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
Dhananjaya de Silva returns as Sri Lanka bat first in Hamilton

Sports
Sri Lanka face in-form hosts in last bid to keep World Cup qualification hopes alive

While the rained out second ODI in Christchurch would have no doubt been frustrating for both sets of players, the fact remains that its impact on the grander scheme of things was rather minimal – at least in terms of the World Cup Super League.
Having shared the points, and despite Sri Lanka also being docked a Super League point for a slow over-rate in the first ODI, the equation nevertheless remains the same for the visitors; win the game on Friday and force South Africa and Ireland to win their remaining games this World Cup cycle. Indeed, if both slip up, as improbable as it may be, Sri Lanka might just sneak into the final automatic qualification spots.
But to even entertain that distant notion Sri Lanka must first go out and beat New Zealand in Hamilton – a ground where the hosts have won 10 of their last 12 completed ODIs dating back to 2014. Sri Lanka, though in fairness, are one of the two sides to have beaten the hosts during that period. But of course, that was a far more vintage Sri Lankan line-up with a top order stacked with modern-day greats such as Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
This present Sri Lankan outfit doesn’t quite boast the same pedigree, even if Angelo Mathews remains a tether between the two, but it’s by no means a poor one – they have in fact beaten both Australia and South Africa, albeit at home, in recent times – so facing off against a New Zealand team shorn of several of its first choice players should have in theory made for some quite competitive cricket, home or away. Which is what made the outcome of that first, tremendously one-sided ODI so jarring.
It’s been nearly a week since then, and the washed-out second match would have no doubt given the visitors an extra couple of days to stew over that abysmal performance in Auckland.
Going into the series decider New Zealand will once more be fielding a bunch of players pushing hard for World Cup spots. As for Sri Lanka, what they’ve brought recently hasn’t been anywhere near good enough. Qualification may be out of their hands too, but it would be nice if they at least gave themselves a shot at it.
He has had to bide his time, but at 30 years of age Chad Bowes finally made his long-awaited international bow in the first ODI. And while his stay at the crease might have been brief, it gave the sense of a man at ease with his game. That said, his primary position is at the top of the order – an area admittedly not top of the hosts’ pre-World Cup priorities. But with plenty of white-ball cricket ahead of the tournament, a trademark Bowes barrage on Friday certainly wouldn’t hurt his chances of settling in the selectors’ thoughts.
It wouldn’t be unfair to say that Dhananjaya de Silva has flattered to deceive throughout his career. In Tests, 3006 runs at an average of 38.53 hints at unfulfilled potential. In T20Is, he’s proven to be a handy allrounder with his speedy offbreaks – though it says something when it’s his bowling rather than batting that tends to be the key factor in his inclusion. His worst format is then arguably ODIs, where he strikes at just 78 and averages 26.28. Nevertheless his omission from the first one-dayer caused a minor social media furore, illustrating how highly he is regarded despite his shortcomings. If Sri Lanka are to build a successful head of steam leading to the World Cup, Dhananjaya – among others – will need to start living up to the hype.
New Zealand (probable):
Henry Nicholls, Chad Bowes, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (capt, wk), Mark Chapman, Rachin Ravindra, Henry Shipley, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner
Sri Lanka (possible):
Pathum Nissanka, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Angelo Mathews, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara.
Sports
Dharshana, Dilshi among top athletes to create new meet records

Sprinter Aruna Dharshana registered the second fastest time by a Sri Lankan in the men’s 200 metres and Dilshi Kumarasinghe returned to winning ways as they created new meet record marks on day two of the 58th Army Athletics Championships at Diyagama on Thursday. Dharshana who had to face disappointment after being disqualified for a foul start at the same venue at the first selection trial 10 days ago, overcame the disappointment yesterday when he clocked 20.65 seconds to win the men’s 200 metres.
His blazing performance is now second only to Yupun Abeykoon’s national record performance of 20.37 seconds in the men’s 200 metres. Dharshana’s feat is now the fastest by a Sri Lankan on home soil as he overtook Vinoj Suranjaya’s 20.68 seconds feat of 2018.
Kumarasinghe established the meet record when she returned a time of 2:04.89 seconds to win the women’s 800 metres. Nilani Ratnayake gave the second day an exciting start as she clocked 9:55.20 seconds to win the women’s 3,000 metres steeplechase in a new meet record performance.
H.S.E. Janith meanwhile created a new national record with a feat of 5.16 metres in the men’s pole vault. In the men’s and women’s 10,000 metres race walking events P.H.S.L. Fernando and U.V.K. Madirika established national records. Fernando returned a time of 45:12.22 seconds to win his event while Madirika clocked 49:25.97 seconds for her victory.
(RF)
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