Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) suffered another batting malfunction, this time on a slow, black-soil surface at home, crashing to their fourth successive defeat in IPL 2025.  Having lost Travishek in the powerplay, SRH waited until the 13th over to see the first six of the innings, and managed only one more after that Mohammad Siraj caused irreparable damage right from the start, ending with his career-best IPL figures of 4 for 17.

Pat Cummins’ cameo (22* off nine balls) and then his dismissal of Jos Buttler for a duck in Gujarat Titans’ (GT) chase of 153 gave SRH some hope, but that faded away once  Washington Sundar clattered 23 off nine balls in the powerplay. Earlier in the day, GT didn’t need Washington with the ball, but his attacking enterprise at No. 4 settled their chase on a slow pitch. Washington fell agonisingly short of a maiden IPL half-century, but his captain Shubman Gill ushered GT home, with an unbeaten 61 off 43 balls, along with Sherfane Rutherford.

Siraj had sparked the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to life when he gave Travis Head a send-off in Adelaide last December. Four months on, Siraj was bowling to Head for the first time in T20s, and the battle lasted just five balls. After Head scored two fours off Siraj, the fast bowler struck with his trademark wobble-seam delivery, having him chip a catch to midwicket for 8.

Abhishek Sharma hit four fours before Siraj had him miscuing a catch to mid-on in his third over of the powerplay. It was Siraj’s 100th wicket in the IPL and sixth in the powerplay, the most by a bowler in that phase so far this season, with an economy rate of 6.27.

Siraj then returned in the death to york both Aniket Verma, the last recognised batter for SRH, and Simarjeet Singh, their Impact Player.

With both Head and Abhishek gone early,Rashid Khan, who was coming into this game on the back of figures of 4-0-54-0, could afford to ease himself in. He started fairly well by giving away just 10 runs in his first two overs, but when he erred in length, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klassen dispatched him to the fence. Rashid finished with 4-0-31-0, going wicketless for a third successive game, and with tournament figures of 1 for 143 in 14 overs at an economy rate of 10.21

Left-arm fingerspinner Ravisrinivasan  Sai Kishore,  on the other hand, showed remarkable control over his length and variations. He claimed the big wicket of Klaasen by knocking him over with a quick dart, which skidded off the pitch, for 27 off 19 balls. Sai Kishore also had Reddy holing out for 31 off 34 balls and finished with 4-0-24-2.

In a diplomatic innings off the field, former Sri Lanka captain and 1996 World Cup hero Sanath Jayasuriya has made a heartfelt pitch to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging his support to build an international cricket ground in Jaffna – a region teeming with raw, untapped talent.

The iconic Sri Lankan side that pulled off a fairy-tale triumph in the 1996 Cricket World Cup – scalping heavyweights like India in the semi-final and Australia in the final – was invited by the Indian High Commission in Colombo to meet the visiting Prime Minister. Modi, a self-confessed cricket aficionado, is currently on a three-day state visit to Sri Lanka.

While six members of the World Cup-winning squad were missing – either abroad on business or deep in the trenches of the Indian Premier League – the rest of the squad turned up for the high-profile meet at Colombo’s popular Taj Samudra Hotel.

“We had about 45 minutes with the Prime Minister, and it became clear early in the conversation that he’s not just a statesman but also a true cricket tragic,” said Jayasuriya, the Player of the Series in 1996 and now Head Coach of the Sri Lankan team, speaking to Telecom Asia Sport. “It gave us the perfect opportunity to thank him for India’s unwavering support during our economic collapse – when we were batting on a sticky wicket.”

The conversation then took a turn towards development and legacy.

“Sanath seized the moment and floated the idea of building an international-standard cricket ground in the north or east of the country,” said Marvan Atapattu, another former Test captain and Head Coach.

“He told the PM that the north and east are brimming with talent. But without proper infrastructure, those future stars are left playing in the rough. The PM was all ears. He nodded, said he’d take it to his team, and would get back to us.”

The meeting ended on a sentimental note. Aravinda de Silva, the architect of Sri Lanka’s historic World Cup final win, handed over a special souvenir to Prime Minister Modi – a commemorative box of medallions, each bearing the signature of the entire 1996 squad.

India and Sri Lanka, bound by geography and a shared cricketing heartbeat, have long been partners both on and off the field. Their friendship stretches back centuries, with recent years seeing a tightening of bilateral ties. Several new agreements were inked during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit.

In the cricketing realm, India has played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka’s journey. It was India that championed Sri Lanka’s Test status in 1981, and welcomed the islanders for a Test Match in Madras the following year.

Now, as both nations prepare to co-host the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, the hope is that this partnership will grow from strength to strength.

(Telecom Asia Sport)

Kandy Sports Club survived some anxious moments against a fighting CR&FC outfit before winning the Clifford Cup final with a 41 points to 33 win in the decider which was worked off at Nittawela grounds in Kandy on Sunday (yesterday).

Kandy SC played attacking rugby in both halves of the game and scored five tries, five conversions and a penalty, but CR were hot on the heels of the Kandy side and responded with five tries and four conversions. Kandy led 17-14 at half time.

The game began with a bang with Kandy SC scoring early in the game with a try by Diluksha Dange and a penalty and conversion by Nigel Ratwatte. But that lead for Kandy was short lived because CR’s Chamod Muthunayake sliced through the Kandy defence with a jinxing run and ended up under the posts. Murshid Doray’s conversion coming right gave indications that it would be a long day for Kandy.

CR pressed with their forwards and earned a try through Omalka Guneratne. But Kandy were in no surrendering mood and snatched the lead back with a peach of a try by Ratwatte, who retired from rugby on Sunday after playing his final game.

Kandy kept rolling with their forwards and earned their third try after half time when Kenula Hettiarachchi went over off a forwards rush. Ratwatte’s conversion put the winners ahead by ten points with the scores reading Kandy 24 as against CR’s14.

CR hit back strongly at this stage of the game and produced two vital tries through Omalka Guneratne and Murshid Doray and saw that their team was only trailing Kandy by a point. It was at this stage that the game got a bit out of hand in the middle, but referee Gihan Yatawara steadied proceedings by offering two yellow cards to CR and one to Kandy. The referee was clearly heard barking out orders to both sides to maintain discipline.

Kandy’s replacement player Dilshad Fareed smashed his way to a try with the game eight minutes away from full time. Zumry made a classis touchline conversion. But CR made one last gasp attempt to wrestle control of the game with a try by Manika Ruberu. Doray added the extra points and gave some hope for CR who were now just point behind Kandy. But when it seemed like everyone was struggling to produce the next try, scrum half Heshan Jansen ran through the CR defence to score close to the posts and seal the game for Kandy.

By A Special Sports Correspondent