Sports
One of the best innings I’ve played: Rajapaksa
Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup final hero Bhanuka Rajapaksa reckoned his knock – 71not out off 45 balls – was one of the best he’s ever played as it revived the team’s innings and pushed them towards a winning total. The hosts were down to 58 for 5 in the ninth over and were staring at a lowly total and the runners-up medal until Rajapaksa stepped up and steered his team clear.
He and Wanindu Hasaranga forged a stand worth 58 runs off 36 balls. When Hasaranga fell in the 15th over, Rajapaksa was batting on 37 off 28. He hit the next gear at the death overs as Sri Lanka smashed 53 off the last five overs. Rajapaksa accounted for 34 of those runs, in just 17 deliveries as he finished with a six to walk back on an unbeaten 71 off 45 balls – laced with six fours and three sixes. It powered the side to 170 for six that proved to be a winning total in the end.
“Of course it’s a wonderful moment and one of the best innings that I’ve played in a very short period of time,” Rajapaksa said in the post-match press conference. The left-hander said he and the team wanted to show their aggression in the game and hoped to ride on this success leading to the World Cup next month.
“We wanted to show the world… A couple of decades back, we had some sort of aggression in our side. And we wanted to create those moments again. I think as a unit we’re doing it fantastically well at the moment and we just want to look forward to the World Cup as well and to keep up this momentum,” Rajapaksa said.
“As a nation, I think it is a great win with all the crises happening back home. These are tough times for Sri Lankans and we are glad and we hope we brought some smiles to their faces,” he added.
Sri Lanka have enjoyed quite the journey at this tournament that culminated in them clinching their sixth Asia Cup title. Captain Dasun Shanaka revealed there were serious discussions that ensued following their absolute thrashing at the hands of Afghanistan in the tournament opener.
“After the first loss, we had a serious discussion. We knew that we had the talent so it was about applying during the game scenarios. I think the players stood up, and each and everyone contributed. That’s the environment we’ve created with the coaching staff,” Shanaka said.
“Before coming to the game, we knew that 170 would be a good score on this wicket because of the bowling we’ve got. As I mentioned earlier, we’ve got that variety in our line-up. It’s always tough to chase 170 in a final. There’s some mental aspect to it as well. I think the last six that Bhanu hit was special as well,” Shanaka added.
One of the selection masterstrokes from Sri Lanka has been the inclusion of the fast bowler Pramod Madhshan. The 28-year-old hadn’t got a game until Friday’s fixture against Pakistan, where he returned figures of 2 for 21 – including the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan. Shanaka and Co. opted to retain him instead of Asitha Fernando for the final as well as reaped rewards as he rattled Pakistan early in their chase with the wickets of Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman off consecutive deliveries in the fourth over. He was also the one who provided the next breakthrough – in the 14th over – to break Pakistan’s revival process in chase. He finished the final with figures of four for 34.
“He’s got promising skills. He’s a matured bowler so we knew him from the start of his domestic career. As a team we always have to take a risk to get a reward. So Madhushan, his skills were always there. I think he’s got a good career ahead. This was only his second game and he delivered. I am glad that he has rewarded us for the risk that we’ve taken,” Shanaka said.
Shanaka now hopes the victory in the Asia Cup will hold them in good stead at the T20 World Cup, where they have to cross the first round hurdle to get to the Super 12s. The Sri Lanka captain is not too worried about that and feels it will help them get used to the conditions better.
“We played the World Cup qualifiers last year as well. With the team that we’ve got, it’s a set up that came through from 3-4 years ago. Last two years have been really good for us I think. The momentum is there, and winning the Asia Cup will really help us going to the World Cup. Qualifiers will help as well because we’ll play in those conditions before the main tournament happens. It will be really good for us,” Shanaka said.
Tickets for the 2026 T20 World Cup will go on sale at 18.45 IST and Sri Lanka time (13.15 GMT) on December 11, with the tournament slated to begin on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.
