Prema Pinnawala, one of Sri Lanka’s most experienced and influential sports administrators, passed away after a brief illness on Tuesday. He was 88 at the time of his passing.

‎Pinnawala, who dedicated more than six decades to sports administration, played a pivotal role in shaping athletics and Olympic sports governance in Sri Lanka. His contribution to sport extended across national and international platforms, making him a respected figure within the athletics fraternity.

‎He first rose to prominence as a sportsman during his school days at Christian Mission College in the 1950s. His journey into sports administration began in 1963 when he was appointed Chairman of the Sports Council at the University of Peradeniya, marking the start of a career that would span several decades.

‎Joining the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation in the late 1960s, Pinnawala also became actively involved with the National Service Sports Association, where he held a number of positions over the years.

‎His association with athletics administration commenced in the late 1960s when he joined the committee of Sri Lanka Athletics. In 1978, he was elevated to the position of Vice President of the association, before taking on a more prominent national role in 1983 as Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka.

‎Pinnawala held the position for 15 years until 1998, becoming one of the key architects of Sri Lanka’s Olympic and sports administration during a transformative period. Following his tenure at the National Olympic Committee, he returned to Sri Lanka Athletics and assumed duties as General Secretary in 1998. He held the post thrice (1998-2010, 2013-2014 and 2017-2023) between 1998 and until his retirement in 2023.

‎Although his prolonged presence in sports administration, attracted criticism from certain quarters, Pinnawala remained steadfast, often maintaining that his continued involvement served the greater interests of sport. Undeterred by opposition, he continued to contribute extensively to the functioning of athletics.

‎Over the decades, he developed a reputation as an effective mediator and coordinator between local and international sporting bodies. His expertise and diplomatic approach saw his services sought by influential government officials, including heads of state, particularly in matters involving sports administration and international relations.

‎Internationally, Pinnawala earned considerable recognition within the athletics community. In 2025, his exceptional and long-standing service to athletics was acknowledged by World Athletics, which honoured him with the World Athletics Veteran Pin.

‎His contributions beyond Sri Lanka included serving as Secretary of the South Asian Sports Council, Secretary of the Media Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia, and as a Council Member of the Asian Athletics Association.

‎Apart from sports administration, Pinnawala also established himself as a prominent corporate leader, serving for many years as General Manager of the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation.

‎He is survived by his wife, Jayani Pinnawala, a senior administrative officer and former Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and their two daughters.

(RF)

Kagiso Rabada and Mohommed Siraj could have been wearing their Test whites. By the end of the powerplay, they had bowled three overs each, and Sunrisers Hyderabad were reduced to 34 for 4. Somehow, they had outdone the Gujarat Titans batting line-up from the first innings – they had been reduced to 34 for 2 themselves. Wickets in hand allowed B Sai Sudarsan (61 off 44) and Washington Sundar (50 off 33) to mount a comeback for GT. On the other hand, SRH let a tricky chase of 168 slip from their grasp, folding for 86 in 14.5 overs.

At the toss, GT captain Shubman Gill said that the pitch in Ahmedabad looked like “a better wicket than we have had in the past couple of matches.” He was dismissed in the third over, off a rare mistimed swipe across the line. He had misjudged a pitch that turned out to be one of this IPL’s most treacherous ones: deliveries stuck in the surface, the new ball jagged both ways, and scoring options were hard to find square of the wicket.

An endless battery of tall GT fast bowlers – rounded out by Jason Holder and Impact Player Prasidh Krishna in the middle overs – kept striking in the chase. At the end of it, GT rose to the top of the table with 16 points.

Pat Cummins unlocked the secret to bowling on this surface early: he pushed it in on a hard length, and kept swinging the new ball away from both Sudharsan and Gill. But the first two wickets for SRH came from elsewhere. Praful Hinge found himself back in the SRH side, in place of Harsh Dubey to give them an extra pace option.

Hinge mimicked the Cummins line-and-length early on, and tempted Gill into a misjudged on-drive. In the final over of the powerplay, Jos Buttler realised he could not go big in the ‘V’, so he tried to scoop Hinge behind the wicket instead. All he managed was an edge to the keeper.

Hinge’s twin strikes consigned GT to 34 for 2, their lowest powerplay score this season.

If ever there was a pitch suited to Sudharsan’s brand of T20 batting, it was this. He kept pouncing on the deliveries that erroneously landed in the slot, and pushed the others around to turn over the strike. Nishant Sindhu, who made 22 off 14, kept him company at the other end through the middle overs. Sindhu stayed deep in his crease and played drives and cuts, both batters biding their time.

Sensing a breakthrough, Cummins brought himself back into the attack in the 10th over to bowl his third. He rifled in a delivery outside off, full but rearing off the pitch at Sindhu. He could only mistime a lofted drive to long-off.

Cummins ended with figures of 1 for 20 in the 16th. Just an over later, Sai Sudharsan – who had brought up his sixth half-century of the season – opted for another scoop off Sakib Hussain. The full delivery took off the bottom of his bat, and Hinge gobbled it up at short third.