Sports
Durban: A field of dreams for Sri Lankans
Rex Clementine in Durban
Some grounds hold a special place in the hearts of teams, sparking unforgettable performances and creating lasting memories. For Sri Lanka, Durban in South Africa is one such venue—etched into cricketing folklore with iconic moments.
The 1995 Rugby World Cup where hosts South Africa famously beat the All Blacks in a nail-biting final to brought a divided nation together. The Cricket World Cup they hosted was expected to have a similar effect. However, the script did not go to plan in 2003.
In their final group match at Kingsmead, South Africa faced Sri Lanka in a do-or-die encounter. What followed was a calamity of epic proportions. A misread of the Duckworth-Lewis sheet led Mark Boucher to block the final ball, believing his team had won the rain affected game. But in cricket’s cruel twist of fate, the tie only ensured South Africa’s exit. Sri Lanka, instead, sailed through.
The aftermath was a storm. Shaun Pollock, one of cricket’s most amiable characters, was unceremoniously sacked as captain. The loss was especially poignant for Pollock, a Durban native. Cricket royalty runs deep in this coastal city; Pollock’s father, Peter, and uncle, Graeme, had graced these pitches, as did legends like Barry Richards and Mike Procter—players whose careers were tragically curtailed by apartheid. In the modern era, Durban has produced stars like Jonty Rhodes, Lance Klusener, and Hashim Amla, who carried South Africa’s flag with distinction.
For Sri Lanka, Durban has been a happy hunting ground, particularly in Test cricket. Remarkably, they have never lost a Test here. The 2000 clash ended in a hard-fought draw, and in 2011, they registered a historic Boxing Day Test win.
That 2011 victory came against all odds. After suffering an innings defeat in the first Test, Sri Lanka arrived in Durban battered and bruised. But a spectacular team effort turned the tide. Thilan Samaraweera, controversially dropped earlier, made his critics eat their words with a sublime first-innings century. Kumar Sangakkara, ever the class act, sealed the deal with a second-innings ton. Chanaka Welegedara’s five-wicket haul in the first innings and Rangana Herath’s nine wickets across the match ensured a commanding win. Herath deservedly walked away with the Man of the Match award.
Fast forward to 2019, and once again, Sri Lanka arrived in Durban under a cloud of uncertainty. Fresh off a 2-0 series drubbing in Australia, they had lost captain Dinesh Chandimal to the selectors’ axe, and their batters were still nursing bruises—both literal and figurative—from relentless short-pitched bowling Down Under.
Coach Chandika Hathurusingha, however, refused to throw in the towel. He made critical adjustments to help the team tackle the short ball barrage, and his gamble paid off in spades. What unfolded at Kingsmead defied belief.
Set a daunting target of 304, Sri Lanka’s hopes seemed dead in the water. Enter Kusal Perera, who played the innings of a lifetime. His unbeaten 153 was a masterclass in guts and guile, blending defiance with audacity. The final wicket partnership with Vishwa Fernando, worth an unbelievable 78 runs, was the stuff of dreams. With nothing to lose, Kusal threw caution to the wind, pulling and hooking with abandon as South Africa ran out of ideas.
Sri Lanka snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, securing a famous one-wicket win. The match is now enshrined as Sri Lanka’s greatest Test triumph, with Kusal’s knock widely hailed as the finest innings ever played by a Sri Lankan.
For Sri Lankans, Durban is more than just a cricketing venue; it’s a theater of dreams where the underdog roars, and history is written in bold strokes.
There will be no auction for this year’s Lanka Premier League, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced, with a player draft set to take place instead on March 22.
The sixth edition of the LPL had originally been slated for early December 2025, but was postponed on account of ensuring the readiness of venues for the 2026 World Cup set to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India. The league has since been scheduled to take place from July 8 to August 8, which is the SLC’s preferred window.
This will be the first time since 2022 that a draft system is being utilised in the LPL, with both of the past two seasons hosting player auctions.
“During the draft, franchises will select both Sri Lankan and overseas players for the upcoming season of Sri Lanka’s premier domestic T20 tournament,” an SLC media release confirmed.
The inclusion of a sixth team had also been mooted prior to the competition’s postponement, however there have been no developments on that front since. Each of the first five editions of the LPL saw five teams representing Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Dambulla and Jaffna compete.
