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Buoyed Lankans take on new look South Africans on Boxing Day Test

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The action shifts to the Test cricket from a long vacuum of dried up international fare for the Sri Lankans by the raging COVID-19 pandemic as Dimuth Karunaratne’s men flex their muscles in a high buoyance for todays Boxing Day Test versus a rather new look South African outfit at Centurion Park. That charged up mood in the Lankan camp is derived by the historic 2-nil drubbing Karunaratne’s men handed out to the Proteas in their own backyard when the two nations last met in December 2019- January ‘20. 

Indeed, the 32-year old Karunaratne will carry that high buoyance streak in the final countdown when the two sides draw the battle lines backed by his stealthy trade mark cool and calculated daring dash accentuated by a lucky captain element heightened by the left hander’s stealthy, specialist opening batsman role upfront. That it will be on a Centurion batting oriented turf of which the Lankan skipper has in the pre-match press confab pepped up his batting juggernaut to be keyed up to, will be the center piece to the unfolding contest where the predictable willow works are expected to dictate the fortunes of the opening test. No doubt, Karunaratne will be looking to a tight reigning upfront role with the bat which the 9-century strong experience the Lankan skipper will look to maximise to put his side on top in a contest which according to reports flitting in Sri Lanka is expected to cap a few promising new players.      The sword edged upswing the Sri Lankans will carry is that there quite a number of tried and tested players who starred in bringing down the South Africans when they last met. That the  Karunaratne influence in that landmark feat was a double icing on the cake in terms of self and country in a truly remarkable Cinderella fairytale type of emergence from the unknown to anointing his name as a highly potential captain in a feat that many of his predecessors had failed in Protea land is tall stuff. In that turn around,  it is significant that Dimuth Karunaratne achieved the near impossible catapulted having been handed the high profile job in a shaky period that Sri Lanka had not won a single match in over two months. His stocks further rose when he was appointed the ODI captain as well ahead of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.

That apart, the Sri Lankans possess in their ranks a world record breaking batsman in a fourth innings chase in Kusal Janith Perera who did just that versus the South Africans in the first testwith an all-time great match winning unbeaten 153 in a last ditch stand. Significantly, the 22-member Lankan squad basking of dashing batsman Kusal Mendis and the recalled inform Dinesh Chandimal is a mixture of experience and new talent. While there are several players from the successful squad that toured last time, the uncapped are Wanindu Hasaranga,  Minod Bhanuka, Asistha Fernando, Santhush Gunathilake and Dilshan Madushanka.  

The Karunaratne element to the Lankan team is derived from a sound past of having become Sri Lanka’s leading Test batsman since 2015 by his century making in the second innings of a Test match. Four of his centuries in the second innings were out of six centuries he made until October 2017.  On 7 October 2017, Karunaratne became the second Sri Lankan opener after Tillakaratne Dilshan to score three Test centuries in a calendar year. 

Overall, it is a confidence high Lankan outfit that has touched down in South African shores questing for a repeat performance against a home team that had some early COVID-19 related player worries. What is more, South Africa will be going into a series with new trappings from the last series with a new captain in de Kock who has replaced Faf du Plessis when the two sides last met, while out of the equation from the 2019 squad are star batsman Hashim Amla, Kagisso Rabada through injury and Dale Steyn.

For the record, Sri Lanka defeated South Africa in the 1st Test by 1-wicket at Durban chasing down 304 on the final day with Kusal Janith Perera doing the impossible in the breathtaking drama of a 200-ball 153 in 309 minutes powered by 12 boundaries and 5 sixes. That the final assault was mounted in the make or break death stages yielding a record 78 runs for the last wicket with Vishwa Fernando whose contribution was 6 off 27 balls consuming 73 minutes was the high point of it. South Africa, batting first made 235 and 259 and Sri Lanka 191 and 304 for 9. Another feature of that win was Perera top scoring in the first innings as well with 51 off 63 (7×4, 1×6). Skipper Karunaratne’s 30 off 59 (3×4) was the next best. Sri Lanka went on to win the second test by 8 wickets chasing down 197 at Port Elizabeth with Kusal Mendis the Player of the Match with an unbeaten 84 off 110 (13×4) and one drop batsman Oshada Fernando undefeated on 75 off 106 (10×4, 2×6) in a total of 197 for 2. South Africa made 222 and 128 with Suranga Lakmal claiming 4 for 39, Dhananjaya de Silva 3 for 36 and Kasun Rajitha 2 for 20. Sri Lanka made 154 in the first innings with Niroshan Dickwella top scoring with 42. Karunaratne’s contributions of 17 and 19 and 30 and 20 in the series, though not high stuff, measured in terms of holding the batting together.

