Sports
St. Sebastian’s Katuneriya, Holy Cross earn Division I promotion
UNDER 19 CRICKET
By Reemus Fernando
St. Sebastian’s College, Katuneriya with a sensational last-ball victory and Holy Cross College, Kalutara with a marathon first innings performance earned their much-awaited Division I promotion as they outdid their opponents in the Under 19 Division II Tier ‘A’ semi-finals worked off at Surrey Village Ground, Maggona and Kirimandala Mawatha, Colombo respectively.
At Surrey Village, Sri Sumangala dominated the first innings and a better part of the second but St. Sebastian’s fought back through their seventh wicket pair to record three wickets victory. Chasing a target of 172 runs to win, the boys from Katuneriya were troubled by spinner Mevindu Kumarasiri who took six wickets. But after being 135 for seven wickets at one stage, the seventh wicket pair of Gayan Harshana (26n.o.) and Vihanga Theekshana fought back scoring less than run-a-ball knocks to secure their passage to Division I.
Sri Sumangala, considered the most consistent team in the Division II tournament were without their key player Vishwa Lahiru who is with Sri Lanka Under 19 team in UAE.
At Kirimandala Mawatha grounds, Holy Cross earned first innings points against Sri Devananda as their tail-enders stretched their first innings almost to the end of the second day, batting for 141 overs. In reply to Sri Devananda’s 138 runs, Holy Cross posted 251 runs.
Holy Cross College, a former Division I school were the champions of the last Division II Tier ‘A’ Limited Overs tournament. They beat Sri Sumangala in the semi-final on their way to that title. Now they will be facing St. Sebastian’s in the Two-Day tournament final. The result of that match will have no bearing on their promotion to the top Division of the Under 19 tournament as the finalists are guaranteed the Division I promotion according to tournament rules. The top teams in the Division II Tier ‘A’ tournament were waiting for nearly three years to get their promotion as promotions and demotions were not done during the last two years due to the pandemic.
Hansaja Brian who also took four wickets, played a crucial role in anchoring the batting lineup with a marathon innings (58 runs in 231 balls) for Holy Cross to overtake their opponents in the first innings. He was ably supported by Nadeera Deshan as they added a vital sixth wicket stand of 60 runs. Later skipper Sasindu Kaushan put on a last wicket stand of 76 runs with Amash Fernando, who contributed with an unbeaten 15 runs in as many as 135 balls. Kaushan scored 78 runs facing 205 balls as the last wicket pair frustrated the boys from Ambalangoda for 48 overs.
Holy Cross College, Kalutara with their officials.
The tenth wicket pair denied an opportunity for the boys from Ambalangoda to make a comeback in the second innings as they extended their innings almost to the close of play on the final day.
Results
St. Sebastian’s beat Sri Sumangala by three wickets at Surrey Village
Scores:
Sri Sumangala
185 all out in 64.3 overs (Kishan Eranga 62, Sachira Demian 43; Chathumal Nimesh 4/45, Tharuka Manaram 5/30) and 135 all out in 48.5 overs (Kavindu Gayathra 25, Vidusha Peiris 21, Imalka Fernando 59; Chathumal Nimesh 5/59, Malindu Daham 2/29, Tharuka Manaram 3/39)
St. Sebastian’s
149 all out in 50.1 overs (Thisara Madushan 43, Ashen Dinuka 38; Mevindu Kumarasiri 3/41, Imalka Fernando 3/13) and 174 for 7 in 39 overs (Hasith Kavinda 27, Nimesh Madusanka 26, Chathumal Nimesh 35, Gayan Harshana 26n.o., Vihanga Theekshana 15n.o.; Mevindu Kumarasiri 6/66)
Holy Cross in first innings win over Sri Devananda at Kirimandala Mawatha
Scores:
Sri Devananda
138 all out in 60.4 overs (Sithum Vihanga 36, Kaveesha Kalpana 31; Pasindu Wimansa 3/38, Hansaja Brayan 4/20, Rashan Kethaka 2/17)
Holy Cross
251 all out in 141.5 overs (Gayantha Nadeesha 40, Hansaja Brian 58, Nadeera Deshan 31, Sasindu Kaushan 78, Amash Fernando 15n.o.; Kaveesha Kalpana 5/50, Ravindu Jeewanka 2/50)
Jason Holder was so omnipresent that his involvement in five dismissals enabled the Gujarat Titans (GT) to bowl Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) out for 155 in Ahmedabad. Such a middling chase was right up the alley of Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudarshan, but once GT lost both their openers in the powerplay, their soft underbelly was exposed once again. They needed cameos from Holder (12 off 10 balls) and their Impact Player RahulTewatia (27* off 17 balls) to get over the line, handing defending champions RCB their third defeat in IPL 2026.
