Sports

Pathum delivers a knock for the ages

Published

11 months ago

2025/04/6

Pathum Nissanka’s batting brilliance reminds us that form is temporary but class is permanent. His double hundred in the NSL has put Kandy in the hunt for the finals.

There are few sights in cricket more pleasing to the purist’s eye than Pathum Nissanka in full flow – batting as if he were painting strokes on a canvas. Last year, the elegant right-hander had a breakthrough season, making headlines and turning heads. But 2025 hadn’t been kind to him until now. After a barren patch where his bat was quieter than a library on a Sunday, Nissanka has found his rhythm once more.

He started last year with a bang – quite literally – blasting his way past Sanath Jayasuriya’s long-standing record for the highest individual score by a Sri Lankan in ODIs. But he didn’t just break the record; he smashed it to smithereens and went on to notch up the country’s maiden double century in ODI cricket. For a nation that had graced three World Cup finals and boasted of batting luminaries like Aravinda de Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, and T.M. Dilshan, it was almost unbelievable that no Sri Lankan had reached that landmark before.

Yet, the true turning point came in London six months later. With Sri Lanka two-nil down in the Test series after painful losses at Old Trafford and Lord’s, the third Test at The Oval was played for pride. The ball was seaming around like a drunk staggering through a winding road. In those conditions, even someone like Nishantha Ranatunga – whose bowling could usually be charitably described as dibbly-dobbly – might have looked like Michael Holding reincarnated.

That’s when Pathum produced a gem – an innings so perfectly constructed, it belonged in a museum. For the first 40 runs, he played with the straightest of bats, tighter than a miser’s purse. Then, as he started seeing the ball well, the cover drives started flowing like fine wine. Once past the century, he hooked with intent and class, showing he was no one-trick pony.

It was a statement knock, from a player who had previously been pigeonholed as a white-ball specialist. That innings nailed his place back in the Test side and brought Sri Lanka their first win in England in a decade – a victory as rare and precious as a blue moon.

Naturally, fans and pundits thought Nissanka would go from strength to strength. Scoring a ton away from home, especially with the Duke’s ball and against top-tier bowling, is no mean feat. It requires skill, temperament and a touch of steel.

But from that high, it was a steep fall. A string of failures followed – at home against New Zealand and Australia, and away in South Africa. Across five Tests, he mustered just one half-century, the rest of his innings no more than brief cameos that flattered to deceive.

That solitary fifty came at Port Elizabeth, where he looked in complete control – until a rush of blood had him dancing down the track to Keshav Maharaj. He missed, the stumps didn’t. Bowled for 89, with a century there for the taking. It was a golden chance squandered and few Sri Lankans have joined the elusive club of Test centurions on South African soil. That miss stung.

Word has it that the Head Coach didn’t utter a word to him for a fortnight. That Test was within Sri Lanka’s grasp and Pathum’s dismissal tilted the scales.

The lean patch bled into domestic cricket. The runs dried up like a well in a drought. For NCC, he was a passenger and for Kandy in the ongoing NSL, he barely made a ripple in the first few matches. The vultures began to circle.

Meanwhile, openers like Lahiru Udara and Ron Chandraguptha were cashing in, piling on runs and banging loudly on the selection door. For Pathum, the writing was on the wall. It was now or never.

Just when it looked like he was heading back to the pavilion for good, he came up with an innings for the ages – a double century that not only turned heads but kept Kandy’s hopes of making the final alive. It was the cricketing equivalent of a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Pathum is cut from rare cloth. He shares traits with the great Sangakkara – particularly that unrelenting hunger for big runs. He doesn’t stop at three figures; he builds monuments. And when he does, the team usually ends up with totals that put the opposition under the pump.

Another feather in his cap is the pace at which he scores. He’s no stonewaller; instead, he unfurls an array of shots that are as delightful as they are destructive. At times, though, that flamboyance is his undoing.

