Sports
Gura: The unsung hero
The autobiography of Mr. Ranjit Fernando, launched last month, offers a fascinating peek behind the curtain into how a clutch of Sri Lanka’s finest cricketers were groomed in their formative years. Mr. Fernando was in charge when the Sri Lanka Under-19 side toured Australia in 1984 under the captaincy of Aravinda de Silva, a team that read like a who’s who of future stars, featuring Roshan Mahanama, Asanka Gurusinha and Jerome Jayaratne among others. The Aussies had Mark Taylor, the Waugh brothers and Craig McDermott.
As Mr. Fernando kept a watchful eye on his young charges, there was mischief brewing beneath the surface. At the book launch at the Galle Face Hotel, Aravinda let the cat out of the bag. Gurusinha, it turns out, had masterminded a daring escape plan, players sneaking out through the hotel window, climbing onto the roof and sliding down a pole to freedom to enjoy the night life in Brisbane..
Mr. Fernando, ever the hawk-eyed disciplinarian, caught wind of the escapade. Yet in a twist that raised a few eyebrows, it was Gurusinha who was handed the captaincy for the next Under-19 tour to England. Some insist Fernando had missed the mischief; others, who know him better, reckon he was playing a long game, setting a thief to catch thieves, backing a natural leader who could keep the dressing room in check.
Fast forward to 1996 and Gurusinha found himself cast in a very different role on cricket’s biggest stage. During Sri Lanka’s victorious World Cup campaign, he was often seen as the quiet man at the crease, a grafter in a team of dashers. To the untrained eye, his batting seemed workmanlike, even pedestrian. Fans, spoilt for choice with the pyrotechnics of Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Aravinda de Silva, wanted fireworks, not forward defence. In a line-up full of strokemakers, many wondered what Gurusinha brought to the table.
Gura was no mug with the bat. He could clear the ropes and put bowlers to the sword when the situation demanded. But in that 1996 campaign, every cog in the wheel had a purpose. His job was to drop anchor, bat time and allow the strokemakers to play with freedom around him. It was a role that demanded discipline, selflessness and a thick skin, especially when the crowd was baying for boundaries.
While others were flaying attacks and ending the careers of bowlers like Manoj Prabhakar and Richard Illingworth, Gura was content to rotate the strike, even if it meant playing second fiddle. The fans, unaware of the team’s blueprint, were not always appreciative. Their impatience did not go unnoticed.
At one point, a frustrated Gurusinha had had enough. He approached captain Arjuna Ranatunga and Manager Duleep Mendis, keen to throw off the shackles and play his natural game. But the think tank stood firm, urging him to see the bigger picture, to play for the team, not the gallery. Gurusinha bought in, rolled up his sleeves and stuck to the script. The rest, as they say, is history.
As Sri Lanka marked the 30th anniversary of that famous triumph this week, Gurusinha reflected on the campaign in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, offering fresh insight into the tactical nous that underpinned their success.
Sri Lanka’s batting line-up featured four left-handers in the top seven, no accident, but a calculated move. The plan was clear: take on Shane Warne, Australia’s trump card and knock him off his rhythm.
The Australians had a well-worn blueprint, build pressure through dot balls, squeeze the scoring and force batters into mistakes. Sri Lanka were determined not to fall into that trap. At that stage of his career, Warne was still developing his armoury and did not possess a reliable wrong’un to trouble left-handers.
When Jayasuriya fell early in the final, the baton passed to Gurusinha. True to plan, he stepped up, using his feet, unsettling Warne and disrupting Australia’s chokehold. It was a knock that didn’t grab headlines but played a crucial hand in tilting the contest Sri Lanka’s way.
For many, the World Cup win was life-changing; lucrative contracts for players, solid match fees and financial security followed. But Gurusinha’s story took a different turn. He walked away from the game the very same year, at just 29, missing out on the financial rewards that came in the aftermath.
Cricket, however, remembers more than just numbers and pay cheques. It remembers moments, roles played under pressure and men who put the team before self.In that sense, Asanka Gurusinha remains what every great side needs but few celebrate, the glue that held it all together. An unsung hero, in every sense of the word.
by Rex Clementine
Mohammad Rizwan and Imam ul Haq were questioned by Pakistan’s National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Lahore, as the fallout from Pakistan’s disastrous Test tour of England continued.
The two, who were in the group of seven players who were dropped from the Pakistan squad and sent back home after the defeat in the second Test at Lord’s, were sent summons to appear before the NCCIA. They appeared on Thursday. At least one of the players is believed to have been there for several hours.
