Sports
Saifuddin three-for helps Bangladesh stave off Zimbabwe’s challenge
Bangladesh saw off some late batting fightback from Zimbabwe tailenders Faraz Akram and Blessing Muzarbani to clinch the T20I series in the third game in Chattogram. They won by nine runs on Tuesday, with two matches left to play in Dhaka.
Akram, playing only his fifth T20I, struck an unbeaten 34 off 19 balls after the visitors had crashed to 91 for 8 chasing 166. The 54 runs he added with Wellington Masakadza was a new Zimbabwe record for the ninth wicket. Akram’s 34 was also Zimbabwe’s highest by a No. 10 batter.
Muzarabani, who took career-best figures of 3 for 14 earlier, struck two fours when Zimbabwe needed 21 in the final over. But Saifuddin snuffed out the trouble with some accurate death-overs bowling.
Zimbabwe produced lower-order runs for the third game in a row, especially when the rest sunk quickly. Bangladesh once again had Towhid Hridoy play a crucial hand in a win. Hridoy’s maiden T20I fifty came during an 87-run fourth wicket stand with Jaker Ali who made 44. This pair had to lift Bangladesh after they lost three wickets in the first nine overs.
Bangladesh suffer for Litton’s scoops
Litton Das chose the strangest sequence of shots to get out in the fourth over. He missed two lap scoops against Muzarabani before his third successive attempt dragged the ball onto his stumps. It is unclear whether Litton, already showing poor form in white-ball cricket this year, will be in Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup squad. This innings is unlikely to help his case.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto also got out cheaply, bowled by a bit of variation from his opposite number Sikandar Raza. Shanto’s lack of footwork would be concerning for the team. Those would be long-term concerns, but when Tanzid Hasan fell in the ninth over, trying to slog Faraz Akram, it caused immediate worry. Bangladesh were hovering around a mediocre run rate, having lost their set batter.
Hridoy, Jaker to the rescue
The fourth-wicket pair struck a boundary in their first 3.3 overs before Jaker and Hridoy took on Raza for two sixes in the space of three balls. The first was a straight hit before Hridoy hit a bigger one into the mid-wicket stands.
In the 15th over though, Zimbabwe handed Jaker a life when his slog-sweep off Luke Jongwe fell between Johnathan Campbell and Brian Bennett, both looking at each other. Hridoy deposited Masakadza for his second six in the 16th over before reaching his maiden T20I fifty in the 18th over. Jaker slammed Jongwe for a big six shortly afterwards.
Hridoy’s scoop also connected in the penultimate over as Bangladesh approached 150. Litton attempted the same shot three times in a row, the third of which was his dismissal. It showed the gulf in confidence between Litton and Hridoy.
Muzarabani’s best keeps Zimbabwe in hunt
Muzarabani, however, caused a bit of an anti-climax when his yorker slammed into Hridoy’s leg-stump next ball. It was an excellent delivery that forced itself through Hridoy’s bat and pad as he looked to swing the ball towards the leg side.
Jaker fell one ball after Hridoy got out, as another Muzarabani full delivery slammed into his stumps. Muzarabani’s three-for kept Zimbabwe within a decent score. It was also reward for a fast bowler who is accurate even when trying variations.
For the third game in a row, Zimbabwe lost their first four wickets for less than 50 runs. Joylord Gumbie mistimed one to third man in the third over before Tanzim Hasan Sakib had Bennett caught and bowled in the fifth over. Zimbabwe’s powerplay ended with Craig Ervine falling to Saifuddin for seven.
Raza, who made five successive fifties since November 2023, also struggled to find form. He was caught behind by Rishad Hossain for 1 for his fifth consecutive low score.
Akram’s surprise from No. 10
Tadiwanashe Marumani fell for a 26-ball 31 before Clive Madande added 11. Campbell, who struck the ball cleanly in his debut in the last match, struck Tanvir Islam for two consecutive sixes before his attempt for the third in a row found Litton at the deep square-leg boundary.
When Jongwe fell to Rishad in the 15th over, defeat for the visitors seemed imminent, but Akram struck Rishad for two sixes over midwicket later in the over, before he found two more fours off Saifuddin in the 17th over. Taskin then dropped a difficult chance from Masakadza in the 18th over, but he returned strongly to concede just six runs in the penultimate over.
The 20th began with Saifuddin removing Masakadza first ball, but Muzarabani then slammed two consecutive fours. That brought the target down to 13 in three balls, but there was no more heroism left in the Zimbabwe tail. They fell nine short despite an admirable effort.
