Latest News
Ramharack, Matthews keep West Indies in contention for semi-finals with crucial win
Karishma Ramharak’s four-wicket haul and Hayley Mathews’ quickfire 34 helped West Indies coast to an important eight-wicket victory against Bangladesh, in Sharjah. Having chased down the target of 104 in 12.5 overs, West Indies, with their second win in three matches, moved to top of Group B. Three teams from this group are now in contention for the two semi-final spots with South Africa and England also on four points, but the latter have played only two matches.
Bangladesh succumbed to their second straight defeat in three matches and their chances of advancing to the knockouts took a big hit. Batting once again hurt Bangladesh as they lost six wickets for 27 runs after they were sent in to bat.
West Indies used as many as seven bowlers but it was Ramharack who stood out by taking a wicket each in her four overs across different phases of the game. The offspinner struck with her very first delivery when opener Shathi Rani tried to sweep and missed. Shemaine Campbelle took the bails off in a flash to effect a stumping. In her second over, the last one in the powerplay, Dilara Akter moved across to sweep but missed, only to expose her middle stump and be bowled. When Ramharack came out to bowl in the 13th over, she mixed her lines well but kept the ball outside off. She had Sobhana Mostary stumped by making her come down the track to an outside off-stump delivery. That ended the 40-run third-wicket stand for Bangladesh.
Just when Nigar Sultana and Ritu Moni were looking to stitch a stand during the death overs, Ramaharack came back and knocked Moni out. Chinelle Henry took an excellent running catch after the batter came down and miscued a lofted shot to deep midwicket. Ramharack finished with 4 for 17.
Bangladesh showed positive intent with the bat early on, with the openers charging down as early as the second over to go aerial. Nigar started briskly after the openers fell in the powerplay. She particularly took legspinner Afy Fletcher on and smacked three fours off her second over and moved to 20 off 17 balls. However, once Mostary fell in the 13th over and Fletcher struck twice in the 15th, Nigar, who was on 27 off 27, slowed down despite West Indies’ sloppy fielding. Her next 17 deliveries fetched just 12 runs and eventually, she fell to Matthews in the final over attempting a big heave towards deep midwicket.
Bangladesh struggled to pitch the ball up and got punished as they erred on the shorter side. It allowed the West Indies batters to rock back and play their shots. Matthews, in particular, pounced on this opportunity in the powerplay and blunted the Bangladesh attack. After being on a run-a-ball seven, Matthews lined up the left-arm spin of Nahida Akter with a punch off the backfoot, piercing the gap between cover and extra cover. Two balls later, Nahida bowled short again and received the same treatment.
Legspinner Fahima Khatun, after having given away just four runs off her first over, bowled short on off stump in the fifth over and Matthews stayed back and punched uppishly to find her third boundary on the off side. Marufa Akter overpitched the last ball of the powerplay, which Matthews drove through cover to bring up her sixth boundary. But she was bowled by a nip-backer from the fast bowler in the eighth over for a 22-ball 34. At the end of Marufa’s over though, West Indies needed just 49 off 72 balls which was taken care of by Stafanie Taylor – before she limped off retired hurt – and Deandra Dottin, who smashed an unbeaten 19 off just seven balls.
Brief scores:
West Indies Women 104 for 2 in 12.5 overs (Hayley Matthews 34, Stafanie Taylor 27, Shermaine Campbelle 21, Demdra Dottin 19*; Nahida Akter 1-22, Marufa Akter 1-20) beat Bangladesh Women 103 for 8 in 20 overs (Nigar Sultana 39; Karishma Ramharack 4-17, Hayley Mathews 1-19, Afy Fletcher 2-25) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
Latest News
Navy seize about 11kg and 300g of gold being smuggled via sea
A special search operation conducted by the Navy in the sea area off the Baththalangunduwa Island, Kalpitiya on 04th January 2025, led to the interception of a dinghy with 03 suspects who were smuggling about 11kg and 300g of gold.
