Sports
Ranithma books women’s singles quarter-final berth at Bahrain Series II
Sri Lanka’s top seed women’s shuttler Ranithma Liyanage, who bagged the silver medal in the Women’s Singles at the Bahrain International Badminton Series 2024 last weekend, continued her good form in the second installment of the Series by reaching the quarter-finals at the BKS Club in Manama, Bahrain.
Ranithma, who won four out of her five games in the first installment of the Bahrain International Series that ended last Sunday at the India Club Bahrain in Manama, continued to impress by entering the second installment as the second seeded competitor in Women’s Singles. Making a clear statement, Ranithma overcame India’s Yashvi Bhat by scoring a 2-1 win after conceding the first set 15/21. Ranithma was unstoppable in the following sets, as she regained her composure to ensure she advances further after recording wins of 21/14 and 21/16 to reach the quarter-final stage.
Her compatriot Rashmi Mudalige, however, had to bow out of the competition early after losing her clash against Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria after a gripping battle. Rashmi came close to winning the first set, but Stefani took the clash down to the wire before sealing the win 26/24, and continued her dominance to record a straight set win against the Sri Lankan after sealing the second set 21/11.
Earlier Rashmi, who had to pass through the qualification stage towards the Round of 16, thrashed Zainab Ali Sowaid of Bahrain and Nidhi Desai of the UAE without much fuss. She easily beat the Bahrain opponent in straight sets, 21/2 and 21/3, and delivered a similar display against the Emirati, who was comprehensively beaten 21/5 and 21/11 by Rashmi.
Men’s Singles players Aashinsa Herath and Reshan Dumbukkuwalage failed to go beyond the Round of 32 after being shown out of the competition early by their respective opponents. Aashinsa, who was seeded seventh following his fine form in the first installment of the Bahrain Series, played gallantly but lost to Bahrain’s Muhammad Firmansyah 2-1. Aashinsa won the first set 21/14, but Firmansyah bounced back to win the following sets 21/11 and 21/12. Reshan, on the other hand, was outsmarted by Bharath Latheesh of the UAE in straight sets after the Emirati claimed the sets by 21/9 and 21/13.
Meanwhile Isuri Attanayake and Sithumi de Silva, who claimed the Women’s Doubles bronze medal in the first instalment, were scheduled to take on Mariam Alkhabbaz and Helen Ameeni of Bahrain in a Round of 16 encounter, while Dinura Rashmika and Siyath Senaratne were to meet Nasser Alnakkas and Sayed Ebrahim of Bahrain in the Men’s Doubles Round of 16 match.
The ICC has decided to send officials to Dhaka this weekend to meet the BCB’s top brass in a bid to resolve the impasse over Bangladesh travelling to India for the T20 World Cup that starts in three weeks.
The ICC’s team is expected to provide the BCB with security details including an independent assessment as part of the discussions. The development comes days after the BCB reiterated its stance of not sending Bangladesh to play in co-hosts India’s venues owing to “security concerns.” So far meetings and discussions have taken place via video conference; this will be the first time the two parties will meet in person.
During the January 13 virtual meeting, the BCB asked the ICC to move Bangladesh, who are placed in Group C, outside India. However, the ICC said it would not tweak the original schedule, with the tournament start date – February 7 – less than a month away. Bangladesh are scheduled to play on that opening day, against West Indies, in Kolkata.
With relations between India and Bangladesh tense in recent times, the BCB sent a letter to ICC on January 4 stating it would not be safe for Bangladesh to travel to India for the World Cup where its four group matches are scheduled. That was in response to the BCCI “authorising” Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh left arm fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman. No specific reason was given for that decision.
A Risk Assessment report for the World Cup, compiled by an independent security agency, and accessed by ESPNcricinfo, says the threat to teams playing in India is in the moderate-high band but there is “no information to indicate a direct threat against participating teams.”
The ICC shared that security assessment report with the BCB in their last call, which indicated no specific or heightened threat to the Bangladesh cricket team in India. The assessment was shared with the BCB’s security team and concluded there was no overall threat to the side, but pointed to low to moderate risks in some venues and low to nil in others – standard ICC categorisations around the world that do not ordinarily constitute sufficient reason to move games.
