Sports
Wellalage has India in trouble with career best figures
by Rex Clementine
There’s been so much said about Dunith Wellalage being the future of Sri Lankan cricket ever since he was chosen as the Under-19 captain for the ICC Youth World Cup. He’s not disappointed his backers and put up a splendid show yesterday humbling India’s famous batting line-up finishing with career best figures of five for 40 including the big wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. An IPL deal is around the corner for the boy from Moratuwa, who at the age of 20 has a good head on his shoulders.
India fresh from hammering arch-rivals Pakistan had got off to a good start having reached 80 for no loss in 11 overs and then the introduction of Wellalage in the 12th over put the breaks on the innings.
The Moratuwaite started off by cleaning up Shubman Gill and then in his next two overs claimed the two big wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Kohli had posted four hundreds in a row at RPS and was looking forward for another grand show but he clipped one to mid-wicket where Dasun Shanaka accepted the chance gleefully.
Wellalage then cleaned up Rohit Sharma as India slumped to 90 for three after being 80 for no loss.
India staged a brief recovery through K.L. Rahul and Ishan Kishan as the pair added 63 runs for the fourth wicket before Wellalage struck again coming in for his second spell as he took a return catch to dismiss Rahul.
Soon, Sri Lanka removed the other set batsman as well, once again Wellalge amidst thick of things pulling off a sensational catch to see the back of Kishan to give Charith Asalanka his first wicket.
After one former Under-19 captain had done the damage dismissing the top order cheaply, another former Under-19 skipper Asalanka ran through the lower middle order and tail claiming four wickets, his career best figures.
It was the 14th successive occasion Sri Lanka had bowled a side out and the fact that this was achieved by the team’s second string bowling unit speaks volumes.
The track at RPS proved to be challenging with run making not so easy and Sri Lanak will have a tough ask ahead of them especially with India playing the additional spinner in Axar Patel.
With already a win under their belt against Pakistan, victory over India will put Sri Lanka in the finals.
The BCB has said that they will rely on the Bangladesh government’s directive before finalising their tour to Pakistan later this month. Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play five T20Is there from May 25 to June 3, but the PSLs schedule was revised following cross-border tensions between Pakistan and India.
According to the revised fixtures, the PSL final will now be held on May 25, when Pakistan and Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play the first T20I.
ESPNcricinfo has learned that the PCB has sent a new schedule for the T20Is between Pakistan and Bangladesh, with the first match now slotted for May 27, and the last on June 5.
BCB’s media committee chairman Iftekhar Rahman said they will rely on information from government security agencies and the Bangladesh high commission in Islamabad to take the final decision.
“Once we receive official communication about the dates and venues [of the tour], we will forward it to the government,” Rahman said. “The BCB is not the decision-maker in this matter. If the government agencies and our embassy declare Pakistan safe for travel, only then will we proceed.
“In our previous meeting, we agreed that any such situation would be referred to the foreign and home ministries. Once we get clearance from all relevant bodies, we will finalise the tour. Security concerns were more significant in the past, but Pakistan has proven it can ensure safety. Still, given the current circumstances, we need to assess whether the situation across the country is stable before sending the team.”
Before playing Pakistan, Bangladesh are scheduled to play two T20Is against UAE in Sharjah on May 17 and 19. They were then supposed to fly to Lahore on May 21.
[Cricinfo]
Apna Perera won his third title of the 110th Colombo Championships as he partnered Dhilvan Herath to beat Dumindu Dilum and Chehan Fernando in the open men’s doubles final.
Apna and Dhilvan registered 6-2, 6-2 win in the final.
Apna, the open men’s singles champion, was also the winner of the mixed doubles which was played according to round robin method. In the mixed doubles Apna partnered Inuki Jayaweera.
Results
Men’s doubles semi-finals
Apna Perera and Dhilvan Herath beat Ashen Silva and Lithum Jayabandu 6-1, 6-2
Dumindu Dilum and Chehan Fernando beat Methika Wickramasinghe and Vichinthya Nilaweera 6-3, 2-6, 10-4.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) recently carried out a Fast Bowling Talent Search program in the Polonnaruwa District as part of its ongoing efforts to identify and nurture emerging cricketing talent across the country.
The program, held at the Royal College Ground, Polonnaruwa, attracted over 60 promising young players—both boys and girls—including school cricketers of the district. Each participant underwent skill assessments to evaluate their fast bowling potential.
Following the evaluations, 20 talented bowlers were selected for further development.
The selected players will now receive structured training under the guidance of Provincial coaches of Sri Lanka Cricket, with a focus on refining their techniques and enhancing their overall performance.
Those who continue to demonstrate consistent improvement will be given the opportunity to join SLC’s district squads, thereby becoming part of the official National Pathway Program.
This initiative is a part of SLC’s ‘Cricket Gamata’, program which aims to find talent from rural areas across Sri Lanka.
The talent assessments were conducted by Lasantha Lakmin, SLC Talent Scout for the North Central and North Western Provinces; Lakshitha Herath, North Central Provincial Women’s Coach; and Saman Senanayake, North Central Provincial Fast Bowling Coach.
The event was organized by the North Central Provincial Cricket Association under the guidance of Sri Lanka Cricket. It was managed by Krishan Anandakumar, Manager of the Center of Excellence, Dambulla.
-
Features4 days agoSAITM Graduates Overcome Adversity, Excel Despite Challenges
-
Business7 days agoJohn Keells Properties and MullenLowe unveil “Minutes Away”
-
News4 days agoDestined to be pope:Brother says Leo XIV always wanted to be a priest
-
Sports4 days agoASBC Asian U22 and Youth Boxing Championships from Monday
-
Foreign News5 days agoMexico sues Google over ‘Gulf of America’ name change
-
Opinion7 days agoRatmalana: An international airport without modern navigational and landing aids
-
Opinion4 days agoDrs. Navaratnam’s consultation fee three rupees NOT Rs. 300
-
Features3 days agoChampioning Geckos, Conservation, and Cross-Disciplinary Research in Sri Lanka