Sports
Dwivedi Samarth wins Dialog Sri Lanka Open 2023

Dwivedi Samarth from India won the Dialog Sri Lanka Open played after a lapse of six years. Dwivedi Samarth from India based with his family in Bangkok, Thailand since 1993, plays in the PGTI having turned Pro-Golfer eight years ago. Samarth is currently ranked 34th in the current PGTI rankings and during the off-season of the PGTI, plays in the Thailand Pro-tournaments.
Samarth said “After eight years of hard work, injuries, training and playing with passion and love for Golf finally brought victory in the Dialog Sri Lanka Open 2023. I have come close many times, I have shot 9 under 3 times but I was able to shoot 10 under and capture my first win in a Pro – Tournament for the first time and I believe it will be the first of many more in the future”.
Dwivedi Samarth led the field from round two where he climbed to the top of the leaderboard with a stunning 10 under par and maintained his lead to the end. Samarth’s achievement is creditable as he was paired-off with Chouhan Om Prakash the number one ranked and Jamal Hossain number five ranked currently, having won the final PGTI event played in the first half of the PGTI 2023 season. The final round was a tense battle of skill, temperament and ability closely followed by a substantial crowd and Live-Coverage provided by DTV and Paper.com. Samarth two strokes ahead of Jamal held on to the same lead at the end with a final round two under par to be 13 under par on 271. Chouhan Om Prakash fired a three under par to tie for second place with Jamal Hossain who was one stroke ahead of O P. Anura Rohana the seven-time champion of the Open also shot a three under par 68 to clinch fourth place ahead of Udayan Mane, Saptak Talvar, Rashid Khan, Mithun Perera and M. Dharma of India.
The elegant Prize Giving covered LIVE by Dialog and Papare was an opportunity for Michael Magala, President Sri Lanka Golf (SLG) to appreciate the title Sponsor Dialog Axiata PLC, the Travel Partner SriLankan Airlines who brought-in international golfers from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, the Hospitality Partner Courtyard By Marriott Colombo who hosted the international players, Transcend Drive the Transport Partner, OLU water the Hydration Partner, Capitol Twin Peaks the 4th Hole-in-One partner, MD Nectar the fruit-drinks partner, Hemas Hospitals the Medi-Care Partner, 9th Hole-in-One sponsor SriLankan Airlines, the Goodwill Sponsors Lanka IOC, GFLock, Devi Jewelers, Ideal Motors – Mahendra, Prima Ceylon, Pepsi, Fair First Insurance, English Tea Shop, Dynacom Engineering, Omegaline and well-wishers.
Navin Peiris, Group Chief Officer, Dialog Enterprise, Dialog Axiata PLC, speaking on the occasion said that Dialog supports many sports and is happy to have been the title sponsor of the Dialog Sri Lanka Open 2023 promoting Golf with Live-Coverage of the tournament. He also said that Dialog would be happy to continue sponsorship and coverage of Golf with the Dialog team also learning the intricacies of the game, going forward to increase more international participation. Rohith Silva Captain of the RCGC recognized the RCGC Professional Jehan De Saram for a splendid job preparing the Golf Course fit for a super Open Championship and thanked the SLG for the development of junior golf significantly facilitating 12 juniors to play in the Sri Lanka Open. Ranil Peiris the President Elect of Sri Lanka Golf thanked the out-going President Michael Magala for an amazing Dialog Sri Lanka Open 2023 and for setting a very high benchmark to follow. He further thanked all the sponsors for the partnership with Sri Lanka Golf and invited all to continue the feature Open Championship next year.
Latest News
New Zealand cruise past Pakistan’s 345 with five wickets in hand

Kane Williamson’s return to action headlined New Zealand’s first official warmup match of the 2023 World Cup as they hit the right notes with the bat in a high-scoring game in Hyderabad. Mohammad Rizwan (103) and Babar Azam (80) provided a good platform and the middle order got amongst the runs to help Pakistan post 345. The total, however, proved insufficient as New Zealand, led by Rachin Ravindra’s 97 and three other half-century scores, including that of Williamson, pulled off the chase with 6.2 overs to spare
After Devon Conway was dismissed by Hasan Ali for a golden duck, Ravindra and Williamson got together and added 179 runs in just 22 overs to power New Zealand’s chase. Williamson decided to retire after crossing fifty while Ravindra was dismissed by Agha Salman before he could get a ton. Usama Mir then picked up the wickets of Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips in quick succession but fifties from Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell, and an important 33 from James Neesham, helped New Zealand over the line in the 44th over.
Earlier, After opting to bat, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq in the second over to Matt Henry while Mitch Santner had Abdullah Shafique out stumped. Babar, who started watchfully, found his groove while Rizwan also scored at a steady rate as they raised a century partnership to set things up nicely for Pakistan. Babar, however, missed a hundred while Rizwan retired after reaching three figures, giving Pakistan’s lower middle order some time out in the middle. Saud Shakeel (75) and Agha Salman (33*) came up with handy contributions to propel Pakistan past 340.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 345/5 in 50 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 103, Babar Azam 80; Mitch Santner 2-39) lost to New Zealand 346/5 in 43.4 overs (Rachin Ravindra 97, Mark Chapman 65; Usama Mir 2-68) by 5 wickets
Latest News
Mahedi, Tanzid, Litton and Mehidy star in breezy Bangladesh win

