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Williamson, Nicholls tour de force leaves Sri Lanka gasping

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Kane Williamson hit his 6th Test double ton while Nicholls got his maiden one (pic Cricbuzz)

Kane Williamson (215) scored his sixth Test match double hundred while Henry Nicholls (200*) got his first as the pair put on a mammoth 363 run stand to leave Sri Lanka staring from the base of a mountain of runs at the Basin Reserve. After a truncated opening day to start the Wellington Test, Day 2 saw the hosts rack up 425 runs in 75 overs at a rate of 5.67 to the over before declaring their innings at 580/4 late in the final session. After chasing leather for a good portion of two days, Sri Lanka slipped further behind in the game when they lost Oshada Fernando and Kusal Mendis in the 17 overs before Stumps.

The stories of the day were undoubtedly the twin double tons, the fifth-highest partnership in New Zealand’s Test history as well as the ease and speed with which the aforementioned feats were achieved. However, there was also contrast in the backdrop to the two double centuries. Williamson arrived here having reeled off Test Ton Nos. 26 and 27 in his last two games, the more recent one coming in New Zealand’s thrilling victory in Christchurch. On the other hand, Nicholls’ last 50+ score in the New Zealand whites had come 16 innings ago.

And so it showed in a partnership between the two that Williamson dominated allowing his under-fire batter to build slowly. The Basin Reserve pitch was a willing ally to their cause, it’s greenish tinge serving mostly as deception to its mostly true nature. It had quickened up after a truncated opening day too, rendering hitting through the line an easy proposition. The signs were ominous for the visitors at the start of an extended morning session with 29 runs coming off the first five overs.

Lead fast bowlers Kasun Rajitha and Asith Fernando didn’t help Sri Lanka’s cause by bowling too short and then overcompensating for it with half-volleys that Williamson and Nicholls put away in style. The plan changed when Lahiru Kumara came into the attack. But Sri Lanka’s short-ball ploy didn’t serve them too well either. Williamson pulled Kumara for back-to-back sixes although the first of the two had come in slightly fortuitous fashion, off a top-edge. The second though was dispatched outside the stadium.

At the other end, Nicholls dealt with the 6-3 leg-side field by backing away and punching balls through the vacant spaces in the offside. With the pacers bleeding runs on either side of the wicket, captain Dimuth Karunaratne turned towards his spinners Dhananjaya de Silva and Prabath Jayasuriya for control. By now though the fielders were well spread out and singles were readily available for the taking.

Williamson completed 8000 Test runs and subsequently got to his century with his 10th four, a drive through extra cover off de Silva. He then proceeded to hit the off-spinner for two more boundaries. The closest Sri Lanka came to a wicket in the first session was right at the stroke of the Lunch break when the returning Rajitha managed to cut one back into Williamson, but the ball bounced just over the Stumps.

If the wicketless first session saw New Zealand score their 149 runs at 4.38, the second saw the pair plunder 139 runs at 5.39. In the post-Lunch period Williamson raced away from 113 to 189 almost unnoticed while Nicholls got to his drought-ending century. The left-hander offered a big chance when on 92, a second after being reprieved on 6 yesterday, when he punched a de Silva delivery tamely back to the bowler. The of-fspinner, however, couldn’t hold on and duly conceded a boundary off the very next delivery. Nicholls got to his ninth Test century soon after and kicked into overdrive thereafter.

Williamson completed his double century straight after the Tea interval and was dismissed for 215 after an attempted lofted hit off Prabath Jayasuriya found the fielder at long-on. It brought an end to a 363-run stand for the third wicket but Sri Lanka’s travails continued. Daryl Mitchell walked out and put on 49 off just 30 balls for the fourth wicket. At the other end, Nicholls passed 150 and marked his feat by swinging Rajitha over deep mid-wicket for a six. The left-hander now began to walk across his crease and club deliveries all around the ground. He hit two sixes and four fours and scored his final 50 runs off just 28 deliveries before getting to his maiden Test double with a gentle push towards square leg for a single. Tim Southee called his team in right at the end of that 123rd over.