Earlier this year, Jaffna Kings – formerly the longest-standing franchise, having joined in the tournament’s second edition – and Colombo Strikers were terminated by SLC for “failure to uphold contractual obligations.” As a result, the LPL currently has no franchise owners with a history stretching back beyond 2024. New owners for both the Jaffna and Colombo teams are yet to be announced.
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka’s leg-spin spearhead Wanindu Hasaranga has warned rivals not to write off the hosts ahead of the World Cup, after his four-wicket burst in the final T20I against Pakistan helped Sri Lanka square the three-match series on Sunday.
Hasaranga’s spell turned the game on its head and restored belief in a side that has blown hot and cold. Speaking after being named Player of the Match and Player of the Series, the leg-spinner said Sri Lanka, buoyed by home conditions, remain very much in the hunt for a semi-final berth.
Under head coach Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka have made steady strides over the past 18 months. There have been a few distractions recently like changes in selectors and captaincy among them, but the dressing room, Hasaranga insisted, is quietly confident.
“We know the conditions and we’ve grown up playing in these conditions,” Hasaranga said. “If we use them well, we can have a major impact. Players need to identify their roles. Once that happens, we can put on a good show.”
Sunday’s decider was reduced to 12 overs a side after rain delayed the start by more than two hours, but Hasaranga felt the shortened contest still offered valuable lessons.
“Today we looked good,” he said. “We’ve been lacking a bit of consistency in recent years. In a World Cup, you have to minimise mistakes and keep moving forward.”
Bowling with a wet ball tested the spinners’ skills and patience, but Hasaranga viewed it as useful match practice rather than an inconvenience.
“It was challenging with a wet ball,” he explained. “But it’s good these things happen before a World Cup. It prepares you for all kinds of situations. I even spoke to our batters about what deliveries they’d prefer to face, and that input helped when we went out to defend.”
Sri Lanka now enjoy a week’s breather before hosting England with Hasaranga keen to see his side peak at the right time.
“When this series started, we had six games leading into the World Cup,” he said. “Rain in Dambulla meant things didn’t always go to plan. As a team, we wanted winning momentum. There are only a couple of games left now and we need to be firing on all cylinders when the World Cup begins.”
Sri Lanka had stumbled in the opener, losing by six wickets after being bowled out inside 20 overs, while the second match was washed out without a toss. A 14-run win in the final game, however, ensured honours ended even.
Rex Clementine
in Dambulla
It will be a four-way battle for the top post of Sri Lanka Athletics as fresh nominations for the election of office bearers closed at the Sports Ministry on Monday. Former president Sunil Gunawardana, Bimal Wijesinhge, Sugath Kumara and Prasanna Indika are the nominees for the post of president and they are subjected to objections.
This is the second time the Ministry of Sports called for nominations after different stakeholders successfully challanged the earlier niminations alleging that there were errors in the process.
Informed sources said that this time too the Ministry of Sports has left enough room for allegations as it announced the names of the nominees without waiting for the nominations sent by post.
”There was a fundamental error as they did not wait for nominations sent by post. They informed the stake holders by post. Some member federations had received the letters only on last Thursday. They were in a mighty hurry to announce the names of the nominees soon after the nominations closed,” a source close to athletics told The Island.
Following are the nominees for various posts of Sri Lanka Athletics.
President: Sunil Gunawardana, Bimal Wijesinhge, Prasanna Indika, Sugath Kumara
Vice President: Prasanna Indika, Lal Chandrakumara, Lt. Col. G.N. Jayathilaka, Irangani Rupasinghe, Jagath Silva, G.J. Siyamudali, Prasanna Aluvihare
Secretary: Dr. Dhammika Senanayake, Sameera Perera, Madawa Herath
Asst. Secretary: Sameera Perera, Aloy Wickramasinghe (RF)
Lanka Premier League draft set to take place on March 22
Trump to meet Venezuelan opposition leader Machado at the White House
Festival advance for government officers to be increased
Providing underutilized lands/properties to suitable investors for optimal utilization.
Implementation of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy
Expressions of Interest called to develop selected locations within the Pelawatte Sugar Factory premises
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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