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All-round Sri Lanka down Netherlands in Qualifiers final
Sri Lanka continued their unbeaten streak and beat Netherlands by a commanding 128-run margin in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup Qualifier in Harare. Wanindu Hasaranga’s all-round brilliance and Maheesh Theekshana’s three-wicket haul were key elements in the victory that Sri Lanka wrapped up with 26.3 overs to spare.
After being put in to bat, Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama got through tricky conditions and added 39 runs before Vikramjit Singh was introduced in the attack and struck in back-to-back overs. Samarawickrama departed for 19 runs, thanks to a brilliant catch by Noah Croes at cover, whereas Nissanka clipped one straight to fine leg. Vikramjit could have a third in three overs but couldn’t hold onto a sharp return chance from Kusal Mendis.
Mendis and Sahan Arachchige then began the rebuilding process for Sri Lanka, adding 72 runs for the third wicket. The partnership was broken by Saqib Zulfiqar, who trapped Mendis lbw but Arachchige went on to forge another important partnership with Charith Asalanka, putting up a 64-run stand for the fifth wicket. He, however, fell trying to up the ante after a quiet period without boundaries and fell to a reverse-sweep, again off the bowling off Zulfiqar. Asalanka’s run out in the same over made things worse during a phase that saw Sri Lanka drop from 180/3 to 190/7.
It took a few blows from Wanindu Hasaranga towards the end to get Sri Lanka past 200 but they were still bowled out for 233 with 2.1 overs remaining.
In response, Netherlands faced an early setback, losing a flurry of wickets within the opening 10 overs. Dilshan Madushanka was the wrecker-in-chief, dismissing Vikramjit for 13 and clean bowling Wesley Baressi for a duck. The tournament’s leading wicket-taker, Wanindu Hasaranga, then joined the action, trapping Teja Nidamanuru for 0 before Madushanka claimed the wicket of Noah Croes for 7.
Netherlands’ troubles continued as skipper Scott Edwards was run out for 1. Zulfiqar fell prey to the brilliance of Hasaranga and Netherlands were down in the doldrums at 49/6. Max O’Dowd’s top-scored with 33 but lacked fluency, his scratchy innings coming to an end when Maheesh Theekshana got through his defences. Theekshana then got on a roll, trapping Ryan Klein and Aryan Dutt lbw and bowling Clayton Floyd to wrap the Netherlands’ innings for 105 and secure a dominant win for Sri Lanka.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 233 in 47.5 overs (Arachchige 57; van Beek 2-40) beat Netherlands 105 in 23.3 overs (O’Dowd 33; Theekshana 4-31, Madushanka 3-18) by 128 runs
During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 11 Mar 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing boat and apprehended 02 Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, in the sea area North of Mannar.
The North Central Naval Command spotted a group of Indian fishing boats engaging in illegal fishing, trespassing into Sri Lankan waters. In response, naval craft of the North Central Naval Command were deployed to drive away those Indian fishing boats from island waters off Mannar.
The seized boat (01) and Indian fishermen (02) were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Kilinochchi for onward legal proceedings.
The bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed in a torpedo attack by a US submarine last week in the Indian Ocean are due to be flown home on Friday, Sri Lanka’s defence ministry has said.
The seamen were among 130 thought to be aboard the Iranian warship, the Iris Dena, when it was sunk on 4 March about 40km (25 miles) from Sri Lanka’s southern coastline.
A police escort transferred bodies to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport on Friday morning for the repatriation to Iran, after they were stored in two freezers at Galle National Hospital.
Sri Lanka said 32 sailors rescued by its navy after the torpedo attack “will remain in Sri Lanka”, according to news agency AFP.
A magistrate in the Sri Lankan city of Galle ordered that the 84 bodies should be released to the Iranian embassy.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said shortly after the sinking that the Iranian warship had died a “quiet death”.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US had “perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores”, adding that “the US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set”.
Video released by the US Department of Defense after the incident showed a ship being struck, causing the stern to rise up before exploding.
The Iris Dena had been returning from a military exercise hosted by India when it was attacked.
Its sinking in international waters came during the current US-Israeli war with Iran and marked a dramatic widening of the conflict.
Iran has since launched retaliatory strikes across the Middle East – targeting Gulf countries allied with the US.
Four of six members of a US military refueling aircraft’s crew have been confirmed dead after it crashed in western Iraq, US Central Command (Centcom) says.
Rescue efforts continue after the loss of the KC-135, it said, having earlier said neither hostile nor friendly fire were involved in the downing of the aircraft.
The tanker had been involved in ongoing US operations against Iran and was one of two aircraft involved in the incident. The second landed safely.
The Boeing-manufactured aircraft are capable of refueling planes midair and typically play a major role in US military operations. They were used extensively in the first Gulf War to extend the range of fighter jets and bombers.
Centcom said the incident occurred around 14:00 ET (19:00 GMT) on Thursday and that the circumstances of the crash were now under investigation.
The US military command unit added that the identities of the personnel who had been killed were being withheld for 24 hours so their next of kin could be notified.
The KC-135 usually has a crew of at least a pilot, a co-pilot and a boom operator responsible for controlling the refuelling arm of the aircraft.
Centcom earlier described the crash as happening over friendly airspace – but this is a region of Iraq where pro-Iranian militias operate. Iran’s military claimed on state TV that an allied group had targeted the plane with a missile.
Thursday’s crash brings the official US military death toll in the US-Israel war with Iran, which began a fortnight ago, to 11.
The US military has now lost at least four aircraft during the current war.
Earlier this month, three F15s were shot down in “an apparent friendly fire incident” over Kuwait, officials said. All six crew members were able to safely eject.
Boeing manufactured the KC-135 Stratotanker for the US military in the 1950s and early 1960s.
It has been a backbone to the US military’s air refuelling fleet, and allow combat aircraft to carry out longer missions without needing to land.
[BBC]
Navy seizes an Indian fishing boat poaching in Mannar seas
Bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed in US torpedo strike to be repatriated
Four crew members killed after US refuelling plane crashes in Iraq
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