Prices for phase one of the ticket sales start at INR 100 (USD 1.1) at some venues in India and LRK 1000 (USD 3.2), the ICC said on Thursday. The dates for phase two of the ticket sales will be announced soon. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.cricketworldcup.com.
“Phase I of ticket sales is an important milestone in our journey towards delivering the most accessible and global ICC event ever staged,” ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta said. “Our vision for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is clear: every fan, regardless of background, geography or financial means, should have the chance to access an in-stadia experience of world-class marquee cricket.
“With tickets starting from just INR 100 and LKR1000, we are putting affordability at the centre of our strategy. This is about opening the gates wide and inviting millions to be part of a global celebration of cricket, not as spectators from afar, but as active participants in the energy, emotion and magic that only a stadium can offer.”
The 2026 T20 World Cup will be contested by 20 teams and comprises 55 matches. The games start at 11am (0530 GMT), 3pm (0930 GMT) and 7pm IST (1330 GMT). The format for the tournament is the same as the previous edition in 2024, where the teams were divided into five groups of four each.
The first-round groups are as follows:
Group A: India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman
Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy
Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE
The top two teams from each of the groups progress to a Super Eight phase, where they will be further divided into two groups of four each.
The Super Eight groups are as follows, assuming these teams qualify from the first round; if another team qualifies, they will take the place of the team from their group that failed to make it:
Super Eight Group 1: X1 (India), X2 (Australia), X3 (West Indies), X4 (South Africa)
Super Eight Group 2: Y1 (England), Y2 (New Zealand), Y3 (Pakistan), Y4 (Sri Lanka)
Each team will play the other three in their Super Eight group, with the top two from each group qualifying for the semi-finals. The two semi-finals are in Kolkata – or Colombo if Pakistan qualify – on March 4, and Mumbai on March 5. The final of the tournament will be played in Ahmedabad on March 8 – if Pakistan qualify, it will be held in Colombo.
[Cricinfo]
Despite a bright bowling performance from the West Indies seamers, half-centuries from New Zealand’s Devon Conway and Mitchell hay extended the hosts’ advantage after an absorbing second day of the Wellington Test. New Zealand secured a 73-run first-innings lead before a double-wicket burst from their quicks left West Indies still 41 behind with eight wickets in hand.
West Indies produced bursts of quality with the ball to keep pegging New Zealand back, and several home batters contributed to their own dismissals with loose shots. But the visitors also offered enough scoring opportunities for Conway and Hay to make valuable inroads.
Conway’s 60 – his first fifty against West Indies and 13th overall – anchored one end, while debutant Hay struck an enterprising 61 from No. 6. Their efforts allowed New Zealand to declare at 278 for 9, with the injured Blair Tickner not batting.
With the relatively new ball, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Ojay Shields and Anderson Phillip consistently challenged the batters as the ball swung both ways and occasionally jagged off the surface. Conway, however, punished the loose deliveries, hitting eight fours – mostly cuts and flicks – to keep New Zealand moving.
From the non-striker’s end, he saw Tom Latham (11) lose his off stump to a nip-backer from Roach from around the wicket, before watching Kane Williamson (37) have his off stump pegged back by an Anderson Phillip delivery that squared him up. After lunch, Rachin Ravindra – who made 176 in Christchurch – was caught behind off Roach while chasing a wide one. Conway himself was then caught down the leg side off a poor Justin Greaves delivery, thanks to a superb diving take from Tevin Imlach. At that stage, New Zealand seemed to be wobbling at 117 for 4.
A fifth-wicket stand of 73 between Daryl Mitchell (25) and Hay – the latter playing in place of the injured Tom Blundell – brought New Zealand closer to West Indies’ first-innings score of 205. Mitchell was conservative, while Hay leaned on his white-ball instincts to score his runs, producing strong cuts through the off side and, when tested with short balls, pulling confidently over the leg side.
