Sports

Danushka Gunathilaka run out – a bone of contention

Published

5 years ago

2020/12/18

by Rex Clementine

Run outs over the years have played their part to decorate our beautiful game. There have been some famous ones; Allan Donald being run out in Birmingham to deny South Africa a place in the 1999 World Cup final and Sir Don Bradman being left stranded on 299 after his batting partner – Australia’s last man “Pud” Thurlow was run out in a Test match against South Africa in Adelaide in 1932 are just a few. The Lanka Premier League saw some high profile run outs as well.

Dambulla Viikings were knocked out in the semis by eventual champions Jaffna Stallions after their skipper Dasun Shanka attempted a cheeky single to short third man. Then in the final, the tournament’s highest run getter Danushka Gunathilaka was run out making several people to question the mode of his dismissal and whether the umpires could have done anything more to reinstate the batsman.

It has been a debate that has been widely discussed in cricket circles mainly because Galle Gladiators run chase was derailed soon after Gunathilaka’s departure and eventually it was an easy win for Jaffna Stallions.

The incident happened in the second over of the innings. Suranga Lakmal was bowling round the wicket to the left-handed batsman and he appealed for leg before wicket after Gunathilaka missed a flick shot to a full delivery. Lakmal had his back turned to the batsman as he was appealing and he had crossed onto the other side of the pitch – the lane in which Gunathilaka was running. The batsman was running blind as well looking at the ball and the two collided.

Jaffna Stallions skipper Thisara Perera was cool as a cucumber. He collected the ball, sprinted to the non-striker’s end and threw the stumps down before Gunathilaka made it.

What happened was an unfortunate incident and there is no law in cricket where a batsman could be reinstated after such an incident – it’s a funny game they say.

It certainly was no obstruction. Lakmal simply didn’t see Gunathilaka and vice-versa.

However, had Gunathilaka stood his ground after he collided with Lakmal and still if Perera had taken the bails off and appealed, then the umpires could have asked the question from the fielding side’s captain if he wanted to go ahead with the appeal. In most cases, captains withdraw their appeals. Thisara Perera would have probably done the same.

But the problem was Gunathilaka attempted to complete the run and therefore the umpires had Hobson’s Choice. Both on-field umpires – Ruchira Palliyaguru and Kumar Dharmasena are International Cricket Council umpires and they are well equipped to deal with situations like these.

It was a shame that Gunathilaka had to go that way. Boy, what a tournament he had. His 476 runs came at an average of 60 and Strike Rate of 145. No other batsman even managed to reach the 300 run mark in the competition. He is certainly going to have a massive impact not just in T-20 cricket but ODIs as well in time to come. If only he can stay out of trouble, we are going to hear a lot more of Gunathilaka’s exploits soon.

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Canada bowl against pace-heavy South Africa

Published

4 hours ago

2026/02/9

Priyan

Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada will lead South Africa's pace attack (Cricinfo)

Canada captain Dilpreet Bajwa won the toss and asked South Africa to bat in their World Cup opener in Ahmedabad.

South Africa have opted for a pace-heavy attack. Keshav Maharaj slots in as their only spinner, alongside the speedy quartet of Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. Tristan Stubbs also begins the tournament at the No. 6 spot – a position Jason Smith had occupied in their last T20I, while Stubbs had slid down to No. 7. Smith is in the World Cup squad but did not find a spot in South Africa’s starting eleven.

South Africa’s pace is expected to get the most out of a characteristically flat Ahmedabad black-soil pitch. But first, their batters will have a hit in a game they begin as overwhelming favourites against Canada, who are their second World Cup.

Canada’s new captain, Bajwa, will lead the side at a global tournament for the first time. He also slots in at the top of the order, alongside Yuvraj Samra, and their batting power will be key to their hopes of causing a massive upset.

Canada have lost both their warm-up games – to Italy and Nepal – but should their batters come off on a friendly pitch, South Africa will look to have the added insurance of a few more runs in the bank before dew takes over when Canada begin their chase at night.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi

Canada: Dilpreet Bajwa (capt), Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva, Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel

(Cricinfo)

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Muzarabani returns as Zimbabwe opt to bowl against Oman

Published

8 hours ago

2026/02/9

Priyan

Sikandar Raza and Jatinder Singh at the toss (Cricinfo)

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza decided to field first against Oman in the men’s T20 World Cup match at the SSC in Colombo. Both teams were pleased to arrive in Sri Lanka early to get themselves attuned to the conditions.

Zimbabwe have Blessing Muzarabani back in the squad after he missed the tri-series in Pakistan in November.

Oman, meanwhile, include 44-year-old Aaamir Kaleem the oldest player in the tournament – after he came into the side in place of Hasnain Shah, who was injured after the squad was named.

Zimbabwe return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition in West Indies and the United States of America. They had made it to the Super 12s of the 2022 T20 World Cup but failed to progress through the qualifiers for the 2024 tournament. They completed qualification alongside Namibia; Brian Bennett was the tournament’s top run-scorer, while Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were among the leading wicket-takers.

Zimbabwe are bolstered by the return of Graeme Cremer, whose November 2025 comeback marked the longest gap between T20I appearances.

Oman are one of three qualifiers from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Nepal and the UAE. They have previously appeared in the 2016, 2021, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.

Oman: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmad

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani

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Munsey and Leask spoil Italy’s T20 World Cup debut2

Published

8 hours ago

2026/02/9

Priyan

George Munsey top scored for Scotland (Cricinfo)

Scotland may have suffered a blip the last time they faced Italy in a T20I but ensured they picked up the first points of their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign after a dominant performance at Eden Gardens. George Munsey’s 54-ball 84, supported by cameos from Brandon McMullen and Michael Leask, followed by Leask’s four-wicket haul helped Scotland spoil Italy’s debut in the tournament. The 73-run win gave Scotland two points after their defeat to West Indies in Kolkata two days ago.

Brief scores:

Scotland 207 for 4 in 20 overs (George Munsey 84, Michael Jones 37, Brandon McMullen 41, Richie Berrington 15, Michael Leask 22*; Ali Hasan 1-21, Grant Stewart 1-44, Thomas Draca 1-37, JJ Smuts 1-38) beat Italy 134 in 16.4 overs (Anthony Mosca 13, JJ Smutts 22, Harry Manenti 52; Michael Leask 4-17, Brad Currie 1-12, Brad Wheal 1-29, Mark Watt 2-24, Oliver Davidson 1-33 ) by 73 runs

(Cricinfo)