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Sri Lanka secure ODI series after Hasaranga career best

Published

2 years ago

2024/01/11

Priyan

In a 27-over-a-side contest, Zimbabwe were shot out for 96 (Cricbuzz)

On his comeback to international cricket, leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga picked up career best figures of seven for 19 as Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by eight wickets to secure the three match series 2-0 at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.

In a game that was severely affected by rain and reduced to 27 overs, Zimbabwe were shot out for just 96 runs inside 23 overs as Sri Lanka’s star bowler troubled the batters. Sri Lanka chased down the target with eight wickets in hand in 16.4 overs

Zimbabwe had got off to a good start reaching 43 for no loss but the introduction of Hasaranga proved to be disastrous for the visitors as he struck in his first over. Hasaranga had two more wickets in his second over as Zimbabwe slumped to 47 for three after being 43 for none. Four Zimbabwe batters were trapped leg before wicket by Hasaranga and most of them had no clue about his googly.

Hasaranga suffered a hamstring injury in July last year and was forced to undergo surgery which meant that he missed last year’s World Cup. In his comeback game, the crafty spin bowler proved what Sri Lanka had been missing during the sprot’s showpiece event.

Hasaranga’s seven for 19 is now the best figures at R. Premadasa Stadium improving on Angelo Mathews’ six for 20 against India in 2009. It’s also the second best figures ever by a Sri Lankan in ODI cricket behind Chaminda Vaas’ eight for 19, also against Zimbabwe in 2001.

Hasaranga was drafted into the game in place of leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay and he went onto pick up his fourth five wicket haul.

Hasaranga, who will captain Sri Lanka in the T-20 series that will follow, received a standing ovation as he walked off the field.

Sri Lanka did two changes for the game handing ODI debut to the 19-year-old opening batsman Shevon Daniel. He made 12.

Captain Kusal Mendis posted an unbeaten half-century and was involved in a 73 run stand with Daniel for the second wicket as Sri Lanka cruised to a comfortable win with 62 deliveries to spare. Mendis raced to his half-century in 37 deliveries, his 27^th 50 in ODIs.

Sri Lanka secured the series 2-0. The first game was washed out due to rain while the hosts secured a hard fought two wicket win in the second ODI.

The three match T-20 series starts on Sunday with Colombo hosting all games.

Brief Scores:
Zimbabwe 96 in 22.5 overs (Joylord Gumbie 29; Wanindu Hasaranga 7-19) lost to Sri Lanka 97/2 in 16.4 overs (Kusal Mendis 66*) by 8 wickets

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Captain’s knock helps Petes

Published

21 mins ago

2026/02/5

Priyan

Enosh Peterson

‎by Reemus Fernando

‎

‎St. Peter’s skipper Enosh Peterson produced his best knock of the season, a valuable 75 runs for the home team to recover from an initial collapse to post 194 runs against St. Aloysius’, Galle on day one in an Under 19 traditional cricket encounter at Bambalapitiya today.

‎The Petes were struggling at 40 for four wickets at one stage, before the skipper decided to hold the middle order together with his knock. ‎Incidentally, it turned out to be Peterson’s best batting performance of the season, having not done so well during tournament matches.

‎The Petes were playing for the third consecutive day after meeting Thurstan on Tuesday and Wednesday.

‎They conceded first innings points to Thurstan on Wednesday after a below par first innings score (154) at Thurstan ground. Bowlers prevented the home team taking a big advantage restricting them to 204 runs with Sadeesha Silva taking seven wickets.

‎In their second essay, the Petes were better posting 222 for nine wickets declared thanks to an unbeaten 125 from Asadisa de Silva.

‎However, yesterday he was dismissed for eight runs and the Petes needed a rearguard action to prevent a low score. That was when Peterson came up with his top batting feat of the season.

‎In reply, St. Aloysius’ were 13 for one wicket when bad light stopped play.

‎

‎Scores

‎St. Peter’s 194 all out in 74.5 overs (Enosh Peterson 75, Sadeesha Silva 27; Chanul Nethmina 3/29, Dulsath Nimviru 4/29)

‎St. Aloysius‘ 13 for 1 in 2 overs

‎

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Delhi Capital’s fourth shot at elusive trophy as Royal Challengers Bengaluru look to make winning a habit

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/5

Priyan

Lizelle Lee and Shafali Verma against Lauren Bell will be an interesting contest [BCCI]

The grand finale of WPL 2026 carries a distinct India-South Africa flavour, much like the World Cup final two months ago. But the epicenter is Vadodara and not Navi Mumbai, the traditional home of Indian women’s cricket. However, that won’t make the occasion any less special.

The marquee names line up symmetrically. Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues on one side; Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh on the other. Marizanne Kapp and Laura Wolvaardt on one side, Nadine de Klerk on the other.

Threading between these big stars are two high-impact overseas allrounders from West Indies and Australia, each having contributed to their team’s journey to the final in their own way.

Chinelle Henry has been an unheralded star for Delhi Capitals (DC). Her three-for in the Eliminator may have gone unnoticed in the larger scheme of things, but it was as important as Shafali and Lizelle Lee’s opening stand or Rodrigues’ cameo. For Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Grace Harris has filled an even larger void. In Ellyse Perry’s absence, she has become the powerplay enforcer, dominating attacks and setting up games for the likes of Ghosh and de Klerk to finish.

The prospect of these two sides pitted against each other in the final seemed an unlikely prospect even during the auction. Mumbai Indians appeared the obvious front runners, having retained the core that delivered two titles in three seasons.

