Sports
Sheran’s back to back half centuries help Joes
Under-19 Cricket
Back to back half centuries by Sheran Fonseka stood in good stead for St. Joseph’s as they forced a draw to their First XI cricket encounter against S. Thomas’ at Darley Road on Monday. Thus they retained the Gilmore Jayasuriya Trophy which they won under the captaincy of Sameera Weerasinghe in 2009.
Commencing from 344 for nine overnight, the Thomians declared their innings after Yasiru Rodrigo completed his century, an unbeaten 103 runs.
It was Rodrigo’s day as he followed up his century with a three wicket haul to trouble the home team.
The Joes lost wickets at regular intervals but Fonseka’s contribution helped them post 176 for nine wickets declared. Soon they were asked to follow on but the open batsmen put up a healthy stand to prevent a repetition of first innings disappointments.
Fonseka scored an unbeaten 57 runs and was involved in a first wicket stand of 123 runs with Sadeesh Jayawardena who scored 62.
Meanwhile the match between Mahanama and St. Anne’s ended in a draw at Kurunegala after the home team posted 164 for nine wickets in reply to visitors’ 169 runs.
Match Results
S. Thomas’ V St. Joseph’s at
Darley Road
S. Thomas’ 344 for 9 overnight 350 for 9 decl. in 103 overs (Anuk Palihawadena 54, Ryan Fernando 71, Thenuka Liyanage 36, Yasiru Rodrigo 103 n.o., Gunaratnam Caniston 53; Dunith Wellalage 3/111, Shenuka de Silva 2/13)
St. Joseph’s 176 for 9 decl. in 51 overs (Sheran Fonseka 92, Mithira Thenura 20; Yasiru Rodrigo 3/48, Gunaratnam Caniston 3/42, Anuk Palihawadena 2/48) and 127 for 1 in 31 overs (Sadeesh Jayawardena 62, Sheran Fonseka 57n.o.)
Mahanama V St. Anne’s at Kurunegala
Mahanama 169 all out in 71.2 overs (Sadishan Chamodya 22, Pavan Rathnayake 81, Sachira Weliwatta 23; Pasindu Tennakoon 4/51, Manaan Muzammil 2/49, Kalindu Wijesinghe 2/28)
St. Anne’s 79 for 1 overnight 164 for 9 in 69 overs (Dilhara Deshabandu 39, Kavindu Ekanayake 43, Pivithu Fernando 22, Shevan Nimantha 20; Devindu Kekirideniya 4/57 ) (RF)
“The wicket was very good last time. I’m hoping it will turn more in this match.”
When a Sri Lanka captain says this in Galle on the eve of a Test, there might be a dustbowl in the offing. What is clear is that the surface Sri Lanka and Australia are set to play the second Test on appears substantially drier than the track they played the first match on.
Partly, this is down to bright conditions in the lead-up. Where the days before the first Test had been beset by rain, this pitch has more or less baked in ferocious heat since the first match ended, on Saturday.
There is also the theory that producing pitches that only break up after days three and four offers too substantial an advantage to the side batting first. Sri Lanka want to avoid conceding another score in the realm of 654 for 6 declared, which deflated them in the first Test. They are seeking an advantage and have fallen back to what they tend to rely on in Galle: big turn.
“Our strength is spin,” Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva said. “If you look through the history in Galle, a lot of spinners have been among the wickets, and hopefully ours can be effective.”
The problem for Sri Lanka is that Australia have learned to thrive in spinning conditions as well. Their bowlers might have had the better bowling conditions in the first Test, but they made the unusual move of strapping three frontline spinners to the plow, and between them, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy shared 17 wickets, dismissing Sri Lanka for 165 and 247.
Australia have been outspoken about their having prepared for “extreme” surfaces as well as flatter ones, partly through their week-long training camp in Dubai. Steven Smith revealed ahead of this Test that it was India’s spin-blueprint in Asia that Australia had chosen to emulate, to some extent. Devising bowling strategy around three frontline spinners is not a challenge that many Australia captains have had to contend with, but on the evidence of the first Test, Smith has been relishing it.
“Looks a very dry surface and I dare say it will take a reasonable amount of spin,” Smith said. “In these conditions, it’s great to have more than two options of guys who can take wickets and build pressure. If you look at India, who have done it so well, they’ve had R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, and either Kuldeep Yadav or Jayant Yadav or Axar Patel – someone who bowls good spin – with them in their line-up.
