Sports
Piyumal, Shehan hog limelight with notable feats
Under 19 Division I Cricket Round Up
by Reemus Fernando
A captain’s knock of 96 runs by Janitha Shehan and a five-wicket haul by Kavisha Piyumal were among the highlights as Tier ‘A’ and ‘B’ matches of the Under 19 Division I Limited Overs cricket tournament continued on Wednesday.
Janitha Shehan almost single handedly guided Gurukula to victory with an unbeaten knock (96n.o. in 114 balls, 9x4s) as he anchored the batting line up to reach a target of 188 runs in the penultimate over. They were 78 for four wickets at one stage.
At Katugastota, left-arm spinner Kavisha Piyumal produced his best figures in a limited overs match as St. Anthony’s, registered a three wickets victory against St. Sebastian’s, Moratuwa according to the Parabola Method.
The match which commenced as a 41 overs-a-side encounter saw the visitors being bowled out for 117 runs as Piyumal impressed with a five-wicket haul. His figures read 7.1-0-14-5.
In their essay, the home team had a revised target of 114 runs to chase in 39 overs and they achieved it in the 26th over with three wickets to spare. That was the third victory registered by St. Anthony’s. However, despite the victory they will remain in the fourth position in the points table behind St. Sebastian’s, who have four victories under their belt.
Wesley will remain in the second place in their group after registering their fourth win of the tournament yesterday. They beat D.S. Senanayake by five wickets after Shakesh Minon lead their attack with a four-wicket haul to contain the visitors to 159 runs at Campbell Park.
At Campbell Place, Nalanda were reduced to 126 runs before Royal pulled off a three wickets win to remain on top of the table in Tier ‘A’ Group ‘A’. Royal have four victories against their name now after six outings.
In a Tier ‘B’ match played at Kadirana, St. Joseph Vaz’s pulled off an exciting two wickets victory over St. Sylvester’s as their ninth wicket pair kept their cool to add an unfinished stand of 34 runs to win with three balls to spare.
In the other Tier ‘B’ match, a century by Amitha Sandeepa (121 in 131 balls, 11x4s, 2x6s) was in vain for St. Anthony’s Wattala as Mahinda restricted them to 259 runs to win by 17 runs at Galle. For Mahinda, Shehan Hasaranga hogged the limelight cracking 69 runs in 31 balls. His hurricane knock included three fours and seven sixes.
Results
Tier ‘A’
Wesley beat DSS by five wickets at Campbell Park
Scores:
DSS
159 all out in 37.5 overs (Gaviru Senhas 54, Manura Pieris 30, Akidha Weerasuriya 27n.o.; Uvin Perera 3/32, Shakesh Minon 4/41, Linal Subasinghe 2/19)
Wesley
161 for 5 in 29.2 overs (Sanithu Amarasinghe 28, Chamath Gomez 48, Ashan Sudarshana 34, Uvin Perera 24; Senura Silva 3/48)
St. Anthony’s beat St. Sebastian’s by three wickets according to Paraboala Method at Katugastota
Scores:
St. Sebastian’s
117 all out in 39.1 overs (Ryan Dissanayake 28, Sanesh Fernando 28; Kaveesha Piyumal 5/14)
St. Anthony’s
117 for 7 in 26 overs (Janith Rathnasiri 39, Thisara Ekanayake 42n.o., Sajan Wijerathna 2/19, Nadeesh Fernando 3/29)
Royal beat Nalanda by three wickets at Campbell Place
Scores:
Nalanda
126 all out in 37.3 overs (Yasiru Samarakoon 29, Manupa Manmitha 40; Dasis Manchanayaka 2/17, Sineth Jayawardena 2/20, Thamod Madularachchi 2/15)
Royal
127 for 7 in 38.2 overs (Sineth Jayawardena 37; Sajitha Vithanage 2/23)
Gurukula beat De Mazenod by three wickets at Kandana
Scores:
De Mazenod
187 all out in 48.5 overs (Hasith Sandeepa 23, Neshan Dias 30, Uvindu Perera 22, Sithum Fernando 24, Mishen Fernando 52n.o.; Janitha Shehan 2/45, Hiruna Nimsara 4/27)
Gurukula
188 for 7 in 48.5 overs (Janitha Shehan 96n.o.; Sithum Fernando 2/17, Neshan Dias 2/39)
Tier ‘B’
Mahinda beat St. Anthony’s Wattala by 17 runs at Galle
Scores:
Mahinda
276 for 7 in 50 overs (Dinura Kalupahana 55, Dhanuja Induwara 64, Hareen Achintha 22, Hiruna Mandila 23, Shehan Hasaranga 69; Madura Bashitha 2/57, Amitha Sandeepa 2/49)
St. Anthony’s Wattala
259 all out in 49.3 overs (Harsha Weerasooriya 26, Amitha Sandeepa 121, Pathum Vihaga 22; Dinura Kalupahana 2/38, Shehan Hasaranga 2/58, Dhanuja Induwara 2/38)
St. Joseph Vaz’s beat St. Sylvester’s by two wickets at Kadirana
Scores:
St. Sylvester’s
184 all out in 50 overs (Malith Lakshan 35, Dion Fernando 44, Yoshitha Isuranga 36, Chandupa Waduge 21; Janith Shehan 3/41, Menusha Perera 3/33)
St. Joseph Vaz’s
185 for 8 in 49.3 overs (Kavindu Nishara 41, Dasun Perera 30, Vishwa Rajapaksha 26, Janith Shehan19n.o., Raveen Chethana 14n.o.; Khanka Wickramasinghe 2/35, Akila Wickramasinghe 4/19)
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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