Sports

Sri Lanka’s Galle fight back not good enough

Published

5 years ago

2021/01/18

Rex Clementine in Galle Fort

Sri Lanka came up with a much better performance in their second innings of the opening Test against England but that effort may not be good enough to test the tourists who require 36 more runs to go 1-0 up in the two match series.

Sri Lanka had conceded too much of advantage on day one after they were bowled out for 135 on a good batting wicket and England made them pay by piling up 421. Having conceded a lead of 286 runs, the hosts batted for more than four sessions to wipe off the deficit and then take a lead of 73 runs.

Sri Lanka showed lot of energy on the final session’s play and England lost three quick wickets for just 14 runs in pursuit of a 74 run target. Jonny Bairstow and Dan Lawrence then steadied the ship to help their team reach 38 for three.

Lahiru Thirimanne probably playing to save his place came up with a valiant effort posting his second Test hundred. But he should have done much more to take the game beyond England, who struck with the second new ball.

Dinesh Chandimal was dismissed soon after lunch for 20 leaving Angelo Mathews with too much to do.

The extended afternoon session – between lunch and tea – produced just 60 runs in 29 overs for the fall of three wickets. With England’s bowlers tiring that was the phase that Sri Lanka should have looked for runs but their over cautious approach backfired. The caution was very much needed in the first innings when the bowlers were fresh. In contrast, Sri Lanka were going in reverse.

Dilruwan Perera and Angelo Mathews kept Sri Lanka interested with a ninth wicket stand that was worth 38 runs. Perera who hit five fours for his 24 was stumped by Buttler, a dismissal that raised a few eyebrows.

With more than 15 overs left for the day, England finishing off the game with a day to spare was a possibility. But Lasith Embuldeniya ensured that it went for a fifth day. He bowled Dom Sibley with an arm ball. It was clever bowling by the left-arm spinner taking a few away from the right-hander and then slowly sneaking one that held its line.

Zak Crawley was well caught at gully by Kusal Mendis to give Embuldeniya his second wicket.

Joe Root was then run out by a direct hit from Niroshan Dickwella, who did well to sprint to covers and throw the stumps down.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka 135 and 359

(Kusal Perera 62, Lahiru Thirimanne 111, Angelo Mathews 71, Dinesh Chandimal 20, Niroshan Dickwella 29, Dilruwan Perera 24; Sam Curran 2/37, Dom Bess 3/100, Jack Leach 5/122)

England 421 and 38 for 3

(Lasith Embuldeniya 2/13)

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Decisions and judgments of the Supreme Court are a reflection of justice in the country – PM

Published

1 hour ago

2026/02/7

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the decisions and judgments delivered within the Supreme Court complex serve as a mirror that clearly reflects the justice, democracy, and the rule of law in Sri Lanka.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while participating in the ceremony to handover the refurbished Supreme Court complex for judicial proceedings, following its modernization with assistance from the Government of China.

The renovation project was carried out in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, the Ministry of Justice of Sri Lanka, and the China International Development Cooperation Agency.

While preserving the original appearance and structural integrity of the Supreme Court building, the complex has been upgraded with modern technology. The renovations include seven new court court rooms equipped with single-judge, three-judge, five-judge, and seven-judge benches; 20 new official chambers for judges; staff facilities; elevators; a modern library; a case records room; an auditorium; and a control room with an automated camera system covering all areas of the complex.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister noted,

“The complex, originally constructed in 1988 with the support of the Government of China, has now been modernized in line with contemporary needs after more than three decades, marking a significant step forward.

The investment in judicial infrastructure is, in essence, an investment in public trust. A secure and efficient environment strengthens the independence and dignity of the judiciary”.

The Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the continuous support extended to Sri Lanka by the Government of China, including President Xi Jinping and expressed that these modern facilities would serve as a strong foundation in fulfilling the public’s expectation that justice will be delivered equally to all.

