Sports

Panda and unfulfilled promises

Published

5 years ago

2021/05/9

by Rex Clementine

There’s someone in the Sri Lankan cricket team who answers to the name ‘Panda’. The name was coined on Thisara Perera by the Australian players during his IPL days with Chennai Super Kings. We never saw his full potential on the cricket field although there were glimpses of his brilliance over a 12 year career.

His first game was in Calcutta in December 2009 when Kumar Sangakkara wanted him flown in as an injury replacement. Thisara was flying on his own at a time there were no direct flights to Calcutta. He had a transit. SLC officials in Colombo and the team back in India were worried whether he would manage to get the right connecting flight and land the day before the game.

Given Panda’s mannerisms, he gives you the impression that he’s a bit backwards. That’s not the truth actually. He’s more childlike wanting assurances from authorities more than someone of his age should. It’s a trait that has not changed in his life. He loves simple things in life. He is someone who will not hurt another person willingly.

After every game that he plays and after every training session, you can be assured that he will be roaming around the cricket grounds be at RPS, Suriyawewa, Dambulla or Pallekele looking for stray dogs. He packs all the remaining food in the dressing room and feeds the dogs. Not even Ambanis dogs get served food from five star hotels. But the dogs at Sri Lanka grounds have that luxury thanks to Thisara. This was something that was evident when he started his cricket and he continued it even when he was captain.

Cricketers and their love lives are well documented. Most of them get hooked up to air hostesses and marry them. Some of them… well, let’s not go there. Thisara’s been with his childhood sweetheart for nearly two decades now. He’s only 32.

Thisara’s mother is a science teacher. When St. Joseph’s College came in search of him offering a scholarship for cricket, she was reluctant. Eventually she gave in. A decision that she doesn’t regret now for her son has gone onto become a household name although given his potential he could have achieved much more.

At St. Joseph’s Thisara got into trouble constantly. He played the first day of a school fixture and didn’t turn up for the second day’s play. He had been spending time with his girlfriend. He was in trouble and was asked to explain. Thisara came up with a cock and bull story that on his way to the ground, he was stopped at an Army check post and was held up as he did not carry an identity card. Rev. Fr. Sylvester Ranasinghe, the Rector, a career educationist, didn’t buy his story. He was suspended.

Chaminda Vaas, one of the finest products of St. Joseph’s made a plea to Fr. Sylvester to allow Thisara at least play the Big Match. Fr. Sylvester agreed. The rest as they say is history as St. Joseph’s won the Big Match after 35 years. Thisara was Man of the Match. The old boys were excited and gave the team a month long tour of Australia. Which 18-year-old would skip an all expenses paid trip to Australia? Thisara would. Reason? He would be missing his girlfriend.

One of the cleanest strikers of the cricket ball, he will clear the boundary with little effort. But consistency was lacking. He would throw the bat for a few overs and hit it on the air and get out rather than grinding it out and completing games. His bowling was lively when he came onto the scene but in later years lacked penetration.

Thisara’s best moment came in the 2014 during the World T-20 in Bangladesh. All his life, he had lived wanting to emulate Arjuna Ranatunga. As in, Arjuna had scored the winning runs in a World Cup final with a boundary. So Thisara wanted to go the same way. So after a tensed run chase against India, with Sri Lanka one stroke away from victory, Thisara threw caution to wind. He finished a World Cup final better than Arjuna scoring a six. Ravichandran Ashwin nearly had his man. Sensing that Thisara would attempt a big shot, Ashwin bowled it wider, but Thisara had got enough wood and the ball cleared the boundary.

Thisara’s career could have been perhaps more successful with someone to offer him better counseling. Hastily he quit Test cricket feeling that he wasn’t getting much opportunities. His figures are still the best by a Sri Lankan seamer at Pallekele.

This time though he was left with Hobson’s choice. The moment it was announced that he will be not considered for ODIs, he chose to retire from international cricket. You will still see him in different franchise cricket tournaments.

During some of cricket’s dicey moments he has come to Sri Lanka’s rescue. Like when everyone refused to tour Pakistan in 2017. He agreed to take the team to Lahore without any conditions. He was a good player and a great human being.

