Sports
Runs for de Kock, but New Zealand clinch rain-hit warm-up in Thiruvananthapuram
Rain denied a persistent Quniton de Kock from taking South Africa over the line against New Zealand in Thiruvananthapuram.
Batting first, New Zealand had made 321 for 6 on the back of half-centuries from Devon Conway and Tom Latham. In reply, South Africa made their way to 211 for 4, with de Kock and David Miller both looking in good touch, before the rain put a premature end to the game, with South Africa seven runs short according to DLS.
Apart from the win, New Zealand will be happy with Kane Williamson, who continued his road back to full sharpness, taking the field after scoring a 51-ball 37. However, he will not play in the tournament opener against England.
Both teams tried out 17 bowlers in total. Even keeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen got a chance to roll his arm but it was the strike bowlers who made breakthroughs for both teams.
Trent Boult blew Reeza Hendricks’ pads in the first over and had him lbw. Matt Henry joined Boult to trouble de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen, his new partner, but the batters saw off the spell and took on the bowlers who followed.
Seven of the eight boundaries between the seventh and the 14th overs were scored by van der Dussen, en route to a half-century. His aggression allowed de Kock to settle in despite a slow start. But the 72-run stand was cut off when van der Dussen had a swipe across the line, off Mitchell Santner’s bowling, and was caught at cover.
De Kock smacked five fours and a six off Santner and Ish Sodhi in successive overs to get going. Aidan Markram then smacked Glenn Phillips for two fours but Sodhi had Markram miscue an inside-out shot to deep cover to end the 37-run stand.
Klaasen and de Kock regularly hit boundaries off Sodhi and Rachin Ravindra, and also kept taking singles to move along at a brisk pace. De Kock soon brought up his fifty as well, but Boult returned and immediately struck, going around the wicket to dismiss Klaasen.
Miller and de Kock kept South Africa afloat. De Kock was drained by the heat and suffered some body blows; a bouncer from Mitchell hit him on the head but he carried on. He and Miller both looked comfortable against the spinners, regularly clearing the boundaries. The game seemed to be heading towards a tight finish before the rain interruption.
Earlier in the day, Conway stood tall after New Zealand chose to bat. He settled in with Williamson and Glenn Phillips offering support as the duo added 218 runs. New Zealand did not lose a wicket between the fifth and 40th over, when Phillips chopped on a yorker outside off from Marco Jansen.
Conway drove, pulled and cut his way through to a fifty. Williamson was also fluent with his boundary-scoring shots during his stay. Williamson retired hurt at the end of the 20th over and Conway after the 26th.
As Latham and Phillips rebuilt, rain came in with New Zealand on 171 off 29 overs. The pair settled back after the break with Phillips taking on anything too short or too full. Latham reached his fifty in the 37th over.
The acceleration was cut off by Jansen, who removed both batters in the 40th over. In total, 10 of New Zealand’s batters managed to get a hit. Mitchell’s 16-ball 25, with support from Santner, earned New Zealand 78 runs in the last 10 and took them to 321.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 321 for 6 (Conway 78, Latham 52, Ngidi 3-33) beat South Africa 211 for 4 (De Kock 84*, van der Dussen 51, Boult 2-20) by seven runs via DLS
(Cricinfo)
Under 19 Cricket
Half centuries by Ludeesha Matarage and Reshon Soloman and useful contributions from top order batsmen helped S. Thomas’ post 292 runs against Wesley in the Under 19 traditional cricket encounter at Mount Lavinia on Friday.
At Reid Avenue Rehan Peiris top scored with 82 runs as Royal scored 265 runs against St. Joseph’s on day one in their traditional match.
Ananda did well to restrict St. Anthony’s Katugastota to 163 runs but the home team lost two quick wickets for 16 runs in their response at Ananda Mawatha.