At that point, Sri Lanka would have been happy to call time on the day’s play. But the timing of the New Zealand skipper’s declaration had them survive 17 overs before Stumps. It went about as well as one would have hoped from a team that had been run ragged. Matt Henry bowled a probing spell and had Oshada Fernando feeling for a delivery outside off stump and nick off to the wicket-keeper. Doug Bracewell then dismissed Kusal Mendis for a duck with what was a loosener that Mendis cut fiercely only to see Devon Conway complete a leaping catch at backward point. Sri Lanka ended the day 554 behind and needing a miracle to come back into this game.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka 26/2 (Doug Bracewell 1-1, Matt Henry 1-15) trail New Zealand 580/4 decl. (Kane Williamson 215, Henry Nicholls 200*; Kasun Rajitha 2-126) by 554 runs



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President envisions Sri Lanka’s return to cricket prominence

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Speaking at the 125th anniversary celebration of the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) at the Shangri-La Hotel Colombo on Thursday (28), President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his aspirations for Sri Lanka to reclaim its position as the champion of cricket, highlighting the government’s commitment to providing all necessary support to achieve this goal.

The President also emphasized the importance of maintaining a separation between politics and sports. He suggested that preventing politicians from assuming high positions in sports clubs could contribute to a healthier sporting environment.

A commemorative book documenting the 125-year history of the Sinhalese Sports Club was launched, accompanied by the release of a postage stamp and a first-day cover.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe took the opportunity to commend SSC players who had represented Sri Lanka at international cricket, expressing appreciation for their contributions.

Professor Maithree Wickramasinghe, Minister of Tourism, Lands, Sports and Youth Affairs Harin Fernando, along with notable figures such as Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket Shammi Silva, Chairman of Sinhalese Sports Club Indunil De Silva, Secretary Wasantha Wijesekera, Treasurer Nilanka Peiris and members of the executive committee of the Sinhalese Sports Club graced the occasion. The event also saw the presence of former presidents, distinguished past and present cricketers, including former captain of the England cricket team Nasser Hussain and ICC referee Ranjan Madugalle, among other esteemed guests.

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Parag, Chahal make it two in two for Rajasthan Royals

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Parag went from a run-a-ball 26 a 45-ball 84* to help RR post a competitive 185 (IPL)

In a see-saw encounter, Rajasthan Royals prevailed over a fighting Delhi Capitals after a collective bowling effort backed up Riyan Parag’s heroics with the bat. It gave Royals their second win on the trot, while Rishabh Pant’s men were condemned with another bitter pill to swallow in their second outing of IPL 2024.

The pitch at the Sawai Man Singh stadium did not offer the best chance for strokeplay early on. It required the batters spending some time on it to adjust to the slight slowness available. This allowed Delhi Capitals to exploit the conditions to their advantage. First up, Mukesh Kumar castled Yashasvi Jaiswal from round the wicket. Sanju Samson could not have an impact either as Khaleel Ahmed had him caught behind from round the wicket. Soon after, Jos Buttler was trapped LBW by Kuldeep, who was confident enough to push it through a review. At 36/3, in the 8th over the Royals innings was seemingly going nowhere.

The situation called for some nous and Rajasthan gambled with R Ashwin at No. 5. They’ve not been shy to use such a tactic before as it allowed the big-hitters to come down the innings with more license to break free. But Parag and Ashwin were smart together in stitching a neat partnership worth 54. Ashwin was not averse to sweeping Kuldeep Yadav and even managed a couple of neat pulls against Anrich Nortje. His 19-ball 29 put the innings back on course and gave Parag, who had been circumspect until then with a run-a-ball 26, a springboard to launch ahead.

As the innings drew towards a close, Parag had a great sense of how it was playing and what the bowlers were offering. He began to unleash a series of confident shots to up the ante. First Khaleel Ahmed, who had been on the mark up until then, was taken down in his final over as Parag went 6, 4, 4 as the pacer attempted wide yorkers. Mukesh Kumar erred on the fuller side and was promptly put away as Parag raced to a fifty. But the icing on the cake came in the final over of the innings bowled by Nortje.

It turned out to be a takedown for the ages as Nortje steamed in quick but was dispatched to the boundary as quickly. Parag was lucky that he edged a couple with third man up, but the risk was on as Nortje challenged him to clear the square boundaries with his wide lines. Parag was up for that challenge when it was banged in short as well and pulled him for a couple of sixes. The final over read 4, 4, 6 , 4 , 6, 1 as Parag raced away to an unbeaten 84 and propelled RR to a competitive total.

