Sports
Ayomal smashes hurdles record to leave schools arena with an enviable record
Hurdler Ayomal Akalanka of Ambagamuwa MMV delivered a truly markable performance on the final day of the All Island Schools Games at Diyagama on Tuesday bringing the curtain down on his memorable schools career as he became the first Sri Lankan in more than two decades to run the 400 metres hurdles under 50 seconds.
The athlete trained by veteran coach Anura Bandara blazed the track with a feat of 49.90 seconds to win the Under 20 boys’ 400 metres hurdles in a new national junior record performance.
The 19-year-old thus produced the third fastest performance ever in the discipline as he took a good chunk off his personal best of 50.20 seconds. Akalanka now stands as the all-time third fastest Sri Lankan behind national record holder Harijan Ratnayake and Asoka Jayasundara.
He was the pre Games favourite for the best athlete title in the boys’ category. But when he was beaten to second place by just 0.12 seconds in the 400metres flat event earlier in the meet there were doubts. He put those to rest with his record breaking feat on Tuesday.
As predicted in these columns last month Akalanka leaves the schools athletics arena with an enviable record. The Youth Commonwealth Games and Asian Youth Championship medallist has all meet records in the junior category from the Junior National to Sir John Tarbat Senior to Schools Games under his name currently.
While Ayomal was the cynosure of all eyes on the final day, St. Sebastian’s College Kandana athlete Omel Shashintha made his presence felt with two outstanding performances.
Pushed by Akalanka all the way, Shashintha clocked a blistering time of 46.13 seconds to break the Under 20 boys’ 400 metres meet record. Shashintha, Akalanka and St. Peter’s sprinter T. Ravidu all bettered the meet record of that discipline. In the 200 metres his record breaking feat was 20.88 seconds.
In the girls’ category, Jithma Wijetunga of Lyceum Inyernational Wattala was adjudged the best athlete for her outstanding feat of 54.09 seconds in the 400 metres.
In the overall category Maris Stella College, Negombo took sweet revenge from Maris Stella Thimbirigaskatuwa as they won the overall boys’ title with an aggregate of 148 points. The team from Thimbirigaskatuwa who were the champions at the recently held Sir John Tarbat Championships were placed third with 77 points while St. Joseph Vaz’s College Wennappuwa finished second with 99 points.
While Lyceum International Wattala won the girls’ overall title (213), Ratnayake Central Walala (93) and Dharmapala College Pannipitiya (61) finished second and third respectively.
by Reemus Fernando
A century from Salman Agha and a maiden ODI fifty from Hussain Talat helped revive a flagging Pakistan innings, as their 138-run fifth-wicket stand saw the hosts post 299 for 5 in the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi.
The pair came together at 95 for 4 in the 24th over, but by the time their partnership came to an end, they had taken Pakistan to 233 for 5 midway through the 44th over.
Agha then turned on the afterburners alongside Mohammad Nawaz, as Pakistan managed 104 runs off the last 10 overs to set Sri Lanka a 300-run target, which, if achieved, would be the second highest successful chase at the Rawalpindi Stadium.
Agha brought up his second ODI ton with a gentle dab behind point for a single off his 83rd delivery, but the ball prior to that highlighted the confidence with which he was batting – sweeping an attempted Dushmantha Chameera yorker for four. That Chameera over, the 48th of the innings, would end up going for 20 – the most expensive of the innings – as Nawaz, who had entered following the fall of Talat, also began to find his range in a cameo worth 36 not out off 23; their partnership of 66 came off just 40 deliveries.
Prior to Agha and Talat’s intervention, however, Sri Lanka had choked the Pakistan innings for large parts. Miserly opening spells from Asitha Fernando and Chameera ensured just 28 runs were scored inside the opening powerplay, and while just one wicket fell in that period the introduction of Wanidu Hasaranga saw wickets fall at a canter. He ended up with figures of 3 for 54, with Asitha and Maheesh Theekshana the only other wicket-takers.
Introduced into the attack in the 14th over, it wasn’t until his third over that Hasaranga was able to make his first breakthrough. Fakhar Zaman, who had earlier in the over skipped out and belted one over long-on for a six, was looking to break out of his early shell, but in attempting to repeat the trick he missed a wide one and found himself duly stumped for a 55-ball 32.
New batter Mohammed Rizwan was Hasaranga’s next victim, trapped lbw by a googly. A couple of overs later Hasaranga got the prize scalp of Babar Azam. It was his trademark googly doing the damage, as Babar sought to drive a floated one outside off only to see it sneak through his bat and pad.
Hasaranga might have had another to close out the over after he had Talat rapped on the front knee-roll only for the umpire to turn down the appeal. Ball-tracking showed it would have crashed into leg stump, but Sri Lanka had burnt both their reviews early on – both for lbw appeals where the ball pitched outside leg.