[Cricinfo]
Steven Hogan’s century, which included a 186-run stand with Nitesh Samuel, helped Australia brush aside Ireland for an eight wicket win in Windhoek.
After being put in to bat, Ireland openers James West and Freddie Ogillby were off to a slow start, before John James struck to remove West for 11. Sebastian Dijkstra was the next one to go, with Charles Lachmund pinning him in front in the 18th over. That brought Rob O’Brien to the crease, who then slowly rebuilt the innings in Ogilby’s company to put up a 43-run stand.
Offspinner Will Malajczuk, however, denied Ogilby his half-century, having him caught behind for 49 in the 29th over. O’Brien continued to build steadily and found the boundaries occasionally, before departing for a 98-ball 79 in the 49th over, helping push Ireland’s total to 235.
Australia got off to a strong start in the chase, with Malajczuk hitting a four and six in the first over. After he fell in the third over, Samuel and Hogan continued to build towards the target, scoring their half-centuries off 62 balls and 50 balls respectively. Their 100-run stand came up in the 21st over, and Hogan continued to find boundaries, bringing up his ton off 97 balls in the 32nd over.
Medium-pacer Luke Murray provided the breakthrough in the 36th over, having Hogan caught behind for 115. In his 111-ball stay, Hogan hit 11 fours and a six. By then, Australia needed only another 20 runs to win. Ollie Peake then joined Samuel, who finished unbeaten on 77, and together they completed the chase with 62 balls remaining to get Australia off to a rollicking start.
Brief scores:
Australia Under 19s 237 for 2 in 37.2 overs (Steven Hogan 115, Nitesh Samuel 77*; Luke Murray 1-46) beat Ireland Under 19s 235 for 7 in 50 overs (Freddie Ogilby 49, Rob O’Brien 79; Charles Lachmund 3-41) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
England Under 19s 210 in 46.5 overs (Ben Dawkins 33, Caleb Falconer 66; Ali Raza 2-36, Ahmed Hussain 3-38, Abdul Subhan 2-24, Momin Qmar 2-45) beat Pakistan Under 19s 173 in 46.3 overs (Farhan Yousaf 65; Alex Green 2-21, James Minto 2-23, Ralphie Albert 2-23) by 37 runs
Pakistan captain Farhan Yousaf lacked support even as he fought back from 85 for 6 in their chase of 211 against England. Yousaf scored 65 off 86 deliveries, but the next highest score from Pakistan was Momin Qamar’s 18*. Eventually, they were bowled out for 173 as England started with a 37 run win after themselves being rescued by Caleb Falconer.
England’s No. 5 arrived at 67 for 3 in the 16th over, which soon became 90 for 4 after 19 on a slow pitch where the ball kept low. But Falconer then added 80 for the fifth wicket with Ralphie Albert, and dominated that partnership. He scored 50 of those runs, and on the way, brought up a run-a-ball half-century in the 29th over.
Four overs later, Ahmed Hussain broke that partnership by bowling Albert for 25, and finished with 3 for 38 off his ten overs. Falconer fell for 66 off 73 deliveries soon after, and England’s tail folded quickly.
In the chase, Alex Green and James Minto reduced Pakistan to 28 for 3 in the ninth over. There were only brief recoveries thereafter: Hussain and Yousaf added 26, while Yousaf and Huzaifa Ahsan had a stand of 23. Batting with the tail, Yousaf kept Pakistan’s faint hopes alive. But once he was caught off Minto, Pakistan needed another 67 to win with two wickets remaining. That turned out to be too much for their tailenders.
Brief scores:
England Under 19s 210 in 46.5 overs (Ben Dawkins 33, Caleb Falconer 66; Ali Raza 2-36, Ahmed Hussain 3-38, Abdul Subhan 2-24, Momin Qmar 2-45) beat Pakistan Under 19s 173 in 46.3 overs (Farhan Yousaf 65; Alex Green 2-21, James Minto 2-23, Ralphie Albert 2-23) by 37 runs
[Cricinfo]
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