Sports

Pathum seals memorable Oval Test win

Published

1 year ago

2024/09/10

An airborne Pathum Nissanka cuts Chris Woakes to the fence during his unbeaten 127 at The Oval yesterday. Sri Lanka secured a comfortable eight wicket win and Nissanka was named Man of the Match.

Rex Clementine in London

Recalled to the Test side after a hiatus of two years, Pathum Nissanka made his comeback a memorable one helping Sri Lanka to secure a rare Test match win at The Oval yesterday. Chasing a target of 219, Sri Lanka still required 125 runs with nine wickets in hand yesterday morning and with conditions overcast, England believed that they could pull off the game. But Pathum Nissanka’s chanceless knock put an end to those hopes.

Sri Lanka romped home to an eight wicket win before lunch on day four doing it in white ball style going at 5.4 runs an over.

Nissanka had smashed the bowling to all parts the previous night to reach his half-century less than run a delivery, but with the ball seaming around yesterday morning, he was more cautious providing the bowlers the respect they deserved. But once he reached the milestone and with victory in touching distance he cut loose playing beautifully.

England tried to bounce him out and Nissanka took the fine-leg man on hooking the ball.

There were a few questions asked as to why Pathum did not feature in the opening Test at Old Trafford. The reason seems to be that he had a few technical glitches to work on and once they were sorted, he was given the green light.

There are few batters in world cricket who go about the business gracefully with those elegant drives and solid defense. Pathum is one of them. But he’s no one-trick pony as he is quite capable of playing the cross batted shots too be it the pull or the cut.

Kusal Mendis batted well too but when he fell with the total on 108, there were a few doubts as to whether Sri Lanka could still finish this off.

Then came Angelo Mathews bringing with him all his experience and he ensured that England didn’t get another sniff in the game.

Mathews and Nissanka added 111 runs for the second wicket and appropriately Nissanka brought the winning runs by cutting Shoaib Bashir wide off the backward of point fielder to the boundary.

Nissanka finished unbeaten on 127 that came off 124 balls with 13 fours and two sixes. Mathews was on 32 off 61 balls with three fours.

Nissanka was named Man of the Match. Kamindu Mendis was declared Player of the Series ahead of Asitha Fernando.

This is now the highest successful run chase by an Asian team in England. Pakistan had chased down 180 at Headingly in 2010.

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Ranaweera’s four-for leads Sri Lanka to tense win over West Indies

Published

11 hours ago

2026/02/21

Priyan

Inoka Ranaweera returned figures of 4 for 44 [Cricinfo]

Sri Lanka took a 1-0 lead in the ODI series with a tense ten-run win over West Indies, thanks largely to a match-defining performance from Inoka Ranaweera.

After being asked to bat, Sri Lanka posted 240 for 6, built on half-centuries from Hasini Perera (61 off 86) and Harshitha Samarawickrema (66 off 105). Captain Chamari Athapaththu made 27, while useful middle-order contributions from Nilakshika Silva and Kavisha Dilhari kept the innings moving at a controlled rate. A late cameo from Dewmi Vihanga, who struck 14 off six balls, ensured Sri Lanka pushed towards a competitive total in St George’s in Grenada.

But it was Ranaweera who tilted the contest. The experienced left-arm spinner returned figures of 4 for 44 from her ten overs. She removed the No. 3 Shemaine Campbelle cheaply, dismissed Chinelle Henry soon after, and then returned to break the dangerous stand of 89 between Stefanie Taylor and Jannillea Glasgow in the 40th over, just as West Indies were threatening to surge ahead. Ranaweera also accounted for Shawnisha Hector at the death.

Taylor’s 66 off 83 balls and Glasgow’s 50 off 67 had revived West Indies from early setbacks, and with Aaliyah Alleyne in the middle, the chase remained alive deep into the game. West Indies needed 18 from the last two overs, and 12 from the last six balls. However, Sri Lanka’s spinners held firm, with Dilhari finishing with three wickets, including two in the final over, to complement Ranaweera’s starring role.

West Indies were eventually bowled out for 230 in 49.4 overs. Sri Lanka have now won four of their last five ODIs against West Indies since 2017.

Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Women 240 for 6 in 50 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 66, Hasini Perera 61; Hayley Matthews 2-46, Karishma Ramharak 2-57) beat West Indies Women 230 in 49.4 overs (Stefanie Taylor 66, Jannillea Glasgow 50; Inoka Ranaweera 4-44, Kavish Dilhari 3-49) by ten runs

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Sharada, Kithma join to trouble Richmond

Published

17 hours ago

2026/02/21

Thilina Walpola

Left arm spinner Sharada Jayaratne took bowling honours of the day’s Under 19 cricket encounters as he took six wickets for Ananda to restrict Richmond to 168 runs in the traditional match at Ananda Mawatha.

‎Richmond were strongly placed at one stage with Risinu Rupasinghe (40) and Senuk Dulneth adding 91 runs for the first wicket. But when skipper Kithma Widanapathirana broke the stand, Richmond collapsed. Kithma and Sharada shared all ten wickets to fall.

‎In response the home team were 37 for three wickets at stumps with Vihanga Mihiranga inflicting early dammage.

‎At Darley Road, Wesley had a promising start with openers Shamma Fernando and Rasheed Nahyan putting on 58 runs for the first wicket before Nushan Perera and Sri Lanka Under 19 spinner Vigneswaran Akash shared seven wickets between them to restrict the Campbell Park team to 161 runs.

‎In reply St. Joseph’s reached 74 for no loss at stumps. The Joes amassed those runs in just 12.1 overs with Aveesha Samash hammering an unbeaten 53 in 38 balls (6x4s, 4x6s).

‎At De Soysa Stadium, Moratuwa, Mahanama posted 350 for nine wickets declared against Prince of Wales as Dulnith Sigera (74), Eshan Withanage (71n.o.) and Sineth Veerarathne (59) made half centuries.

‎For the Cambrians Nethul Anuhas took five wickets.

by Reemus Fernando

Sports

We are seeing something special in Pavan Rathnayake – Mathews

Published

17 hours ago

2026/02/21

Thilina Walpola

Former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews believes the islanders have unearthed a gem in Pavan Rathnayake, backing the 23-year-old middle-order batter to scale the game’s highest peaks.

Drafted into the World Cup squad at the eleventh hour, Rathnayake has wasted little time in justifying the selectors’ leap of faith. While much of the spotlight has rightly fallen on Pathum Nissanka’s match-winning heroics, the youngster has quietly gone about his business, compiling runs with poise and a range of strokes that suggest he belongs on this stage.

Rathnayake’s inclusion was no shot in the dark. Sri Lanka’s struggles against spin had been laid bare in the lead-up to the tournament and the think tank sought a batter who could milk the tweakers rather than get tied in knots. Rathnayake ticked that box emphatically, earning praise from batting coach Vikram Rathour for the way he used his feet to get to the pitch of the ball and employed soft hands to manoeuvre the field.

Mathews, who has long advocated fast-tracking the youngster into the senior set-up, said the signs were unmistakable.

“We are seeing someone special in Pavan Rathnayake,” Mathews told Telecom Asia Sport.

“I have seen him in close quarters and what impressed me most is his temperament. If he gets a start, he will go on to get a big hundred. I rate him very highly. The manner in which he plays spin is remarkable. He can both use his feet and rock back as well. He is a huge find for Sri Lanka and the world will start talking about him as we move on,” he added.

Mathews reserved special praise for the youngster’s mental steel, a trait he believes separates the run-of-the-mill from the truly elite.

“Pavan has a cool head and is so good to watch when he is on song. He is a man of few words, but mentally a very tough bloke and that’s what separates good players from great ones. I have no doubt he can go on to become a great,” Mathews said.

Sri Lanka became the first side to book their ticket to the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup after a stirring win over Australia, a result that sent fans into raptures and put the former champions back in the reckoning.

They begin their Super Eight campaign on Sunday against England, returning to a contest that promises high voltage and little margin for error.

On paper, Sri Lanka appear to have most bases covered. But the injury list has thrown a spanner in the works. Eshan Malinga, Wanindu Hasaranga and Matheesha Pathirana have all been ruled out, forcing the selectors into three replacements and leaving the bowling attack short on experience at the business end.

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