(SLC)

 

 



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Spinners set up historic series win for India Women

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Radha Yadav was named the Player of the Match [Cricinfo]

After their 3-0 ODI series sweep in 2022, India Women achieved another milestone with their first T20I series victory on English soil. The result is especially significant, coming less than a year before they return to these shores in pursuit of their maiden T20 World Cup title.

Wednesday’s victory at Old Trafford was shaped by India’s spinners – Radha Yadav and Shree Charani – who picked up a combined 4 for 45 in eight overs to restrict England to 126 for 7 after they chose to bat for the second match in a row.

Four overs are all it took for India’s openers – Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana – to prove those runs were hardly adequate. Where England hit all of eight fours in their innings, they conceded nine in four overs alone. India’s openers put on 56 in seven overs to set the tone for a dominating win.

India applied early pressure with spin, removing both England openers inside the powerplay. After being struck for a four and a six by Sophia Dunkley in her first three deliveries, Charani hit back in the same over, as Danni Wyatt-Hodge miscued a slog to long-on.

Dunkley, looking in fine touch, fell in the sixth over as she was lured into an uppish drive by Deepti Sharma, who cleverly deceived her in flight with Radha completing a sharp diving catch at point. The wicket was a significant one, taking Deepti past Nida Dar’s tally to become the leading wicket-taker among spinners in Women’s T20Is. Overall, Deepti is now only six behind Megan Schutt’s tally of 151.

Tammy Beaumont showed glimpses of a revival, as she took the attack to Sneh Rana in hitting her for two well-placed cuts to split a packed off-side ring in the eighth over. But her counterattack was short-lived; she holed out to long-on attempting to go big off Radha. India soon had a double-strike five balls later when Alice Capsey was lbw attempting a reverse sweep off the hugely impressive Charani. England slumped from 68 for 2 to 93 for 5 by the 15th over.

The innings stagnated through the middle overs, with no boundaries coming off the bat from the middle of the 10th over until the end of the 19th, for 56 deliveries. Poor running between the wickets added to England’s struggles, including a costly mix-up that led to Charlie Dean’s run-out from backward point. India’s ground fielding, catching and cutting off angles was massively impressive. Arundhati Reddy proved pivotal in the deep, taking three well-judged catches at long-on during this dry spell.

Right towards the end, marking her 100th T20I in front of a home crowd, Sophie Ecclestone finally broke the boundary drought in the 19th over, shoveling Amanjot Kaur to the midwicket fence. She topped that off with two slog sweeps for sixes off Deepti, taking advantage of the wind, to give England a late surge. They closed on 126, the final over producing 16.

Shafali came out firing, matching England’s short-pitched attack with fearless aggression. Hard lengths and deliveries dug into the pitch posed no threat as she simply backed away to swing, shovel and slap her way to three fours and 14 runs in the second over off Lauren Filer, setting the tone for India’s chase. Coming off two low scores at the start of the series and left out of the ODI squad, this was a crucial knock for her confidence.

Not to be overshadowed, Mandhana joined the charge as she took the attack to Dean with a clean strike over mid-on. The pair raised the half-century of their partnership in the seventh over to keep the pressure on England. Ecclestone fell just short of catching Shafali on 29, running back from mid-off at the end of the powerplay. But England didn’t have to pay for it, as Shafali hacked one to deep square on 31.

India soon lost Mandhana too as she sliced a catch to short third, and the visitors went boundary-less for 40 balls from overs 7.2 to 13.6, Jemimah Rodrigues breaking the drought with a lofted hit off Lauren Bell. Harmanpreet Kaur too struggled for timing, and was nearly worked over on a number of occasions by Ecclestone, as she teased her in flight, loop and guide in a terrific exhibition of spin bowling – her figures reading 3-0-11-1 at one stage.