RCB, meanwhile, were without Perry, and when they opted to replace her with an uncapped Indian fast bowler in Sayali Satghare, fully aware that Pooja Vastrakar would be unavailable for much of the season, the knives were out. Satghare has since become a key strand in RCB’s seam attack.

Thursday’s final also brings a contrast to their journeys to the final. RCB took the route DC did for three seasons running – winning six out of their eight games to top the group. DC have scraped through a sequence of must-win games and will now play their third knockout in five days.

DC are chasing that elusive fourth attempt at glory to help bring silverware to a franchise that is yet to win a major; RCB is looking at making winning titles a habit, attempting a hat-trick of wins (IPL included).

In each of the three previous finals, the winner of the Eliminator has gone on to win the title. Will Thursday be any different?

RCB are likely to back Vastrakar to play as a specialist batter. While she has begun bowling in the nets, a call has been taken to ease her in, given she has returned to competitive cricket after 15 months. Arundhati Reddy’s lack of form is the only other area of concern that could potentially bring in legspinner Prema Rawat into the equation.

RCB (probable): Smriti Mandhana (capt), Grace Harris, Georgia Voll, Richa Ghosh (wk), Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Sayali Satghare, Arundhati Reddy/Prema Rawat, Lauren Bell

DC are likely to be unchanged. In fact the 13 players they’ve used this season are the fewest resources a team has used across four WPL seasons.

DC (probable): Shafali Verma, Lizelle Lee (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, Jemimah Rodrigues (capt), Marizanne Kapp, Chinelle Henry, Niki Prasad, Sneh Rana, Minnu Mani, Nandani Sharma, N Shree Charani

[Cricinfo]

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Sparkling Aaron George ton seals record chase, powers India into U19 WC final

Published

16 hours ago

2026/02/5

Priyan

Aaron George produced a special innings on the big stage to set up India's title clash with England [Cricbuzz]

On a batting beauty at the Harare Sports Club, India’s assembly line of batting talent was out in full splendour in the Under-19 World Cup semifinal. There were two centurions in a statement innings from Afghanistan, but Uzairullah Niazai and Faisal Shinozada’s knocks – glorious as they were – were rendered footnotes by a superb century from Aaron George, who led India’s record chase of 311 with the kind of composure that belied his low scores from earlier in the tournament.

George hit 115 off 104, ably supported by half-centuries from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre, as India recorded the highest ever chase in U19 World Cup history. A sixth straight final beckoned, and with it, a Friday date with England for the title – a repeat of the 2022 final, history rhyming if not quite repeating.

There was something quietly poetic about George’s century, about this particular redemption. Here was a batter who had managed a best of just 23 runs leading up to this knockout game, existing in the shadows while all around him teammates made the right noises and brandished snazzy IPL contracts. But the selectors stuck with him. And on this day, under the Harare sun, George repaid that faith with interest – 15 fours, 2 sixes, batting on until only 11 runs were required. The chase, in the end, was polished off with 53 balls to spare, the margin of victory rendering Afghanistan’s brilliance a beautiful but ultimately futile exercise.

Afghanistan had a couple of clear chances in the second innings. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was put down in the fifth over and George was reprieved when a dolly was put down by Wahidullah Zadran at mid-on. The drops proved very costly as India’s openers plundered 90 in 9.3 overs before Sooryavanshi fell to a short ball from Nooristani Omarzai for a 33-ball 68. Ayush Mhatre walked out, with a bunch of low scores under his belt, and opted to deal in either boundaries or dots for the first 12 balls before he hunkered down to build a 114-run stand with George.

George, at the other end, was barely troubled by spin or pace. A highlight of his innings was his ability to punch the ball on the up with a high elbow. There was also a delectable inside-out shot over extra cover to a ball headed down legside. George got to his century with a flick past mid-on for four, bringing the Indian dressing room to its collective feet. He hit two more boundaries in the next over before cutting Zadran to backward point in the 40th over. Vihaan Malhotra stayed unbeaten on 38 to take India home by seven wickets.

Earlier in the day, Afghanistan, having won the toss, did well to push India into chasing a record total. Shinozada and Niazai played central roles in the highest score against India in Youth ODIs, but the foundation for the same was laid by openers Khalid Ahmadzai and Osman Sadat, who put together a steady 53-run partnership.

Ahmadzai looked assured during his 31 off 39 balls before Deepesh Devendran broke through. Sadat continued the good work with a composed 39 from 70 deliveries, but his dismissal by Kanishk Chouhan left Afghanistan at 119 for 2 at the halfway stage, needing acceleration.

What followed was a batting exhibition that will have been remembered for a lot longer had the second innings not happened. Shinozada tore into the Indian attack with a magnificent 110 from just 93 balls. He reached his century in 86 deliveries and celebrated with Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic “Siu” celebration, his second consecutive hundred in the tournament showcasing his remarkable form and temperament on the big stage.

But Shinozada wasn’t alone in the glory. Niazai played the perfect partner, remaining unbeaten on 101 from 86 balls. The pair stitched together a match-defining stand that not only revived the innings but propelled Afghanistan well past the 300-mark. Niazai’s maiden tournament century came in dramatic fashion, brought up with a pull shot while scampering for a sharp second run. The late flourish saw Afghanistan plunder 111 runs in the final 10 overs of the game, but as it turned out the slow-burn approach to the innings proved counterproductive against the latest bunch of India’s batting talents.

Brief scores:
Afghanistan 310/4 in 50 overs (Faisal Shinozada 110, Uzairullah Niazai 101; Kanishk Chouhan 2-55, Deepesh Devendran 2-64) lost to India 311/3 in 41.1 overs (Aaron George 115, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 68, Ayush Mhatre 62; Nooristani Omarzai 2-64) by 7 wickets.

[Cricbuzz]