Sports

Sri Lanka better off with Mathews in ODIs

Published

3 years ago

2023/03/19

by Rex Clementine

Over the years, we have seen the cricket team rebuilding after an extended period of poor run and when that happens a few seniors are given the cold shoulder. Although these tough decisions are taken with the best interest of the game in mind, there have been occasions that some selectors have settled old scores.

Rebuilding at times don’t go to plan. Sometimes they backfire and the very players whom you have dropped prove yourself wrong scoring heavily either in domestic cricket or in a different format of international cricket. At times these players are recalled but when that happens the selectors who had dropped them have moved on and a new set have taken over.

This time though it’s quite different as the same selectors who introduced the aggressive youth policy have taken a step back, either they are honest people who have realized their mistake or they are desperate given the dreadful scenario facing the ODI outfit.

Sri Lanka need to win three out of three games in New Zealand if they are to qualify automatically for the World Cup or else they will have to play the qualifiers in Zimbabwe in June.

Mathews is going to be a crucial cog in the wheel as Sri Lanka ensure that they keep their World Cup record intact having played in all editions of the tournament since the inaugural one in 1975. In Trivandrum early this year, Sri Lanka were shot out for 73 runs after India had posted 390 for five in their 50 overs. It was a massive 317 run defeat, the heaviest in the history of ODI cricket by any team.

Having seen that the selectors have got cold feet and were left with Hobson’s choice but to recall Mathews, who has scored nearly 6000 runs at an average of over 41.

There are many questions about the selectors’ choices. Carried away by their youth policy they played T20 players in the ODI format and today those players can’t even find a place in the T20 side. Bhanuka Rajapaksa is a case in point. Plus they experimented with too many all-rounders and still too many of them have persevered eventhough results have been pretty ordinary. It’s the same policy that England tried out for so long when they were pathetic in limited overs cricket two decades ago. Sadly, our selectors have borrowed a leaf out of England.

Mathews selection is certainly a step in the right direction but much more needs to be done moving forward. Kusal Janith Perera, who hasn’t played any international cricket since November 2021 is also back in the reckoning after shoulder surgery. He’ll initially feature only in T20s but soon should come into the ODI mix too as Sri Lanka try to qualify for the World Cup.

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Pakistan ask Netherlands to bat in T20 World Cup opener

Published

3 mins ago

2026/02/7

Priyan

Pakistan have won the toss and opted to bowl first against Netherlands in the T20 World Cup 2026 opener at SSC in Colombo. The rain has stayed away so far, and in searingly hot conditions, Salman Agha chose to insert Netherlands in what he described as unusual conditions for Sri Lanka.

“It looks like a fresh pitch and there’s been rain for a few days, so if there’s any moisture we want to use that,” Agha said at the toss. “It’s the first time I’ve seen that much grass in Sri Lanka.”

Pakistan have gone in with three seam bowlers given the extra assistance for seam, with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza and Faheem Ashraf in the starting XI.

Netherlands captain Scott Edwards called it “a very good batting wicket”. He admitted he would have looked to bowl first too, but “we’re happy to be batting here”. “We’ve been in India and SL for a month and a half, used to the conditions,” he said. “Plenty of allrounders and options for bowling and batting.”

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf , Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza,, Abrar Ahmed

Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Zach Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van Der Merwe, Kyle Klein, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren

[Cricinfo]

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Sooryavanshi 175 makes India six-time Under-19 world champions

Published

13 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi celebrates his century (Cricinfo)

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gave the latest demonstration of his prodigious talent with a record breaking innings in Harare as India completed a dominant run at the Under-19 World Cup, swatting aside England’s challenge, to lift the trophy for the sixth time.

Sooryavanshi, the 14-year-old opener, showcased his full range of scoring in an audacious knock of 175 off just 80 balls to almost single-handedly extinguish England’s hopes after India had opted to bat. When he was third out, India were 251 for 3 in the 26th over and hypothetically on track to score 500. No one could keep up with Sooryavanshi’s rate, but cameos down the order from Abhigyan Kundu and Kanishk Chouhan did take India past 400 for the first time in a Youth ODI between Full Member nations.

For England, Caleb Falconer struck a scintillating 63-ball hundred in response, but there was too much left to do and he was last out as India regained the Under-19 title, having lost the final to Australia two years ago.

Although England struck early, Aaron George caught at point off Alex Green, the game quickly ran away from them. Sooryavanshi put on 142 in 15 overs alongside India’s captain, Ayush Mhatre, and then 78 out of 89 for the third wicket alongside Vedant Trivedi as the innings went into overdrive.

