Sports
Can Sri Lanka reverse horrendous record against South Africa?
Rex Clementine
in New York
South Africa themselves have a horrendous record at ICC events. To think that Sri Lanka have not beaten them in an ICC competition is outrageous. Since beating them in the 2014 T-20 World Cup in Bangladesh, where Sri Lanka were crowned champions, these teams have met six times in ICC hosted events and all those games have been won by South Africa.
That includes three 50 over World Cup games (2015, 2019 and 2023), two T-20 World Cup matches (2016 and 2021) and one Champions Trophy game (2017).
This Sri Lankan side will try to reverse that trend. It will be a tough ask though. South Africa is a seasoned side with several of their players having a good run in the IPL. On paper, the Proteas are the stronger side. But stranger things have happened in cricket.
Sri Lanka will be glad that the high-pressure game is done and dusted at the start of the competition itself. Even if they lose the game, they can still go to second round with wins overs Bangladesh, Nepal and Netherlands. Wanindu Hasaranga’s side should cruise past those opponents.
Sri Lanka will be buoyed by the fact that their captain Wanindu Hasaranga has been rated number one all-rounder in the world. He has had a good outing this year with the bat since promoting himself as a ‘floater’ Most of that success came against spin and it will be interesting to see how he will go against a side that’s strong on pace.
Sri Lanka’s bowling is their strength and they have done well to contain sides in this format of the game where big runs is the order of the day. It’s their batting that has been a concern.
However, there have been good signs. Kusal Mendis was Player of the Series in Sri Lanka’s last T-20 win while Pathum Nissanka has had an excellent start to the year. Kamindu Mendis nearly won a game singlehandedly in Dambulla while Sadeera Samarawickrama posted both his half-centuries in T-20s this year. Charith Asalanka has been involved in several rescue acts and the batting woes have been addressed adequately.
After the opening game, Sri Lanka will travel to Dallas to take on Bangladesh followed by their third game in Miami against Nepal. Their final Group ‘D’ match is against Netherlands in St. Lucia.
(Cricbuzz)
By A Special Sports Correspondent
All eyes will be on new entrants to rugby ‘Sri Lions Sports Club’ when they debut in the 2024/25 Inter-club league rugby tournament in Kandy on Sunday (December 15). Sri Lions are slated to take on last season’s league tournament runners-up Kandy Sports Club at the Nittawela grounds. Despite Sri Lions SC being new to domestic rugby, a thriller is expected; as the team is packed with players who are well drilled at training and the other reason being all players possess an IRB Level 1 qualification.
Sri Lions SC’s entry into division 1 rugby was not smooth. Many clubs opposed their promotion to the top league in the domestic tournament. Rugby sources told ‘The Island’ that despite the opposition shown by some clubs, Sri Lanka Rugby and other prominent sports authorities in Sri Lanka had to grant the new entrants their due place in the top league. This was largely because Sri Lions SC had made progress through the proper channel by winning the B Division rugby tournament last season.
Dr. Kelum Sujith Perera, the founder chairman of Sri Lions SC, was quoted in the newspapers saying that the club’s priority was centred around professionalism and transparency and that the club was committed to contributing to rugby development in Sri Lanka.
The club boasts of having in their line up comprising 12 former national players and a horde of talented ex-schoolboy players who have recently finished their academic commitments on a high.
The other matches scheduled for the first week of club rugby are: Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club vs CH&FC at Ratmalana (December 13), Army Sports Club vs Police Sports Club at Panagoda, Navy Sport Club vs Havelocks SC at Welisara (Both matches on December 14).
CR&FC will be one of the teams to watch this season given that they are the reigning league rugby champions. The side is led by Gemunu Chethiya. The club upgrading their stadium to have floodlight facilities should elevate player thinking to another level. The other club to offer floodlight facilities for domestic rugby matches is Havelocks SC. However CR will not have a match in the opening week of the tournament.
Last season’s league runners-up Kandy SC are led this season by seasoned scrum half Srinath Sooriyabandara who counts years of experience playing in domestic and overseas tournaments. The side is coached by Fazil Marija. Kandy SC’s dominance in domestic rugby was broken last season and much is expected of the side from Nittawela, which is going through a team building phase at present.
CH&FC is a dangerous side to play against when the team members are gelled and focused. Last season the side finished fourth. This season the Gymkhana Club is led by Janidu Dilshan.
Havelocks SC led by Abdullah Faiz is set to finish on a high this season. The Park Club finished third in the league rugby tournament last season. Police SC, which had to be satisfied winning the ‘Plate Championship’ in the league tournament last season, will be another strong contender vying for honours . The side is led for the second consecutive year by third row forward Mohan Wimalaratne.
The other sides in the tournament are Army SC, Air Force Sports Club and Navy Sport Club.
The tournament is conducted by Sri Lanka Rugby, the governing body for the sport in the island. Rugby sources reveal that an SGM has been called on December 20 for clubs to attend with the motive of announcing the date for the much looked forward to Annual General Meeting of SLR. According to International Rugby regulations, SLR has to have it’s AGM before January 31 next year.
SLTA Hard Court Nationals
Revaan Amarasinghe and Shennon Senadheera reached the Under 12 boys singles final as they edged out their semi-final opponents at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association Hard Court Tennis Nationals at the SLTA courts on Thursday.
Amarasinghe of S.Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia beat Nuren Wevita 6-1, 6-1 in his semi-final.
In the other semi-final, Wesley’s Shannon Senadheera beat Yonal Dankumbura 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Results : Under 14 Boys quarter-final
Jayan Sebastian beat Buvidu Jayawardana 6-4, 6-3.
Damsath Peiris beat Thuvakar Sathiees 6-3, 6-4.
D. Wickramasinghe beat Umar Wayis 6-3, 6-1.
Under 18 Boys’ semi-final
Louis Knese beat Ganuka Fernando 6-4, 6-3
Women’s Singles quarter-final
Rukshika Wijesuriya beat Sandithi Usgodaarachchi 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
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