Virat Kohli flew out of the blocks for RCB, hitting Kagiso Rabada for four successive fours in the second over after they were asked to bat first by GT. Even Rabada’s traditional hard length was pumped over mid-off. In the next over, Kohli charged at Mohammed Siraj and deposited him over mid-on for four more. However, when Kohli tried to charge at Rabada in the fourth over, the South Africa quick hit the deck harder and drew a top edge to midwicket. Rabada had the last laugh and gave the departing Kohli (28 off 13 balls) a death stare.
Siraj had earlier dismissed Jacob Bethell, who got another game in place of the injured Phil Salt, for a run-a-ball 5. Rabada and Siraj bowled right through the powerplay and kept RCB to 59 for 2.
Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Padidar forged a 44-run partnership for the third wicket before Holder caught the RCB captain at deep square leg in the eighth over. Doubts, however, emerged around the legality of the catch when slow-mo replays suggested that Holder may have grassed it more than once, including while sliding. The TV umpire, Abhijit Bhattacharya, perhaps deemed that Holder was in control of his movements and ultimately ruled Patidar out.
Some of RCB’s players and staff disagreed with the TV umpire’s decision, gesturing that Holder had grassed it. Kohli was seemingly remonstrating with reserve umpire Parashar Joshi after which RCB coach Andy Flower was also spotted having an intense chat with Joshi. Having waited near the boundary, Patidar dragged himself off the field.
Holder was involved in four other dismissals. He had Jitesh Sharma nicking off in the ninth before taking the catches of both Tim David (9) and Krunal Pandya (4) at midwicket. Holder claimed his second wicket when he had his West Indian compatriot Romario Shepherd holing out.
Despite wickets falling around him, Padikkal kept up RCB’s high intent and manufactured scoring opportunities by making swinging room. He top-scored for RCB with 40 off 24 balls before Rashid Khan had him chopping on with a slider.
At 126 for 7, RCB pressed the emergency switch and brought in Venkatesh Iyer as their Impact Player at a cost of a specialist bowler in Rasikh Dar. Venkatesh struggled for fluency and also copped a blow on his unprotected elbow. His 29-run stand for the ninth wicket with Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped drag RCB to 155 before they were dismissed with four balls unused in their innings.
Gill kickstarted GT’s chase by whacking Josh Hazlewood for three fours and two sixes in a 24-run over. Hazlewood had not conceded more runs in an IPL over ever. Gill pressed on to score 43 off 18 balls – the most he has scored in an IPL powerplay – before he slapped Bhuvneshwar to cover, where Kohli grabbed the fast-travelling ball with both hands.
Buttler then took over from Gill and attacked both Hazlewood’s pace and Suyash Sharma’s wristspin. Buttler cracked 39 off 19 balls before he exposed his leg stump, only for Bhuvneshwar to knock it out in the eighth over. Bhuvneshwar also removed Sai Sudharsan during his four consecutive overs. While Hazlewood leaked 56 runs in his four overs for no wickets, Bhuvneshwar ended up giving away only half as many while picking up those three wickets.