That proved to be a sliding doors moment of sorts as Pakistan’s fortunes gradually began to shift, and it was also some much-needed luck for Talat in particular, whose place in the side had come under increasing scrutiny of late – his six innings in ODIs leading up to this game had seen him score 107 runs with a high score of 41.
But with Pakistan in need of resuscitation, he and Agha set about rebuilding. Boundaries weren’t the aim, rather the focus was on running between the wickets. Thirty-two of Talat’s 62 runs came in either ones of twos; Agha was alongside him in lockstep having run 40 singles and 13 twos by the end of the innings.
The plan was clear at this point: keep wickets intact for the final overs and then launch. And in this instance the execution was perfect. Sri Lanka, who might have regretted their decision to not go with a genuine fifth bowling option, were left requiring Janith Liyanage to bowl eight overs of his part-time seam after Charith Asalanka was taken for 18 in his two solitary overs.
Liyanage, to his credit, gave away 48 runs during his efforts, though with Sri Lanka in the ascendancy at the halfway point of the innings, their need to get through the their fifth bowler quota allowed Talat and Agha to settle in nicely.
And while Talat was unable to see the innings to its close, Agha ensured he remained unbeaten to get his side to a competitive total after they were asked to bat first. Whether that will be enough on an ostensibly good batting track, one where dew is expected to come to the fore later on, remains to be seen.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 299 for 5 in 50 overs (Fakhar Zaman 32, Salman Agha 105*, Hussain Talat 62, Mohammed Nawaz 36*; Wanidu Hasaranga 3-54) vs Sri Lanka
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl first in the first ODI in Rawalpindi. This will be Sri Lanka’s first bilateral series in Pakistan since 2019, with Pakistan holding an 18-12 win-loss record on home soil.
Charith Asalanka the possibility of dew later on was a driving factor in his decision to bowl first, while Shaheen Shah Afridi said he would also liked to have bowled first adding that he’s expecting a high-scoring game.
In team news, one change for the hosts from the side that won their last ODI against South Africa, with Abrar Ahmed missing out due to illness and Naseem Shah replacing him. Sri Lanka meanwhile have handed out an ODI debut to Kamil Mishara, while Wanindu Hasaranga also comes in. Making way are Janith Liyanage and the injured Dilshan Madushanka.
As mentioned earlier, the pitch at Rawalpindi is expected to be high-scoring, with chasing sides coming out victorious in the past three games; a score in excess of 300 will likely be needed for the side batting first, particularly with dew expected under lights. The over head conditions are bright and warm.
Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando
Pakistan XI: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayu, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah
(Cricinfo)
Time was when a tour of Pakistan was something cricketers eagerly looked forward to — a chance to criss cross a country where the warmth of its people matched the spice of its biryani and masala chai. Those were days when cities like Multan, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Karachi rolled out the red carpet for visiting sides. Not this time. For the three-week assignment, Sri Lanka will shuttle only between Lahore and Rawalpindi, missing out on the rest of that cricket-mad nation.
The first of the three ODIs bowls off today in Rawalpindi, barely half an hour’s drive from the capital, Islamabad. The city will also host Sri Lanka’s curtain-raiser in the tri-nation series involving Zimbabwe before the caravan moves to Lahore for the remaining fixtures.
The series is no dead rubber. Both teams have plenty riding on it. Sri Lanka sit pretty at number four in the ICC ODI rankings — a hard-earned position after series triumphs over India and Australia — but any slip-up could see them tumble to fifth, with Pakistan ready to leapfrog them.
Pakistan arrive in buoyant mood, having recently downed South Africa 2-1 in their backyard. Their trump card remains leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed, whose whirring wrist-spin tormented the Lankans during the recent Asia Cup in the UAE. Add to that a fiery pace attack led by skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi and the irrepressible Naseem Shah with the new ball, and the hosts have enough firepower to rattle even the best.
Pakistan’s ‘three-captain’ experiment continues, with Shaheen donning the ODI armband this time. On their day, his seamers can make the white ball talk and if early breakthroughs come, they’ll have the visitors on the back foot before drinks.
Sri Lanka, though, have found their sweet spot in the 50-over game. Pathum Nissanka’s counter-punching at the top of the order has given them the perfect launchpad, while his chemistry with Kusal Mendis has blossomed into the opening pair the island had long yearned for. Captain Charith Asalanka — cool under pressure and clever in the middle overs — has been the glue in the batting line-up, sitting a proud seventh in the global batting charts.
All eyes will also be on young Pavan Rathnayake, prolific in domestic cricket and itching to make his international debut. His inclusion adds fresh legs and youthful verve to a side already brimming with confidence.
In the bowling department, Sri Lanka have been dealt a late blow with left-arm quick Dilshan Madushanka pulling out due to a knee injury. Eshan Malinga has been drafted in as replacement.
Pakistan (from): Shaheen Shah Afridi (C), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha.
Sri Lanka (from): Charith Asalanka (C), Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Udara, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Dushmantha Chameera, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan and Eshan Malinga.
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