Sports
Hurricanes and Highlanders both win with a bonus point
by Rajitha Ratwatte
Hurricanes at home to the Queensland Reds at Sky Stadium in Wellington. Basically, a dead rubber with the finals now definitely between two of the Kiwi teams and the Hurricanes all but ruled out. The tournament also taking on an air of “much of a sameness” and only the Australian teams showing improvement, probably due to playing better opposition. The Kiwi teams getting sloppier and losing their discipline and professionalism as the tournament progressed. A notable feature was that this was going to be the last game in New Zealand for Ngani Laumape a great servant of Wellington rugby and the current incumbent of the no12 jersey and sometimes All Black winger. A lucrative contract from a French club and not enough certainty from the All-Blacks selectors, who seem to have their eyes focused elsewhere, being among the reasons for the loss of this great player to NZ rugby.
The Reds started off with a basic error by not kicking the required 10 meters and the centerfield scrum that resulted gave Laumape his chance to show just how good he is by scoring under the posts in the third minute. 7–0 to the hosts. A few minutes later Laumape went over again but the TV replay showed him to have dropped the ball over the line due to a great tackle by Dangunu on the Reds’ wing. The Reds had developed a nice tactic with big forwards gaining momentum from long runs in and getting the ball of their nippy halfback McDermott in the second or third phase and breaking through the “Canes defence. Number eight Wilson made a great break this way but lost the ball inches from the line. Another try was denied to the Hurricanes in the 25th minute when Jordie Barret who had a very physical game, went over the line but the TMO ruled a knock-on. The ball seemed to be greasy and there were plenty of handling errors and loose passes. The Reds’ forwards were dominating the set pieces and Tyrell Lomax the ‘Canes loosehead prop was yellow-carded in the 27th minute and this meant they lost Du’ Plessis Kirifi (temporarily) in the number seven jersey as well because another prop had to come on for the scrums. A minute later McDermott came off the back of an advancing scrum and scored under the posts for the Reds, 7–7. The ‘Canes took a penalty mainly to run the clock down during the Lomax yellow card and took the score to 10–7 at halftime.
Within three minutes of the restart, Dangunu was yellow-carded by Ref James Doleman who was to issue two more yellow cards and award a penalty try before he was done for the day. Rueben Love the 20-year-old Hurricanes fly-half scored his first try in Super rugby in the 45th minute and Jordie Barret managed a difficult conversion taking the score to 17–7. The Reds still playing with one man short scored through their dynamic hooker Amosa in the 48th minute and Bryce Haggerty their number 10 converted taking the score to 17–14. At this stage, the Hurricanes captain and number eight Aardie Savea went off the field injured, and the Reds may have seen an opportunity. It was not to be however as Dan Coles came in off the bench (What an option!) and inside his first three minutes in the game, scored what is now his trademark try off a rolling maul constructed at the end of a line out. Only a five pointer this time and the score 22–14. 62 minutes into the game one of the most experienced commentators in NZ was reduced to the single expletive “blimey” when the referee aided by the TMO awarded a penalty try to the Hurricanes and dished out a yellow card knocking the ball deliberately over the dead ball line (i.e., a professional foul in a scoring situation) in a bizarre interpretation of the rules. 29-14 and Nani Laumape was subbed off the field to loud cheers from appreciative fans. The Hurricanes duly achieved the bonus point in the 70th minute Through Devon Flanders (36–14) and did one better before the full-time whistle when Dan Coles got his second off another rolling maul. The Final score 43–14 a record win for the Hurricanes over the Reds.
