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Danushka Gunathilaka run out – a bone of contention

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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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Track and field action from Diyagama

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Olympian Sumedha Ranasinghe was the winner of the men’s javelin throw as he cleared a distance of 78.31 metres.

The Track and Field season commenced with some of the best athletes in the senior and Under 20 age categories producing notable performances during the two-day Junior and Senior Selection Trial concluded at Diyagama on Tuesday. Here are some action pictures from the day two of the event.

(Pix by Kamal Wanniarachchi)

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Dharshana’s false start dampen an otherwise remarkable day

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Tharushi Karunaratne beat Nadeesha Ramanayake to win the women’s 400 metres.

by Reemus Fernando

Sprinter Aruna Dharshana gave athletics fans both joy and heartache on an otherwise remarkable day as the Junior and Senior Track and Field trials concluded with a number of athletes achieving their personal bests at Diyagama yesterday.

Athletics analysts were waiting for Dharshana to reach his personal best in the men’s 400 metres final after the Army athlete produced the best performance in the heats where as many as five athletes clocked sub 47 seconds. When Dharshana followed up his 200 metres winning time of 21.12 seconds with a feat of 46.43 seconds in the 400 metres many expected him to produce a sub 46 seconds performance in the final.

But the shocking foul start meant that he will have to wait for more than a month to test his true potential. Incidentally, Kalinga Kumarage, who was off-colour in the heats (47.51 secs – second in heat 3) won the final with a feat of 46.27 seconds. However, 100 metres sprinter Medhani Jayamanne who was disqualified for a foul start in the women’s 100 metres heats was not so unlucky, as athletics officials gave her an opportunity to compete in the women’s 100 metres final, though her place was (2nd) not recognised. She clocked 12.16 seconds in the final.

Chamod Yodasinghe reached his personal best to win the men’s 100 metres.

In Dharshana’s absence four others, namely, Kumarage, R.N. Rajakaruna, Dinuka Deshan and Pabasara Niku clocked sub 47 seconds.

In the corresponding women’s 400 metres, schoolgirl Tharushi Karunaratne continued to shock her senior counterparts. Having won the women’s 800 metres on day one, the Ratnayake Central prodigy also bagged the 400 metres victory as she clocked 53.41 seconds to beat Asian Championship participant Nadeesha Ramanayake.

In the men’s 100 metres Chamod Yodasinghe reached his personal best as he clocked 10.37 seconds to win the final.

In the women’s 100 metres final, Rumeshika Ratnayake clocked 12.01 seconds to win running against the wind (-2.9). In the heats, she clocked sub 12 seconds.

In the morning, Gayanthika Abeyratne finished the women’s 1500 metres just three seconds shy of her national record mark as she clocked 4:12.53 seconds to win closely followed by steeplechase national record holder Nilani Ratnayake. Abeyratne’s national record established last year stands at 4:09.12 seconds.

In the Under 20 age category events Malith Yasiru produced the second-best performance of the Asian region in the Under 20 boys’ triple jump this year when he cleared a distance of 15.43 metres to win the event.

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Sri Lankan sailing teams compete in Pakistan

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The Sri Lankan national team of two sailors and one windsurfer, with the Navy team of a sailor and a windsurfer, were invited to participate at the first Chief of Navy Staff International Sailing Regatta 2023 held from March 14 to 20 in Karachi, Pakistan. Twelve countries including Australia, Bahrain, Croatia, Egypt, China, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey had sent their teams to Karachi. The Sri Lankan national team consisted of Laser Standard sailor (ILCA 7) NGMU Ghanawardene, Sri Lanka Navy, Priyantha Gunawardene, Sri Lanka Navy participating in the Windsurfing RSX Class and Laser 4.7 (ILCA 4) sailor Tharen Nanayakkara. The Navy team consisted of Laser Standard sailor (ILCA 7) JMPL Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka Navy and WAS Weeratunge, Sri Lanka Navy participating in the Windsurfing RSX Class.

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