Sports
Sultana fifty in vain as Renuka bowls India to comfortable win
India rode on Renuka Singh’s 3 for 18 to beat Bangladesh by 45 runs in the opening game of the five-match T20I series in Sylhet, on a humid Sunday evening. India have won 15 of 18 T20Is against Bangladesh now.
Barring the Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana, none of the batters could put up a fight in chase of 146, which at the innings break felt like a below-par total given India’s slowdown in the final phase. Sultana’s 51, the top-scorer among both teams, wasn’t enough as Bangladesh mustered only 101 for 8 in 20 overs.
They had a shaky start to the chase, losing their top three of Dilhara Akther, Murshida Khatun and Sobhana Mostary inside the powerplay, with Renuka accounting for two wickets in her three overs and Deepti Sharma one. Pooja Vastrakar removed Fahima Khatun immediately after the powerplay to leave Bangladesh reeling at 30 for 4. Sultana’s five fours and a six in her 48-ball stay dragged the hosts past 100 but she found little help at the other hand as wickets fell around her.
Renuka came back in the 16th over to remove Rabeya Khan to add one more to her tally while Vastrakar picked up two and Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav and Deepti took a wicket each.
Young legspinner Rabeya Khan’s three wickets helped Bangladesh restrict India to 145 for 7. Yastika Bhatia’s 36 and cameos from Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh pushed India to a moderate total which proved enough at the end.
After reaching 100 in 12.2 overs, India could not touch the 150-mark with several batters failing to convert starts and accelerate at the death overs as the team lost five wickets for 39 runs.
Smriti Mandhana fell early when she found a thick inside edge onto the legstump, in the third over, trying to be aggressive. Shafali started well, scoring three fours and a six in her 22-ball 31 before falling to Rabeya in the ninth over when she tried to play across the line and found the top edge.
Yastika and Harmanpreet then stabilised the innings in the middle overs, providing the foundation for a big finish. Yastika, slotted in at No.3 in place of the injured Jemimah Rodrigues, played a few neat cover drives along the ground, shuffled across and swept past the short fine leg fielder to find boundaries and looked set to take off. In her 28-ball innings, she hit six fours and stitched two crucial partnerships – firstly, 43 off 31 with Shafali for the second wicket and then 45 off 33 with Harmanpreet.
However, Bangladesh fought back with the wickets of Harmanpreet and Yastika in consecutive overs to derail India. Harmanpreet was trapped lbw for 30 off legspinner Fahima Khatun in the 14th over and Yastika found the point fielder after she mistimed a heave off Rabeya.
Debutant S Sajana was promoted to No.6 and with Ghosh at the other end, India expected some fireworks. However, that didn’t happen. Sajana’s stay was short-lived as she was dismissed for a run-a-ball 11 and Ghosh, after notching up two fours and a six, fell to Marufa Akther’s pace in the final over. Marufa converted it into a double-wicket over, removing Vastrakar off the last ball and conceding just two runs from the over.
Bangladesh put on a mixed fielding display, dropping three catches off Shafali, Mandhana and Sajana but also showed excellent effort to save a few boundaries near the rope.
Brief scores:
India Women 145 for 7 in 20 overs (Yastika Bhatia 36, Shafali Verma 31, Harampreet Kaur 30, Richa Gosh 23; Marufa Akter 2-13, Fariha Trisna 1-23, Rabeya Khan 3-23, Fahima Khatun 1-31) beat Bangladesh Women 101 for 8 in 20 overs (Nigar Sultana 51; Renuka Singh 3-18, Pooja Vastrakar 2-25, Shreyanka Patil 1-24, Deepti Sharma 1-15, Radha Yadav 1-19) by 44 runs
by Rex Clementine
India are closing in on a big win at SSC after Sri Lanka slumped to 229 for six at stumps on day four of the second Test having been forced to follow on yesterday.
Sri Lanka lead by just 16 runs with four wickets in hand and with three sessions remaining, the tourists will be looking to wrap up victory and complete a 2-0 series sweep. India won the first Test in Galle by 165 runs.