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Sports

Dimantha anchors Trinity after Royal post 439/9

Published

5 hours ago

2026/04/10

Thilina Walpola

UNDER 19 DIVISION 1 TIER A

Trinity reached 223 for five wickets at stumps on the second day as Dimantha Mahavithana anchored the innings with an unbeaten century after Royal poated a a mammoth 493 for nine wickets declared in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ semi-final at Surrey ground on Thursday.

‎‎Scores

‎Royal 328 for 4 overnight 493 for 9 dec in 119.3 overs (Hirun Liyanarachchi 78, Dushen Udawela 105, Vimath Dinsara 68, Ramiru Perera 57, Udantha Gangewatta 98, Himaru Deshan 29; Sethmika Senevirathne 4/111)

‎Trinity 223 for 5 in 53 overs (Dimantha Mahavithana 125, Puleesha Thilakarathne 32, Chaniru Senarathne 20, Malika Vithanage 22n.o.;Himaru Deshan 2/63, Ramiru Perera 2/68) (RF)

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Mukul Choudhary stuns Kolkata Knight Riders to seal last-ball thriller for Lucknow Super Giants

Published

6 hours ago

2026/04/10

Priyan

Mukul Choudhary celebrates victory after his stunning knock [BCCI]

In the lead-up to IPL 2026, Lucknow Super Giants coach Justin Langer believed that rookie <ukul Choudhary had the potential to become the “scariest” finisher in India. The 21-year-old showcased his potential and power in only his third IPL game, bashing a 25-ball half-century, which snatched victory for LSG from Kolkata Knight Riders’ grasp.

When Choudhary came into bat, LSG were 104 for 5 in the 13th over in pursuit of 182. Choudhary watched them slump further to 125 for 6 and then 128 for 7. He was on 2 off eight balls at one point. But with LSG needing 54 off 24 balls, he single-handedly won it for them. Only one other batter – Kieron Pollard in 2013 – has scored more than 50 runs in the last four overs of a successful IPL chase.

It was anybody’s game when LSG required 14 off the final over, with three wickets in hand. After Avesh Khan got a single off the first ball, Choudhary monstered Arora over square leg for six. Arora then responded with two dots, but a barely believable six off the next ball – a near wide yorker – brought the equation to one off one.

Choudhary swung and missed the slower bouncer, but he scampered across for a leg-bye and completed a stunning turnaround for LSG. A new star was born in the IPL.

At the halfway stage of the game, Rovman Powell said this wasn’t a typical Eden Gardens pitch. As the game wore on, the deliveries dug into the surface, especially the slower ones, were difficult to put away. Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran and Rishabh Pant were all done in by steepling bounce.

Arora had bounced out Markram and Marsh with the new ball, but when he tried something similar against Choudhary with the older one, Choudhary muscled him over square leg. When Arora tried to york him next ball, Choudhary helicoptered the seamer over long-on. Of the seven sixes Choudhary hit in 27 balls, this was the pick of the lot. “MS Dhoni, eat your heart out! The helicopter shot is back,” Faf du Plessis said on commentary

But still KKR were favourites with 42 to defend off 18 balls. Until Choudhary intervened again. He tonked Kartik Tyagi for a brace of sixes and reduced the equation to 30 needed off 12 balls.

Cameron Green, who had earlier bested Pant with a slower bouncer, bowled that variation to Choudhary and drew a mis-hit, but it fell into no-man’s land. Choudhary missed another slower bouncer next ball, but struck back to hit Green for 6,4,6 in his next four balls.

Choudhary then whacked another slower short ball from Arora for six in the final over. Arora responded by switching his angle to around the wicket and nailed two wide yorkers. He marginally missed his mark the next ball, but Choudhary scythed it flat and hard over cover with his fast hands to stun KKR.

Earlier Ayush Badoni had laid the platform, from which Choudhary launched, for LSG with a contrasting 54. Coming in at No.4, Badoni helped LSG overcome an early wobble with his calculative approach. He was particularly circumspect against Sunil Narine, who had recovered from an illness that had put him out of KKR’s previous game, scoring only eight off ten balls from him. In all, Narine conceded just 13 runs in his four overs for the wicket of Mohammed Shami.