Scores
Thomians post 292 against Wesley
at Mount Lavinia
Scores
S. Thomas’ 292 in 79.6 overs
(Jayden Amaraweera 39, Ludeesha Matarage 73, Aaron Kodituwakku 28, Reshon Soloman 56, Shanil Perera 33; Rashmika Amararatne 4/58, Rasheed Nahyan 2/54, Methnula Mayadunna 2/46)
Wesley 28 for 1 in 13 overs
Royal 265, Joes 35/0 at Reid Avenue
Scores
Royal 265 all out in 78 overs
(Hirun Liyanarachchi 28, Rehan Peiris 82, Yasindu Dissanayake 24, Manuth Dasanayaka 25, Shehandu Sooriyaarachchi 20n.o.; Nushan Perera 3/100, Vishwa Peiris 5/60)
St. Joseph’s 35 for no loss in 12.2 overs
(Aveesha Samash 27n.o.)
St. Anthony’s restricted to 163 runs at Ananda Mawatha
Scores
St. Anthony’s 163 all out in 68.2 overs
(Praveen Gamage 21, Dinul Wijesinghe 65n.o., Ryan Gregory 21; Pasan Batugahage 2/22, Kithma Widanapathirana 3/58, Sharada Jayarathna 3/29)
Ananda 16 for 2 in 8 overs
Division I Tier B Cricket
Moratu MV on first inning, St. Anne’s
better in second innings at Moratuwa
Scores
Moratu MV 288 all out in 77.4 overs (Deneth Sithumina 54, Sanjana Senevirathne 111, Menuka Kothalawala 39n.o.; Sanuja Dissanayake 5/85, Yashmith Jayasundara 2/28, Nesad Weerasekara 2/93)
St. Anne’s 57 for 4 overnight 139 all out in 32.5 overs (Ishan Khan 28, Kushan Subasinghe 50n.o., ; Menuka Kothalawala 4/54, Vihanga Nethsara 3/27, Nipuna Sithum 2/34) and 300 for 8 decl. in 74 overs (Sanuka Kemsara 57, Methviru Abeysekara 30, Kushan Subasinghe 54, Yashmith Jayasundara 58, Sanuja Dissanayake 43; Sasindu Peiris 3/55, Sanjana Seneviratne 2/46, Sudharshana Suwaris 3/79)
St. Sebastians’ on first innings win at Katuneriya
Scores
St. Sebastians’ 145 all out in 35.1 overs (Dinindu Dilan 48, Maheesha Sithum 25; Thrindu Naveen 2/39, Menula Dambakumbura 5/40, Dimuthu Tharuka 2/13) and 130 all out in 46.2 overs (Maheesha Sithum 76; Menula Dambakumbura 7/55, Dasith Senal 3/49)
Isipatana 81 for 6 overnight 143 all out in 49.2 overs (Dewshan Deneth 26, Dasith Senal 20, Tharindu Naveen 24; Maheesha Sithum 3/48, Sachintha Sandeep 2/38, Damsith Subashan 2/28, Tharuka Manaram 2/11) and 83 for 7 in 28 overs (Maleesha Sandaruwan 26; Tharuka Manaram 2/27, Damsith Subashana 2/05) (RF)
The second T20I between Sri Lanka and Pakistan which was to be played at Dambulla was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain.
In its fourth season, the WPL now feels part of the system, shaping careers and standards in increasingly visible ways. Most notably, it played a part in India winning their first ODI World Cup last year. How ’bout that. Almost silly that there was a time when this idea struggled to get off the ground.
While rivalries are still taking shape in this five-team league, Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru has all the ingredients of being the best one. Borrowing from its IPL counterpart, it pits two of the biggest names in Indian cricket, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, against each other. They are also the only teams to have lifted the trophy so far, with MI holding a slender 4-3 head-to-head advantage
There is an extra layer of significance this time. Harmanpreet and Mandhana return to the venue where the defining night of their international careers played out two months ago. The DY Patil Stadium will stir fond memories not just for the two captains but also for the India players on both sides, even if the sea of MI blue in the stands is expected to outweigh RCB’s red, black and gold. It was here that the duo shared an emotional hug after India clinched the World Cup, before circling the ground together, singing and dancing long into the night. On the eve of the WPL opener, both admitted those memories came flooding back as they walked into the stadium.
