Sports
Bangalore – India’s garden city

Rex Clementine in Bangalore
Of all India’s cricketing centers, Dharamshala is quite special for its natural beauty situated in the footsteps of Himalayas. But travelling there costs you an arm and leg with just a couple of flights available from Delhi. The road trip is the best option through the hills of Punjab. Sri Lanka of course do not have a game in Dharamshala. Two of their nine games of the tournament will be played in Bangalore – the garden city.
There are multiple daily flights from Colombo to Bangalore and a family trip in the long weekend to this lovely city is not a bad idea. The weather is pleasant and entertainment is plenty. IndiGo, a budget airline gets you here for a decent price. If you want to cut costs the best option is to fly to Madras and then catch the train.
Bangalore’s airport is of course a marvel. It is a state-of-the-art facility and many European airports are far behind Bangalore. The immigration and customs takes you less than 15 minutes. Hassle free parking and convenient cab services, all these make Bangalore airport a pleasant experience.
Out of the airport as you hit the highway to get to the city, you see all sorts of modern European cars on the road. Then, you wonder whether this is the same India that you visited 20 years ago. They have come a long way in the last two decades.
International cricket in Bangalore is of course played at Chinnaswamy Stadium. The venue is named after Chinnaswamy Mudaliar, a lawyer, who was a founding member of the Mysore State Cricket Association. He went onto become the President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (1977-1980).
It was at Chinnaswamy Stadium a certain Vivian Richards made his Test debut almost 50 years ago in 1974. He wasn’t alone. There was a certain Gordon Greenidge as well receiving his maroon cap for the first time.
Bangalore is also the home for some of India’s all-time greats of the sport. There was Gundappa Viswanath, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath, Roger Binny and many more. Binny incidentally is the President of Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Some say that Binny, the 1983 World Cup winner is only a figurehead while the man who calls shots in cricket is Jay Shah, the son of India’s Home Minister Amit Shah. The correct way to put it is that Jay Shah isn’t Indian cricket’s most powerful man but world cricket’s most powerful man.
Not very far from Chinnaswamy Stadium, there is an exclusive club called Century Club. Like SSC, NCC, CCC and Tamil Union, Century Club is over 100 years old.
An Engineer in Bangalore named M. Visvesvaraya during the British rule of India tries to get a membership of Bangalore Club. But he’s refused membership as at that point the membership is exclusive for the British nationals.
Determined to form a club for the locals, Visvesvaraya meets the Mysore Maharaja floating the idea to form a club where Indians can get together. Generously, Mysore Maharaja donates a five-acre land inside the pristine Cubbon Park.
Then, 100 Indian civil servants come together to form the club and hence the name Century Club.
Getting membership at Century Club is extremely difficult these days. The club currently has a membership of 6000 and there is a 30 year wait if someone wants to get a new membership.
Members gather to Century Club for recreation and there are both indoor and outdoor sports and card games. The club also has some posh restaurants and several bars.
The club’s hotel with 30 room is also quite popular. It’s decently priced, at the heart of the city and has fabulous facilities. The only problem is booking a room there is a tedious task. Which is why during your travels to other parts of the world you need to make friendships. It doesn’t matter how many people you know in a city. All what matters is you need to know the right person. If you are in New Delhi, the go to person is Vijay Lokapally, the longstanding cricket writer of English daily Hindu. In Bombay, all your needs are taken care of by G. Viswanath, the cricket writer of Indian Express. If you are in Bangalore it is R. Kaushik, a freelance cricket writer. Knowing them is as good as knowing the Prime Minister of India.
Some Indians repay the complement saying that they don’t have to know the President of Sri Lanka when they come to Colombo. They only need to know the right reporter.
Sports
Record stand puts Bangladesh in command in Galle Test

A record-breaking fourth-wicket partnership between skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and seasoned campaigner Mushfiqur Rahim put Bangladesh firmly in the box seat at stumps on day one of the opening Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium on Tuesday.
The pair stitched together 247 runs – now the highest fourth-wicket stand for Bangladesh in Tests against Sri Lanka – steering the tourists to a commanding 292 for three at close after a wobbly start.
Having elected to bat first, Bangladesh were reeling at 45 for three when the duo came together. What followed was a gritty rescue act – a partnership built on sound temperament, clever shot selection and an unflinching resolve as they dug their team out of early trouble.
Mushfiqur, the most capped Test player in Bangladesh history with 97 appearances, silenced his critics with a timely ton. The veteran, under the pump after a lean patch spanning 13 innings without a half-century, rolled back the years with a knock of poise and purpose.
The 38-year-old has fond memories of Galle, having struck a monumental double hundred here in 2013 and once again turned tormentor-in-chief for the Sri Lankan bowlers. He did enjoy a slice of luck – a tough chance spilled by debutant Tharindu Ratnayake on 25 – but made it count, navigating a nervy passage in the 90s before scampering a quick single to notch up his 12th Test hundred.
Shanto, positive from the outset, kept the scoreboard ticking with deft footwork and a keen eye for the loose ball. He brought up his sixth Test century – and second against Sri Lanka – with a cheeky paddle sweep off Prabath Jayasuriya, marking his first ton since November 2023.
Earlier, Sri Lanka made early inroads with right-arm quick Asitha Fernando drawing first blood, removing opener Anamul Haque for a duck. Off-spinner Ratnayake, handed his Test cap on the back of a prolific domestic season, struck twice in quick succession – but once the Shanto-Mushfiqur duo got their eye in, it was one-way traffic.
Sri Lanka also handed a debut to opening batter Lahiru Udara, another domestic heavyweight, while the hosts paused before the start of play to felicitate retiring stalwart Angelo Mathews. The 38-year-old Mathews, playing his 119th and final Test, will hang up his boots with over 8,000 runs – behind only Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene in Sri Lanka’s all-time charts.
This Galle encounter marks the curtain-raiser of the new World Test Championship cycle – and by stumps on day one, Bangladesh have already made a strong statement of intent.
Rex Clementine in Galle
Sports
Akesha, Dinara get Sri Lanka off to winning start

Sri Lanka commenced the Billie Jean King Cup Asia Oceania Group 3 campaign with a 3-0 victory over Qatar as Akesha Silva and Dinara de Silva won their singles and doubles encounters at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts on Tuesday.
In the first singles match, Akesha Silva beat Hind Ai Mudahka (Qatar) 6-3, 3-0 (Hind Al Mudahka retired) before Dinara de Silva beat Mubaraka Ai Naimi (Qatar) 6-3, 6-0 in the second singles match.

Akesha Silva
Dinara and Akesha then joined to beat Mubaraka Ai Naimi and Dana Khalifa 6-0, 7-5 in the doubles match.
Sri Lanka are set to meet Nepal today.
Sports
Action from Junior National Athletics Championship

The four-day Junior National Athletics Championship concluded at Diyagama on Sunday. Here are some action pictures from the final day.

Chathushka Imesh (713), Pasindu Sandaruwan (697), and Shihan Nadeeshana (973) won the first, second and third places respectively in the Under 18 boys’ 100m final.
(Pix by Kamal Wanniarachchi)
- Madushani Herath won the best athlete award in the Under 23 women’s category for her notable performance in the triple jump.
- Dilni Rajapaksha established two new meet records in the Under 16 age category. Here she is competing in the triple jump
- Mihinsa Hasarangi clinched gold in the Under 16 girls’ 100 metres

Rumesh Tharanga established a new meet
record in the Under 23 men’s javelin throw.

Mihisara Gunarathna (1232) won the Under 20 boys’ 1,500m.
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