Sports
An underdog, a positive approach and the victory no one saw coming
By Reemus Fernando
Royal beat the odds to register a stunning 180 runs victory against their arch-rivals S. Thomas’ at the 144th Battle of the Blues at the SSC on Saturday. It was a victory no one saw coming as the outfit trained by Rohan Soysa entered the annual battle as underdogs.
Royal’s back-to-back defeats at the hands of Trinity in the run up to the historic encounter were overshadowing even the couple of victories they had registered during the season and the fact that they had reached the quarter-finals at the end of the league stage. Reaching the last eight of the tournament was something their arch-rivals had failed to achieve. S. Thomas’ on the other hand had remained unbeaten though they failed to reach the business end of the tournament.
Both teams had wanted to bowl first under overcast conditions on day one and the Thomians had the ideal start to the annual battle as they took the first three wickets for just 19 runs. That was when Dasis Manchanayake came to the crease. The new ball was just eight overs old when he started the repair job with Ovina Ambanpola. Despite the early damage, the Royalists stayed positive. “Manchanayake’s approach was decisive,” said Royal coach Rohan Soysa following the victory.
Manchanayake rewarded for staying positive in adversity After being four wickets down for 63 runs at one stage, Royal recovered to post 326 runs for eight wickets declared thanks to the record-breaking partnership put on by Manchanayake and Ramiru Perera. The stage for victory was built on that partnership as the pair put on 229 runs off 293 balls. In the process the pair broke a 70-year-old partnership record for the fifth wicket. Manchanayake stayed there for five hours as they disappointed Thomians during an entire second session.
There was no turning back for Royal from then on as they won all sessions.Few expected Royal to declare on their overnight score under clear skies on day two morning. By lunch they had accounted for four top-order batsmen in the Thomian innings except for opener Senadhi Bulankulame. By tea on day two Royal were in complete command as they dismissed their opponents for 153 runs and they needed just 26 overs in the final session to amass 168 runs for the loss of four wickets.
Manchanayake entered the Battle of the Blues record books as the only Royal captain to score a century and a half-century in a match. In history only two batsmen had done that (M. Thotiwilage 95 and 108 in 2001 and Ganganath Rathnayake 75 and 111n.o. in 2011). What was more remarkable was the fact that the rare achievement coincided with victory. Ramiru Perera too could have earned the rare achievement had not Royal declared their innings on the overnight score on day three morning. Perera was unbeaten on 46 runs.
Incidentally, of the players who batted, Royal had only three batsmen reaching double figures in the first innings. And in the second innings apart from Manchanayake and Perera, Uvindu Weerasekara was the only batsman to top 20 runs. Royal’s Sri Lanka Under 19 player Sineth Jayawardena (1 & 4) failed in both innings.
Royal and two other schools had received exemptions from Sri Lanka Cricket to field their Sri Lanka Under 19 players in the weekend’s Big Matches despite Sri Lanka Under 19 leaving for UAE for a tournament. As expected pacemen played a crucial role in the match. Ranuka Malaviarachchi, Bulan Weerathunga and Sandesh Ramanayake accounted for ten wickets in the match with the latter becoming the third brother of the Ramanayake family to associate with a Royal victory.
Oman have suffered three heavy defeats to Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, and Ireland at the 2026 T20 World Cup, and had been thumped by Australia the only other time these two teams met, at the 2024 edition. But captain Jatinder Singh says his team sees their final match of this tournament as an opportunity to surprise a wounded Australia team.
Australia have nothing to gain from the match against Oman in Pallekele on Friday, aside from preserving some pride. Perhaps the gloom around the Australia camp will give Oman an opening. In fact it might be “the best time to crush them”.
“One hundred percent this is an opportunity,” Jatinder said. “And our boys are looking forward to it. Because T20 is a game of momentum and the moments, and if you play those moments right, you can do anything on that particular day. Australia is not doing well at the moment… it is the best time to crush them.