Harmanpreet has since spoken of the venue becoming a hub for women’s cricket in India, a sentiment Mandhana echoed ahead of the season. “Whenever you enter the ground, you remember exactly where the last catch was taken,” she said, recalling Harmanpreet’s leap at extra cover to dismiss South Africa’s Nadine de Klerk and seal the win in the final. “This is still just one-and-a-half months later, but even after 20 years, if we come back to this ground, we are still going to remember exactly what happened on November 2.”
The friendship remains untouched but once the WPL begins, Harmanpreet said the focus will be on “how we can win against each other.”
For defending champions MI, the template established in the inaugural season – continuity, role clarity, a strong core and enviable depth – continues to serve them well. Retaining five players ahead of the auction preserved the backbone of the batting, while the return of familiar faces ensured stability. While other teams opted for reshuffles, MI doubled down on their processes, backing experience, investing in youth and trusting a leadership group that has grown with the league.
RCB arrive with a sense of renewal after missing the knockouts last season. Mandhana remains the face of the team, supported by T20 firepower in Georgia Voll, Grace Harris, Richa Ghosh and Nadine de Klerk, though Ellyse Perry’s withdrawal leaves questions at the top. Their bowling, however, looks formidable, with pace from Lauren Bell, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar and de Klerk, and spin options in Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil and Harris.
G Kamalini 17, was retained by MI ahead of the auction alongside players like Harmanpreet, Sciver-Brunt, Matthews and Amanjot, which is an indicator of how highly she is rated. A left-handed wicketkeeper-batter with the ability to go big, Kamalini offers flexibility in the line-up. She made her WPL debut last season and announced herself in just her second game, against RCB, holding her nerve to seal a last over victory, She continued to impress in the domestic circuit, which earned her a maiden India call-up late last year for the T20I series against Sri Lanka, where she made her international debut. Captain Harmanpreet indicated ahead of this season that Kamalini would be given a “special role”, suggesting a move up the order, and said she expects the teenager to be one of the “main players” in the team.
After missing WPL 2025 and spending more than a year sidelined by a series of injuries, spin-bowling allrounder Shreyanka Patil returns to the tournament that launched her into prominence. She was just 20 when she debuted for RCB in 2023, and her rise was swift, with India T20I and ODI caps following later that year. Patil enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2024, finishing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker as RCB went on to lift their maiden title. She made her return from injury at the Women’s CPL last September, featured in the domestic season for Karnataka, and was one of four players retained by RCB ahead of the auction. In the lead-up to the season, Patil has focused on fine-tuning her offspin, batting and overall fitness during a month-long conditioning camp at the private academy where she trains.
Speaker bars Parliamentary probe into Judicial Service Commission
Elephant calf killed in collision with lorry on Anuradhapura–Padeniya Road
Devananda granted bail
Opposition Leader asserts that Speaker’s ruling amounts to violation of Constitution and sovereignty of the people
PM assures Parliament no web links in modules prepared for second and third school terms under proposed reforms
Johnston, two of his sons and two others remanded till 23 Jan. over alleged misuse of a Sathosa vehicle
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News4 days agoInterception of SL fishing craft by Seychelles: Trawler owners demand international investigation
-
News4 days agoBroad support emerges for Faiszer’s sweeping proposals on long- delayed divorce and personal law reforms
-
Opinion1 day agoThe minstrel monk and Rafiki, the old mandrill in The Lion King – II
-
Features1 day agoThe Venezuela Model:The new ugly and dangerous world order
-
News3 days agoPrez seeks Harsha’s help to address CC’s concerns over appointment of AG
-
News5 days agoPrivate airline crew member nabbed with contraband gold
-
Latest News2 days agoWarning for deep depression over South-east Bay of Bengal Sea area
-
News2 days agoIndian Army Chief here