Mitchell, like Conway, was eventually strangled down the leg side off Phillip. Hay later fell to the short-ball tactic: after striking back-to-back fours behind square leg, he miscued a pull off Shields straight to Roach at deep-backward square and walked back bitterly disappointed. At 213 for 6, New Zealand then leaned on Glenn Phillips (18) and the lower order to extend their lead.
West Indies continued to pepper Phillips with short balls in a cat-and-mouse exchange that brought body blows and top-edges over the keeper. Seeking a change, captain Roston Chase turned to spin for the first time in the innings, and needed only four deliveries to tempt Phillips into a slog that failed to clear deep midwicket.
Zak Foulkes then batted 43 balls and frustrated West Indies with deflections off the seamers’ through the gully region on his way to an unbeaten 23. Jacob Duffy added further runs with boundaries to long-off and long-on, and No. 10 Michael Rae joined a rare group of batters to begin their Test careers with five runs off an overthrow boundary. Rae reached 13 before the expensive Seales finally claimed his first wicket of the match, knocking back the debutant’s leg stump.
New Zealand’s batting may have been patchy, but their bowlers restored control with a sharp ten-over burst late in the day. John Campbell fell in the seventh over, beaten by a Rae delivery that zipped in to hit off stump. Next over, nightwatcher Phillip initially survived a DRS review for caught behind off Duffy, but a second look confirmed he was lbw instead. Brandon King (15*) and Kavem Hodge (3*) saw out the final few minutes, but West Indies still face a steep challenge when play resumes on Friday.
Brief scores:
West Indies 205 and 32 for 2 (Brandon King 15*; Michael Rae 1-4, Jacob Duffy 1-8) trail New Zealand 278 for 9 dec (Mitchell Hay 61, Devon Conway 60; Andeson Phillip 3-70) by 41 runs
[Cricinfo]
The International Olympic Committee says it will announce eligibility criteria for transgender athletes early next year, after months of deliberation as it seeks to find a consensus on how to protect the female category.
The issue has been a source of controversy, with no universal rule in place for the participation of transgender athletes at the Olympic Games.
The IOC, under its new President Kirsty Coventry, did a U-turn in June, deciding to take the lead in setting eligibility criteria for Olympic participation, having previously handed responsibility to the individual sports federations, leading to a confusing patchwork of different approaches.
In September, Coventry set up the “Protection of the Female Category” working group, made up of experts as well as representatives of international federations, to look into how best to protect the female category in sports.
“We will find ways to find a consensus that has all aspects covered,” Coventry told a press conference on Wednesday following an IOC executive board meeting. “Maybe it is not the easiest thing to do, but we will try our best, so when we talk about the female category, we are protecting the female category.”
Coventry said a decision would come in the first months of 2026.
“We want to make sure we have spoken to all stakeholders, taken adequate time to cross the Ts and dot the Is,” she said.
“The group is working extremely well. I don’t want to try to constrain the working group by saying they need to have a specific deadline, but I am hopeful in the next couple of months and definitely within the first quarter of next year we will have a clear decision and way forward, which I think we are all looking forward to,” said Coventry, a former Olympic swimming champion.
Before Coventry’s decision in June, the IOC had long refused to apply any universal rule on transgender participation for the Games, instructing international federations in 2021 to come up with their own guidelines. Under current rules, still in force, transgender athletes are eligible to take part in the Olympics.
Only a handful of openly transgender athletes have taken part in the Games. New Zealand’s Laurel Hubbard became the first openly transgender athlete to compete in a different gender category to that assigned at birth when the weightlifter took part in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Currently, some international federations have rules in place, but others have not yet reached that stage.
US President Donald Trump has banned transgender athletes from competing in sports in schools in the United States, which civil society groups say infringes on the rights of trans people, as Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Trump, who signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order in February, has said he would not allow transgender athletes to compete at the LA Games.
[Aljazeera]
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