It wasn’t until India needed 27 off 34 that Harmanpreet managed a boundary, off her 20th delivery – a lofted hit over extra cover off Dean. The struggle was over as she put the next ball away to the deep square leg fence. Victory wasn’t far away from there on.

Harmanpreet and Rodrigues put on 48 off 42, along the way ensuring India didn’t slip up like they did earlier in the week. While Harmanpreet wasn’t around to see her team home, Rodrigues remained unbeaten on 24, bringing up the winning runs with a paddle as India cruised home with 18 balls to spare.

Brief scores:
India 127 for 4 in 17 overs (Smriti Mandhana 32, Shafali Verma 31,Jemimah  Rodrigues 24*, Harmanpreet Kaur 26; Charlie Dean 1-29, Sophie Ecclestone 1-20, Issy Wong 1-18) beat England Women 126 for 7 in 20 overs  (Sophia Dunkley 22, Alice Capsey 18, Tammy Beaumont 20, Paige Scholfield 16, Sophie Ecclestone 16*, Issy Wong 11*;  Amanjot Kaur 1-20, Deepti Sharma 1-29,  Radha Yadav  2-15, Shree Charani 2-30) by six wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Sri Lanka eye T20 climb as Bangladesh series begins

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Dasun Shanaka is set to feature in the Sri Lankan side after almost a year in the first T20 International against Bangladesh that gets underway today at Pallekele.

Having turned the corner in One-Day Internationals with seven series wins out of nine since the Champions Trophy heartbreak, Sri Lanka now shift focus to the shortest format where their progress has been more of a stop-start affair.

Ranked seventh in T20 Internationals, Sri Lanka begin their three-match series against Bangladesh at Pallekele today aiming to tighten screws ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup, which they will co-host with India.

“We’ve made headway in ODIs, but T20s still remain a work in progress,” skipper Charith Asalanka told reporters on the eve of the game. “Our target is to get into the top five. The key is consistency and for that we need to get our combination right.”

Sri Lanka have done changes to the middle order. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Chamindu Wickramasinghe were given a go, but both have been sidelined for the series. In their place return the seasoned campaigners: Chamika Karunaratne and former captain Dasun Shanaka.

Shanaka is expected to bat at number six, but may float up the order depending on the situation, while Karunaratne slots in at number seven.

“We’re trying to be flexible. Shanaka can be used as a floater if we need early acceleration,” Asalanka explained.

Sri Lanka have about 15 games left to fine-tune their plans before the World Cup and Asalanka stressed the need to back players with extended runs rather than short-term trials.

“With seven months to go, we have time on our side. Managing workloads and keeping players in form is vital,” he said. “If the LPL goes ahead before the World Cup, that will give us another window to assess options.”

Among the key tactical moves is a role change for Avishka Fernando, who has been moved down the order after years at the top.

“Avishka batted at number four for Jaffna in the LPL and did a good job. We’ve earmarked that role for him. He’s no longer just an opener,” Asalanka revealed.

Sri Lanka, however, have been dealt a blow with the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga. The talismanic leg-spinner suffered a hamstring injury in the final ODI and has been ruled out of the series.

“Wanindu is our white-ball superstar, so missing him is a big setback,” Asalanka admitted. “But Jeffrey Vandersay has been quietly effective in recent years, and this is his chance to step up.”

The three-match series will be played across three venues – Pallekele, Dambulla and RPS – which Asalanka believes is a good thing.

“World Cups don’t happen at one ground. Playing across three different venues helps us adapt. It’s good preparation,” he said.

Rex Clementine at Pallekele

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Hasaranga ruled out of Bangladesh T20Is with hamstring injury

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Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh with a hamstring injury

Sri Lanka legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh, scheduled to begin on today (July 10), with a hamstring injury.

Hasaranga sustained the hamstring injury on his right leg while batting during the final ODI against the visitors in the just concluded three-match series that the hosts won by a 2-1 margin.

Captain Charith Asalanka confirmed that Jeffrey Vandersay will replace Hasaranga in the squad for the three-match series. “He( Hasaranga) will be a huge loss for us. He is our superstar in white-ball cricket,” Asalanka said on Wednesday.

[Cricbuzz]

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