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Sri Lanka spinners restrict New Zealand to 209 after Chapman 76

Published

2 years ago

2024/11/17

Priyan

Mark Chapman and Mitchell Hay added 75 off 78 balls for the fifth wicket [SLC]

Rain stopped play twice and on either side of those stoppages, Sri Lanka’s spinners brought the game to a crawl while their fielders stole the show as New Zealand inched their way up to 209 all out in the second ODI in Pallekele. Only a half-century from Mark Chapman and 49 for Mitchell Hay brought about a modicum of respectability for New Zealand, on a slow surface.

Aside from those two innings, just two other batters – Will Young (26) and Glenn Phillips (15) – managed to crack double digits, while extras made up 12. Jeffrey Vandersay and Maheesh Theekshana shared three wickets apiece, while Charith Asalanka deserves a mention for giving away just 29 runs in his eight overs. Asitha Fernando meanwhile worked tirelessly as the solitary frontline seam option and was rewarded with the prize wicket of Chapman and Michael Bracewell.

All the Sri Lankan bowlers however owe a debt of gratitude to their outfielders who, despite dropping some tough chances, held on to even tougher ones. Avishka Fernando was at the forefront of this excellence, completing two nearly identical grabs, diving forward in the deep to scoop the ball centimetres off the ground, to dismiss both Phillips and and Chapman.

And he was not done yet, taking another stellar catch on the run and slide to remove Bracewell. Pathum Nissanka too threw his name in the hat for catch of the match, with a stunning sprint from long-off towards mid-off, culminating in a full-length dive to hold on to a skier from Mitchell Santner.

Sri Lanka’s ground fielding too was on point, with the infielders in particular smothering the visiting batters, competing for every run. This was highlighted by an astonishing 157 dot balls being played out across the course of the innings – one that had already been shortened to 47 overs due to rain.

Brief scores:
New Zealand 209 all out in 45.1 overs (Will Young 26, Mark Chapman 76, Mitchell Hay 49, Maheesh Theekshana 3-31, Asitha Fernando 2-37, Dunith Wellalage 1-46, Jeffrey Vandersay 3-46, Charith Asalanka 1-29) vs Sri Lanka (47 overs a side)

[Cricinfo]

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Sun directly overhead Kokkuvil, Nallur, Kodikamam and Nagar Kovil at about 12.11 noon today (28)

Published

1 hour ago

2026/08/28

Priyan

The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka during 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.

The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (28) are Kokkuvil, Nallur, Kodikamam and Nagar Kovil about 12.11 noon.

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More than 360 dead, 1,400 missing in Nepal and Tibet after Himalayan floods

Published

11 hours ago

2026/08/27

Priyan

A drone view shows mud covering buildings and property following devastating floods at Trishuli in Nuwakot district, Nepal, on August 27, 2026 [Aljazeera]

Some 360 bodies have been recovered and more than 1,400 people are missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet region after a huge collapse of mud and rock into a Himalayan river triggered catastrophic flooding across local towns and valleys, authorities have said.

Rescue teams waded through mud on Thursday searching for the missing, as authorities in Nepal said at least 359 people have been killed there.

At least three people have died in the neighbouring Tibet region.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived at the mudslide site in Tibet on Thursday afternoon to “guide emergency rescue and relief work” a day after the disaster, state media reported.

Nepalese police and tourism officials said that more than 500 foreigners were among 910 people missing in Nepal.

Among the missing are tourists from more than two dozen countries: 177 are from India, 63 from the United States, 34 from Australia, 33 from the United Kingdom, and 25 from Canada.

Beijing’s foreign ministry also said nearly 100 Chinese nationals were among the missing in Nepal.

In Tibet’s Gyirong county, 558 people are reported missing, including 260 foreign nationals, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Search and rescue operations are proving to be a “massive challenge” as just simply “getting to the affected areas … to try and recover the survivors”, is proving to be extremely difficult as the roads and bridges there have suffered extensive damage, said Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez, reporting from the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

[Aljazeera]

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Unyielding Dinusha, spirited tail hold off India to save Colombo Test

Published

13 hours ago

2026/08/27

Priyan

Dinusha hit his second century of the Test to wear out India [SLC]

Sonal Dinusha put up an impressive resistance to keep the Indian bowlers at bay on the final day, helping Sri Lanka save the second Test in Colombo after they were asked to follow-on. In a seven-hour vigil, Dinusha remained unbeaten on 133 and, with handy lower order support, ensured that India didn’t bat a second time in the Test. This was the first time in nine occasions that India failed to secure a victory after enforcing a follow-on against Sri Lanka.

Needing only four wickets on the final day in order to begin the chase, the Indian bowlers had to toil hard on a surface which offered a bit of turn, but largely predictable pace and bounce. Overnight batters Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha kept the Indians all through the morning session even though the new ball was taken within the first half an hour of play.

The seventh-wicket stand stretched to 88 runs, consuming more than 40 overs, which also ensured Sri Lanka cleared the first innings deficit. The first strike of the day came soon after the lunch break when Manav Suthar got a delivery to spin in sharply and took the outside edge of Nuwantha’s bat to the second slip.

Prabath Jayasuriya continued to remain defiant, resisting for 28 balls before his attempted drive off Ravindra Jadeja took the outside edge to Dhruv Jurel at second slip. Even as the lead swelled past the 150-run mark with only two wickets remaining and nearly a session and a half to play, the Indians had enough incentive to go for the kill.

However, Lahiru Kumara provided much-needed support to Dinusha as the duo put an end to India’s hopes. The southpaw used the sweep to good effect to counter the turn. The duo chewed up 169 deliveries for 47 runs in a period of attritional batting, during which Dinusha brought up his century. Kumara did provide India a chance when he attempted a slog sweep which fell in front of Jurel at deep mid wicket soon after Dinusha reached his century. But that was a rare opportunity.

Kumara eventually departed on 12 when an inside edge was pouched at short leg by Yashasvi Jaiswal. Nonetheless, which the number of overs reducing, Dinusha took Sri Lanka till the end of day without any further trouble and helped avoid a whitewash.

Brief scores:
India 503/9 decl (Devdutt Padikkal 117, Dhruv Jurel 115; Asitha Fernando 4-106, Prabath Jayasuriya 2-132) drew with Sri Lanka 290 (Sonal Dinusha 103, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 80; Prasidh Krishna 3-52, Manav Suthar 3-85) and 429/9 f/o (Sonal Dinusha 133*, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 92; Ravindra Jadeja 3-94, Manav Suthar 3-121)

[Cricbuzz]