Sports
Asia Cup win gave all Sri Lankans a boost – Sanga
by Rex Clementine
Former captain Kumar Sangakkara seems confident that the national cricket team has turned things around following their first multi-nation tournament win after eight years on Sunday. After a horrific start in the curtain-raiser of the competition, where they went down to Afghanistan, Sri Lanka did well to reach the finals in the process winning four games in a row.
By the time the final came by, everyone was predicting that the team that won the toss had a big advantage in the game. Pakistan won the toss and started off well reducing Sri Lanka to 58 for five, but then Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga and Chamika Karunaratne batted around Bhanuka Rajapaksa to enable the team to 170 for six. Rajapaksa, whose fitness had been questioned in recent months, was the hero finishing with an unbeaten 71, off 45 deliveries with six fours and three sixes.
Sri Lanka not only won a fifth game in a row to clinch the title but changed the trend of teams that winning the toss winning the contest in UAE.
“This Asia Cup victory by our cricketers is very special. Young, inexperienced and not given much of a chance by so many, they played as one team,” Sangakkara, who was Man of the Match when Sri Lanka last won a multi-nation tournament -2014 T-20 World Cup final against India – said.
The players credited the Asia Cup win to their fans, who have gone through immense hardships in recent months due to the economic crisis. Sangakkara echoed similar sentiments. “In the context of the past two years and the recent socio economic upheavals and crisis, they played for something more than a Trophy. They played for each and every Sri Lankan. All of us, the people and the country, needed a boost. A shot in the arm in terms of morale. The Sri Lankan cricket team delivered that in spades.”
Sangakkara was part of a high profile cricket committee that was appointed two years ago under the leadership of former captain Aravinda de Silva to address cricket woes. The committee had recommended several measures to be implemented in order to get the national cricket team back on winning track and it seem those measures are paying off.
The Sri Lankan team will resume training shortly in preparation for the ICC T-20 World Cup. They will travel to Australia early next month and will be based in Melbourne. Sri Lanka play a warm-up game on the 10th of October in Melbourne to get their campaign underway. The former champions need to play a qualifying round to go through like the last time.
The Cabinet of Ministers granted their concurrence to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Youth Affairs to appoint S. Achchudan of Special Grade of Sri Lanka Administrative Service, who is currently serving as an Additional Commissioner of Elections at the Elections Commission who is
recommended by the panel of interviewers to the post of Director General of the Sports Development Department with effect form 01.01.2026.
After three low scores, three tosses lost and three heavy defeats, Sri Lanka gave hosts India more of a fight in the fourth T20I on Sunday when they finally got to chase a target instead of setting one. They got somewhat close thanks to contribution from batters apart from Chamari Athapaththu. With their confidence running a little higher, they would want to sign off fromthis five match tour with one win as the preparations for the T20 World Cup, which is less than six months away, heat up.
India have been clinical all through the series – with their share of luck, having won the first three tosses – in restricting Sri Lanka to totals under 130 and getting home with at least five overs and seven wickets in hand. That presents Sri Lanka the opportunity to test India’s middle and lower order on Tuesday, but with the gargantuan task of going past the duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, who put up India’s biggest partnership for any wicket to set up the hosts’ highest T20I total. India have had to use only five batters in this series so far.
Whether they set a total or chase one, Sri Lanka would draw inspiration from Hasini Perera’s start on Sunday, in which she took down Renuka Singh and Arundhati Reddy in the opening overs before Nilakshika Silva finally got some runs in the lower order.
Sri Lanka would also want to cash in on any lives their batters are offered as India have been sloppy this series – putting down five catches in the opener and two in the fourth game – which could help the visitors narrow the gap between the two sides.
There are always expectations from Athapaththu when Sri Lanka bat, and it was refreshing to see Hasini Perera take the lead in the opening partnership with her captain on Sunday. It was Perera’s penchant for boundaries that charged Sri Lanka to 52 for 0 in the first four overs. Hasini has played nearly 90 T20Is and the last game of the series will be the perfect chance for her to score her maiden T20I half-century that will only increase the faith in her abilities in the lead up to the T20 World Cup.
She has been dismissed just twice this series and Shafali Verma is reaching scary heights in the T20 format with 236 runs already at a strike rate of 185.82 this series. The next best strike rate this series (minimum 50 runs) is Jemimah Rodrigues’ 140.54. Shafali has taken down every possible bowling combination Sri Lanka have thrown at her at the start and with three half-centuries in a row, a continuation of her boundary barrage could be another spectacular show from the India opener.
Rodrigues missed the fourth T20I while recovering from a mild fever and India brought in Harleen Deol for her first game of the series but she didn’t get a chance to bat. Already leading 4-0, India may also want to hand a debut to 17-year-old wicketkeeper-batter G Kamalini, the only player in the squad who hasn’t played this series.
India (possible): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues/Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh/G Kamalini (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Renuka Singh/Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, Shree Charani
Sri Lanka have been making changes through the series too, and even though they have used up all their players from the squad of 15, don’t rule out any more changes on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka (possible): Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Imesha Dulani, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Kavisha Dilhari, Kawya Kavindi/Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera, Malsha Shehani, Nimasha Meepage
[Cricinfo]
Under 19 Cricket
A century by Bihan Gamage and and a six wicket haul by Mevindu Kumarasiri were the individual highlights on day one of the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ and ‘B’ matches on Monday.
While Gamage’s century was the backbone of DS Senanayake’s challenging total of 365 runs against Nalanda, Mevindu Kumarasiri’s six wicket haul helped Sri Sumangala restrict Isipatana to 136 runs.
Later Sri Sumangala reached 158 for two wickets at stumps thanks to an unbroken third wicket stand of 140 runs between Sandeep Wijerathna (61n.o.) and Neksha Iddamalgoda (81n.o.).
That was not the only notable partnership of the day as the ninth wicket pair of Kaveesha Githmal (43) and Kavindu Nimsara (66) put on 99 runs for Mahinda to post 284 runs against Lumbini in their match.
At DSS ground
Scores
DSS 365 all out in 79 overs (Savain Kalansooriya 54, Bihan Gamage 102, Janindu Ranasinghe 50, Shevan Welgama 73; Osanda Pamuditha 2/69, Dunitha Anusara 4/66, Sahas Godage 3/76)
Nalanda 28 for 1 in 10 overs
At Galle
Scores
Mahinda 284 all out in 72.2 overs (Dulsith Darshana 63, Randula Mabarana 28, Manitha Rajapaksha 23, Kaveesha Githmal 43, Kavindu Nimsara 66; Yashod Kavindu 5/100, Dinal Sewmina 2/32)
Lumbini 76 for 4 in 20 overs (Kisandu Dulneth 33, Yashod Kavindu 26; Sadev Nethmina 2/27)
At Panadura
Scores
Isipatana 136 all out in 47.2 overs (Yuveen Keshan 21, Dasith Senal 31; Mevindu Kumarasiri 6/54)
Sri Sumangala 158 for 2 in 45 overs
(Sandeep Wijerathna 61n.o., Neksha Iddamalgoda 81n.o.) (RF)
S. Achchudan appointed as Director General of the Sports Development Department.
Amendment of the National Environment Act No. 47 of 1980
Tax relief for Dates received as donations or gifts for Ramadan
Cabinet nod to establish the Sri Lanka Industrial Transformation and innovation Authority
Temporary employment of Sri Lankan labour in the State of Israel
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