Delhi Capitals were desperate for a good start to the chase and they found that with an imposing Mitchell Marsh muscling some early boundaries. He hit five fours in his 23 but was soon bowled by an chopping on an incoming delivery from Nandre Burger. One brought two as Burger then had Ricky Bhui gloving a sharp short ball to the wicket-keeper. At 30/2, DC’s chase was in danger of a short circuit.

The experienced pair of David Warner and Rishabh Pant now joined hands as they set about playing with a mixture of caution and aggression. Together they put on a rather patient 67 off 47 balls. While it did not do much in terms of taking the required run-rate down, it allowed them a base to launch a final counterattack from. Even as the duo fell in quick succession, and Yuzvendra Chahal struck twice, DC found more starts at the back-end.

Tristan Stubbs had a moment of luck when he was put down by Trent Boult off R Ashwin. This put him on course for a boundary-filled counterattack. Ashwin was put over the fence a couple of times, while Sandeep Sharma’s slower balls were clobbered with immense power. As Axar Patel too chipped in with a useful boundary, the equation tapered down to 17 needed off the final over. At this point, Avesh Khan stepped up to bowl a boundary-less over against the well-set batters as he executed his plans to perfection.

What next?

Delhi Capitals have a couple of days gap before they take on Chennai Super Kings in their adopted home of Vizag on March 31. The following day, Rajasthan Royals play their first away game of the season as they travel to Mumbai.

Brief Scores:
Rajasthan Royals 185/5 in 20 overs (Riyan Parag 84*, Ravichandran Ashwin 29, Dhruv Jurel 20; Khaleel Ahmed 1-24, Mukesh Kumar 1-49, Anrich Nortje 1-48, Axar Patel 1-21, Kuldeep Yadav 1-41 ) beat Delhi Capitals 173/5 in 20 overs  (David Warner 49, Mitchell Marsh 23, Rishabh Punt 28,  Tristan Stubbs 44*; Nandre Burger 2-29, Avesh Khan 1-29,  Yuzvendra Chahal 2/19) by 12 runs

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Sri Lanka create major upset in basketball Asia Cup

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Sri Lanka created the biggest upset in the ongoing FIBA Asia 3x3 tournament in Singapore when they beat Korea yesterday.

Sri Lanka’s basketball team created a major upset when they beat one of sport’s powerhouses – Korea – in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup played in Singapore yesterday.The young Sri Lankan team were total outsiders against Korea, who are a strong side in the region. The Koreans outmatched the Sri Lankans with their height and were off to a blistering start taking an early lead.

However, the Sri Lankans hung in there, shot and drove to the basket with determination and more importantly converted the free throws to create the biggest upset in the tournament.

With the clock ticking in the final moments, Pawan Gamage’s explosive drive to the basket made the Korean defence collapse and smartly, he offloaded the ball to Dasun Nilantha, who executed a jump shot from short corner to give Sri Lanka a hard fought 21-19 win.

While Sri Lanka progressed to the last 12 and are one step away from a quarter-final slot, big brother India were knocked out of the competition after a shock defeat to Malaysia.

Sri Lanka will compete alongside Mongolia and Thailand today as the only South Asian nation to qualify for the final round.

Sri Lanka have remained unbeaten in the competition having won all three of their games. Their first win came against another strong side – Indonesia, whom they beat 21-14.

The game against Mongolia will be worked off today (Friday) at 12:10 pm Sri Lanka time while the Thailand fixture is at 6:05 pm.

The condensed format of the sport is somewhere the national team has made huge strides over the years and with more backing from Sri Lanka Basketball Federation and Ministry of Sports, the team could go on to do wonders.

The 3×3 arm of local basketball is a well-organized unit with regular events. International exposure for the team could help them to reach new heights.

The Sri Lankan 3×3 team represents several parts of the country showcasing how much the talent is spread around the country. While Rukshan Atapattu and Pawan Gamage are from Colombo, Simron Yoganathan is from Jaffna and Dasun Nilantha hails from Ambalangoda.

While Atapattu is an undergraduate at the University of Moratuwa, Gamage is attached to Sri Lanka Army. Yoganathan is employed at Commercial Credit while Dasun is with the Ministry of Education.

Tharindu Fernando is the coach of the team.The Sri Lankan team has been sponsored by Vaaj Group for the last three years. The team is also training at Vaaj Fitness Center in Nawala.

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