Defending champions India produced a splendid show in the World Cup semi-final in Bombay, winning a high-scoring thriller where the margins were wafer thin. England are an equally formidable side and, in the end, it proved to be a contest decided by fine details. Or, as West Indian great Clive Lloyd famously put it, catches win matches.

England captain Harry Brook grassed a sitter at mid-off early in the innings of Sanju Samson and the Indian wicketkeeper-batter made the former champions pay dearly. On the other hand, Axar Patel plucked two blinders in the deep, moments that turned the tide and snatched the momentum away from England just when they were threatening to seize control.

The spectacle had all the ingredients of a classic and, unsurprisingly, the ground was packed to the rafters. Fans queued up hours before the toss, while India’s glitterati turned the venue into something of a red-carpet affair. Bollywood celebrities rubbed shoulders with former greats of the game and the Ambani family, India’s wealthiest, were present alongside the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and several leading politicians.

With the stands awash in blue, the crowd played their part as India delivered a performance worthy of the occasion. The remarkable thing about Indian cricket is how it keeps churning out talent from what seems an endless conveyor belt. Even with stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja having moved on, the cupboard is far from bare.

In fact, the world’s number one ranked batter and bowler are both Indians, a reflection of the depth of their resources. Even though Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy endured relatively quiet tournaments, India’s bench strength ensures that there is never a shortage of match-winners waiting in the wings.

For Sri Lanka, there is a lesson somewhere in this story. Our corporate sector may not have the financial muscle of businesses that own Indian Premier League franchises, but there are certainly passionate cricket lovers running large companies who could lend their weight to the Lanka Premier League when it is relaunched. The problem in the past has been expecting profits before the product had time to grow, a flawed business model if ever there was one.

If Sri Lanka are serious about becoming a force to be reckoned with T20 cricket again, a proper relaunch and rebranding of the LPL is not just desirable but essential.

There was also a thought spared for Jacob Bethell after his magnificent hundred went in vain as England fell just short. The young man showed maturity beyond his years. Even after reaching three figures, his celebrations were muted, he knew the job was only half done.

That is something our players could learn from. Too often we see extravagant celebrations after milestones, with batters launching into choreographed routines and bowlers turning into Robin Hoods after a five-wicket haul.

Bethell, though, looks the real deal. Born in the Caribbean and tipped by many as the next big thing in world cricket, he has already offered a glimpse of what the future might hold. If this innings was anything to go by, the youngster is here to stay.

Rex Clementine
in Ahmedabad

Retiring skipper Alyssa Healy fell cheaply late on a bowler-dominated opening day that saw debutants Lucy Hamilton and Sayali Satghare produce spectacular starts to their Test careers.

Thirteen wickets fell on a grassy WACA surface, including Healy who on 13 hit Satghare straight to backward point with 30 minutes left before stumps. Healy trudged off the field – perhaps not for the final time – to a loud ovation as India, fielding four debutants, hit back after being bowled out in 62.4 overs.

St. John’s College, Jaffna were just four wickets away from victory at stumps on day two of the Battle of Jaffna Big Match at the Central College Groud Jaffna on Friday.

‎St. John’s restricted their arch rivals to 120 for six wickets after a valuable century by Uthayanan Abijoyshanth helped them post 247 runs.

‎Uthayanan’s century was the highlight on the second day as he almost singlehandedly guided the destiny of the visiting team.

‎He faced just 105 balls for his 121 as he struck 15 fours and four sixes in his knock before being given lbw to Murali Thison who took seven wickets.

‎Thison completed a match bag of 12 wickets with his big haul of wickets in the second innings.

‎While Central were largely depending on Thison for wickets in both innings, St. John’s were sharing bowling honours.

‎Despite having in their ranks Sri Lanka Under 19 paceman Kugathas Mathulan, St. John’s saw Ganeshamoothy Kowsikan (5/41) and Murfin Randyo (3/19) sharing bowling honours in the first inning.

‎Mathulan took his first wicket of the match in the afternoon on Friday.