Sports
Sri Lanka move up in World Test Championship after big win
A big 328-run win in the first Test against Bangladesh in Sylhet helped Sri Lanka to make steady progress in the World Test Championship. Sri Lanka were placed last in the points table before yesterday but moved up to number six having collected 12 points from the first Test that ended inside four days.
England have now slumped to last and a win in the second Test in Chittagong will see Sri Lanka move to fourth place in the World Test Championship behind India, Australia and New Zealand.
Sri Lanka owed the win to their middle order pair of Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis, who scored hundreds in each innings rescuing the side on both occasions after top order collapses. It was only the third occasion in a Test match batters from the same side had hit twin hundreds.
It was a remarkable performance by the bowlers too as the three quicks shared all 20 wickets to fall. Kasun Rajitha picked up career best figures of five for 54 in the second innings to finish the game with eight wickets.
Left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando had seven wickets in the game while Lahiru Kumara, although down on pace, picked up five wickets. Prabath Jayasuriya failed to pick up a wicket in the game, something rare for the ever reliable left-arm spin bowler.
Bangladesh had prepared a grassy wicket with pace and bounce hoping their much-improved quicks will make an impact. But the ploy backfired as Sri Lanka’s batters – Dhananjaya and Kamindu – in particular did the hard work to provide their side decent totals.
With runs on the board, Sri Lanka’s quicks then had a field day bowling to attacking fields.
Bangladesh resumed day four on 47 for five and it was a matter of how long they can bat on the penultimate day. They were bowled out after lunch to hand Sri Lanka a 1-0 advantage in the two-match series.
Nightwatchman Taijul Islam was dismissed in the first ball he faced as Rajitha trapped him leg before wicket.
A 66 runs stand for the seventh wicket followed between Mehidy Hasan and Mominul Haque. Rajitha again found the breakthrough when he had got Mehidy to drive and the outside edge was snapped up by Dhananjaya de Silva at second slip.
Rajitha had a fourth wicket when he took a sharp return catch to dismiss Shoriful Islam. He picked up a second five wicket haul in Test cricket when Khaled Ahmed was caught behind.
Mominul was left stranded on 87 as Kumara picked up the last wicket to fall.
Dhananjaya was named Man of the Match.
Two people taking part in Australia’s annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race have died in separate incidents, according to police.
Both crew members died in separate incidents after being hit by a boom – the large pole attached horizontally to the bottom of a sail.
The event’s organisers said the incidents happened on the Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline.
The first boats are expected to arrive in the city of Hobart, in Tasmania, later on Friday or early on Saturday. Several have already retired due to bad weather.
New South Wales (NSW) police said the first incident was reported to officers just before midnight on Thursday local time (12:50 GMT) by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in the country’s capital, Canberra.
Just over two hours later, at 02:15 on Friday, NSW police were told that crew aboard the second boat were giving CPR to the second person, which also had not worked.
Flying Fish Arctos had been sailing approximately 30 nautical miles east/south-east of the NSW town of Ulladulla, the organisers said.
Bowline, meanwhile, was approximately 30 nautical miles east/north-east of the town of Batemans Bay, also in NSW.
“Our thoughts are with the crews, family and friends of the deceased,” the organisers said in a statement.
“The Sydney to Hobart is an Australian tradition, and it is heart-breaking that two lives have been lost at what should be a time of joy,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The race, which began on Thursday, has continued.
It is not the first time there have been fatalities during the race, which was first held in 1945.
Six people, including British Olympic yachtsman Glyn Charles, died in 1998 after raging storms hit competitors.
[BBC]
Deepti Sharma turned in a superb all-round performance to help India seal the ODI series 3-0 in Vadodara. She first took 6 for 31 as West Indies folded for 162. Then with India in choppy waters, Deepti provided a calming influence with an unbeaten 39 to the team home by five wickets.
