Sports
Openers, bowlers help England take early lead

The gulf in class between England and Sri Lanka in the game’s shortest format was clearly visible in Cardiff on Wednesday as the hosts cruised to an eight-wicket win. Opting to bat first with a rejigged batting order, Sri Lanka managed to post only 129 for seven in their allotted 20 overs. A target of 130 was never going to trouble a batting line-up that is revered as one of the best in limited-overs cricket as they swatted the Sri Lankan bowlers aside with ease.
Nothing changed for Sri Lanka in terms of their performance with the bat. They have been struggling for a while in white-ball cricket and the story that unfolded on Wednesday was something their fans have been accustomed to. It took nine balls for England to strike as Avishka Fernando skewed one straight to Chris Jordan. It took them 17 balls to find the boundary in the powerplay and they eventually lost their other opener Danushka Gunathilaka as well before the sixth over.
Skipper Kusal Perera tried to inject some momentum but just when his side needed him to bat deep into the innings, he miscued one as well to depart for 30 with seven overs still left.
Mickey Arthur’s decision to send Kusal Mendis at number four and Test specialist Dhananjaya de Silva at number five backfired.
Mendis struggled from the word go and was trapped leg-before-wicket by Liam Livingstone, who managed to keep Moeen Ali out of the side. Four balls later, de Silva followed him to the pavilion as he upper cut one straight to Adil Rashid at third man. By the end of the ninth over, Sri Lanka’s run rate was still below six and they had already lost four wickets.
Dasun Shanaka, batting at number six, once again showcased why he is rated high in this format as he single-handedly dragged Sri Lanka past the 120 mark. He didn’t make the greatest of starts to his innings and at one stage was struggling at 13 off 19 balls but back-to-back boundaries off Mark Wood in the 14th over helped him break the shackles.
A six over Jordan over wide long on in the penultimate over was the highlight of his innings and he managed to clear the ropes once again in the final over en route a hard-fought fifty.
Sri Lanka made 39 for two in the powerplay. England needed just 3.3 overs to score the same without a loss of a wicket. Jos Buttler and Jason Roy need no invitation to go berserk and with a modest target in front of them, they went all guns blazing. They fetched three fours off Dushmantha Chameera in the fourth over and backed it up with a 17-run over off Nuwan Pradeep. Even though de Silva bowled a tidy over, Buttler ensured the powerplay finished on a high with back-to-back boundaries off Isuru Udana.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 129/7 in 20 overs (Dasun Shanaka 50, Kusal Perara 30; Adil Rashid 2-17, Sam Curran 2-25) lost to England 130/2 in 17.1 overs (Jos Buttler 68*, Jason Roy 36; Dushmantha Chameera 1-24) by 8 wickets.
Sports
IPL 2023 rule change: teams will name their playing XI after the toss

Captains in IPL 2023 will walk in with two different team sheets before handing in their final XI after the toss. That is one of the significant tweaks from the last season in the IPL’s playing conditions, which will soon be shared with the teams. The change, the IPL said in an internal note listing the various changes to playing conditions, would allow franchises to pick their best XIs based on whether they end up batting or bowling, the appropriate impact player included.
“Currently the captains have to exchange the teams before the toss,” the note, seen by ESPNcricinfo, said. “This has been changed to exchange of teams immediately post the toss, to enable teams to choose the best XI depending on whether they are batting or bowling first. It will also assist the teams to plan for the impact player.”
The IPL thus becomes the second T20 franchise tournament after the SA20 to allow teams to announce their XI post the toss. In the SA20, which recently staged its inaugural season, teams put 13 names on the team sheet initially before announcing their final XI after the toss. Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, the SA20’s tournament director, had also said then that the move was designed to “lessen the impact of the toss” and allow a level-playing playing field based on the conditions.
The IPL has adopted a similar thought process now, with another key factor being neutralising the effect of dew, which has traditionally had a big impact at some venues in India, with teams bowling second adversely impacted.
While the toss will still matter, it should not be a case of “win toss, win match” in certain conditions with the new rule. For example, if a team that wanted to bat and then defend a total on a slow track in turning conditions is forced to bowl first, it can play an extra spinner in the starting XI, and then replace a specialist bowler with a batter in the second innings to help with the run-chase.
Other IPL playing conditions tweaks
Over rate penalty of only four fielders outside the 30-yard circle for every over not completed in the allocated time. Unfair movement of the wicketkeeper will result in a dead ball and 5 penalty runs. Unfair movement by a fielder will result in a dead ball and 5 penalty runs.
(Cricinfo)
Sports
Litton, Tamim make light work of small chase after Mahmud’s maiden five-for