The second game on Friday was the ACT Brumbies hosting the Otago Highlanders in conditions very familiar to the Highlanders, extreme cold, in Canberra. Mike Frazer was the referee, and the Brumbies went into an early lead scoring an unconverted try through their winger Len Ikitai. Brumbies skipper and loosehead prop Alalatoa had a “brain freeze” and was caught blatantly offside in the 16th minute. The resultant touch kick and line out saw Ash Dickson the ‘Landers hooker score off a rolling maul and Mitch Hunt their fly-half had no difficulty taking them to seven points over the Brumbies five. Jonah Nareki got into the game in the 26th minute making great territory off an advancing scrum and passing to Aaron Smith who helped himself to a seven pointer 14–5. Lachlan Lonnegan the Brumbies hooker pulled one back for his side scoring on the stroke of halftime taking the score to 14–12 at the break.
The Highlanders sustained an unrelenting attack in Brumbies territory from the start of the second half. First, it was Aaron Smith who scored off an attacking scrum (21–12) and inside the next 10 minutes two more tries, one from Billy Harmon, unconverted (26–12) and another from Tomkinson on the wing (33-12) ensured a win with a bonus point for the Highlanders who have a very good chance of featuring in the final next week.
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Former Sri Lanka cricketer D. S. de Silva has passed away in London on Monday following a brief illness. He was 83.
A stalwart from the game’s formative years in the island, de Silva was part of Sri Lanka’s XI for their inaugural Test in 1982 against England. A year later, with injuries sidelining Duleep Mendis and Roy Dias, de Silva was handed the captaincy for the tour of New Zealand, a late call-up that came after he had already crossed his 40th birthday.
A classical leg-spinner with a cultured approach, de Silva was a familiar name in Ceylon colours long before Test status arrived, operating tirelessly in an era when opportunities were few and recognition scarcer still.
He featured in both the 1975 and 1979 World Cups, back when Sri Lanka were still associate members, and played a decisive role in the famous upset of India in the 1979 tournament, claiming three wickets in a win that proved a watershed moment on the road to Test recognition.
De Silva was also among the rare professionals of his generation, having plied his trade in English league cricket, broadening his horizons at a time when overseas exposure for Sri Lankans was the exception rather than the norm.
After hanging up his boots, de Silva continued to serve the game as a selector and coach, leaving his imprint on the next generation. He coached Sri Lanka to the Under-19 World Cup final, nurturing young talent with the same patience he once showed at the crease and at the bowling mark.
He later moved into administration, heading Sri Lanka Cricket from 2009 to 2011 as chairman of the Interim Committee. During his tenure, the Hambantota and Pallekele International Cricket Stadiums were built ahead of the 2011 World Cup, which Sri Lanka co-hosted.
De Silva’s passing marks the end of an era, as one of the quiet architects of Sri Lanka’s rise in world cricket finally leaves the field.
The second edition of the National Short Track Athletics Championships will be held at the 200 metres track of the Sugathadasa Stadium on January 3, 2026.
The event scheduled for a 1.00 pm start is limited to a few track and field events generally held at indoor stadiums.
It will be the first track and field event of the year and will be held when Sri Lanka Athletics is governed under a convening committee.
Sri Lanka Athletics is without an elected body after Sports Ministry’s attempt to conduct the election of office bearers under new sports regulation ended up in a fauxpass.
Now the Sports Ministry is scheduled to conduct a Special General Meeting next week where an Election Committee will be reappointed to hold the election of office bearers.
The short track meet will be held under the observation of the convening committee.
The events to be held at the meet are (Men & Women) 60m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 60m, Hurdles, High Jump, Long Jump, TripleJump and Shot Put.
The 60m, 60m Hurdles and 400m events will be held as heats and finals, where the best times will qualify for the finals.
Other track events will be held as time finals (Final A/ Final B).
All the field events will have only 3+1 rounds.
(RF)
Australian allrounder Cameron Green has been bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 25.20 crore ($2.8 million approx.), making him the third-most expensive player sold at an IPL auction, and the most expensive overseas player ever.
KKR also bought the second-most expensive player at the IPL 2026 auction – Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana for INR 18 crore ($1.97 million approx.).