What separates him from the rest is his work ethic. When others are hitting the snooze button, Pathum is hitting the nets. He’s willing to put in the hard yards, and that dedication is the backbone of his resurgence.

Whispers had begun that his place in the Test XI was hanging by a thread. But with a statement double hundred in the country’s premier domestic tournament, Pathum has silenced the doubters and booked his ticket for the Bangaldesh Tests.

by Rex Clementine

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Can resourceful New Zealand lock in semi-final spot against already-qualified England?

Published

4 hours ago

2026/02/27

Priyan

England secured their place in the final four with a nervy win over Pakistan [Cricinfo]

While Sri Lankan cricket begins another cycle of seething introspection, there is still business to be concluded in Colombo and Pallekele. New Zealand helped turn the home crowd against their own on Wednesday night and will be looking to confirm their own passage to the semi-finals – for the fourth time in the last five T20 World Cups – when they return to Khettarama to take on England, who are already through.

Looking on anxiously will be Pakistan, who shared the points with New Zealand when their Super Eight encounter was washed out and must consequently cling to the possibility of England making it three wins from three and then making up the net run rate deficit in victory over Sri Lanka (with the results margin from both games cumulatively needing to be around 0 runs, assuming the team batting first makes 180).

England’s campaign so far has turned the phrase “winning ugly” into an art form; the two-wicket triumph over Pakistan that sealed their semi-final spot was so defiantly slapdash it might well end up being nominated for the Turner Prize. The quest for the “perfect game” continues. Certainly, there is no danger of them peaking too early.

If there is one unsettling blot on their copybook so far, it is the continuing travails of Jos Buttler. His haunted look after dismissal for a fourth single-innings score in a row against Pakistan told the story of a horror campaign, but there is no sense yet that England are ready to pull the rug on their greatest white-ball batter of all time.

New Zealand are more in need of the win – even if a close-fought loss might do – but, after a dip at the 2024 World Cup when they were edged out in the first group stage by Afghanistan, they look back to their best as a high-functioning tournament side that always makes the best of the resources available to them.

They came into this World Cup with several players battling injury and illness; Michael Bracewell, a key allrounder in subcontinental conditions, was then ruled out without playing a game. But they have won four out of five completed games with Bracewell’s replacement, the unheralded Cole McConchie, one of stars of their come-from-behind win over Sri Lanka – a game in which their five spin-bowling options trumped the four that England are able to call on (assuming the cut to Jacob Bethell’s bowling hand has healed).

No one should be surprised to see them get the job done again. A New Zealand win would put them top of the group, and also end the uncertainty around the semi-final venues, with Mumbai and Kolkata locked in. Pakistan will be hoping desperately it’s not that straightforward.

While Buttler’s lack of form remains the main talking point, Harry Brook did everything he could to make sure the headlines were about him against Pakistan. At the prompting of Brendon McCullum, Brook elevated himself to No. 3 in the order – having dropped down to No. 5 before the World Cup – and the immediate results were spectacular. Having only done the job a handful of times before for Yorkshire and Northern Superchargers, and never at international level, he made full use of the opportunity for a fast start during the powerplay and was consequently more settled when it came to navigating middle-overs spin (his T20 weak spot). A maiden T20I hundred, from just 50 balls, suggests he should be locked in at first drop for the foreseeable.

Kiwis are all about the collective, with handy performance so far sprinkled around, but one area that might be cause for a smidge of concern is the New Zealand middle order. Partly that is down to the top four being so effective – openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen are their leading run-scorers, closely followed by Glenn Phillips – and partly the abandoned game against Pakistan, which meant they went eight days without playing. Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman have both batted three times and missed the chance for middle time against Sri Lanka, before Mitchell Santner and McConchie produced the vital rescue act. New Zealand have discussed pushing Santner higher, but will likely stick with the incumbents in the expectation they will come good (or not be needed).

