overs for 23 runs, which Gill broke with two sixes off Yudhvir Singh’s pace in the 14th over. Immediately after that, Jos Buttler who had got off to a slow start of 7 off 10 balls, laid into Hasaranga first and then compatriot Jofra Archer.
Hasaranga’s figures were rearranged to 4-0-39-0, and Archer went for 19 in the 18th over. Thought RR pulled things back with just 21 runs off the two last overs, not many gave them a chance of avoiding being knocked out.
It might be tempting to think that RR had nothing to lose, which freed Suryavanshi up, but we have seen enough of him in the first two games to know he doesn’t need any external freedom. His first act of disdain came in the first over, off the second legal delivery he faced. Mohammed Siraj, rejuvenated after a break from international cricket, 12 wickets to his name, bowled on a good length, not half-volley, but Suryavanshi launched him over long-on.
At the start of the second over, Jaiswal was dropped, and he celebrated it with a six and three fours by the end of the third over. That was the last time Jaiswal enjoyed any kind of lead. Ishant Sharma was bowling that one extra over to Ricky Ponting in the Perth Test back in 2007-08. Suryavanshi was born in 2011.
Ishant tried to bounce the kid, the kid hooked him for six. He overpitched slightly, and Suryavanshi whipped him over midwicket. Ishant did him in with a slower one, but the momentum of charging down and his amazing bat speed put enough in the mis-hit to clear mid-off. Then he played the regulation cut so hard that the top edge flew over straight third for a six.
Missing Gill because of back spasms in the second innings, GT were being led by Rashid Khan, who went to the offspin of Washington Sundar to the two left-hand batters. At 21, Washington was helping India win the Gabba Test and with that the most ridiculous Test series win of all time. There are levels to it, he was being shown now. Pull, sweep, inside-out drive over cover, and we had the youngest IPL half-centurion of all time, and the quickest this season, in 17 balls.
Prasidh and Rashid brought some sanity to proceedings with ten runs in two overs. Prasidh is the second highest wicket taker this IPL. He is tall and generates disconcerting bounce from hard lengths. He can also bowl a mean slower ball into the pitch. That is exactly what he did. He might have expected some respect, but Suryavanshi hit him for a six over long-off off the back foot. The exclamation mark of the innings.
IPL debutant Karim Janat was just a lamb thrown to slaughter with his gentle medium pace as Suryavanshi hit a boundary off each ball of the 30-run tenth over to take RR to 144. And himself to 94 off 34. The asking rate was now only a trickle above a run a ball.
It was only fitting that the century came through a six. A six off someone who will be on the Mount Rushmore of T20 bowling. Rashid, who bowled four overs for just 24 amid all the mayhem. Just too quick and too accurate to punish. Suryavanshi kept trying without success, but finally broke even Rashid down.
It took a pinpoint yorker from Krishna to send Suryavanshi on a slow walk back. The night he made his debut, Suryavanshi went back with tears in his eyes despite having wowed everyone with a six first ball. He wanted to show more of his batting. Did he ever?
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 212 for 2 in 15.5 overs (Vaibhav Suryavanshi 101, Yashasvi Jaiswal 70*, Riyan Parag 32*; Prasidh Krishna 1-47, Rashid Khan 1-24) beat Gujarat Titans 209 for 4 in 20 overs (Sai Sudarshan 39, Shubman Gill 84, Jos Buttler 50, Washington Sundar 13; Joffra Archer 1-49, Maheesha Theekshana 2-35, Sandeep Sharma 1-33) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
Bangladesh Under 19s leveled the Youth ODI series with nine wickets win over Sri Lanka Under 19s as they chased a target of 212 runs with 15 overs to spare at the CCC ground on Monday.
Chasing the target Bangladesh open batsman Zawad Abrar hammered an unbeaten 130 for them to seal the victory in the 35th over.
Abrar and skipper Azizul Hakim put on an unfinished partnership of 180 runs for the second wicket as the hosts toiled in vain for wickets.
Zawad Abrar’s unbeaten knock of 130 runs came in 106 balls and it included 14 fours and six sixes.
Skipper Hakim remained unbeaten on 69 runs after having scored five fours and three sixes. His knock came in 89 balls.
St. John’s College Jaffna speedster Kugadas Mathulan with one wicket was the only successful bowler for the hosts.
In contrast the open paceman of the visiting team, Al Fahad provided the keys for their success as he took six wickets to restrict the hosts to 211 runs.
Deciding to bat first Sri Lanka U19s lost wickets at reguler intervals before Mahanama College batsman Chamika Heenatigala and Gurukula College wicketkeeper batsman Dinura Dimansith joined to put on a partnership of 81 runs for the fifth wicket. Heenatigala for the second consecutive match top scored for the hosts (51 runs) and Dimansith made 47 in 52 balls. Both perished in the 45th over bowled by Fahad. Their dismissals proved to be crucial as the tailenders could add only 27 runs to the total.
Hartley College, Point Pedro spinner Vigneshwaran Akash was Sri Lanka’s match winner in the first Youth ODI.
Sri Lanka played the same XI that won the first Youth ODI by 98 runs.
Senuja Wanunegoda (50), Heenatigala (78n.o.) and Kavija Gamage (60n.o.) made half centuries in the first match played on Saturday, while Hartley College, Point Pedro spinner Vigneshwaran Akash took five wickets to restrict the visitors to 143 runs.
The two teams will meet in the third Youth ODI on Thursday.
Scores:
Sri Lanka U19s 211 all out in 48.5 overs (Dulnith Sigera 23, Dimantha Mahavithana 39, Chamika Heenatigala 51, Dinura Dimansith 47; Ak Fahad 6/44, Iqbal Hossain Emon 2/37)
Bangladesh U19s 215 for one in 34.3 overs (Zawad Abrar 130n.o., Azizul Hakim 69n.o.)
-
Business3 days agoPick My Pet wins Best Pet Boarding and Grooming Facilitator award
-
News3 days agoNew Lankan HC to Australia assumes duties
-
Features3 days agoKing Donald and the executive presidency
-
Business3 days agoACHE Honoured as best institute for American-standard education
-
Features5 days agoThe Truth will set us free – I
-
News3 days agoLankan ‘snow-white’ monkeys become a magnet for tourists
-
Midweek Review7 days agoB’caloa Tigers’ 2004 shock revolt in retrospect
-
Business1 day agoNational Savings Bank appoints Ajith Akmeemana,Chief Financial Officer