Sports
Chamindu, Sadisha hammer centuries as SL U19s romp to victory
Sri Lanka Under 19s romped to their second consecutive victory in the Asian Cricket Council Under-19 Asia Cup tournament as Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Sadisha Rajapaksa scored centuries to set the stage to beat Nepal Under 19s by 60 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 323 runs to victory Nepal top order provided hope with openers putting up a 59 runs stand but three quick wickets by Raveen de Silva proved vital as Nepal lost the momentum to be placed 92 for four wickets in the 23rd over.
Wicketkeeper batsman Arjun Saud anchored the batting line up with a half century to keep hopes alive for Nepal but bowlers did well to contain the run flow. His run out dismissal at the start of the last ten overs doused late sparks as Nepal were bowled out for 262 runs with 13 balls remaining in their innings. Paceman Matheesha Pathirana accounted for three late order wickets.
Deciding to bat first, the second wicket pair of Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Sadisha Rajapaksa put on a massive stand of 223 runs as both went on to score centuries. That stand provided the key for Sri Lanka Under 19s victory. It was the second Youth ODI century for Wickramasinghe as the St. Anthony’s, Katugastota all rounder scored 111 runs inclusive of eight fours and two sixes. His first Youth ODI century was scored in the home series against Bangladesh.
When he got out, the team had posted 262 runs leaving the middle order batsmen with seven overs to accelerate the run rate with Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa went on to compile a valuable 131 runs in just 119 balls. The Royal College, Colombo batsman’s knock included 11 fours and two sixes. Wellalage provided the finishing touches to the innings scoring an unbeaten 34 in 24 balls. He scored three fours and a six.
The team posted over 300 runs for the second time with as many as five batsmen not facing a single ball. In their first match Sri Lanka Youth team beat Kuwait by 274 runs.
Sri Lanka Under 19s will now meet their Bangladesh counterparts in the last group match on Tuesday.
Scores:
Sri Lanka U19s 322
for 4 in 50 overs (Chamindu Wickramasinghe 111, Shevon Daniel 17, Sadisha Rajapaksa 131, Dunith Wellalage 34n.o.; Mohammad Aadil Alam 2/46)
Nepal U19s 262
all out in 47.5 overs (Santosh Karki 34, Dev Khanal 28, Arjun Saud 64, Basir Ahamad 43, Bibek Yadav 46; Matheesha Pathirana 3/49, Raveen de Silva 3/35)
Delhi Capitals’ (DC) signing of Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizure Rahman for the remainder of IPL 2025 has hit a snag, with the BCB stating that it hasn’t been approached for a no-objection certificate (NOC).
Usually, the IPL only announces signings after a player has received an NOC from his home board. According to its CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury, however, the BCB had yet to receive a request for one.
“Mustafizur is supposed to go with the team to the UAE according to the schedule,” Chowdhury told ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday. “We have not received any communication from IPL officials. I have also not received any such official communication from Mustafizur either.”
Mustafizur is part of the Bangladesh T20I squad that is due to play back-to-back away T20I series against UAE and Pakistan, both of which clash with the IPL. On Wednesday, hours after the IPL announced his signing as a replacement for Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mustafizur flew out to Dubai with the rest of Bangladesh’s squad.
Bangladesh are due to play two T20Is in the UAE on May 17 and 19, followed by five in Pakistan on May 25, 27 and 30, and June 1 and 3. Those two series are in conflict with the IPL; DC are set to play their last three league matches on May 18, 21 and 24, followed by the playoffs should they get there.
ESPNcricinfo has sought a response from DC on this development.
[Cricinfo]
Sprinter Aruna Dharshana who is undergoing treatments for an injury he sustained during the World Relays, is racing against time to recover for the Asian Athletics Championships which will be held in South Korea later this month.
The 400 metres specialist is one of the two sprinters slated to compete in the one lap race. He is also a key member of the men’s 4×400 metres and 4×400 metres mixed relays alongside Kalinga Kumarage.
“Currently Dharshana is undergoing treatments. We are hopeful that he will recover in time for the Asian Championships,” Dharshana’s coach Asanka Rajakaruna told ‘The Island’.
“Sri Lanka Athletics will conduct a fitness test before the Asian Championships. Hopefully he will be ready by that time,” said Rajakaruna.
Sri Lanka Athletics earlier said that a fitness test will be held to assess the strength of the 20 strong team selected for the biennial event.
Sri Lanka fielded only a mixed relay team for the recently held World Relays in Guangzhou, China where an injury to Dharshana cost them a chance to achieve a top performance and a probable ticket to the World Championships in Tokyo later this year.
Sri Lanka won a historic gold medal in the men’s 4×400 metres at the last edition of the Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok Thailand where the team inclusive of Dharshana beat India to the second place with a new championship record time of 03:01.56 seconds.
Kalinga Kumarage who did the anchor leg and Dharshana are the only members from that gold winning team selected for the upcoming event.
Dharshana is the only Sri Lankan athlete to have clocked sub 45 seconds in the 400 metres after legendary Sugath Thilakaratne.
Dharshana and Kumarage hold the second and third places respectively in the list of fastest times achieved in the 400 metres by Sri Lankan athletes. Dharshana has a personal best of 44.99 seconds achieved during the last Olympic games.
by Reemus Fernando
110th Colombo Championships
Dinara de Silva bagged her second title of the Colombo Championships as she partnered Inuki Jayaweera to record straight sets victory in the women’s doubles final played at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts on Wednesday.
Dinara and Inuki beat Venuli Jayasinghe and Sandithi Usgodaarachchi 6-2, 6-3 in the doubles final.
Incidentally, it was the second title of the tournament for both Dinara and Inuki.
While Dinara won the women’s singles and doubles titles, Inuki was the winner of the mixed doubles and the women’s doubles.
Women’s doubles results
Semi-finals
Dinara de Silva and Inuki Jayaweera beat Dulkini Ranasinghe and Tania Doloswala 6-3, 6-2
Venuli Jayasinghe and Sandithi Usgodaarachchi beat Bovindee Imihamy and Siyara Devappriya 6-3, 6-0.
Quarter-finals
Venuli Jayasinghe and S. Usgodaarachchi beat Tuvini de Alwis and Hasali Gajaba 6-4, 5-7, 10-3.
Dinara de Silva and Inuki Jayaweera beat Nimasha Shehara and Arushi Thomas 6-1, 6-3.
Dulkini Ranasinghe and Tania Doloswala beat Diyansa de Silva and Lihini Jayakody 4-6, 6-3, 10-6.
Bovindee Imihamy and Siyara Devappriya received a walkover from Gehansa Methnadi and Akeesha Silva.
Second lot of luxury and decommissioned vehicles owned by the Presidential Secretariat sold
President approves establishment of Anti-Corruption Investigation Units in Provincial Councils and LG Institutions
Seven new envoys to Sri Lanka present credentials to the President
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