Sports
Sri Lanka and Ireland make promising starts
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2024
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier began in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. Sri Lanka and Ireland won the opening two matches at Tolerance Oval and Zayed Cricket Stadium respectively.
Sri Lanka overcame Thailand while Ireland defeated the hosts, United Arab Emirates (UAE), both winners recorded convincing victories over their opponents.
At Zayed Cricket Stadium, Eimear Richardson starred with an all-round performance for Ireland. Sri Lanka’s bowlers produced a stellar performance as they bowled Thailand out for 55 at the Tolerance Oval.
Sri Lanka vs Thailand
A disciplined bowling performance from Thailand restricted one of the favourites in the tournament, Sri Lanka, to 122/5 in 20 overs at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi.
Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka got off to a slow start in the Powerplay with captain, Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne taking their time to settle in.
Chanida Sutthiruang sent back Gunaratne for 13 inside the Powerplay, but the big blow came right after the restrictions when Athapaththu was run out by a brilliant bit of fielding.
Hasini Perera dropped anchor at one end, but Thailand managed to find a couple of breakthroughs from the other end to keep the scoring rate under control. Eventually, Perera too was trapped in front by Sunida Chaturongrattana for 29 and Sri Lanka slipped to a precarious 78/5 with just over five overs remaining in the innings.
Nilakshi de Silva and Anushka Sanjeewani joined hands in a crucial stand that drove Sri Lanka out of the woods. De Silva finished unbeaten for 29 (20 balls), while Anushka made 13 off 15 as Sri Lanka finished on 122/5.
In response, Udeshika Prabodhani and Inoshi Priyadharshani led Sri Lanka’s bowling effort with only one batter making double digits.
While Thailand got off to a decent start with 29 runs on the board in the Powerplay for the loss of one, wickets tumbled soon after as Sri Lanka displayed their strength with the ball.
Prabhodhani, Kavisha Dilhari and Achini Kulasuriya helped Sri Lanka reduce Thailand to 40/5 and things went further downhill for Thailand as three wickets fell in the 14th over, bowled by Priyadharshani.
They slipped to 45/8 and were eventually bowled out for 55 with Athapaththu wrapping up the innings with the final wicket.Priyadharshani starred with 3 for 14 in her four overs while Prabodhani took 2 for 10 in her three overs.
Ireland vs UAE
Esha Oza got UAE off to a flier with an onslaught on Alana Dalzell in the second over of the game, but the bowler had the last laugh when she sent the opener back off the final ball of the over.
Theertha Satish and Khushi Sharma rebuilt the innings for UAE with a solid partnership that came at a pretty good rate, but Ireland launched a spirited comeback into the game that saw the UAE innings unravel pretty quickly.
From 64/1, UAE slipped to 77/7 in the space of five overs as Arlene Kelly, Cara Murray and Richardson shared the spoils. The talented Kavisha Egodage was run out to add to UAE’s woes.
The lower order could not muster much of a fight as UAE finished on 105/9 in 20 overs, despite the promising start they had to the innings.
Kelly and Richardson claimed two wickets apiece and were the pick of Ireland’s bowlers.
In response, Ireland raced off the blocks with Amy Hunter and Gaby Lewis in great touch. The duo smashed 52 in the Powerplay, before Lewis departed off the final ball of the sixth over, edging Egodage to the wicketkeeper for a 22-ball 27.
Oza struck in successive overs with the big wickets of Laura Delany and Rebecca Stokell as Ireland stumbled to 68/4.
Orla Prendergast found able support from Richardson and Ireland kept the innings stable. The duo remained unbeaten and wiped off the target with more than three overs to spare as Ireland got their campaign off to a winning start.
Scores in brief:
Match 1:
Sri Lanka beat Thailand by 67 runs
Sri Lanka 122 for 5 in 20 overs (Nilakshi De Silva 29 not out, Hasini Perera 29; Chanida Sutthiruang 1-15, Sunida Chaturongrattana 1-15)
Thailand 55 all out in 16.2 overs (Nannapat Koncharoenkai 18; Inoshi Priyadharshani 3-14, Udeshika Prabodhani 1-10)
Player of the match
– Inoshi Priyadharshani
Match 2:
Ireland beat UAE by six wickets
UAE 105 for 9 in 20 overs (Khushi Sharma 24, Theertha Satish 22; Arlene Kelly 2-12, Eimear Richardson 2-15)
Ireland 106 for 4 in 16.1 overs (Gaby Lewis 27, Amy Hunter 25, Eimear Richardson 22 not out, Amy Hunter 22 not out; Esha Oza 3-13)
Player of the match – Eimear Richardson
(ICC)
With just one round left in the group stage, Dambulla hit the top of the National Super League (NSL) table like a runaway train, pulling off a breathtaking run chase that left Kandy shell-shocked at the R. Premadasa Stadium. In a high-octane encounter that had lot of twists, Dambulla played out of their skins to snatch victory from the jaws of what looked like certain defeat.