While Deepti dug in for the hard grind, aided with luck when she was dropped by Hayley Matthews at slip on 21, Richa Ghosh lent the finishing touches. Having walked in to bat with India 129 for 5, Ghosh allayed fears of a collapse by hitting one four and three sixes in her brisk 11-ball 23. This included back-to-back sixes off legspinner Afy Fletcher to see off India’s chase.
Under leaden skies, and on a surface that got progressively tougher to bat on with the odd ball keeping low and turning big, West Indies were left to rue another poor batting performance. Barring Chinelle Henry and Shemaine Campbelle, who put together 91 for the fourth wicket, there was little else of note from the batting unit.
The collapse began in the very first over when Renuka Singh removed Qiana Joseph, with a faint tickle down leg, and the in-form Matthews with a superb in-ducker four balls later. When Deandra Dottin was bowled attempting a hack into the leg side to Renuka, the visitors were 9 for 3 in the fifth over. Renuka with finish with a four-for eventually, coming back later to clean up the lower order amid the Deepti show.
Under the shadow of a collapse, Henry, playing her first ODI of the series, rebuilt the innings. She struggled to get bat to ball early on, pottering to 3 off 17. Then from nowhere, she brought out a release shot for six off debutant left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar to get going.
During the course of her third half-century, Henry played some neat little cuts and glides. At the other end, Campbelle showed positivity against spin. She took the attack early to legspinner Priya Mishra, hitting her for three boundaries in her second over. After using her feet to launch into two stunning drives – one down the ground and the other through cover – she rocked back to pull Mishra for a third as she dropped short.
This 91-run stand for the fourth wicket appeared to have revived the visitors as much as it frustrated India. This is when Deepti came into the game and made a telling contribution.
Campbell was consumed by a rush of blood as she was lulled into the big shot by Deepti, only for Pratika Rawal to take a comfortable catch at long-on. In the following over, Zaida James was caught superbly at slip by Harmanpreet as Deepti had her driving from the rough.
It could’ve been a triple-strike for India but for Renuka dropping the simplest of return catches via a leading edge to reprieve Aaliya Alleyne on 0. Alleyne would make only 21, though, falling to a tame chip to short midwicket. Alleyne’s wicket came hot on the heels of Henry’s dismissal for a third ODI half-century when she was out bowled by a straighter one. West Indies went on to lose their last 5 wickets for 21.
India’s reply began in nervous fashion as they lost Smriti Mandhana and Harleen Deol early in the power play against the moving ball. Pratika Rawal too missed out on a great opportunity to build on a solid foundation from her first two ODIs when she holed out to mid-on in an attempt to hit out against Matthews’ offspin.
India captain Harmanpreet then picked the pieces up and put together a fantastic exhibition of cover driving. Having begun with two fours off her first five deliveries, she went on to pierce a packed off-side ring to hit Dottin for three fours in the ninth over to quickly take to 23 off 13.
Harmanpreet looked in rip-roaring form when she played back to be bowled by a skidder from Afy Fletcher. The wicket briefly galvanised the visitors, but India weren’t to be denied as Deepti, Jemimah Rodrigues and Ghosh all played neat hands to see them home.
Brief scores:
India Women 167 for 5 in 28.2 overs (Deepti Sharma 39*, Harmanpreet Kaur 32, Jemmimah Rodrigues 29, Richa Ghosh 23*) beat West Indies Women 162 in 38.5 overs (Chinnel Henry 61, Shemaine Campbelle 46, Aaliyah /alleine 21; Deepti Sharma 6-31, Renuka Singh 4-29) by five wickets
[Cricinfo]
Australia kept their vice-like grip around the MCG Test despite a fighting effort from Yashasvi Jaiswal as India went to stumps at 164 for 5, trailing the hosts by 310 runs. Scott Boland and Pat Cummins made that possible after Steve Smith scored his 11th Test century against India – the most by any batter against this opposition in the format.