It is not clear yet what the questioning was about, or whether it is related to the PCB’s own inquiry, which they announced earlier this week. The board did not name any players then but said it had “initiated an internal disciplinary inquiry following media reports concerning discipline and conduct, which are currently being reviewed internally”. That process, the board said, was being “conducted under PCB regulations”.
Cricinfo understands that at least one of the players has been given a questionnaire to respond to and return to the NCCIA next week.
At the end of the Lord’s Test, which Pakistan lost by 194 runs after losing the first by an innings and 103 runs, seven players as well as the head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were removed from the squad. In their place, seven other players travelled to England, five of whom were uncapped at international level.
Rizwan’s form with the bat on this tour had been poor, with scores of 12, 41, 7 and 1, following low returns in two Tests in the Caribbean as well. His glovework, however, has been exemplary on both tours and until the West Indies series, he had been Pakistan’s leading Test run scorer since January 2024. But an ungainly hoick to be dismissed for 1 in the second innings at Lord’s attracted plenty of criticism.
Imam, meanwhile, was diagnosed with a grade-1 tear in his left calf after the conclusion of the first day’s play at Lord’s and did not appear on the field during either of Pakistan’s innings. On the final morning, during pre-game warm-ups, he came out to attempt some gentle knockdowns but struggled physically. Aaqib Javed, the PCB’s chief selector and director of high performance publicly questioned Imam’s injury and warned then of an inquiry into it.
In defending the squad changes, the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi alluded to wider factors at play, without expanding. “We have had a discussion to ascertain the reasons behind it. They include factors beyond performance and we will get to the bottom of it.”
The selection of both the players for the West Indies and England tours was also the subject of a notice sent by the PCB to selectors after the Lord’s Test. The notice asked for a written explanation outlining the reasons for their selection and the process through which it was arrived at, within 24 hours of the receipt of notice. Misbah-ul-Haq, one of the selectors, resigned from the post following the changes to the squad.
[Cricinfo]
Soon-to-be world number one Elena Rybakina produced a gritty comeback against Coco Gauff to reach the US Open final, in which she will face Aryna Sabalenka in a blockbuster showdown between the tournament’s top two seeds.
Rybakina is guaranteed to end Sabalenka’s 99-week reign as world number one and will replace the Belarusian at the top when the rankings are updated on Monday.
But the Kazakh second seed could rub more salt in Sabalenka’s wounds if she can deny the top seed a third successive US Open title in Saturday’s showpiece.
Sabalenka sent a warning to her rivals as she overpowered home hope Jessica Pegula 7-5 6-2 to keep alive her bid to become the third woman in the Open era to win the New York singles title three times in a row.
Rybakina will stand in her way after she fought back to beat American fourth seed Gauff 3-6 6-4 6-4 and silence the partisan crowd.
“I took a deep breath and just told myself I needed to fight and show good tennis,” Rybakina said.
The 27-year-old is chasing her third Grand Slam title after winning Wimbledon in 2022 and beating Sabalenka in January’s Australian Open final.
It will be the first time the top two women’s seeds have contested a US Open final since Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in the 2013 showpiece.
Aryna Sabalenka is the first player – male or female – to reach eight successive hard-court Grand Slam finals [BBC Sport]
Sabalenka has not been beaten in New York since losing the 2023 final to Gauff, but there were doubts over her title defence following a poor run-up to the tournament.
After a strong start to the season and winning the ‘Sunshine Double’ at Indian Wells and Miami in March, Sabalenka suffered a quarter-final defeat at Roland Garros and a fourth-round exit at Wimbledon.
However, she has found her form again, dropping just one set en route to the final.
“I was super desperate,” Sabalenka said after her win over Pegula.
“It feels for me, talking about Grand Slams, like a last push of the season.
“I wanted it badly to go to the finals, and of course, I want to go all the way.”
In a tense opening set, Sabalenka bristled with frustration early on as unforced errors crept into her game while Pegula settled quickly and struck the ball cleanly.
But eventually the four-time major singles winner found her rhythm and, after striking decisively at 6-5 to take the first set, she cranked up the power.
Pegula looked helpless as Sabalenka raced through the second set, with the Belarusian pounding 29 winners to her 12.
The victory meant Sabalenka broke the Open era record for the most Grand Slam hard-court finals in a row, with the 28-year-old reaching every major final on her favoured surface since the 2023 Australian Open.
For 32-year-old Pegula – the only semi-finalist without a Grand Slam title – it is yet another US Open defeat by long-time rival Sabalenka.
Sabalenka denied the third seed a maiden major in the 2024 final, while she also got the better of her in last year’s semi-finals – although Pegula had won their most recent meeting in June’s Berlin Open.
“I do think she probably would have beaten 99% of people,” Pegula said.
