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Rodrigues’ maiden international hundred seal series win for India
India notched up a series win that never appeared to be in any doubt, but in batting out 50 overs for a second straight game in Rajkot, Ireland ticked off a few boxes as part of their preparations for the World Cup qualifiers.
India stormed to their highest ever ODI score, fuelled by Jemimah Rodrigues’ maiden ODI century, and then saw Ireland’s top order deny a young Indian pace attack. Christina Coulter Reilly brought up a maiden half-century in her fourth innings, while Laura Delany made a 36-ball 37 to frustrate India’s spinners. Ireland eventually surpassed the 238 for 7 they made two days ago, to take away plenty of batting positives.
The crux of India’s win lay in how their own set of youngsters, outside of Smriti Mandhana batted and put up runs on the board. Pratika Rawal hit a third half-century in five innings, but would’ve been disappointed at missing out on a century for a second-game running.
After making 89 two days ago, Rawal exhibited outstanding offside stroke play against the seam bowlers in particular, during the course of a 156-run opening stand with Mandhana. Rawal was out lbw for 67 off the very next ball after Mandhana mistimed a pull off Orla Prendergast at midwicket for 73.
India’s urgency in the powerplay wasn’t accompanied by blind slogging but pristine stroke play, even as Mandhana initially fiddle in what seemed like a role reversal from the series opener two days ago. That day, Mandhana charged off the blocks, playing her signature pulls, while Rawal buckled down.
This fusion helped the pair put together their third opening stand of 100 or more in five innings, with Mandhana quickly overtaking Rawal. There seemed a sense of inevitability to two impending centuries, but lapses in concentration led to a double-strike.
This brought Harleen and Rodrigues together as the pair took a while to play their strokes on the face of some really slow bowling. Harleen struggled for momentum early on, pottering to 5 off 21 deliveries; Rodrigues was a tad more industrious at the other end, attempting to move around the crease and thwart the seamers by playing the pulls and paddles.
The pair took 75 deliveries to raise their half-century stand which Harleen raised with a superb, lofted hit over mid-off. Rodrigues didn’t want to be left too far behind as she hit Arlene Kelly for back-to-back fours, with overs 32-34 fetching India five boundaries. Harleen possibly played the shot of the day when she exhibited incredible control in whipping a full ball from fourth-stump to bisect the gap between deep midwicket and long-on.
Ireland let themselves down when they missed running out Rodrigues for 34 in the 35th over when Prendergast missed a direct hit at the non-striker’s end from mid-on. Rodrigues was let off a second time when keeper Coulter Reilly put down a tough chance off an attempted late cut off Canning.
Harleen got to her fifty off 58, and accelerated towards her second hundred in four ODIs, before falling for 89. Rodrigues got her half-century a tad slower, off 62 deliveries, before she shifted gears sensationally in the last ten overs. The purity of her stroke play stood out, with her signature lofted hit by moving leg side of the ball making repeated appearances.
Rodrigues took just 28 balls to move from a half-century to her maiden ODI ton, much to the applause of the entire team on the balcony, before she celebrated by mimicking playing a song on her guitar with her bat. India ended with 370 for 5, 102 off those coming in the last ten as Ireland walked back relieved that their morning toil was over.
Ireland were slow off the blocks and never equally went for the target. But Coulter Reilly overcame two blows on her helmet, both times missing a bumper from Sayali Satghare. She overcame the early jitters to exhibit a sense of fearlessness against spin, particularly enterprising off Priya Mishra, the legspinner, whom she swept into different arcs on the leg side.
Delany, who came in at No. 4, showed urgency from get-go, hitting her second ball through the covers for a boundary, and was equally formidable when Deepti Sharma tried to lull her in flight after an early reprieve when the offspinner put down a tough return catch on 7.
As it turned out, this passage – an 83-run fourth-wicket stand – was the only period where in India felt challenged by Ireland’s batters, even as the rest tried to get their eye in. Leah Paul, who struck a half-century in the previous game, made an unbeaten 22-ball 27, to add the finishing touches as Ireland surpassed the 238 for 7 they made two days ago.
Brief scores:
India Women 370 for 5 in 50 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 102, Harleen Deol 89, Smriti Mandhana 73, Pratika Rawal 67; Orla Prendergast 2-75, Arlene Kelly 2-82) beat Ireland Women 254 for 7 in 50 overs (Christina Coulter Reilly 80, Sarah Forbes 38, Lauraa Delany 37, Leah Paul 27; Priya Mishra 2-53, Deepti Sharma 3-37) by 116 runs
[Cricinfo]
Rumesh Tharanga will head to the Doha Diamond League as the athlete to beat following a commanding victory at the Ostrava Golden Spike on Tuesday.
Fresh from his recent record-breaking exploits, Tharanga once again stamped his authority on the world stage, dominating the competition with three throws beyond the 85-metre mark. Remarkably, any one of those efforts would have been enough to secure victory.
The 23-year-old produced his best throw of 86.57 metres in the third round to claim top honours ahead of two-time world champion Anderson Peters, who finished second with a best effort of 84.27 metres.
Tharanga’s consistency throughout the competition underlined his status as one of the world’s leading javelin throwers. His latest triumph further strengthens his credentials ahead of the Doha Diamond League, where he is expected to be among the favourites alongside World champion Keshorn Walcott, two-time world champion Anderson Peters and world bronze medallist Curtis Thompson.
Tuesday’s victory continues a remarkable season for the former Peterite, who has emerged as a genuine contender on the international circuit with a string of world-class performances. [RF]
In the recent past, factors such as population growth, expansion of development activities, and deforestation in Sri Lanka have resulted in the loss of traditional migratory routes and the destruction of habitats of wild elephants.
Consequently, a continuous and rapid escalation of the human-elephant conflict has been observed over a long period, spanning 19 out of the 25 districts and 134 out of the 341 Divisional Secretariat Divisions in the country.
According to the wild elephant census conducted in 2024, the wild elephant population in the country is estimated to be approximately 7,450. It is reported that the human-elephant
conflict accounts for a significant number of human fatalities and wild elephant deaths annually.
Furthermore, over a thousand incidents of property damage caused by wild elephants are recorded each year.
Although a ‘National Action Plan to Mitigate Human-Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka’ was formulated in 2020, the dynamics of the current human-elephant conflict have evolved substantially since then, necessitating the formulation of a new national action plan.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Environment to take the necessary steps to draft a new National Action Plan for Human-Elephant Conflict Management.
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Cabinet green light to host 21st Steering Committee Meeting of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific and the 14th Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum – Asia and Pacific Regions from 23 – 26 June in Sri Lanka
Hosting the 21st Steering Committee Meeting of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific and the 14th Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum – Asia and Pacific Regions in Sri Lanka
An invitation has been extended to Sri Lanka to host two major regional aviation security summits: the 21st Steering Committee Meeting of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific (CASP-AP) and the 14th Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum (RASCF).
The Steering Committee of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific serves as the primary decision-making body for the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) cooperative aviation security program in the Asia-Pacific region.
Sri Lanka is scheduled to assume the chairmanship of the said Steering Committee for the 2026-2027 term during this summit.
The Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum for the Asia and Pacific regions serves as a regional platform to deliberate on emerging threats, the implementation of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), capacity-building activities, and coordination among member states and international
organizations.
Approximately 80 delegates, including representatives from 41 member states, international organizations, and observers, are expected to participate in these two summits.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation to host the 21st Steering Committee Meeting of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific on the 23rd and 24th of June 2026, and the 14th Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum – Asia and Pacific Regions on the 25th and 26th of June 2026 in Sri Lanka.
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts.
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