“The boys are really positive. They are looking forward to the match against Australia to make their mark.”
On how to make Oman more competitive in the long term, Jatinder believed franchise cricket opportunities for Oman players could be one route. Oman did not have a heavy cricket schedule in 2025, playing only 15 T20Is that year in addition to eight ODIs.
“Well if I have to sum up how Oman can improve, it would be if we have the franchise cricket happening in the country or our guys get a chance to play franchise cricket elsewhere,” Jatinder said. “I think we can fill that gap and they can bring vast amount of experience for our national team.
“But if we don’t get to play competitive cricket, whereas other teams are getting to play the competitive cricket, we will need to fill that gap. There have been instances where we’ve been inviting the teams to come and play in Oman. The response has been really delayed, or we don’t get any response. So I think if we have the franchise cricket, that would really fill the gap.”
[Cricinfo]
Oman made a couple of changes in the last two fixtures without success. Shakeel Ahmed went in and out of the side in the three games, but picked three wickets against Ireland and should keep his place. Jatinder might look at giving top-order batter Karan Sonavale another go.
[Cricbuzz]
Zimbabwe marched into the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup with the swagger of a side that refuses to read the script, completing the group phase unbeaten after a polished six-wicket win over co-hosts Sri Lanka at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.
Ranked 11th in the world, the African side have been the tournament’s disruptors-in-chief. Having already sent former champions Australia packing last week, they now added 2014 winners Sri Lanka to their growing list of scalps, underlining that this is no flash in the pan but a team riding a serious wave of momentum.
Chasing 179 on a surface that demanded both muscle and method, Zimbabwe found themselves at crossroads when 65 were needed off the last 36 balls. Enter Sikandar Raza, sleeves rolled up and eyes locked in.
The all-rounder flipped the contest on its head in one decisive over from Dushan Hemantha, plundering 20 runs with two towering sixes and a rasping boundary. In the blink of an eye, the asking rate dipped and Sri Lanka’s shoulders sagged.
Raza and Brian Bennett stitched together a match-defining 69 off 40 deliveries for the third wicket, mixing clean ball-striking with smart running between the wickets. Zimbabwe crossed the line with three balls to spare.
While Raza provided the late fireworks with 45 off 26 balls, peppered with two fours and four sixes, opener Bennett was the glue that held the innings together. His composed 63 off 48 deliveries, studded with eight fours, ensured Zimbabwe never lost sight of the target.
Even when Raza departed with 13 still required from two overs, Sri Lanka sensed a sniff. But Tony Munyonga calmly clubbed Maheesh Theekshana’s first delivery of the final over into the stands, draining the tension from the contest. Fittingly, Bennett sealed the deal with the winning boundary. Raza was named Man of the Match.
It was Zimbabwe’s second-highest successful run chase in T20Is.
Earlier, after opting to bat, Sri Lanka were once again anchored by Pathum Nissanka. Fresh from becoming the tournament’s first centurion earlier in the week, Nissanka produced a polished 62 off 47 balls, bringing up his seventh T20 World Cup half-century, equalling Mahela Jayawardene’s record for the most by a Sri Lankan.
He and Kusal Perera gave the innings early impetus with a brisk 54 off 30 balls for the opening stand before Nissanka added a further 46 in 43 deliveries alongside Kusal Mendis.
Pavan Rathnayake provided the late thrust, clearing the ropes twice in a 44 off 25 balls as Sri Lanka posted a competitive 178.
Zimbabwe’s bowlers, however, ensured it was a chaseable target rather than a daunting one. Veteran leg-spinner Graeme Cremer led the way with 2-27, applying the squeeze in the middle overs, while the towering Blessing Muzarabani struck twice to finish with 2-38.
Sri Lanka now turn their attention to a Super Eight showdown against England in Kandy on Sunday, a contest that promises high stakes and little margin for error. Zimbabwe, brimming with belief, head to Bombay to face the West Indies on Monday, no longer the underdogs but a side that has earned its place at the top table.
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