The Navy carries out regular search operations and patrols in the coastal and sea areas around the island, with a view to preventing an assortment of nefarious activities stemming via sea routes.
As an extension of these efforts, a team of Special Boat Squadron attached to SLNS Vijaya was pressed into action, on receipt of information by the Northwestern Naval Command of a gold smuggling racket. Accordingly, naval personnel intercepted the suspicious dinghy off the Baththalangunduwa Island and recovered about 11kg and 300g of gold being smuggled from the country, concealed in the dinghy. The operation also led to the apprehension of 03 suspects in connection to the racket.
The suspects held in this operation were identified as residents of Kalpitiya. Meanwhile, the suspects along with gold will be handed over to the Customs Preventive Office, Katunayake for onward legal action.
Latest News
Boland four-for, Pant fireworks keep SCG Test in balance
During the lunch break on the second day, Rohit Sharma cleared the air, saying that he had sat out of the Sydney Test and that he wasn’t retiring from Test cricket yet. Soon after the break, Jasprit Bumrah, who had taken over from Rohit as captain, left the SCG for scans. Australia had lost half their side around that time, with the game – and the series – dangling on a razor’s edge. Despite the absence of Bumrah, India snatched a four-run first-innings lead, turning the Sydney Test into a second-innings shootout.
Rishabh Pant pulled India further ahead with a jaw-dropping 29-ball half-century. It was the second fastest fifty by an Indian in Test cricket, behind his own 28-ball effort against Sri Lanka in 2022. After Scott Boland had carved up India’s top order with pinpoint accuracy, Pant countered them and thrilled a Sydney crowd of 47,257. The late dismissals of Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy kept the game in the balance, with India leading by 145 at stumps.
The second-innings shootout, though, could get skewed in favour of Australia if Bumrah isn’t fit to bowl anymore in this Test.
India’s support bowlers, though, stepped up admirably on the second day, with Prasidh Krishna and Reddy sharing five wickets among them. India’s non-Bumrah seamers came away with combined figures of 8 for 132 – their best in any innings on this tour.
Reddy picked up two wickets in two balls while Prasidh marked his Test comeback with the scalps of Steven Smith, Alex Carey and debutant Beau Webster, who top-scored for Australia with 57 off 105 balls.
Webster continued his excellent debut, becoming the first Australian since Adam Voges in 2015 to score a half-century on Test debut.
The day had dawned with Bumrah snaring Marnus Labuschagne for 2 and throwing a stare at non-striker Sam Konstas. Bumrah surpassed Bishen Singh Bedi’s tally for the most wickets taken by an India bowler on a tour of Australia.
The 19-year-old responded strongly with the bat when he advanced at Bumrah and shanked him down the ground for four. Then, after Bumrah reinforced the slip cordon by bringing deep third in, Konstas unfurled another audacious reverse-ramp, prompting Bumrah to post a fielder at deep third.
In the next over, however, Mohammed Siraj had Konstas edging to gully for 23 off 57 balls with an outswinger. Three balls later, he had Travis Head caught at second slip for 4. Where Bumrah and Australia’s quicks hit the deck, the source of Siraj’s menace was swing. So, he kept exploring a fuller length to maximise that swing.
Smith and Webster steadied Australia with a 57-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Smith fell to Prasidh at the stroke of lunch. Smith seemed destined to reach 10,000 Test runs but moments before the break Prasidh shifted his stock length to an even more fuller one to dismiss him five short of the landmark.
Then, in the afternoon, he stormed through the defences of Alex Carey with a similar length. Reddy rocked Australia even further with the wickets of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. Australia lost their last four wickets for just 19 runs to be bowled out for 181.
Yashasvi Jaiswal then launched India’s second innings in grand style, scything Starc for four fours in the first over. KL Rahul, too, showed some attacking intent at the other end until Boland (who else?) intervened and curtailed India’s rapid start.