The event was attended by Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara, Chief Justice Padman Surasena, Ambassador of China to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong, Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe, as well as several judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

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Pakistan ask Netherlands to bat in T20 World Cup opener

Published

4 hours ago

2026/02/7

Priyan

Pakistan have won the toss and opted to bowl first against Netherlands in the T20 World Cup 2026 opener at SSC in Colombo. The rain has stayed away so far, and in searingly hot conditions, Salman Agha chose to insert Netherlands in what he described as unusual conditions for Sri Lanka.

“It looks like a fresh pitch and there’s been rain for a few days, so if there’s any moisture we want to use that,” Agha said at the toss. “It’s the first time I’ve seen that much grass in Sri Lanka.”

Pakistan have gone in with three seam bowlers given the extra assistance for seam, with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza and Faheem Ashraf in the starting XI.

Netherlands captain Scott Edwards called it “a very good batting wicket”. He admitted he would have looked to bowl first too, but “we’re happy to be batting here”. “We’ve been in India and SL for a month and a half, used to the conditions,” he said. “Plenty of allrounders and options for bowling and batting.”

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf , Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza,, Abrar Ahmed

Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Zach Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van Der Merwe, Kyle Klein, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren

[Cricinfo]

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Sooryavanshi 175 makes India six-time Under-19 world champions

Published

18 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi celebrates his century (Cricinfo)

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gave the latest demonstration of his prodigious talent with a record breaking innings in Harare as India completed a dominant run at the Under-19 World Cup, swatting aside England’s challenge, to lift the trophy for the sixth time.

Sooryavanshi, the 14-year-old opener, showcased his full range of scoring in an audacious knock of 175 off just 80 balls to almost single-handedly extinguish England’s hopes after India had opted to bat. When he was third out, India were 251 for 3 in the 26th over and hypothetically on track to score 500. No one could keep up with Sooryavanshi’s rate, but cameos down the order from Abhigyan Kundu and Kanishk Chouhan did take India past 400 for the first time in a Youth ODI between Full Member nations.

For England, Caleb Falconer struck a scintillating 63-ball hundred in response, but there was too much left to do and he was last out as India regained the Under-19 title, having lost the final to Australia two years ago.

Although England struck early, Aaron George caught at point off Alex Green, the game quickly ran away from them. Sooryavanshi put on 142 in 15 overs alongside India’s captain, Ayush Mhatre, and then 78 out of 89 for the third wicket alongside Vedant Trivedi as the innings went into overdrive.

Having cruised to fifty from 32 balls, he took just 23 more to bring up his first century of the tournament, then another 16 to progress past 150. Sixes rained down around the ground, as England’s spinners, Farhan Ahmed and Ralphie Albert, were treated with disdain – although arguably no shot was more outrageous than the forehand smash off a Green bouncer than somehow went straight back over the bowler’s head into the sightscreen.

He fell completely against the run of play, gloving behind when aiming a slog-sweep at Manny Lumsden, and India’s innings stuttered – at least relative to what had gone before. James Minto bagged three-for as England strove to keep the score below 400, a mark that was breached in the final over.

Mayes struck seven fours and two sixes but fell the ball after retaking top spot from Sooryavanshi on the tournament run-scorers’ list. Thomas Rew, England’s captain, blazed out of the blocks with 31 off 18 and Dawkins notched a 49-ball fifty – but the latter’s dismissal sparked a collapse of 4 for 3 in nine balls as India’s grip tightened.

England were well up with the rate, despite wickets falling, and were given hope by a stand of 92 between Falconer and James Minto. Falconer found the boundary regularly on the way to his maiden hundred, but the requirement had ballooned above 10 an over and England were still 100 runs short when he was finally dismissed.

Brief scores:

India Under 19s 411 for 9 in 50 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 175, Ayush Mhatre 53, Abhigyan Kundu 40; Sebastian Morgan 2-74, Alex Green 2-49, Ja,es Minto 3-63) beat England Under 19s 311 in 40.2 overs (Caleb Falconer 115, Ben Dawkins 65, Ben Mayes 45; RS Ambrish 3-56, Deepesh Devendran 2-64, Khan8shk Chouhan 2-63) by 100 runs

(Cricinfo)