Shepherd had to step in as their fourth bowler after they had sacrificed a specialist bowler in Rasikh Dar for Venkatesh’s batting. He responded by taking out both Shahrukh Khan and Washington in one over, the 11th of the chase. Holder then diffused the tension that Shepherd had built up by hooking his first ball for six. When Holder fell in the 14th over, GT needed 15 off 37 balls. Tewatia and Rashid got the job done with 25 balls to spare.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 158 for 6 in 15.5 overs (Shubman Gill 43, Jos Buttler 39, Washington Sundar 12, Rahul Tewtia 27*, Jason Holder 12; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-28, Suyash Sharma 1-44, Romario Shepherd 2-30) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 155 in 19.2 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 40, Virat Kohli 28, Rajat Patidar 19, Romario Shepherd 17, Venkatesh Ayer 12, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar 15*; Mohammed Siraj 1-38, Kagiso Rabada 1-44, Arshad Khan 3-22, Rashid 2-19, Jason Holder 2-29) by four wickets
[Cricinfo]
A superb display of spin bowling led by Sri Lanka Under-19 spinner Vigneswaran Akash powered St. Joseph’s College to a first innings victory over Royal College in the Under-19 Division I Tier ‘A’ cricket final concluded at the P. Sara Oval on Thursday.
Defending a formidable first innings total of 443, the Josephians relied on their spinners to dismantle a strong Royal batting line-up, eventually bowling them out for 378 to secure the title on first innings.
The spin trio of Akash, Vishwa Peiris and Nushan Perera shared all ten wickets between them, maintaining tight control throughout Royal’s reply. Leading the charge was Akash, the Jaffna-spinner, who delivered a match-winning performance with five wickets for 136 runs in a marathon spell of 44.2 overs.
Akash’s key breakthrough came when he removed his Sri Lanka Under-19 captain Vimath Dinsara, who top-scored with a valiant 95. Dinsara, along with Ramiru Perera (90), kept Royal in contention with a strong fourth-wicket stand after early setbacks.
Royal showed resilience through several useful contributions. Rehan Peiris made 43, while Dushen Udawela added 45. However, the Josephian spinners struck at crucial intervals to halt any momentum, with Peiris claiming three wickets and Perera chipping in with two.
Earlier, St. Joseph’s built the foundation for victory with an imposing 443 in their first innings. Senuja Wakunegoda led the batting effort with a magnificent 123, supported by Rishma Amarasinghe (73), Chethina Kavinda (78), Dilpa Maduranga (56) and Nushan Perera (54). For Royal, Mahiru Kodithuwakku and Himaru Deshan claimed three wickets apiece.
Despite a spirited batting effort, Royal ultimately fell short against a disciplined and relentless spin attack, as St. Joseph’s celebrated a well-deserved championship triumph.
(RF)
Harshitha Samarawickrama blasted an unbeaten 49 off just 29 deliveries to set up Sri Lanka’s series-clinching win over Bangladesh in the second T20I at Sylhet. The visitors, riding on Samarawickrama’s flourish at the end, posted 154 and ran home comfortable victors by 21 runs.
Asked to bat, Sri Lanka put together a substantial total, built on the back of a composed top-order effort and a strong finishing kick. Sri Lanka got off to a sedate start with Hasini Perera falling cheaply to Fariha Trisna. Captain Chamari Athapaththu and Imesha Dulani then stitched a 44-run stand at a steady pace before the latter fell for a 25-ball 27.
Athapaththu shared another short stand with Samarawickrama before the captain fell for a 37-ball 42. At that stage, Sri Lanka were 93 for 3 in the 14th over and in need of a flourish to finish strongly. Samarawickrama produced just that as she struck four fours and a pair of sixes. Nilakshika Silva gave her company in a 61-run stand with a solid 22 off her own to fire the total above the par range.
In response, Bangladesh never quite managed to keep pace with the asking rate despite a rather brisk 46-run opening partnership between Dilara Akter and Juairiya Ferdous. Once both batters fell after failing to convert their respective starts, the run rate dipped and Sri Lanka’s spinners were able to squeeze the chase in the middle overs. Kavisha Dilhari finished with 2 for 15 from her four overs and that meant Bangladesh fell well short despite a battling unbeaten 44 off 47 balls from Sharmin Akhter.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Women 154/4 in 20 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 49*, Imesha Dulani 27; Nilakshika Silva 22*, Chamari Athapaththu 42; Fariha Trisna 1-23, Sultana Khatun 1-21, Nahida Akter 1-34, Ritu Moni 1-40) beat Bangladesh Women 133/5 in 20 overs (Dilara Akter 23, Juairiya Ferdous 29; Sharmin Akther 44, Shorna Akter 12; Kavisha Dilhari 2-15, Sugandika Kumari 0-14) by 21 runs.
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