“In these conditions, it’s tiring for a spinner as well. It’s hot and humid out there, and you can get tired bowling spin as well as pace. If a batter looks comfortable against a bowler, you can take that bowler off and get someone else in. Even if a new bowler takes a wicket early in the spell, you can go back to the other guy, which is what India have done so well for a number of years. I just have a similar philosophy. ”
Australia’s batting against spin has also improved substantially, particularly since the 2016 tour of Sri Lanka, which they lost 3-0. Smith said many Australia batters’ exposure to big-spinning conditions – even through the T20 leagues in Asia – has helped raise their game.
“Even in one-day tours you can get similar wickets in the nets to what you get out there,” Smith said. “Last time we played in Colombo in one-dayers, the ball was ragging all over the place. For guys that play IPL and things like that, and you can get nets there that can be extreme, you just learn on the go through those experiences. It’s almost been attack before defence and thinking proactively. I thought we did that magnificently in the first Test.”
Because of how enormous the winning margin was in the first Test – an innings and 242 runs – Sri Lanka now find themselves having to prove that their own batting in spinning conditions is up to scratch. And that their own bowlers can be penetrative in helpful conditions. Early signs are that this game could be a classic low-scoring Galle shootout.
“In the first Test, a lot of our batters got starts but didn’t carry on,” de Silva said. “During the match and afterwards, what we’d talked about was that someone has to make 150 or 200, because then others can bat around him, and we can get to a big score. That’s what Australia did. I’m expecting that will happen for us in this match.”
[Cricinfo]
Sam Konstas’ Sri Lanka tour is officially over with the teenage star returning to Australia to play Sheffield Shield cricket for New South Wales.
Despite an impressive first two Tests, Konstas was replaced at the top of the batting order by the more experienced Travis Head in last week’s series opener in Galle.
With Head making a speedy half-century to set the tone for Australia’s big win, Konstas was set to miss selection again for the second match beginning Thursday.
Konstas trained with the team at their main session in Galle on Tuesday before packing his bags to fly back to Australia in the evening, Cricket Australia confirmed.
Australia selectors determined the 19-year-old would be better served lining up for NSW against Queensland on Saturday at the Gabba – a Test venue at which he has never played – than watching from the sidelines in Galle. The selectors value players getting experience at home Test venues. It was part of the reason Nathan McSweeney got the nod at the start of the Border-Gavaskar series, as Konstas has not played at either the Gabba or Adelaide Oval.
Australia will have adequate concussion substitutes in Konstas’ absence, with 15 remaining in the squad as well as development player Tanveer Sangha.
The tour was Konstas’ first with the Australian squad to the subcontinent, but he previously attended development camps in Chennai and Sri Lanka.
He may have an additional opportunity to hone his skills against spin with an Australia A tour of India in the works for later in 2025.
After his famous start to life as a Test player, the Sri Lanka tour may have shaped as underwhelming for Konstas, who missed selection and was then struck down by a stomach bug.
But Head said Konstas would have learnt from the touring experience.
“Sam’s a big part of where we’re going, there’s no doubt about it,” Head said. “Disappointed that he missed out on the first Test but great for him to be here, great for him to be experiencing conditions.”
Head expected Konstas would return to the top of the batting order when Australia travelled to England for the World Test Championship Final against South Africa in June.
“Most likely I’ll go back in the middle order and Sam will open,” Head said.
[Cricinfo]
Dimuth Karunaratne is set to retire from international cricket following the second Test against Australia in Galle. It will also be the former Sri Lanka captain’s 100th Test match. The 36-year-old has decided to step away from the game after a recent run of poor form with the bat at the top of the order. Karunaratne has scored only 182 runs in his last seven Test matches with a solitary half-century in September 2024 against New Zealand.
Karunaratne had made his Test debut on the same ground back in 2012 against New Zealand where he scored a duck and an unbeaten 60 in the same game, as Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets. Karunaratne has scored 7,172 runs across 99 Test matches with 16 Test hundreds so far to his name. He has a highest score of 244 against Bangladesh back in 2021. Despite being a stalwart for Sri Lanka in Test cricket, he also featured in 50 ODIs and 34 T20Is for the island nation with a lone ODI century in 2023 against Ireland.
Karunaratne has been one of the most consistent openers in Test cricket over the last decade. Having scored his maiden century against New Zealand in Christchurch in 2014, it was from 2015 that he started to consistently plunder the runs and become a permanent opener for Sri Lanka in Tests. He had scored 196 against Pakistan in a day-night Test in 2017, and in 2019 became captain of the Sri Lankan side. He captained his team to a Test series victory over South Africa (2-0) that same year, as Sri Lanka became the first Asian team to beat South Africa in a Test series in South Africa.
Due to his stellar performances with the bat, Karunaratne was also named thrice in the ICC Test Cricket Team of the Year in 2018, 2021 and 2023. (cricbuzz)
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