Sports
Sri Lanka square series with hard fought 26 run win
Rex Clementine at Pallekele
Seamer Chamika Karunaratne claimed career best figures of three for 47 as Sri Lanka squared the five match ODI series against Australia with a 26 run win on Thursday in Kandy.
Chasing a revised target of 216 in 44 overs, Australia were bowled out for 189 with more than five overs remaining in the innings.
Karunaratne was the hero for Sri Lanka as he tested the Australian batsmen with clever change of pace. He was well backed up by Dushmantha Chameera, who finished with two for 19.
It was a tremendous effort by the Sri Lankan side without their key bowler leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga who was ruled out from the game with a groin injury. Youngster Dunith Wellalage and part-time spinner Dhananjaya de Silva were handy with their spin claiming two wickets apiece.
The turning point of the game was when Karunaratne dismissed Glenn Maxwell. The middle order batsman was playing spin so well and had raced to 30 off 25 balls in five fours. Then, Chamika Karunaratne tested Maxwell with a short ball which the batsman tried to pull but didn’t get the execution right and was caught at point.
Karunaratne’s brilliance saw wicketkeeper Alex Carey run out in the same over and Australia were down to the tail and there was not much of resistance as Chameera cleaned up the lower order.
Australia have been forced to scrape the barrel given the number of injuries to their bowlers. The tourists were forced to airlift Travis Head and Matthew Kuhnemann from Hambantota (225 kilometers from Kandy) where Australia ‘A’ were playing an unofficial Test match against Sri Lanka ‘A’. Marcus Stonis (side), Kane Richardson (hamstring) and Sean Abbott (finger) have returned home from the tour due to injuries while Mitchell Starc (finger), Mitchell Marsh (calf) and Ashton Agar (side) are remaining on tour while nursing injuries hoping to be fit for the tail end of the series.
Virtually playing with a second string attack, Test captain Pat Cummins rose to the occasion with a four wicket haul to restrict Sri Lanka to 220 for nine in 47.4 overs.
Cummins had dismissed Danushka Gunathilaka for 18 and then when Kusal Mendis (36) and Dhananjaya de Silva (34) had added 61 runs for the third wicket, he came back to break the partnership by dismissing de Silva. In his third spell, he dismissed Jeffrey Vandersay and Dunith Wellalage in successive overs. Cummins’ extra pace and bounce tested the Sri Lankans who never had any momentum in their innings with none of the batsmen able to post a half-century.
Sri Lanka’s innings was halted on 220 for nine with 14 deliveries remaining as rain came down. Australia were set a revised target of 216 in 43 overs.
Canada captain Dilpreet Bajwa won the toss and asked South Africa to bat in their World Cup opener in Ahmedabad.
South Africa have opted for a pace-heavy attack. Keshav Maharaj slots in as their only spinner, alongside the speedy quartet of Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. Tristan Stubbs also begins the tournament at the No. 6 spot – a position Jason Smith had occupied in their last T20I, while Stubbs had slid down to No. 7. Smith is in the World Cup squad but did not find a spot in South Africa’s starting eleven.
South Africa’s pace is expected to get the most out of a characteristically flat Ahmedabad black-soil pitch. But first, their batters will have a hit in a game they begin as overwhelming favourites against Canada, who are their second World Cup.
Canada’s new captain, Bajwa, will lead the side at a global tournament for the first time. He also slots in at the top of the order, alongside Yuvraj Samra, and their batting power will be key to their hopes of causing a massive upset.
Canada have lost both their warm-up games – to Italy and Nepal – but should their batters come off on a friendly pitch, South Africa will look to have the added insurance of a few more runs in the bank before dew takes over when Canada begin their chase at night.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
Canada: Dilpreet Bajwa (capt), Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva, Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel
(Cricinfo)
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza decided to field first against Oman in the men’s T20 World Cup match at the SSC in Colombo. Both teams were pleased to arrive in Sri Lanka early to get themselves attuned to the conditions.
Zimbabwe have Blessing Muzarabani back in the squad after he missed the tri-series in Pakistan in November.
Oman, meanwhile, include 44-year-old Aaamir Kaleem the oldest player in the tournament – after he came into the side in place of Hasnain Shah, who was injured after the squad was named.
Zimbabwe return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition in West Indies and the United States of America. They had made it to the Super 12s of the 2022 T20 World Cup but failed to progress through the qualifiers for the 2024 tournament. They completed qualification alongside Namibia; Brian Bennett was the tournament’s top run-scorer, while Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were among the leading wicket-takers.
Zimbabwe are bolstered by the return of Graeme Cremer, whose November 2025 comeback marked the longest gap between T20I appearances.
Oman are one of three qualifiers from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Nepal and the UAE. They have previously appeared in the 2016, 2021, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.
Oman: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmad
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Scotland may have suffered a blip the last time they faced Italy in a T20I but ensured they picked up the first points of their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign after a dominant performance at Eden Gardens. George Munsey’s 54-ball 84, supported by cameos from Brandon McMullen and Michael Leask, followed by Leask’s four-wicket haul helped Scotland spoil Italy’s debut in the tournament. The 73-run win gave Scotland two points after their defeat to West Indies in Kolkata two days ago.
Brief scores:
Scotland 207 for 4 in 20 overs (George Munsey 84, Michael Jones 37, Brandon McMullen 41, Richie Berrington 15, Michael Leask 22*; Ali Hasan 1-21, Grant Stewart 1-44, Thomas Draca 1-37, JJ Smuts 1-38) beat Italy 134 in 16.4 overs (Anthony Mosca 13, JJ Smutts 22, Harry Manenti 52; Michael Leask 4-17, Brad Currie 1-12, Brad Wheal 1-29, Mark Watt 2-24, Oliver Davidson 1-33 ) by 73 runs
(Cricinfo)
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