Sports
Australia vs Sri Lanka an enthralling ODI series
by Anura Tennekoon
The recently concluded 0DI series between Australia and Sri Lanka was one of the best if not the best cricket series witnessed on Sri Lankan soil. I am of this opinion due to the highly competitive and attractive cricket played by both sides.
1st ODI at Pallakelle Stadium Kandy
This contest was won by Australia by two wickets on the Duckworth & Lewis method as the game was affected by rain.
Sri Lanka batting 1st scored 300 for seven in 50 overs, with Kausal Mendis returning to form with a commanding innings of 86 not out.
Agar bowled best for Australia with figures of two for 49. Australia in its turn scored 282 for eight in 42.3 overs with the revised target being 282 in 44 overs. Maxwell led the way for Australia with a belligerent 80 not out. Hasaranga captured four wickets for 58.
2nd ODI at Pallakelle Stadium Kandy
Sri Lanka batted first to notch up 220 for nine in 47.4 overs. Once again Kusal Mendis was the top scorer with 36 runs. Pat Cummins was the main wrecker with four for 59. Australia in their turn were all out for 189 in 37.1 overs in response to a revised target of 216 in 43 overs. Chamika Karunaratne showed his prowess as a bowler in capturing three wickets while Chameera, Wellalage, and Dananjaya took two wickets apiece. This was a comprehensive win for Sri Lanka and signalled to Australia that they were up for a fight.
3rd ODI at Ketharama
Australia batted first and made 291 for six in 50 overs. Travis Head being the main scorer with a well compiled unbeaten 70. Vandersay three for 49 compensated for the absence of Hasaranga due to injury. Sri Lanka chasing a stiff target batted brilliantly to overhaul the Australian total in 48.3 overs for the loss of four wickets. Pathum Nissanka played a master class innings of 137 runs which made the difference in this game. I described his innings more comprehensively in a previous article of mine. Jhye Richardson was the only bowler to withstand the Sri Lankan onslaught taking two wickets for 39 runs. Sri Lanka going two up in the series must have been looking forward for the next match to seal the series.
4th ODI at Ketharama
In this game Sri Lanka batting first, lost early wickets, when Asalanka and Dananjaya associated themselves in a big partnership and pulled Sri Lanka out of trouble. Asalanka went onto score his maiden ODI century while holding the Sri Lankan innings together for a total of 258 all out in 49 overs. Australia in chasing down this moderate score were doing well when suddenly they lost three wickets in a space of two overs which turned the game on its head and Australia were all out for 254 loosing by four runs. Thus Sri Lanka registered a historic series win. Warner was unlucky to miss a well deserved century by one run.
5th ODI at Ketharama
The final game of this absorbing series was one in which Australia had to play for pride. Sri Lanka batting first kept loosing wickets regularly and looked like being restricted to a score of under100 runs. Chamika Karunaratne had other thoughts and established two partnerships with Vandersay and debutant Madushan and took the total to 160. Chamika batted aggressively with authority to stamp himself as a more than useful all-rounder in scoring 75 runs in 74 balls. Now this recovery in the Sri Lankan innings gave heart to its bowlers and they made batting tough for the Aussies on a wicket taking vicious turn. The Australians huffed and puffed in scoring the required runs winning by four wickets. Credit must be given to the Sri Lankan bowlers who almost defended a meagre score. 19 year old Wellalage was a revelation in this series showing an abundance of talent and temperament.
He is bound to do well in the future. Taking facts and figures I have enumerated it is evident that this series was hard fought and Sri Lanka came on top due to them winning more key moments. If this relatively young team keeps improving they will be strong contenders in the 2023 fifty overs World Cup which is being staged in India. The wickets and conditions there will be to our liking.
I would like to pay a tribute to Sri Lankans who turned up for the final game of the series in Aussie colours. This was a magnanimous gesture which is what sport is all about. In conclusion I say that the players and spectators made Cricket the winner in this series.
India’s opening batter Shafali Verma and swing bowler Renuka Singh have moved up to sixth spots in the ICC’s T20I batting and bowling rankings respectively.
Shafali is the leading scorer in the ongoing bilateral series against Sri Lanka by a distance, her 236 runs nearly twice as many as second-highest scorer Smriti Mandhana’s 120. Renuka is also the leading wicket-taker, her four wickets level with team-mates Deepti Sharma, Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
Shafali went up four places with back-to-back scores of 69*, 79* and 79 in the second, third and fourth T20Is. Renuka, meanwhile, climbed eight places to reach the joint-sixth position along with South Africa’s Nonkululeko Mlaba, particularly through her 4 for 21 in the third game of the series. Deepti leads the bowlers’ rankings after taking that position last week. Both Shafali and Renuka have also bagged one Player-of-the-Match award each in the series that India lead 4-0, with the last match scheduled for Tuesday in Thiruvananthapuram.
If India win today (30), this will be their third 5-0 series win in T20Is. They won by that scoreline in the West Indies in 2019 and in Bangladesh last year. Sri Lanka have, however, never before lost a T20I series 5-0.
(Cricinfo)
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]
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