Half-centuries from Bangladesh’s top three of Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz took their side to a comfortable win over Sri Lanka in their first warm-up fixture ahead of the ODI World Cup, in Guwahati on Friday.
Bangladesh bowled Sri Lanka out for 263 and chased it down with eight overs to spare; other than all the issues these facts point to, Sri Lanka will also worry about their opener Kusal Perera, who walked off the field in the 10th over of their innings with a strain in his right shoulder. He hit 34 off 24 before retiring hurt.
Apart from the result, Bangladesh would have been pleased with Tanzid – who made his debut during the Asia Cup in August and has played just five ODIs so far – as he eases into the international scene. His breezy knock of 84 off 88 balls, which included ten fours and two sixes, blunted a Sri Lanka attack that struggled to exert any pressure. His 131-run opening stand off 124 balls with Litton, who notched up 61, laid a fine platform for the team to chase down Sri Lanka’s 263. Mehidy, who was Bangladesh’s captain for the game, followed the openers’ efforts with an unbeaten 67. He had also bowled 10 tight overs, taking 1 for 32.
After they opted to bat, Sri Lanka began promisingly, with Pathum Nissanka adding a combined 104 with Perera and Kusal Mendis, before they lost their first wicket in the 15th over. Nissanka top-scored with an aggressive 68 and Dhananjaya de Silva made 55 at No. 6 but most of the middle order struggled to get going, with offspinner Mahedi Hassan picking up 3 for 36 in his nine overs. Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed and Mehidy also chipped in with a wicket each to bowl Sri Lanka out for in the final over.
Bangladesh will play their next warm-up game against England on Monday while Sri Lanka will meet Afghanistan on Tuesday. Both matches will be played at the same venue.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 264 for 3 in 42 overs (Tanzid Hasan 84, Mehidy Hasan Mirza 67*, Litton Das 61, Mushfiqur Rahim 35*) beat Sri Lanka 263 in 49.1 overs (Pathum Nissanka 68, Kusal Perera 34, Kusal Mendis 22, Dhananjaya de Silva 55, Mahedi Hassan 3-36) by seven wickets
Sports
Danushka Gunathilaka found not guilty in sexual assault trial

Sri Lanka batter Danushka Gunathilaka has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a Tinder date through the act of “stealthing”.Judge Sarah Huggett acquitted the 32-year-old as he sat at Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Thursday listening to the decision. He said he was looking forward to returning to playing after his acquittal.
“The evidence establishes that there was no opportunity for the accused to remove the condom during intercourse because that intercourse was continuous,” the judge said in handing down the verdict.
Judge Huggett found the complainant, who cannot be legally named, appeared to be an intelligent, calm and responsive witness who did not deliberately give false evidence.
However, at times the woman gave the impression she was “motivated by a desire to paint the cricketer in an unfavourable light”, the judge said.
“I find that the evidence regarding the complaint far from supports the complainant. Rather it undermines the reliability of her evidence.”
The cricketer’s defence team signalled he will apply for the Crown to pay his legal costs of defending the allegation.Outside court, Gunathilaka thanked his lawyers, parents and others who supported him during what he described as a very hard 11 months.
“I’m happy my life is normal again,” he said. “I can’t wait to go back and play cricket.”
Gunathilaka and the woman matched on the dating app and met for drinks at Opera Bar in November 2022 before having pizza together in the Sydney CBD and then catching a ferry to the woman’s eastern suburbs home.
Police initially brought four charges against Gunathilaka, who was arrested at the Hyatt Regency hours before the Sri Lankan cricket team was due to fly out of the country. Prosecutors later dropped three of those charges.
In statements to police and the court, the woman accused the batsman of various acts of aggression and violence such as slapping her buttocks, forcefully kissing her and bruising her lips and choking her during sex.There was no suggestion by prosecutors at trial that any of these acts constituted an offence, although the woman in her evidence said the sex was non-consensual.
Gunathilaka always maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent relating to the cricketer’s alleged “stealthing”, or removing his condom during sex without the woman’s consent.
During the judge-alone trial, defence lawyers questioned the credibility of the complainant, claiming her story shifted over time and that she edited her version of events to paint Gunathilaka as an aggressive person.
Judge Huggett also heard evidence from two of the woman’s friends who described her as fragile and distraught the day after the cricketer attended her home.Police officers who spoke to the woman were also questioned about the way they handled the case, including omitting crucial details, throwing out notes and potentially contaminating witnesses.
Judge Huggett on Thursday described the conduct of police in prosecuting Gunathilaka as “very concerning” and “far from satisfactory”.
Gunathilaka has been on bail during the trial but was unable to play international cricket or return to his hometown of Colombo.
(Cricinfo)
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