He struck in his second over when he had Rahul chopping an inducker onto his stumps and in his next over, he knocked Jaiswal over with a beauty that angled in towards middle from around the wicket and seamed away late to beat the outside edge and smash the top of off stump. Boland proceeded to dismiss Virat Kohli in familiar fashion, for 6. It was the eighth time that Kohli was out edging behind to the keeper or the slip cordon in nine trips to the crease in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was so angry that he yelled at himself and punched himself in the leg.
Webster earned his maiden Test wicket when he had Shubman Gill caught behind off the inside edge.
After having spent nearly 150 minutes being someone else with the bat on the first day, managing 40 off 98 balls, the real Pant stood up on the second. He charged at his first ball from Boland, who had just snared Kohli, and violently clubbed him over mid-on for six. He then ventured a reverse-ramp off his third ball, and though he failed to connect, he didn’t curb his natural instincts in this innings.
Pant then lined up Webster for three successive fours, including a trademark falling sweep-pull. He notched up his fifty with a helicoptered six off Starc and celebrated the milestone with a six next ball.
Pant’s assault forced Australia into bowling T20 lines and lengths. When Cummins went short and wide of off and hid the ball away from Pant’s swinging arc, he chased it and ended up feeding an edge to the keeper. Boland had Reddy holing out for 4 to cap a 15-wicket day in Sydney.
Brief scores:
India 141 for 6 in 32 overs (Rishabh Pant 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 22; Scott Boland 4-42) and185 in 72.2 overs lead Australia 181 in 51 overs (Sam Konstas 23, Beau Webster 57, Steven Smith 33, Alex Carey 21; Prasidh Krishna 3-42, Mohaamed Siraj 3-51), Jasprit Bumrah 2-33 , Nitish Kumar Reddy 2-32 ) by 145 runs
[Cricinfo]
Latest News
Bumrah leaves SCG to possibly undergo scans
India captain and pace ace Jasprit Bumrah had to leave the field early in the post-lunch session on Day 2 of the Sydney Test with a suspected injury concern. Bumrah was filmed leaving the stadium premises, potentially to undergo scans. The nature of the injury is as yet unknown.
Bumrah bowled eight overs on the second day’s play at the SCG for the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne but left the field one over into a new spell at the start of the post-lunch session.
At the time of him leaving the field, Bumrah had sent down 151.2 overs across five Tests with only his Australia counterpart Pat Cummins having bowled more (152 overs). Bumrah’s toils have fetched him a chart-leading 32 wickets at 13.06 in the series but his workloads, necessitated by both team combination and lack of potency elsewhere have left him susceptible to be overbowled, thereby risking injuries.
At the end of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, Rohit Sharma had admitted there was a risk of Bumrah being overbowled. “If somebody is in such a great form, you want to try and maximise that form how much ever you can,” Rohit had said. “And that is what we’ve been trying to do with Bumrah.
“But there comes a time where you need to step back a little bit and give him that little bit of extra breather as well. So, we’ve been very careful. I’ve been very careful. I talk to him about how he feels and stuff like that. So, yeah. Those things should be managed carefully. And I’m trying to do that on the field.”
Incidentally, India had been dealt a scare as early as the second Test in Adelaide when Bumrah needed the physio’s attention while sending down his 20th over in that match over some discomfort near the groin area. He was able to shrug off that concern and continue to have an incredible series, one that saw him match Harbhajan Singh’s tally of wickets for the most scalps by an Indian in a single Test series against Australia.
-
Features5 days ago
The recovery has begun
-
Business6 days ago
Sri Lanka budget deficit decreased by Rs. 487 bn in first 10 months of 2024
-
Business7 days ago
Supporting the Increase in Withholding Tax: A Step Toward Strengthening Sri Lanka’s Tax System
-
Editorial7 days ago
Trimming the fat
-
Features7 days ago
The Parliament bomb: Former Secretary-General remembers
-
Features7 days ago
Rajiva Wijesinha on Ranil Wickremesinghe
-
Business6 days ago
Digital marketing in high gear to increase tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka
-
News6 days ago
Sita Ratwatte passes away