Sports
Daniel anchors Sri Lanka Under 19s as hosts seal series
St. Joseph’s College all-rounder Shevon Daniel played the sheet anchor role to help Sri Lanka Under 19 pull off an exciting three wickets victory over their Bangladesh counterparts in the third Youth ODI as the hosts clinched the five-match series with two games to spare at Dambulla on Wednesday.
Chasing a cautious target of 185 runs to win, the hosts lost both their openers – Harindu Jayasekara and Ryan Fernando- cheaply. The batsmen from St. Thomas’ Matara and S. Thomas’, Mount Lavinia respectively were replacing Sadeesh Jayawardena and Jeewaka Shasheen who played in the last two matches.
The hosts were two wickets down for 14 runs when Daniel joined Pawan Pathiraja to build a valuable 75 runs stand for the third wicket. Pathiraja who had struck consecutive half centuries made 31 and helped the hosts ease their nerves. But when he was caught and bowled by Ahosan Habib in the 22nd over and triggered a mini collapse leaving Sri Lanka struggling at 96 for six. They slid further when Vinuja Ranpul was bowled by Mushfik Hasan. Daniel was then joined by Wanuja Kumara who was lucky to receive two lives in a match-deciding partnership. The Joe Pete combination was responsible for an unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 66 runs. Kumara’s contribution was 38 runs which included two fours. Daniel scored an unbeaten 85 runs, inclusive of seven fours and a six (117 balls) to seal the match and cement his place.
The hosts made five changes to the team that won back-to-back matches. Vinuja Ranpul, Lahiru Dewatage and Wanuja Kumara were the others who came in (to replace Sadisha Rajapaksha, Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Yasiru Rodrigo). Of the five replacements Kumara and Ranpul made the most of the opportunity. Kumara bowled economically and grabbed two wickets giving away just 26 runs in his quota of ten overs which included three maidens.
Deciding to bat first Bangladesh top order collapsed as Ranpul, Mathew and Raveen de Silva did well reducing them to 71 for seven wickets by the 19th over. They further slipped when de Silva bowled Ariful Islam for nine runs to take his third wicket. Bangladesh were 107 for eight wickets at that stage.
But Ashikur Zaman staged a dramatic fight back anchoring the innings with an unbeaten half century to help the visitors post 184 runs. Zaman added a valuable 71 runs stand for the ninth wicket with Ahosan Habib who added 33 runs. Zaman also had the support of Naimur Rohman as the duo batted together for 15 overs to fight back.
Zaman’s unbeaten 54 came in 73 balls and included seven fours.
The two teams will meet for the fourth Youth ODI on Saturday.
Matthew Kuhnemann has been cleared to join the Australia Test squad in Sri Lanka after recovering sufficiently following surgery to repair a thumb fracture.
Kuhnemann, the left-arm spinner, had broken his right thumb while playing in the BBL last week, but has been able to bowl in training this week. He will reach Sri Lanka over the weekend along with Oliver Peake, the young Victorian batter, who has been invited as a development player.
On Thursday, around 24 hours before confirmation he would join the tour, Kuhnemann had said that his surgically repaired thumb was almost pain-free as he bowled, batted and fielded in Brisbane.
Kuhnemann, 28, is a key member of the Australia side for the two Tests in Sri Lanka, with both Tests in Galle on what are expected to be turning pitches. But his tour looked in jeopardy when he was struck on the thumb during Brisbane Heat’s game against Hobart Hurricanes last Thursday.
He was driven to the hospital that night by Heat team-mate Daniel Drew, and he had the dislocation put back into place before having surgery the following morning to put a pin in the fracture. His recovery since then has been quick.
At Allan Border Field on Thursday, Kuhnemann bowled eight overs and also batted, facing throwdowns from Heat and Queensland bowling coach Andy Bichel. While fielding, he took a few catches, all overseen by Heat physio Adam Smith.
Kuhnemann is one of three frontline spinners in the Australia squad, alongside Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy, though the squad does have a number of part-timers, Travis Head the best among them.
Steven Smith, the stand-in captain for the series with regular captain Pat Cummins on paternity leave, was the other injury concern for Australia after he picked up an elbow injury during the BBL. Smith, who has a history of elbow problems, sustained the injury to his right arm, the one he had surgery on in 2019, while throwing in the field for Sydney Sixers in their match against Sydney Thunder last week.
He was also cleared to join the squad at their training camp in Dubai after seeing a specialist about the elbow issue.
The two-match World Test Championship (WTC) series doesn’t have a bearing on the final after Australia won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India 3-1 to book their place in the WTC final, where they will take on South Africa, but the visitors are aiming for a first series win there since 2011.
The two Tests will be played from January 29 and February 6, and will be followed by two ODIs – on February 12 and 14 – that will help Australia prepare for the Champions Trophy, which starts on February 19. Sri Lanka haven’t qualified for the tournament.
[Cricinfo]
Nepal, made sure hosts Malaysia‘s campaign ended as it had gone all along as they eked out a seven-wicket win in the later match in Johor. Captain Puja Mahato was the standout performer for Nepal, first picking up four wickets with her medium pace and then top-scoring in the small chase.
Malaysia, who came into the match after putting up scores of 23, 31 and 59 in the group stage, only managed 45 in 16.5 overs this time after being asked to bat. Nurimaan Hidayah was the only batter to get into double-digits as she scored 15 from 23 balls, with Mahato (4 for 9) and left-arm spinner Rachana Chaudhary (3 for 5) doing most of the damage.
The chase was straightforward, and Nepal got there in 11 overs for the loss on three wickets, with Mahato scoring a 32-ball 23 not out. Marsya Qiatina Binti Abdullah, the left-arm spinner, picked up all the wickets to fall.
Brief scores:
Malaysia Women Under 19s 45 in 16.5 overs [Nuriman Hidayah 15; Pooja Mahato 4-09, Riya Sharma 1-05, Rachana Chaudhary 3-05, Seemana KC 1-09] lost to Nepal Women Under 19s 47/3 in 11 overs [Pooja Mahatoa 23*; Marsya Qistina Binti Abdullah 3-18] by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
Chamari Athapaththu has been named in ICC’s Women’s T20 team of the year 2024
Chamari Athapaththu had a delayed start to her ODI year, playing her first match in April, but she wasted no time making an impact. She struck a half-century in the second ODI against South Africa before producing a career-best knock of 195* in the final match. She has scored 458 runs and captured 9 wickets in 9 matches.
Her outstanding form carried into Sri Lanka’s home series against West Indies, where the team secured a 3-0 clean sweep. Athapaththu played a pivotal role, smashing a brilliant 91 in the final ODI, narrowly missing out on a century by just nine runs.
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