Brief score:
Bangladesh 165/5 in 20 overs (Tanzid Hasan 21, Towhid Hridoy 57, Jaker Ali 44; Faraz Akram 1-44, Blessing Muzarabani 3-14, Sikandar Raza 1-38) beat Zimbabwe 156/9 in 20 overs ( Tadiwanashe Marumani 31, Jonathan Campbell 21, Faraz Akram 34*; Tanvir Islam 1-26, Taskin Ahmed 1-21, Mohammad Saifuddin 3-42, Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-26, Rishad Hossain 2-38, Mohamad Mahmudulla 1-01) by 9 runs
Punjab Kings (PBKS) bossed both the powerplays en route to their second successive win in IPL 2025. After opting to bowl on a fairly two-paced red-soil pitch, they left Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at 39 for 3 in six overs. Abdul Samad and Ayush Badoni helped LSG overcome that poor start and post 171 for 7, which was a par score according to Nicholas Pooran the holder of the Orange cap.
Pooran’s assessment, however, might have changed quickly after Prabhsimran Singh clattered a 23-ball half-century in the chase. Prabhsimran claimed 45 of the 62 runs PBKS had scored in the powerplay. There would be no way back for LSG, who suffered their second defeat in three games. Shreyas Iyer completed PBKS’ demolition job with an unbeaten 52 off 30 balls.
The first ball that Arshdeep Singh bowled to Mitchell Marsh stopped on him, seamed away from a leg-stump line, and had him skying a catch to Marco Jansen at short third. After having hit fifties in his first two innings this season, Marsh departed for a golden duck.
It was Lockie Ferguson who shared new-ball duties with Arshdeep, ahead of Jansen. Ferguson usually operates with the older ball for New Zealand and various franchises, but PBKS inverted his role on Tuesday to take advantage of a match-up with Pooran. Before this fixture, and across all T20s, Ferguson had snared Pooran four times in 17 balls at a strike rate of 7.05.
However, Ferguson ended up bowling just three balls to Pooran on the day. After being picked away for three fours by Aiden Markram, Ferguson bowled him via an inside edge for 28 off 18 balls.
With two left-handers in the form of Pooran and Risbah Pant in the middle, PBKS matched Glenn Maxwell’s offspin up with them. Maxwell removed Pant for the third time in four innings in the IPL. The IPL’s most expensive signing at INR 27 crore, Pant has managed just 17 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 65.38.
Despite wickets falling at the other end, Pooran remained positive, hitting Maxwell for back-to-back fours in the seventh over. A cat-and-mouse game then ensued between Pooran and Yuzvendra Chahal. The wristspinner’s plan was to hide the ball away from the swinging arc of Pooran with wrong’uns. In his first over, Pooran cracked his wrong ‘uns away for a brace of fours, but in his next Chahal had Pooran holing out to wide long-off for 44 off 30 balls with a loopier wrong ‘un.
When Jansen had his South African compatriot David Miller caught behind for 19 off 16 balls, LSG slipped further to 119 for 5 in the 16th over. Badoni and Samad then briefly changed the mood and tempo of the game with a 47-run partnership off only 21 balls. Samad had launched his first ball, from Jansen, for six after stepping out and then left jaws on the floor when he reverse-scooped Arshdeep over the keeper in the 18th over, which cost PBKS 20 runs. Arshdeep had both batters holing out in the final over, though, to keep PBKS below 180.
Prabhsimran relishes pace on the ball and it was no different on Tuesday. Unlike the first innings, the ball skidded onto the bat in the second, with Prabhsimran ramping Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan for six and four respectively in the first two overs.
Pant responded by throwing mystery spinner Digyesh Rathi at Prabhsimran and Priyansh Arya. Rathi created a chance with his second ball, but Marsh fluffed an overhead catch at slip. The drop, though, cost LSG just one run as Rathi had Arya caught by Thakur at mid-on for 8.
Prabhsimran took down Ravi Bishnoi in the last over of the powerplay. He lined up his wrong ‘uns and slog-swept him with the turn over mid-on and square leg. He then greeted dart-it-in left-arm fingerspinner M Siddarth, who was picked ahead of Prince Yadav as LSG’s Impact Player, with a switch-hit four. He brought up his fifty in more sedate fashion with a tucked single.
It felt like LSG needed something special to dismiss Prabhsimran. That something special was a tag-team catch near the boundary from Badoni and Bishnoi. He holed out for 69 off 34 balls.
PBKS required 62 off 59 balls, which was enough for Iyer to knock off a fifty of his own. He forged an unbroken 67-run stand off 37 balls with Impact Player Nehal Wadhera to finish the job with more than three overs to spare.
PBKS established themselves as the early pace-setters, alongside Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC), in IPL 2025 with two wins in two games.
Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 177 for 2 in 16.2 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 69, Shreyas Iyer 52, Nehal Wadhera 43*; Divesh Rathi 2-30) beat Lucknow Super Giants 171 for 7 in 20 overs (Aiden Markram 28, Nicholas Pooran 44, Ayush Badoni 41, David Miller 19, Abdul Samad 2; Arshdeep Singh 3 for 43, Lockie Furgeson 1-26, Glenn Maxwell 1-22, Marco Jansen 1-28, Yuzvendra Chahal 1-36) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
106th Hill Country Battle of the Blues
Arch rivals Trinity College Kandy and St. Anthony’s College Katugastota have remained as two of the highest ranked schools cricket teams in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ cricket tournament this season. After having reached the business end of both the two-day tournament and the limited overs tournament, the two teams can take the enviable title as ‘the most successful Big Match rivals’ this season. That will serve as an inspiration for both teams when they meet for the 106th time at the annual big match starting on Thursday.
Though both teams have done equally well this season, Trinity led by Malith Rathnayake are in the annual battle as the team to beat. They have reached the finals of both the two-day tournament and the limited overs tournament.
Trinity’s strong batting line up includes one of the tournament’s highest run scorers in Dimantha Mahavithana who has a double century and four centuries against his name. Chaniru Senaratne, Pulisha Thilakaratne, Vathila Udara and Dinal Fernando have often propelled Trinity to challenging scores.
Thisal Yapa is likely to open their bowling attack, while skipper Rathnayake leads the spin department. Rathnayake is among the top ten wicket takers of the two-day tournament.
St. Anthony’s are led by Charuka Ekanayake. St. Anthony’s reached the quarter-finals of the two-day tournament under Ekanayake’s captaincy. They reached the semi-finals of the limited overs tournament where they were eliminated by the arch rivals.
Ekanayake is expected to play a lead role in both batting and bowling. He has scored over 500 runs and taken over 50 wickets with his left-arm spin. Deputy skipper Januka Rathnayake who opens batting, all rounders Kevan Ramika and Ryan Gregory and speedster Bimash Samarasinghe are the players to watch in the St. Anthony’s camp.
These two teams have often found two days of cricket insufficient to decide a winner. This year the big match is played as a three-day encounter. Both teams will be eager to end a winless stretch which is 13 years long now. No team have recorded a victory after Trinity last won under the captaincy of Niroshan Dickwella in 2012. St. Anthony’s last won under U.D. Alwis’ captaincy in 1992.
Trinity lead the victory tally 23-11. The big match has witnessed 71 encounters end in draws.
Teams
Trinity (from): Malith Rathnayake (Captain), Vathila Udara (Co Vice Captain), Dimantha Mahavithana (Co Vice Captain), Jayavi Liyanagama, Puleesha Thilakaratne, Rajindu Thilakaratne, Kavindu Jayarathne, Dinal Fernando, Sethmika Seneviratne, Adham Hilmy, Thisal Yapa, Ranul Gunaratne, Chaniru Senaratne, Kanilka Anthony, Oshana Lokuge, Praveen Rukunayake, Mahendra Abeysinghe, Viduneth Dammage, Sweath Anurajeewa.
Officials: Naveen Ekanayake (Head Coach), Thisaru Dilshan (Asst.Coach), Bryan Senaratne (Master in Charge), Bandula Pushpakumara (Trainer), Thilanka Dissanayake (Physiotherapist).
St. Anthony’s College Team with officials.
St. Anthony’s (from): Charuka Ekanayake (Captain), Januka Rathnayaka (Vice Captain), Sanuka Kalpana, Okitha Fernando, Kawshika Kumarasinghe, Kevan Fernando, Bimash Samarasinghe, Dinura Ganegoda, Rayan Gregory, Sadew Amarakoon, Naden Ebert, Thilina Edirisinghe, Dinul Wijesinghe, Nikil Abilash, Yohan Senanayake, Vishwa Thilakarathne, Imeth Rajapaksha, Kavindu Nawanjana, Dasun Welianga.
Officials: Bandula Ekanayake (MiC), Priyantha Kumara (Trainer), Kavinda Jayasooriya (Head Coach).
by Reemus Fernando
Colombo Basketball Club jetted off to Madras last evening, ready to stake their claim at the SABA Club Championship, South Asia’s premier club-level basketball showdown, set to unfold in the bustling South Indian city.
This five-team tournament brings together the crème de la crème of South Asia’s domestic basketball scene, and Colombo BC earned their stripes after edging out Colombo Bulls in a one-sided finale of the local championship held last month.
Colombo’s traveling squad boasts a dynamic blend of experience and youth, featuring: Narvin Ganesh, Charuka Fernando, Mindika Wijenayake, Sanjeewa Kulamina, Nimesh Fernando, Baratha Ranatunga, Dasun Mendis, Sasindu Gajanayake, Rukshan Atapattu, Methika Jayasinghe, Brent Thevakumar, Sharo Perera, and Simron Yoganathan.
Gaja Sports and Sunil Traders are backing their campaign as main sponsors while My Cola steps in as the official clothing sponsor.
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