Jaiswal shrugged off his four ordinary outings in Adelaide and Brisbane to get stuck into the Australian bowlers on Day 2 to carve out a fine essay. He was proactive with his feet movement against the pacers and negotiated Nathan Lyon with a lot of comfort in favourable batting conditions. He went after Mitchell Marsh too, setting himself up for a three-figure score. Kohli did well to buckle down and offer judgment to balls on the fifth stump channel as the Aussie quicks repeatedly tempted him to play at it with a populated slip cordon on their toes. Kohli, who was seen simulating this situation with Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna in the nets on the eve of the game, successfully let balls go. With edges not carrying either, the pacers bowled straighter at him that allowed Kohli to get his innings going with flicks and pulls.
But in the final hour of the day, a few minutes of indecisiveness saw both the batters back in the dressing room. First, Jaiswal fell for 82 to a run out after driving one to mid-on and dashing off for a single. Kohli wasn’t keen and stood his ground, leading to Jaiswal’s dismissal. Seven balls later, Kohli bit the bullet and edged a ball from Scott Boland – the kind he’d let go for majority of the session – to depart for 36. Boland dug his heels in further, dismissing nightwatchman Akash Deep and leaving India five down.
The home side’s advantage at the close of play on the second day was built on Steve Smith’s outstanding century in the morning. Smith overcame a mini-battle against Jasprit Bumrah and took runs off Deep at the other end to extend his team’s dominance that was well-established by the top-order on the opening day. Smith had several false shots against Deep but none came with the doom of his dismissal for him. He further rubbed it in by picking runs easily as Deep conceded 30 in his five-over spell. The change bowlers couldn’t stop the runs either as Siraj endured a forgettable outing with figures of 0 for 122 in 23 overs.
Smith and Cummins added quick runs in the first hour before Jadeja ended the Australian captain’s stay on 49. Smith however, got to his 34th Test hundred, fifth at the MCG, and shifted gears after to take on both Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Mitchell Starc didn’t hold back either, even hitting Jasprit Bumrah for a six towards the end of the session. The Lunch break came as respite for a misfiring India, who then struck early in the second session. Jadeja cleaned up Starc and Deep removed Smith with some luck – the centurion danced down for a big shot through the off-side, but the ball ricocheted off his leg and rolled on to dislodge one bail as he watched on. Bumrah wrapped up the innings soon but India’s riposte was once again found wanting.
Rohit Sharma opened the innings again but was swiftly sent back by his opposite number when he tried and failed to play a pull shot off a ball that wasn’t quite short. KL Rahul and Jaiswal started to build a stand but Cummins put the lid on that with an incredible ball that straightened off a length, squaring up and cleaning up Rahul at the stroke of Tea.
The difference between a fighting response and an underwhelming one for India was the health of the Kohli-Jaiswal stand, which promised to lead the way before being broken against the run of play. India lost three wickets for the addition of just six runs in this period, letting Australia maintain complete control of the game.
Brief scores:
India 164/5 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 82; Pat Cummins 2-57, Scott Boland 2-24) trail Australia 474 (Steve Smith 140, Marnus Labuschagne 72; Jasprit Bumrah 4-99) by 310 runs
[Cricbuzz]
Two die in Sydney to Hobart yacht race
Deepti’s all-round heroics hand India series sweep
Australia maintain full control despite Jaiswal’s 82
-
Sports6 days agoPathirana set to sling his way into Kiwi hearts
-
News4 days agoOffice of CDS likely to be scrapped; top defence changes on the cards
-
News7 days agoSL issues USD 10.4 bn macro-linked bonds
-
Editorial7 days agoRanil’s advice
-
Editorial6 days agoThe games they play
-
Features4 days agoAn Absurd play in Parliament: Qualifications versus education
-
Opinion5 days agoWhat AKD and NPP should bear in mind
-
Midweek Review3 days agoEx-SLN seniors focus on seabed mining and Sri Lanka’s claim for the delimitation of the Outer Continental Margin