The record for the most expensive uncapped Indian player was also broken, with 20-year-old left-arm spin allrounder Prashant Neer and 19-year-old wicketkeeper Kartik Sharma going to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a staggering INR 14.2 crore each, breaking Avesh Khan’s INR 10 crore mark in the 2022 auction. Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler Auqib Nabi also had a big payday, with Delhi Capitals buying him for INR 8.4 crore.
KKR, who began the auction with the largest purse of INR 64.3 crore, had to stave off competition for Green from CSK, who had the second-highest purse of INR 43.4 crore. The bidding, though, began with Mumbai Indians (MI), who had to drop out of the race quickly because they had a purse of only INR 2.75 crore. Rajasthan Royals (RR), who had a purse of INR 16.05 crore, took the bid as far as INR 13.40 crore before exiting, at which point CSK joined the bidding against KKR.
Green’s bid took more than ten minutes to complete, and he ranks behind Rishabh Pant (INR 27 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (INR 26.75 crore) on the list of most expensive IPL players. The most expensive overseas players before Green were Mitchell Starc (INR 24.75 crore) and Pat Cummins (INR 20.50 crore). Green, however, will get only INR 18 crore due to a maximum salary cap imposed by the IPL on overseas players at mini-auctions. The bid amount in excess of INR 18 crore (INR 7.2 crore) will go to the BCCI for player welfare.
Green first played the IPL in 2023, when MI bought him for INR 17.5 crore. He scored 452 runs at a strike rate of 160.28, and picked up six wickets. MI then traded Green to RCB a year later for the same price. He scored 255 runs for RCB at a strike rate of 143.25, and took ten wickets. Green did not register for the mega auction ahead of IPL 2025 because he was returning from a back injury.
Green was one of only two players sold from the first set of batters on Tuesday, along with South Africa batter David Miller, who went to Delhi Capitals (DC) at his base price of INR 2 crore. Jake-Fraser McGurk, Prithvi Shaw, Devon Conway and Sarfaraz Khan were unsold.
The lukewarm bidding continued into the second set of allrounders, with only two of seven players sold. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bought Sri Lanka’s Wanidu Hasaranga at his base price of INR 2 crore. Venkat Iyer, who had been bought by KKR for INR 23.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction, was sold to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for INR 7 crore. Liam Livingstone, Rachin Ravindra, Gus Atkinson, Wiaan Mulder and Deepak Hooda were unsold in the first set of allrounders.
There was more action in the first set of wicketkeepers, with MI buying South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, DC buying England’s Ben Duckett, and KKR buying New Zealand’s Finn Allen – all at their base prices. CSK, who began the auction with the second-largest purse, did not buy a player from the first three sets.
CSK did not bid for Pathirana, who they had released at a price of INR 13 crore after IPL 2025. The demand for Pathirana began with DC and LSG, and once the bid reached INR 15.6 crore, DC dropped out considering they had a purse of INR 17.8 crore. KKR entered the bidding and priced out LSG, who had a purse of INR 20.95 crore, at INR 18 crore. Having missed out on Pathirana, LSG immediately bought South African quick Anrich Nortje at his base price of INR 2 crore.
RCB’s second buy at the auction was New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy (INR 2 crore), who could slot in as back-up for Josh Hazlewood.
CSK did bid for legspinner Ravi Bishnoi, but stopped once the price reached INR 6 crore. RR and SRH then bid for Bishnoi, and he was eventually bought by RR for INR 7.2 crore. Akeal Hosein, the West Indies left-arm spinner, was eventually CSK’s first buy at the auction, at his base price of INR 2 crore.
Only 12 out of 40 players in the first six sets were sold.
Players bought at auction
KKR : Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Tejasvi Dahiya, Kartik Tyagi
LSG: Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Mukul Choudhary, Naman Tiwari
DC: David Miller, Ben Duckett, Auqib Nabi
RCB:Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy
MI:Quinton de Kock
RR:Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punja, Vignesh Puthur
CSK:Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer
GT:Ashok Sharma
PBKS:
SRH: Shivang Kumar
(Cricinfo)
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