Badoni found runs from elsewhere. He took 26 off 12 balls from Tyagi and Navdeep Saini, the weaker links in the KKR attack. He brought up his half-century, off 33 balls, when he carted left-arm spinner Anukul Roy over midwicket for six. Next ball, however, Roy hid the ball away from Badoni’s reach and had him holing out to wide long-off.

Prince Yadav had struck in his first over when he had Finn Allen caught at deep third by Digvesh Rathi in controversial circumstances. After a few replays, Allen was given out for 9 off 8, but later another replay suggested that Rathi’s foot was touching the boundary when he was holding the ball with both hands.

KKR captain Ajikya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvansh, who was promoted to No.3 ahead of Green, then countered the early blow with an 84-run partnership off 52 balls. Rahane manufactured swinging room and pumped both Rathi and M Siddharth for fours over cover.

Raghuvanshi was slow to start: he was on 6 off 12 balls at one point, but shifted gears when he lined up Avesh Khan for 4,6,4 in the last over of the powerplay.

LSG’s spinners Rathi and Siddharth then loosened KKR’s grip on the game by taking out Rahane and Raghuvanshi in successive overs.

Green needed 14 balls to find the boundary and in all managed only three fours and a six in the 24 balls he faced. Rovman Powell, who retained his place in KKR’s XI, was more fluent, finishing with an unbeaten 39 off 24 balls.

KKR went 31 balls without a boundary until Powell charged at Siddharth and cracked him over his head for six. Then when Prince missed his yorker, his drilled drive down the ground left both the bowler and the umpire in the firing line.

KKR were firm favourites – they had an 86% chance of beating LSG after 36 overs in the game – but Choudhary flipped the script and overpowered the hosts.

Brief scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 182 for 7 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 15, Aiden Markram 22, Rishbah Pant 10, Ayush Badoni 54, Nicholas Pooran 13, Mukul Choudhary 54*; Anukul Roy 2-32, Vaibhav Arora 2-38, Sunil Narine 1-13, Kartik Tyagi 1-31, Cameron Green 1-28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 181 for 4 in 20 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 45, Ajinkya Rahane 41, Cameron Green 32*, Rovman Powell 39*; Prince Yadav 1-47, Manimaran Siddharth 1-34, Digvesh Rathi 1-25, AveshKhan 1-44) by three wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Transgender women banned from women’s PDC darts

Published

6 hours ago

2026/04/10

Priyan

Noa-Lynn van Leuven became the first transgender woman to compete in the PDC World Championship in 2024 (BBC)

The Darts Regulation Authority has banned transgender women from competing in its women’s events with immediate effect.

The DRA, which governs the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), said “only biological females should be eligible to compete in women’s tournaments regulated by DRA Rules”.

It comes after the DRA completed a review of its Trans and Gender Diverse Policy, which began in 2025.

Noa-Lynn van Leuven, who in 2024 became the first transgender woman to compete in the PDC World Championship, said the decision had “effectively retired her”.

She remains eligible to play in open tournaments for men and women.

“I just got an email and apparently I just got retired, not by choice but because I am no longer allowed to compete,” Van Leuven said in a video posted on Instagram.

“The DRA just decided that trans women are no longer allowed in women’s events which basically means I am out.

“Everyday it is getting harder for trans people to exist, to compete. If you think this stops with me, it doesn’t. We just want to be.”

Sex-based rights charity Sex Matters said “men’s physical advantages in darts may be small but they all add up”.

“Darts is a male-dominated world, played in pubs and clubs, and the top darts players are all men. That’s why women need their own tournaments.

“The Darts Regulation Authority followed the lead of the old, unfair IOC [International Olympic Committee] policy, so it’s great to see this rapid return to fairness for women players.”

The DRA said it “seeks to be inclusive” and it encouraged “all players – irrespective of their biological sex, legal sex, and/or gender identity” to continue competing in open tournaments.

It said its decision is based on legal advice and a commissioned report by Dr Emma Hilton – an academic developmental biologist who has published several papers on sex and categories in sport.

Dr Hilton’s report concluded “that multiple, small-magnitude sex differences accumulate to generate male advantage over females in darts”.

Last year, the World Darts Federation (WDF) banned transgender women from competing in its women’s tournaments.

Last month, the president of the IOC, Kirsty Coventry, announced a blanket ban on transgender women, as well as athletes with differences in sex development (DSD) from the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

(BBC)