Openers Litton Das and Tamim Iqbal made light work of a 102-run target as Bangladesh beat Ireland by ten wickets in the third ODI in Sylhet and completed a 2-0 series win. The visitors were bowled out for 101 in 28.1 overs after the Bangladesh fast bowlers took all ten wickets in an innings for the first time in the format.
The short chase was enlivened by Tamim and Litton, who put on an exhibition of strokeplay, finishing the game in just 13.1 overs, Bangladesh’s second-shortest chase in ODIs. After Bangladesh beat Ireland by a record margin of runs in the first ODI, this was also their first ten-wicket win in ODIs.
A small crowd turned up at the picturesque Sylhet venue on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan starting, and went home shortly after sunset. Ireland’s 101 broke a sequence of five successive 300-plus totals by the side batting first on this ground.
Hasan Mahmud’s maiden five-wicket haul, Taskin Ahmed’s three-wicket burst and Ebadot Hossain’s two-for summed up the absolute dominance by the Bangladesh fast bowlers. The spinners were needed for only four overs in all with Shakib Al Hasan not getting a chance to bowl for only the third time in his ODI career. It was a day out for the quicks on the hard and bouncy Sylhet surface, a rarity among grounds in Bangladesh. The conditions prompted the team management to pick six bowlers including the three seamers.
Mahmud removed openers Stephen Doheny and Paul Stirling in a disciplined opening burst. Doheny was caught behind for 8 after scratching around for 20 balls before Stirling, dropped on 5, got to 7 before Mahmud trapped him lbw in the ninth over. The skiddy fast bowler soon picked up his third when he trapped Harry Tector lbw later in the same over. Taskin got captain Andy Balbirnie caught at first slip for just 6 as Ireland collapsed to 26 for 4 before the first powerplay was up.
Then came their only partnership of note. Lorcan Tucker and Curtis Campher added 42 runs for the fifth wicket, which effectively helped Ireland reach the three-figure mark. Campher top-scored with 36, while Tucker made 28, the only two double-figure scores in the innings.
But it was soon over. Ebadot’s in-dipper had Tucker lbw. Next ball, Ebadot clean-bowled George Dockrell for a golden duck as Ireland slipped to 68 for 6.Taskin then took a brace in his seventh over, first getting Andy McBrine to top-edge a quick bouncer before Adair inside-edged his second ball onto the stumps.
Campher was the ninth wicket that fell, top-edging Mahmud towards fine leg. Taskin took a comfortable catch, celebrating the younger team-mate’s first four-wicket haul. It soon became five when Mahmud trapped Graham Hume lbw for 3.
Tamim started the chase with a slashed four over point, before pasting the Ireland fast bowlers for boundaries through cover and square-leg. Most of Litton’s boundaries came through the covers, including a back-foot punch that looked scrumptious from every angle. Left-arm spinner Matthew Humphreys then went for two expensive overs, before the Bangladesh opening pair calmed down briefly.
Tamim lofted Humphreys for a straight six in his third over, before Litton drove Campher through the covers. Then he struck two fours off Humphreys to reach his ninth ODI fifty, before Tamim hit the winning runs.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 102 for 0 (Litton Das 50*, Tamim Iqbal 41*) beat Ireland 101 (Curtis Campher 36, Lorcan Tucker 28, Hasan Mahmud 5-32, Taskin Ahmed 3-26, Ebadot Hossain 2-29) by ten wickets
(Cricinfo)
Sports
AA Sponsors 68th National Billiard Championship

The Automobile Association of Ceylon (AAC) will sponsor the 68th National Billiard Championship, conducted by the Billiards and Snooker Association of Sri Lanka (B & SASL) this year.
The Automobile Association of Ceylon established in 1904 is the oldest Motoring Organization in Sri Lanka,and is afiliated to the Federation Internationale De L’ Automobile, world largest Mobility Organization in Geneva, which has 150 countries under its umbrella. AAC’s prime object is to make all Road users safe.
AAC conducts annual Billiard and Snooker Tournaments for its members and also takes part in the inter-club tournaments in order to promote the cue sports. In the past, AAC members have excelled in several National Billiard and Snooker Tournaments and brought glory to the association.
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