Sports
Nethsara, Kevin shine as Isipatana win
Under 19 Division I Cricket
by Reemus Fernando
Tharusha Nethsara scored a century and right arm paceman Kevin Ranger grabbed six wickets as Isipatana recorded a convincing 140 runs victory over St. Servatius’ to lead Group ‘Y’ of the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘B’ cricket tournament. While Nalanda and Richmond maintained their unbeaten status in the Tier ‘A’ tournament yesterday, Patana’s victory helped them continue the fight to maintain the top position in their group.
With Lumbini and Devapathiraja having two more matches, an exciting climax is expected in Group ‘Y’ of the Tier ‘B’ tournament. Patana have concluded four out of their five matches and have three victories against their name.
Nethsara and Naveen Kanishka were the architects of yesterday’s victory at Colts Ground as they provided a strong first wicket stand for them to post 295 runs. Nethsara’s 115 came in 88 balls as he hammered 14 fours and four sixes and the duo put on 169 runs for the first wicket.
In their essay St. Servatius’ lost wickets at regular intervals as Kevin Ranger produced his best figures.
At Reid Avenue, Raveen de Silva and Dineth Samaraweera picked up three wickets each to help Nalanda pull off an exciting 23 runs win over Royal. It was Nalanda’s fourth consecutive victory.
The victories by Nalanda and Richmond ensure an intense battle for the top position in group ‘Y’ of Tier ‘A’. The match between these two teams is likely to decide the champions of that group as both have remained unbeaten.
Malsha Tharupathi with the ball and Tharinda Nirmal with the bat were the top performers for Richmond as they beat St. Anne’s by five wickets in the match played at Campbell Place.
Meanwhile, St. Joseph’s posted 404 for five wickets declared in their traditional Under 19 match against Wesley at Darley Road as Sadeesh Jayawardena top scored with 106 runs.
Match Results
Nethsara, Kevin shine as Patana win at Colts
Scores:
Isipatana
295 all out in 50 overs (Tharusha Nethsara 115, Naveen Kanishka 46, Randunu Ganganath 64, Thinula Liyanage 30; Kushan Wijerama 4/28, Deneth Kawya 2/21)
St. Servatius’
155 all out in 40 overs (Diniru Abeywickramasinghe 74, Chirath Neththaru 22; Kevin Ranger 6/21, Sithuka Gunawardana 2/15, Randunu Ganganath 2/22)
Nalanda beat Royal to record fourth win at Reid Avenue
Scores:
Nalanda
235 for 9 in 50 overs (Rusiru Vilochana 20, Yasiru Samarakoon 24, Raveen de Silva 38, Kushmitha Silva 31, Eranga Jayakody 43; Gishan Balasooriya 3/21, Damith Kappagoda 2/40, Sadisha Rajapaksha 2/32)
Royal
212 all out in 47.2 overs (Sadisha Rajapaksha 67, Dasis Manchanayake 51, Damith Kappagoda 10; Dineth Samaraweera 3/30, Raveen de Silva 3/48)
Richmond beat St. Anne’s at Campbell Place
Scores:
St. Anne’s
165 for 9 in 50 overs (Pivithu Fernando 63, Manaan Muzammil 36n.o.; Malsha Tharupathi 4/38, Sharon Abhishek 2/21)
Richmond
166 for 5 in 29 overs (Tharinda Nirmal 53, Janeth Kaushal 28n.o., Malsha Tharupathi 21)
The BCB has said that they will rely on the Bangladesh government’s directive before finalising their tour to Pakistan later this month. Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play five T20Is there from May 25 to June 3, but the PSLs schedule was revised following cross-border tensions between Pakistan and India.
According to the revised fixtures, the PSL final will now be held on May 25, when Pakistan and Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play the first T20I.
ESPNcricinfo has learned that the PCB has sent a new schedule for the T20Is between Pakistan and Bangladesh, with the first match now slotted for May 27, and the last on June 5.
BCB’s media committee chairman Iftekhar Rahman said they will rely on information from government security agencies and the Bangladesh high commission in Islamabad to take the final decision.
“Once we receive official communication about the dates and venues [of the tour], we will forward it to the government,” Rahman said. “The BCB is not the decision-maker in this matter. If the government agencies and our embassy declare Pakistan safe for travel, only then will we proceed.
“In our previous meeting, we agreed that any such situation would be referred to the foreign and home ministries. Once we get clearance from all relevant bodies, we will finalise the tour. Security concerns were more significant in the past, but Pakistan has proven it can ensure safety. Still, given the current circumstances, we need to assess whether the situation across the country is stable before sending the team.”
Before playing Pakistan, Bangladesh are scheduled to play two T20Is against UAE in Sharjah on May 17 and 19. They were then supposed to fly to Lahore on May 21.
[Cricinfo]
Apna Perera won his third title of the 110th Colombo Championships as he partnered Dhilvan Herath to beat Dumindu Dilum and Chehan Fernando in the open men’s doubles final.
Apna and Dhilvan registered 6-2, 6-2 win in the final.
Apna, the open men’s singles champion, was also the winner of the mixed doubles which was played according to round robin method. In the mixed doubles Apna partnered Inuki Jayaweera.
Results
Men’s doubles semi-finals
Apna Perera and Dhilvan Herath beat Ashen Silva and Lithum Jayabandu 6-1, 6-2
Dumindu Dilum and Chehan Fernando beat Methika Wickramasinghe and Vichinthya Nilaweera 6-3, 2-6, 10-4.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) recently carried out a Fast Bowling Talent Search program in the Polonnaruwa District as part of its ongoing efforts to identify and nurture emerging cricketing talent across the country.
The program, held at the Royal College Ground, Polonnaruwa, attracted over 60 promising young players—both boys and girls—including school cricketers of the district. Each participant underwent skill assessments to evaluate their fast bowling potential.
Following the evaluations, 20 talented bowlers were selected for further development.
The selected players will now receive structured training under the guidance of Provincial coaches of Sri Lanka Cricket, with a focus on refining their techniques and enhancing their overall performance.
Those who continue to demonstrate consistent improvement will be given the opportunity to join SLC’s district squads, thereby becoming part of the official National Pathway Program.
This initiative is a part of SLC’s ‘Cricket Gamata’, program which aims to find talent from rural areas across Sri Lanka.
The talent assessments were conducted by Lasantha Lakmin, SLC Talent Scout for the North Central and North Western Provinces; Lakshitha Herath, North Central Provincial Women’s Coach; and Saman Senanayake, North Central Provincial Fast Bowling Coach.
The event was organized by the North Central Provincial Cricket Association under the guidance of Sri Lanka Cricket. It was managed by Krishan Anandakumar, Manager of the Center of Excellence, Dambulla.
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