England have played the same XI five games in a row and – unless they were to suddenly change their thinking on Buttler, and parachute Ben Duckett in to open – seem likely to stick with that formula. Rehan Ahmed, Josh Tongue and Luke Wood are in the wings, in the event that they wish to test their bench strength.

England: (probable) Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (capt), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.

After adapting on the fly to seal such a comprehensive win over the home side, New Zealand are also expected to keep the same balance, with the two quicks and five spin options at their disposal. Jimmy Neesham could return if conditions demand another seam option.

New Zealand: (probable) Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (capt), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson.

Latest News

India win big to set up knockout clash with West Indies

Published

7 hours ago

2026/02/27

Priyan

Suryakumar Yadav shakes hands with Brian Bennett, who finished on 97 not out [Cricinfo]

India set up a virtual quarter-final against West Indies on Sunday with a comfortable win against Zimbabwe on a night that Abhishek Sharma scored his maiden World Cup fifty and India made a small tweak in their batting combination to unleash the second-highest total in T20 World Cups, going two past the 254 Zimbabwe conceded in their last match. Six men batted for India, their innings lasted 15 to 30 balls, and their strike rates ranged from 158.33 to 275. In all, they hit 17 sixes, the most for India in a single T20 World Cup innings.

Zimbabwe asked India to bat first expecting help for fast bowlers. Their reading of conditions was accurate, but the execution was much better from the much more experienced India bowlers, who kept them to 33 in five overs, post which there was hardly any way back.

Zimbabwe, now out of the tournament, dropped two costly catches, taking their tally in Super Eight to five in two matches after having missed just one in the whole first round. A defiant unbeaten 97 from Brian Bennett was the only consolation for them.

Samson breaks up left-hand cluster

India finally admitted their cluster of three left-hand batters at the top was giving offspinners a match-up to exploit, that Suryakumar Yadav was not going to be promoted to No. 3, and sacrificed some lower-order hitting of Rinku Singh to bring in Sanju Samson. Zimbabwe were anyway looking to open with their tall fast bowlers, both of whom Samson hit for sixes down the ground off the back foot in the first two overs. He eventually fell for just 24 off 15, but he was part of India’s biggest opening stand this tournament: 48 off 3.4 overs.

Unlike earlier matches, Abhishek neither charged at the quick bowlers nor gave away his stumps. It took him only three balls to unveil an inside-out drive over extra cover for four. It turned out to be a no-ball as well, and he sent the free hit for a straight four. Abhishek got to 33 off 13 in the powerplay as Zimbabwe refrained from using spin before the field spread out.

As soon as the powerplay ended, Sikandar Raza and Brian Bennett bowled two overs without a boundary to Abhishek and Ishan Kishan. Neither of them panicked, Ishan used power, Abhishek his feet, and both got past the hurdle.

It took only his 26 balls but Abhishek’s maiden World Cup fifty was the second-slowest of his 11 scores of 50 or above in T20Is.

Dropped catches hurt Zimbabwe

Had Zimbabwe held on two pretty straightforward chances, Kishan would have been dismissed for 26 off 19 and Suryakumar for eight off four. The duo ended up with 38 off 24 and 33 off 13. The innings was set up beautifully for Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma to finish off.

The finishing kick

Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma added an unbeaten 84 off 31 balls, hitting four sixes each, almost racing each other. Hardik was the only one that ended up with a fifty, but he had a headstart of 12 runs when Tilak came out to bat. Tilak was the quicker one, striking cleanly from the first ball, using space both in front of and behind square. Hardik mainly used power to go down the ground, and caught up with and went past Tilak with two sixes off the last two balls of the innings.

Early movement makes it a bridge too far for Zimbabwe

Arshdeep Singh conceded just one boundary in his first two overs, Hardik extracted appreciable seam movement with the new ball, and at 25 for 0 in four overs, Zimbabwe were looking at 14.5 per over to stay alive in the tournament.

