Sports
Men’s singles quarter-finalists found
105th Colombo Championships
Reigning men’s doubles national champions Thehan Wijemanne and Chathurya Nilaweera are set to meet in the last eight-round as the quarter-finalists were found in the men’s singles of the 105th Colombo Championships at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts on Sunday.
Nilaweera recovered from a first set defeat to oust Dhilvan Herath 3-6, 6-4, 10-4 in the last 16 round yesterday.
Wijemanne who joined Nilaweera to share two doubles titles at the recently concluded Tennis Nationals beat Michael Siyaguna 6-4, 6-3 to secure his quarter-final place.
However, before clashing for a semi-final place in the singles, Nilaweera and Wijemanne will meet Amresh Jayawickrema and Arvind Fernando in the men’s doubles of this championship scheduled for today.
Vibuda Wijebandara, Wenuka Kithnula, Savit Weerasinghe, Kiran Vairavanathan, Dumidu Dilum and Luka Knese are the others who have reached the quarter-finals of the men’s singles.
Meanwhile, Oneli Perera, Neyara Weerawansa, Saajida Razick and Janali Manamperi scored victories to complete the women’s singles quarter-final line up yesterday.
Sisters Anika Seneviratne and Alana, Sethmi Sumanaweera and Savini Jayasuriya are the others in the quarter-finals.
Matthew Kuhnemann has been cleared to join the Australia Test squad in Sri Lanka after recovering sufficiently following surgery to repair a thumb fracture.
Kuhnemann, the left-arm spinner, had broken his right thumb while playing in the BBL last week, but has been able to bowl in training this week. He will reach Sri Lanka over the weekend along with Oliver Peake, the young Victorian batter, who has been invited as a development player.
On Thursday, around 24 hours before confirmation he would join the tour, Kuhnemann had said that his surgically repaired thumb was almost pain-free as he bowled, batted and fielded in Brisbane.
Kuhnemann, 28, is a key member of the Australia side for the two Tests in Sri Lanka, with both Tests in Galle on what are expected to be turning pitches. But his tour looked in jeopardy when he was struck on the thumb during Brisbane Heat’s game against Hobart Hurricanes last Thursday.
He was driven to the hospital that night by Heat team-mate Daniel Drew, and he had the dislocation put back into place before having surgery the following morning to put a pin in the fracture. His recovery since then has been quick.
At Allan Border Field on Thursday, Kuhnemann bowled eight overs and also batted, facing throwdowns from Heat and Queensland bowling coach Andy Bichel. While fielding, he took a few catches, all overseen by Heat physio Adam Smith.
Kuhnemann is one of three frontline spinners in the Australia squad, alongside Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy, though the squad does have a number of part-timers, Travis Head the best among them.
Steven Smith, the stand-in captain for the series with regular captain Pat Cummins on paternity leave, was the other injury concern for Australia after he picked up an elbow injury during the BBL. Smith, who has a history of elbow problems, sustained the injury to his right arm, the one he had surgery on in 2019, while throwing in the field for Sydney Sixers in their match against Sydney Thunder last week.
He was also cleared to join the squad at their training camp in Dubai after seeing a specialist about the elbow issue.
The two-match World Test Championship (WTC) series doesn’t have a bearing on the final after Australia won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India 3-1 to book their place in the WTC final, where they will take on South Africa, but the visitors are aiming for a first series win there since 2011.
The two Tests will be played from January 29 and February 6, and will be followed by two ODIs – on February 12 and 14 – that will help Australia prepare for the Champions Trophy, which starts on February 19. Sri Lanka haven’t qualified for the tournament.
[Cricinfo]
Nepal, made sure hosts Malaysia‘s campaign ended as it had gone all along as they eked out a seven-wicket win in the later match in Johor. Captain Puja Mahato was the standout performer for Nepal, first picking up four wickets with her medium pace and then top-scoring in the small chase.
Malaysia, who came into the match after putting up scores of 23, 31 and 59 in the group stage, only managed 45 in 16.5 overs this time after being asked to bat. Nurimaan Hidayah was the only batter to get into double-digits as she scored 15 from 23 balls, with Mahato (4 for 9) and left-arm spinner Rachana Chaudhary (3 for 5) doing most of the damage.
The chase was straightforward, and Nepal got there in 11 overs for the loss on three wickets, with Mahato scoring a 32-ball 23 not out. Marsya Qiatina Binti Abdullah, the left-arm spinner, picked up all the wickets to fall.
Brief scores:
Malaysia Women Under 19s 45 in 16.5 overs [Nuriman Hidayah 15; Pooja Mahato 4-09, Riya Sharma 1-05, Rachana Chaudhary 3-05, Seemana KC 1-09] lost to Nepal Women Under 19s 47/3 in 11 overs [Pooja Mahatoa 23*; Marsya Qistina Binti Abdullah 3-18] by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
Chamari Athapaththu has been named in ICC’s Women’s T20 team of the year 2024
Chamari Athapaththu had a delayed start to her ODI year, playing her first match in April, but she wasted no time making an impact. She struck a half-century in the second ODI against South Africa before producing a career-best knock of 195* in the final match. She has scored 458 runs and captured 9 wickets in 9 matches.
Her outstanding form carried into Sri Lanka’s home series against West Indies, where the team secured a 3-0 clean sweep. Athapaththu played a pivotal role, smashing a brilliant 91 in the final ODI, narrowly missing out on a century by just nine runs.
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