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)
India were pushed more than they had been at any point in this series but still ran home victors in the final T20I at Trivandrum to complete a 5-0 series win over Sri Lanka – the first time they have swept a bilateral T20I series of this length at home. Besides a stronger performance from their opponents, the hosts faced sterner challenges – the rare failure of their top order, a dewy ball in defence but managed to overcome them all as they ran home winners by 15 runs.
The win was set up by the skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hadn’t crossed 21 in the four previous innings of this series but come a tricky situation, she stepped up with a 43-ball 68. After being put in to bat, India found themselves in early trouble at 27 for 2, with debutant G Kamalini, coming in for the rested Smriti Mandhana, following the in-form Shafali Verma back to the hut. Inside the 10th over, India also lost Harleen Deol and Richa Ghosh and were struggling for any kind of momentum.
But Harmanpreet rose to the moment with a commanding knock that mixed caution with aggression. She hit nine fours and a six and was particularly effective playing the field against the left-arm spinners. Even with Harmanpreet providing the backbone of the innings, India needed a late push from Arundhati Reddy and Amanjot Kaur, who scored a pair of useful 20s to push the score forward. Arundhati, in particular, smashed 27 off 11 balls as India found 66 runs in the final five overs to get to 175.
Chasing 176, Sri Lanka produced their best batting performance of the series, built around an excellent 79-run partnership off just 56 balls between Hasini Perera and Imesha Dulani for the second wicket. Perera, playing her 81st T20I, finally brought up her maiden half-century in the format, while Dulani also reached the milestone as the visitors raced to stay within touching distance of the target.
The momentum shifted dramatically when Amanjot Kaur struck with her very first delivery to dismiss Dulani, breaking the dangerous stand. Perera continued to fight, threatening to pull off an unlikely heist. But after clubbing a four and a six off Sree Charani, she was cleaned up by the left-arm spinner with a full delivery that slipped under Perera’s bat to knock out the stumps. Between that, Deepti Sharma trapped Nilakshi Silva to pass Megan Schutt as the format’s leading wicket-taker.
Those late wickets meant, Sri Lanka were left needing 34 runs from the final two overs. They got close, but ultimately not close enough to cause India enough jitters on the night.
Brief scores:
India Women 175 for 7 in 20 overs
(Gunalan Kamalini 12, Harleen Deol 13, Harmanpreet Kaur 68, Amanjot Kaur 21, Arundhati Reddy 27*; Nimasha Meepage 1-25, Kavisha Dilhari 2-11, Rashmika Sewwandi 2-42, Chamari Athapaththu 2-21) beat Sri Lanka Women 160 for 7 in 20 overs (Hasini Perera 65, Imesha Dulani 50, Rashmika Sewwamdi 14*; Deepti Sharma 1-28, Arundhati Reddy 1-16, Sneh Rana 1-31, Vaishnavi Sharma 1-33, Shree Charani 1-31, Amanjot Kaur 1-17 ) by 15 runs
[Cricbuzz]
Former Sri Lanka Under-19 cricketer Akshu Fernando has died on December 30, after having been in a coma for several years.
Fernando had been crossing an unprotected railway track in the southern Colombo suburb of Mount Lavinia following a training session on the beach, when he was struck by a train on December 28, 2018. Having been critically injured in the accident, he had been on life support for much of the time since.
A bright right-handed batter, Fernando’s domestic career seemed to just be taking off when he was hit by the train at age 27. He had scored his maiden first-class hundred for Ragama Cricket Club in the weeks before the accident, and had also been developing his offspin at the time. All told, he had seven 50-plus scores at the senior level. In a nine-year domestic career, he had played for Colts Cricket Club, Panadura Sports Club, and Chilaw Marians Sports Club, among others.
International commentator and one of Ragama Cricket Club’s most senior administrators Roshan Abeysinghe paid tribute to Fernando following the news of his death.
“He was truly a wonderful young man whose promising career was cut short by a cruel accident,” Abeysinghe said. “A quality player for his school and his final club Ragama, it’s a sad day for all of us who knew him. A cheerful, friendly and thorough gentleman was he. We will miss you Akshu and remember you for the rest of our life. Rest in peace sweet prince.”
[Cricinfo]
Lasith Malinga has once more been retained as consultant bowling coach for Sri Lanka’s men’s team, as they prepare for the T20 World Cup they are due to co-host from early February.
Although this is only a 40-day appointment, running from December 15 to January 25, it is essentially a continuation of Malinga’s work with key bowlers in the national set-up. Malinga has worked officially as a fast-bowling consultant at least twice before, but has also worked unofficially with top bowlers over the years, and has been advising the coaching team led by Sanath Jayasuriya, over the past two years.
With round-arm bowlers Matheesha Pathirana and Nuwan Thushara both in Sri Lanka’s preliminary squad for the T20 World Cup, and likely to make the final 15, Malinga will be especially well-placed to assist.
“Sri Lanka Cricket aims to leverage Malinga’s vast international experience and renowned expertise in death bowling, particularly in the shortest format of the game to strengthen Sri Lanka’s preparations for the upcoming World Cup,” the board release said.
Sri Lanka are set to co-host their first men’s global tournament since 2012, from February 7. Three Sri Lankan venues will be used – Khettarama and SSC in Colombo, and Pallekele.
The T20 World Cup will run from February 7 to March 8. Sri Lanka are in Group B along with Australia, Ireland, Oman and Zimbabwe.
[Cricinfo]
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