Sports
Sri Lanka focus on automatic World Cup qualifications after off the field distractions
By Rex Clementine
Sri Lanka have had lot of off the field distractions this month but will try to set them aside in the lead up to the three match ODI series against Afghanistan with the opening game getting underway on Friday at the Pallekele International Stadium. All three games will be played at Pallekele.
Sri Lanka’s campaign in the ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup ended exactly three weeks ago after a hard fought defeat at the hands of eventual champions England. Less than three hours after the game ended, there were dramatic scenes at the Sri Lankan team hotel in Sydney as their opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka was arrested by New South Wales police and was charged with sexual assault. The batsman is on bail but he is unable to leave Australia until the case is finished.
SLC launched an investigation into the conduct of the players on tour and all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne has been fined US$ 5000 and handed a one year suspended sentence for breaching the code of conduct. The player is alleged to have been involved in a fight in a Brisbane casino.
The members of the national selection committee and the team management are also under fire for not being firm and their fate will be known following the investigations carried out by the probe committee. Middle order batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s withdrawal from the squad on the eve of the ODI series was further distraction. Off the field incidents will be the last thing on Sri Lanka’s mind as they are seeking automatic qualification for next year’s 50 over World Cup in India.
Sri Lanka are placed tenth in the World Cup Super League with 62 points while Afghanistan are seventh with 100 points. Only the top eight teams automatically qualify for the World Cup and Dasun Shanaka’s side would want to improve their chances of going through.
“We have played a lot of cricket here at Pallekele and we know how the conditions will be here. It won’t be easy to bat under lights as the ball moves around a lot. We have a decent attack and some experience in the middle order with the return of Dinesh Chandimal and we are expecting a good contest,” Shanka told journalists.
Along with Chandimal, who missed the World Cup due to injury, all-rounder Dunith Wellalage also returns to the side.Afghanistan, meanwhile have included left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmed in the squad. The Chinaman bowler is popular around the world having established himself in league cricket as an economical bowler. The 17-year-old made his international T-20 debut in June this year and he is expected to make his ODI debut during this series.
“We have prepared well for the series. Obviously there’s a lot of focus on Sri Lanka’s spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana and I’m sure our batters will be up for the challenge as we play a lot of spin ourselves at the nets against the quality spin bowlers we have,” Hashmatullah Shahidi the Afghanistan captain said.
Sri Lanka (From)
Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dinesh Chandimal, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara. Dunith Wellalage, Ashen Bandara, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan and Dhananjaya Lakshan.
Afghanistan
(From) Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib, Ibrahim Zadran, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Noor Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Riaz Hassan, Shahidullah Kamal, Yamin Ahmadzai and Zia-ur-Rehman
India’s opening batter Shafali Verma and swing bowler Renuka Singh have moved up to sixth spots in the ICC’s T20I batting and bowling rankings respectively.
Shafali is the leading scorer in the ongoing bilateral series against Sri Lanka by a distance, her 236 runs nearly twice as many as second-highest scorer Smriti Mandhana’s 120. Renuka is also the leading wicket-taker, her four wickets level with team-mates Deepti Sharma, Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
Shafali went up four places with back-to-back scores of 69*, 79* and 79 in the second, third and fourth T20Is. Renuka, meanwhile, climbed eight places to reach the joint-sixth position along with South Africa’s Nonkululeko Mlaba, particularly through her 4 for 21 in the third game of the series. Deepti leads the bowlers’ rankings after taking that position last week. Both Shafali and Renuka have also bagged one Player-of-the-Match award each in the series that India lead 4-0, with the last match scheduled for Tuesday in Thiruvananthapuram.
If India win today (30), this will be their third 5-0 series win in T20Is. They won by that scoreline in the West Indies in 2019 and in Bangladesh last year. Sri Lanka have, however, never before lost a T20I series 5-0.
(Cricinfo)
The Cabinet of Ministers granted their concurrence to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Youth Affairs to appoint S. Achchudan of Special Grade of Sri Lanka Administrative Service, who is currently serving as an Additional Commissioner of Elections at the Elections Commission who is
recommended by the panel of interviewers to the post of Director General of the Sports Development Department with effect form 01.01.2026.
After three low scores, three tosses lost and three heavy defeats, Sri Lanka gave hosts India more of a fight in the fourth T20I on Sunday when they finally got to chase a target instead of setting one. They got somewhat close thanks to contribution from batters apart from Chamari Athapaththu. With their confidence running a little higher, they would want to sign off fromthis five match tour with one win as the preparations for the T20 World Cup, which is less than six months away, heat up.
India have been clinical all through the series – with their share of luck, having won the first three tosses – in restricting Sri Lanka to totals under 130 and getting home with at least five overs and seven wickets in hand. That presents Sri Lanka the opportunity to test India’s middle and lower order on Tuesday, but with the gargantuan task of going past the duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, who put up India’s biggest partnership for any wicket to set up the hosts’ highest T20I total. India have had to use only five batters in this series so far.
Whether they set a total or chase one, Sri Lanka would draw inspiration from Hasini Perera’s start on Sunday, in which she took down Renuka Singh and Arundhati Reddy in the opening overs before Nilakshika Silva finally got some runs in the lower order.
Sri Lanka would also want to cash in on any lives their batters are offered as India have been sloppy this series – putting down five catches in the opener and two in the fourth game – which could help the visitors narrow the gap between the two sides.
There are always expectations from Athapaththu when Sri Lanka bat, and it was refreshing to see Hasini Perera take the lead in the opening partnership with her captain on Sunday. It was Perera’s penchant for boundaries that charged Sri Lanka to 52 for 0 in the first four overs. Hasini has played nearly 90 T20Is and the last game of the series will be the perfect chance for her to score her maiden T20I half-century that will only increase the faith in her abilities in the lead up to the T20 World Cup.
She has been dismissed just twice this series and Shafali Verma is reaching scary heights in the T20 format with 236 runs already at a strike rate of 185.82 this series. The next best strike rate this series (minimum 50 runs) is Jemimah Rodrigues’ 140.54. Shafali has taken down every possible bowling combination Sri Lanka have thrown at her at the start and with three half-centuries in a row, a continuation of her boundary barrage could be another spectacular show from the India opener.
Rodrigues missed the fourth T20I while recovering from a mild fever and India brought in Harleen Deol for her first game of the series but she didn’t get a chance to bat. Already leading 4-0, India may also want to hand a debut to 17-year-old wicketkeeper-batter G Kamalini, the only player in the squad who hasn’t played this series.
India (possible): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues/Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh/G Kamalini (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Renuka Singh/Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, Shree Charani
Sri Lanka have been making changes through the series too, and even though they have used up all their players from the squad of 15, don’t rule out any more changes on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka (possible): Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Imesha Dulani, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Kavisha Dilhari, Kawya Kavindi/Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera, Malsha Shehani, Nimasha Meepage
[Cricinfo]
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