Spinners strike

Axar Patel, left out for the last match because of an abundance of left-hand batters, took two balls to get a wicket, that of the left-hand batter Tadiwanashe Marumani. Varun Chakravarthy took to 19 his streak of taking at least one wicket in a T20I with the wicket of Dion Myers.

Bennett shines, cause for concern for India

In the end, India were comfortable victors by 72 runs, but they will not like that Varun went for 35 runs, conceding three sixes, and that their sixth bowler Shivam Dube had a terrible night out with 46 off two overs. Thanks to South Africa’s win over West Indies earlier in the day, India were under no pressure to secure a big win so they did experiment more than they usually would have.

Zimbabwe ended up getting 184 thanks largely to Bennett, who showed he had a higher gear in him after he went the first round scoring in the 130s without a single six. Here he hit six sixes and scored at 164.4. As the hundred approached, though, Arshdeep shut Zimbabwe out with three wickets in two overs, which also meant Bennett was starved of strike in the end. Arshdeep went past Jasprit Bumrah as India’s leading wicket-taker in T20 World Cups.

Brief scores:
India 256 for 4 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 24, Abhishek Sharma 55, Ishan Kishan 38, Suryakumar Yadav 33, Hardik Pandya 50*, Tilak Varma 44*; Richard Ngarava 1-62, Blessing Muzarabani 1-42, Tinotenda Maposa 1-40, Sikandar Raza 1-29) beat Zimbabwe 184 for 6 in 20 overs (Brian Bennett 97*, Tadiwanashe Marumani 20, Sikandar Raza 31, Tony Munyonga 11; Arshdeep Singh 3-24, Varun Chakravarthy 1-35, Axar Patel 1-35, Shivam Dube 1-46) by 72 runs

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Sri Lanka must plan smarter to compete in World Cups, says Atapattu

Published

7 hours ago

2026/02/27

Thilina Walpola

Marvan Atapattu

Former captain Marvan Atapattu has warned Sri Lanka that muddled planning and last-minute tinkering will continue to leave them stumped on the world stage after another sobering exit from the T20 World Cup.

The former champions crashed out of the Super Eight stage with a game to spare following three straight defeats, their meek loss to New Zealand on Wednesday a bitter pill to swallow in front of a packed house. Sri Lanka were second best from the toss to the post-mortem, barely laying a glove on the Kiwis.

“Our planning has to be better than this,” Atapattu told Telecom Asia Sport, pulling no punches. “You pick your players two years before a World Cup and help them evolve. You keep backing them once you have identified talent. That is how you go into a World Cup. Here, two months before the tournament, we aren’t sure who is going to be our captain.”

Atapattu said chopping and changing on the eve of a global event was a recipe for disaster.

“Your core players need to remain the same set of guys whom you have backed. There can be injuries and loss of form and you deal with them accordingly, but wholesale change is an indication that there’s no planning,” he added.

He also flagged concerns over the granting of No Objection Certificates for franchise leagues, warning that Sri Lanka risked burning the candle at both ends.

“You have to protect your centrally contracted players. There’s no point if your key player is injured for a World Cup,” Atapattu said.

Sri Lanka were forced into late reshuffles after calling up replacements for three players, most notably missing leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who pulled out after the opening game with a hamstring strain. His absence left a gaping hole in the middle overs.

Atapattu was equally critical of the kind of surfaces Sri Lanka have dished out at home, arguing low, slow turners offer a false sense of security.

“Play on good pitches. Then your bowlers, in particular, learn the art of containing free-flowing batters,” he remarked. “If you only play on surfaces that suit you, you are not preparing for global events.”

Pointing to England’s meticulous build-up, Atapattu said smart preparation separated contenders from also-rans.

“Look at England. Before the World Cup, they came to Sri Lanka and spent two weeks here. That is smart work,” he said. “We often play teams like Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe and when we beat them, we think our cricket is in good shape. But when we play the big boys, we are found out.”

https://www.telecomasia.net/