“Probably the best match she’s played this year.”
[BBC Sports]
India continued their unbeaten run and marched into their sixth final in six editions of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup after beating Bangladesh by 40 runs in an error laden semi final in Dubai.
After India were put in on a slow pitch, Shafali Verma scored 64 off 40 balls, making full use of the reprieves she got on 6, 11, 50 and 56. The knock helped India post a formidable 149 for 6 even though most other batters struggled for timing.
Juairiya Ferdous and Dilara Akter came out with positive intent but once the spin was introduced, they too felt powerless. India helped them by dropping four catches of varying difficulty, but Bangladesh did not have someone like Shafali to take advantage of those. In the end, they could reach only 109 for 7.
Shafali lives a charmed life
Marufa Akter was impressive once again with the new ball. Apart from her stock in-swinger to the right-hand batter, she also showed off her leg-cutter, which beat Shafali’s outside edge a couple of times.
Opening the bowling from the other end, off-spinner Sultana Khatun produced two chances in her very first over. Fahima Khatun dropped Shafali at long-on but Smriti Mandhana was not that fortunate. Shorna Akter caught her miscued aerial attempt at mid-on.
Shafali got another reprieve in the third over when Nahida Akter failed to latch on to a low chance at mid-on off Marufa. The batter rubbed salt into Bangladesh’s wounds by launching Sultana over long-off for back-to-back sixes in the following over. Despite Pratika Rawal struggling at the other end, Shafali’s fireworks ensured India finished the powerplay on 45 for 1.
Rawal and Harmanpreet’s toil
Rawal had opened her account with a classical off-drive for four off the first ball. She also launched Rabeya Khan for a six in the last over of the powerplay. But she struggled to rotate strike and could manage only 20 off 24 balls in the end.
Harmanpreet Kaur, too, found it difficult to get going. At one point, she was on 3 off 15 balls. As a result, India could score only 33 runs in seven overs after the powerplay.
Shafali continues to ride her luck
Shafali reached her fifty off 35 balls and then enjoyed some more luck. On the very next ball, she had a miscommunication with Harmanpreet. It should have been an easy run-out at the bowler’s end but Fahima fumbled the throw.
Shafali then pulled Sultana over deep midwicket for a six. She tried to repeat the dose on the next ball but Shorna dropped the catch. The ball burst through her hands, hit her on the face and trickled to the deep-midwicket boundary. However, she holed out to long-on in the same over, with substitute Farjana Easmin taking the catch.
Richa Ghosh (21 off 16) and Deepti Sharma (13 off six) injected some momentum towards the end while Harmanpreet finished on 24 not out off 28.
Ferdous and Dilara gave Bangladesh a steady start, with both batters hitting two boundaries each in the first three overs. But there were plenty of dot balls too, which meant the scoreboard read only 18 for no loss after three overs.
After that, Harmanpreet introduced spin from both ends and the scoring rate dropped further. Bowling the last over of the powerplay, N Sjhree Charani delivered a wicket maiden, making Ferdous her 50th T20I wicket.
Deepti does Deepti things
Deepti struck in her very first over. With the asking rate climbing fast, Ferdous tried to go aerial but holed out to deep midwicket. Nigar Sultana and Sobhana Mostary added 31 for the third wicket but consumed 34 balls for it.
Deepti ended the stand by castling Mostary. That triggered a mini-collapse with Bangladesh losing three wickets in 15 balls for 17 runs. Prema Rawat had Nigar caught at short third before Deepti bowled Sharmin Akhter to make it 83 for 5 in the 16th over.
India’s fielding woes
The result was all but sealed by then. But India, too, were sub-par in the field, right from the start. In the very first over of the chase, Rawal had dropped an overhead catch at cover-point to reprieve Dilara. Later on, she dropped Mostary at backward point. Mandhana misjudged a boundary catch as well, before Ghosh and Nandani Sharma collided while going for one near square leg. On another day, these mistakes could have proved costly.
Scores:
India Women 149 for 6 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 64, Pratika Rawal 20, Harmanpreet Kaur 24*, Richa Ghosh 21, Deepti Sharma 13; Marufa Akter 1-40, Sultana Khatun 2-30, Nahida Akter 1-25, Rabeya Khan 1-22) beat Bangladesh 109 for 7 in 20 overs (Dilara Akter 21, Juairiya Ferdous 14, Sobhana Mostary 18, Nigar Sultana 19, Shorna Akter 22*, Fahima Khatun 14; Nandani Sharma 2-10, Shree Charani 1-14, Prema Rawat 1-21, Deepti Sharma3-26) by 40 runs
[Cricinfo]
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