Chasing a towering 392 in just 69 overs, the Dambulla batters threw caution to the wind and came out swinging. They crossed the finish line with 25 balls to spare, making the improbable seem routine.
At the top of the order, Nishan Madushka dropped anchor and played the sheet anchor role to perfection, compiling a masterful 126 off 153 balls. He stitched together a solid 136-run opening stand with Ron Chandraguptha, who chipped in with a stylish 64, laying the perfect foundation for the fireworks to follow.
But the real show-stopper was none other than Dasun Shanaka. Despite being courted by a slew of T20 leagues flashing big bucks, Shanaka stayed loyal to red-ball cricket — and he makes it count. He walked in with the scoreboard ticking and turned the game on its head with a whirlwind century off just 56 deliveries. It was a blitzkrieg that featured nine sizzling boundaries and six towering sixes. When Shanaka’s in the zone, bowlers might as well be bowling with a bar of soap.
From 286 for 1, Dambulla had a minor hiccup, losing quick wickets and stumbling to 326 for 5. But the damage had been done — Shanaka’s thunderous assault had knocked the stuffing out of the Kandy attack. All that remained was for the tail to wag, nudge a few singles, and coast home with room to spare.
Akila Dananjaya, meanwhile, continued to turn heads with a match bag of ten wickets. But while his performance was eye-catching, any talk of a national recall should come with a pinch of salt — his action, having been under the microscope before, will need a clean bill of health before selectors roll the dice.
Down south in Hambantota, Galle all but booked their ticket to the final, thanks to a first-innings win over Jaffna. Unless they somehow manage to shoot themselves in the foot in their last group game, they should be packing their bags for the final.
Ramesh Mendis played the unlikely hero, batting at number eight and top-scoring with a gutsy 124 to take Galle to 374, well past Jaffna’s 305.
Jaffna’s response in the second innings was spirited, with Angelo Mathews rolling back the years and crafting a classy century as they made 354 for five.
Rain played spoil sport with only 6.4 overs possible on day one and a further 55 overs on day two and that left little room for a result.
North Korea has held the Pyongyang International Marathon for the first time in six years, welcoming some 200 foreign runners to the streets of the reclusive country’s capital.
The marathon, which was launched in 1981, took place annually in April to celebrate the birth of its founding leader Kim Il Sung.
Before Sunday’s marathon, the race was last held in 2019, wherein 950 foreigners participated. North Korea sealed itself off the following year, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
North Korea has been slow to reopen since, allowing only Russian tourists into its capital since last year.
Runners have had to enter the country as part of an organised tour group, as was the case before the pandemic.
Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based travel agency listed as an “exclusive partner” on the event website, offers six-day marathon tours at 2,195 euros ($2,406) including flights to and from Beijing.
“The Pyongyang Marathon is an extremely unique experience as it provides an opportunity to interact with locals,” the agency wrote on its website.
Sunday’s marathon route took participants past landmarks across the city, including the Kim Il Sung stadium, the Arch of Triumph built to commemorate Kim Il Sung’s role in resisting Japanese rule, and the Mirae Future Scientists’ Street said to be a residential district for scientists and engineers.
Pictures online show the stadium – where runners start and finish their race – filled with spectators, many of them cheering and waving gold-coloured paper flags.
Pak Kum Dong, a North Korean runner, told Reuters news agency: “The eyes of our people on me helped me to bear the difficulties whenever I feel tired.”
There is no publicly available information on race results.
North Korea had only statred to scale back Covid-19 restrictions in the middle of 2023.
In Feburary, it allowed some Western tourists into the remote, eastern city Rason, but suspended those tours just weeks after.
[BBC]
Noor Ahmad, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) left-arm wristspinner, continues to head the Purple Cap table with ten wickets from four games. His spell of 4 for 18 in CSK’s first game against MI, remains his best so far.
DC’s Mitchell Starc who picked up his maiden five-for in T20s, against SRH remains second on the list with nine wickets in three games.
GT’s Mohammed Siraj equalled Starc’s tally on Sunday night with his own IPL best, albeit he has played four games to Starc’s three. Siraj picked up 4 for 17 against SRH to hand them their four successive loss, and was named the Player of the Match.
Breakaway JVP faction decries Indo-Lanka MoUs as betrayal
Adani’s Colombo Terminal commences operations
SLIC Life reports robust performance with Rs. 30.7 Billion PBT in 2024
-
Business1 day agoColombo Coffee wins coveted management awards
-
Features2 days agoStarlink in the Global South
-
Business3 days agoDaraz Sri Lanka ushers in the New Year with 4.4 Avurudu Wasi Pro Max – Sri Lanka’s biggest online Avurudu sale
-
Business4 days agoStrengthening SDG integration into provincial planning and development process
-
Business3 days agoNew SL Sovereign Bonds win foreign investor confidence
-
Sports5 days agoTo play or not to play is Richmond’s decision
-
Features2 days agoModi’s Sri Lanka Sojourn
-
Sports4 days agoNew Zealand under 85kg rugby team set for historic tour of Sri Lanka