Having cruised to fifty from 32 balls, he took just 23 more to bring up his first century of the tournament, then another 16 to progress past 150. Sixes rained down around the ground, as England’s spinners, Farhan Ahmed and Ralphie Albert, were treated with disdain – although arguably no shot was more outrageous than the forehand smash off a Green bouncer than somehow went straight back over the bowler’s head into the sightscreen.

He fell completely against the run of play, gloving behind when aiming a slog-sweep at Manny Lumsden, and India’s innings stuttered – at least relative to what had gone before. James Minto bagged three-for as England strove to keep the score below 400, a mark that was breached in the final over.

Mayes struck seven fours and two sixes but fell the ball after retaking top spot from Sooryavanshi on the tournament run-scorers’ list. Thomas Rew, England’s captain, blazed out of the blocks with 31 off 18 and Dawkins notched a 49-ball fifty – but the latter’s dismissal sparked a collapse of 4 for 3 in nine balls as India’s grip tightened.

England were well up with the rate, despite wickets falling, and were given hope by a stand of 92 between Falconer and James Minto. Falconer found the boundary regularly on the way to his maiden hundred, but the requirement had ballooned above 10 an over and England were still 100 runs short when he was finally dismissed.

Brief scores:

India Under 19s 411 for 9 in 50 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 175, Ayush Mhatre 53, Abhigyan Kundu 40; Sebastian Morgan 2-74, Alex Green 2-49, Ja,es Minto 3-63) beat England Under 19s 311 in 40.2 overs (Caleb Falconer 115, Ben Dawkins 65, Ben Mayes 45; RS Ambrish 3-56, Deepesh Devendran 2-64, Khan8shk Chouhan 2-63) by 100 runs

(Cricinfo)

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Mighty India meet multicultural USA in polarised World Cup

Published

17 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

Mumbai will have plenty of local boys to root for, from both sides [Cricinfo]

The USA national team has only four players born in the USA, all of them children of immigrants. The other 11 are first-generation immigrants.

Three of those 11 were born in Pakistan. Their captain Monank Patel, and four others, were born in India. Monank recently told PTI there is “no Indian or Pakistani when you represent the USA.”

This team of Indian, Pakistani, South African and Sri Lankan immigrants will get under the star-sprangled banner and start, against India, their campaign in this T20 World Cup, during whose build-up the world has seemed to grow increasingly polarised.

Make of it what you will. Be relieved that cricket still has room for these niceties, or be despondent that this small win is worth celebrating.

Amid all the politicking, what has probably not been celebrated enough is the T20 excellence India have put together. Over nine editions, the T20 world title has neither been defended successfully nor been won at home. On Saturday, in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium where they won the 2011 ODI title, India will begin their campaign promising that both can be achieved in a month’s time.

Fourteen years ago, Ian Chappell wrote that left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh, born in Mumbai and an Under-19 World Cup winner for India, was ready for international cricket. Watching Harmeet, Chappell was put in the mind of Bishan Singh Bedi. Here he is, an international cricketer via a circuitous route, back in his place of birth to take on the team representing his country of birth.

Six months ago, Ishan Kishan was not even on the World Cup radar. Then Shubman Gill got injured and fell short of runs on his T20I comeback. Kishan blasted all comers during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. So he entered the World Cup squad as the back-up wicketkeeper-batter. Then Sanju Samson fell short of runs. Now, if India’s World Cup warm-up fixture was anything to go by, Kishan is the No. 1 choice to partner Abhishek Sharma at the top. And if he can get off to a good start, he is likely to keep his place for the business end of the tournament.

Washington Sundar, still recovering from a side strain, was not with the squad during their warm-up match against South Africa, but India are going to keep him in their squad. As it is, he is a back-up for Axar Patel, who is the first-choice spin allrounder. Harshit Rana was seen in some discomfort during the warm-up fixture and walked off after bowling just one over. The prognosis for Rana’s participation in this tournament ” doesn’t look good”, India captain Suryakumar Yadav has said, and it is particularly a cause for concern since he is the only genuine fast bowler in the squad who can contribute a few sixes down the order. Tilak Varma has made a successful return to fitness.

India (probable): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy.

Andries Gous, who missed USA’s last T20I, the final of the North America T20 Cup last April, should come back as wicketkeeper and opener. Others could drop down a slot each to make up for the absence of the suspended Aaron Jones.

USA (probable): Saiteja Mukkamalla, Andries Gous (wk), Shayan Jahangir, Monank Patel (capt.), Milind Kumar, Harmeet Singh, Shubham Ranjane, Mohammad Mohsin, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan

[Cricinfo]