Sonal Dinusha, who batted superbly for a hundred in the first innings, was unbeaten on seven when rain brought play to a premature end. With Sri Lanka now into the tail, Dinusha has his work cut out. He has been the hosts’ standout performer in the series, having also made 100 and 84 in Galle.
Sri Lanka resumed the day on 265 for eight, still needing 39 runs to avoid the follow on, but were bowled out for 290 and asked to bat again.
Although they lost both openers early, Kamindu Mendis and Pasindu Sooriyabandara gave Sri Lanka hope with a 115 run stand for the third wicket.
Sooriyabandara, who had made 80 in the first innings, once again played spin superbly, using clever footwork, while Mendis took on the fast bowlers.
But India had plenty of runs on the board and persisted with the short ball against Mendis, stationing three fielders on the boundary. Eventually, the plan paid off. Mendis took on Mohammed Siraj and perished for 55, with captain Shubman Gill running in from square leg to complete a fine catch.
That was the breakthrough India desperately wanted and the spinners quickly turned the screws. Three wickets fell for just nine runs as Sri Lanka surrendered the initiative and India regained control.
Sooriyabandara missed out on a well deserved hundred when he charged Manav Suthar. The left-arm spinner cleverly fired the ball wide, leaving the batter stranded as Rishabh Pant whipped off the bails in a flash. Sooriyabandara’s 92 came off 173 balls and contained ten fours and a six.
Having spent considerable time in the field, India’s bowlers were beginning to tire, evident from the number of loose deliveries they sent down. But Sri Lanka’s batters lacked the patience to drive home the advantage, with several throwing away their wickets just when the hosts appeared to be clawing their way back into the contest.
Sri Lanka Air Force emerged Overall Champions in both the Men’s and Women’s categories at the 14th Defence Services Badminton Championship concluded successfully on 21 August 2026 at the Sri Lanka Army Indoor Sports Complex, Panagoda.
The SLAF Men’s Team secured the Open Men’s Doubles and Men’s Team Championships, while the Women’s Team excelled by winning the Open Women’s Singles, Open Women’s Doubles and Women’s Team Championships.
In the Open Men’s Doubles, Leading Aircraftman Lochana De Silva and Aircraftman Achintha Imeshaqe secured the championship, while Aircraftwoman Praveena Wijesundara and Aircraftwoman Anurangi Masakorala claimed the Open Women’s Doubles title with Aircraftwoman Praveena Wijesundara winning the Open Women’s Singles Championship.
Major General Mohan Premaratne, President of the Sri Lanka Army Badminton Federation, was the Chief Guest at the awards ceremony while SLAF’s Director Sports Air Commodore Prabath Dissanayake, former Chairman Badminton Sri Lanka Air Force Air Commodore Poojana Gunathilake, Secretary Air Force Sports Council Group Captain Eranda Geeganage and Secretary Badminton Sri Lanka Air Force Wing Commander Thushara Wijeratne. were also present.
Malki Madara and Shashini Fernando shared nine wickets between them to help Sri Lanka Air Force Women beat Chilaw Marians Cricket Club Women by 169 runs and propel their team to the semi finals of the Major Club Womens Limited Over cricket tournament conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket.
In the game played at their home ground in Katunayake on Monday [24], Sri Lanka Air Force posted 276 runs for the loss of eight wickets with Ashani Kaushalya topping the score card with 57 runs off 81 balls with ten hits to the ropes.Sasini Alwis and Wethumya Wijesuriya captured three wickets each.
Chasing 277 to win Shashini Fernando captured five wickets while Malki Madara captured four wickets to restrict the Chilaw Marians Cricket Club Women to 107. Skipper Sanduni Nisansala scored 38 off 61 balls with four boundaries and a six.
Sri Lankan Air Force Women will meet Panadura Sports Club Women for the semi-final at the LRDC ground on Friday (28)
Scores:
Sri Lanka Air Force Women 276/8 in 50 overs [Ashani Kawshalya 57, Malsha Shehani 32, Savindi Cooray 34*; Sasini Alwis 2-48, Wethumya Wijesuriya 2-67]
Chilaw Marians Cricket Club Women 107/10 in 43.5 overs [Sanduni Nisansala 38; Malki Madara 4-14, Shashini Fernando 5-09]
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