Sports
Trinity defend title in nerve tingling final
by Reemus Fernando
A crucial half century by Supun Waduge and a valuable eighth wicket stand between Jayavi Liyanagama and Tharana Wimaladharma helped Trinity pull off two wickets win over St. Joseph’s in a nerve-tingling final of the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ Limited Overs Cricket tournament at Thurstan ground yesterday.
Chasing 136 runs to win Trinity lost four wickets for 43 runs but Waduge manage to repair the damage with a half century which held the middle order together. The Joes came back fighting later with Yenula Dewthusa and Nushan Perera taking quick wickets to swing the pendulum back. Dewthusa took back to back wickets in the 33rd over to leave Trinity struggling at 111 for seven wickets. But Liyanagama held his nerve to seal the victory with ten overs to spare.
For the second consecutive match Waduge provided the cornerstone for Trinity to build their innings. He scored a century in the semi-final against Royal before coming up with the match defining knock yesterday.
He scored six fours and a six in his knock of 60 runs which came in 84 balls. While skipper Manula Kularatne added vital 14 runs, Liyanagama remained unbeaten on 16.
Deciding to bowl first Trinity broke the backbone of Joes’ batting line up within the first 20 overs. Malith Rathnayake took two wickets including the crucial wicket of Hirun Kapurubandara. Kapurubandara was in red hot form during the tournament but could post only 20 runs on Tuesday before he was trapped lbw.
Tharana Wimaladharma was the pick of the bowlers for Trinity. He took three wickets for 22 runs in his nine overs, while Dinuka Tennakoon grabbed two wickets.
The Joes were six wickets down for 73 runs at one stage but a seventh wicket stand of 44 runs between Manasa Madubhashana and skipper Lahiru Amarasekara ensured they had a three figure score to defend. Madubhashana was their top scorer. He remained unbeaten on 37 runs.
A 36 ball 63 by Sahan Arachchige and three wickets each by Eshan Malinga [3-13] and Tharindu Rathnayake [3-19] helped Galle Gallants defeat Jaffna Kings by 60 runs in the 10th match of the Lanka Premier League 2026. Galle Gallants lead the points table with three wins from four outings.
Scores:
Galle Gallants 193/8 in 20 overs [Chris Lynn 46, Sahan Arachchige 63, Dasun Shanaka 12, Dinura Kalupahana 10, Mohammad Nawaz 27; Mohamed Shiraz 1-23, Dunith Wellalage 1-13, Shakib Al Hasan 1-27, Dilshan Madushanaka 2-35, Lizaad Williams 2-37]
Jaffna Kings 133 in 17.5 overs [Kamil Mishara 15, Ibrahim Zadran 11, David Weise 22, Dunith Wellalage 56; Dasun Shanaka 1-21, Tharindu Rathnayake 3-19, Akif Javed 1-22, Eshan Malinga 3-13, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 1-32]
Half centuries by Rubin Hermann and Janith Liyanage and a three wicket haul by Mujeeb Ur Rahman helped Colombo Kaps defeat Kandy Royals by 24 runs in the 9th match of the Lanka Premier League 2026 played at Dambulla on Thursday [23rd July]’
Scores:
Colombo Kaps 192/9 in 20 overs [Rubin Hermann 53, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 14, Janith Liyanage 52*, James Neesham 24, Binura Fernando 21; Vijay Shankar 1-0, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-34, Nuwan Thushara 1-31, Moeen Ali 2-31, Dushan Hemantha 2-20]
Kandy Royals 169/8 in 20 overs [Kusal Perera 19, Dale Phillips 38, Vijay Shankar 30, Angelo Mathews 39*, Dushan Hemantha 11*; Shahnawaz Dahani 1-35, Wanuja Sahan 1-24, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3-34, Malsha Tharupathi 1-29, James Neesham 1-07]
Hosts Sri Lanka made a winning start to their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV campaign, edging out Qatar 2-1 in a closely contested opening-day tie at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts in Colombo on Wednesday.
The visitors struck first when Mubarak Alharrasi defeated Sri Lanka’s Apna Perera 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a hard-fought opening singles encounter, giving Qatar an early 1-0 lead.
Sri Lanka bounced back in the second singles as Thehan Wijemanne produced a spirited comeback to overcome Mossa Alharrasi 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. After dropping the opening set, Wijemanne showed great composure to win the next two sets and level the tie at 1-1.
The decisive doubles match proved to be a tense affair, with Apna Perera returning to partner Saha Kapilasena. The Sri Lankan duo held their nerve in two tie-breaks to defeat Jabar Al Mutawan and Mossa Alharrasi 7-6, 7-6, sealing the tie 2-1 for the hosts.
Sri Lanka’s ability to recover from the opening singles defeat highlighted the team’s resilience as Wijemanne’s comeback victory and the doubles pair’s clutch performance ensured a successful start to their campaign. The hosts will now look to build on the opening-day victory as they continue their quest for promotion in the Asia/Oceania Group IV competition.
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