Sports
Opportunity for new hero in battle of survival
145th Battle of the Blues
by Reemus Fernando
Batsmen will be under presure when arch rivals Royal and S. Thomas’ meet in the 145th Battle of the Blues commencing at the SSC today.
After having struggled to survive on more than one occasion during this season batting lineups of both Royal and S. Thomas’ will be waiting for new heroes to emerge to meet the demands of the three-day Big Match.
Royal skippered by Sri Lanka Under 19 captain Sineth Jayawardane will be out to retain the D.S. Senanayake Memorial Shield with a line up which twice crumbled under pressure this season.
They have bounced back after the defeats at the hands of Maris Stella and Prince of Wales to avoid further trouble but they need something special from their batsmen if they are to last the full distance of the three-day match.
Royal found batting solace coming from Yasindu Dissanayake and Isula Geeganage late in the season to record a remarkable victory (after 38 years) over St. Peter’s. The duo are forming the backbone of Royal batting with Jayawardane, Ramiru Perera and Rehan Peiris who have all scored centuries this season.
The Thomians are relying heavily on their skipper Mahith Perera, Thisen Eheliyagoda and Dineth Goonawardene in the batting department. They are the only batsmen to have shown consistency, while Nathan Caldera and Akash Fernando have provided additional support. Like their opponents, Thomians too need a new hero in the batting department if the match is to last its full distance.
Bowling is Thomians forte with left-armer Abeeth Paranawidana leading with a season tally of over 60 wickets. Speedsters Nathan Caldera, Kavindu Dias and Akash Fernando have jointly accounted for over 90 wickets. The contributions made by these four bowlers were vital for Thomians’ four outright victories recorded this season. But none of these victories have come in the tournament proper. Their only defeat at the hands of St. Sebastian’s was recorded in a tournament match and that has hampered their chances of gaining a higher position in the points table of the tournament.
For Royal, spinner Ramiru is the leading wicket taker. He is joined by Jayawardane, Yenula Bandara and Nethwin Dharmarathne and speedsters Ranuka Malawiarachchi, Dinura Senarathne and Bulan Weerathunga to make a formidable attack.
With the historic Battle of the Blues given pride of place both Royal and S. Thomas’ hardly worry about their position in the schools cricket tournaments. When the arch rivals battle both teams have unfinished duties in the country’s premier schools tournament.
Both Royal and S. Thomas’ are among the lowest placed teams in the Division I Tier ‘A’ tournament and their future in the top Tier could be decided in relegation matches as both teams are among the last four teams in their respective groups. While the Thomians are almost certain to play relegation matches, Royal have to do something special in their last tournament match or rely on favourable results in other group matches if they are to avoid relegation scares.
Royal Team
Sineth Jayawardane (Captain), Ramiru Perera, Bulan Weerathunga, Rehan Peiris, Nethwin Dharmarathne, Ranuka Malawiarachchi, Dinura Senarathne, Ovina Ambanpola, Yasindu Dissanayake , Isula Geeganage, Yenula Bandara
S. Thomas’ Team
Mahith Perera (Captain), Nathan Caldera, Dineth Goonawardene, Senadhi Bulankulame, Kavindu Dias, Thisen Eheliyagoda, Akash Fernando, Darien Diego, Sadev Soysa, Abeeth Paranawidana, Ashen Perera
India’s untested lower order played a key role in turning a modest total into a competitive one. Amanjot Kaur added stability, scoring 21 off 18 balls and putting on a 61-run partnership with Harmanpreet for the fifth wicket, helping the innings regain momentum after regular wickets fell.
After her dismissal, Arundhati Reddy – promoted ahead of Sneh Rana – launched a late assault, hitting four fours and a six off 11 balls for an unbeaten 27, guiding India to 175 for 7. The team scored 32 runs in the final two overs.
With Chamari Athapaththu gone in the second over, Perera and Dulhani faced a daunting task. Dulhani, coming in at No. 3 again ahead of Harshitha Samarawickrama, played a confident innings, coming down the track and sweeping as needed, hitting five boundaries inside the powerplay. Perera rotated the strike well, keeping the scoreboard ticking. Aided by the dew, their 79-run second-wicket stand was broken in the 12th over when Amanjot dismissed Dulhani for 50, with her first ball.
Perera carried on, moving from 32 off 23 balls to register her maiden 38-ball fifty in her 89th T20I. Having debuted in 2014 and shuffled around the order, she opened this series for the first time in three years. When the equation came down to 55 off 24 balls, Perera struck a four and a six off Shree Charani before being yorked. Her 42-ball 65 included eight fours and a six.
When Sri Lanka needed 44 off 20 balls, India fought back hard. The visitors lost their key batters at the death, collapsing from 132 for 4 to 140 for 7, eventually falling short and remaining winless in India.
Brief scores:
India Women 175 for 7 in 20 overs (Gunalan Kamalini 12, Harleen Deol 13, Harmanpreet Kaur 68, Amanjot Kaur 21, Arundhati Reddy 27*; Nimasha Meepage 1-25, Kavisha Dilhari 2-11, Rashmika Sewwandi 2-42, Chamari Athapaththu 2-21) beat Sri Lanka Women 160 for 7 in 20 overs (Hasini Perera 65, Imesha Dulani 50, Rashmika Sewwamdi 14*; Deepti Sharma 1-28, Arundhati Reddy 1-16, Sneh Rana 1-31, Vaishnavi Sharma 1-33, Shree Charani 1-31, Amanjot Kaur 1-17 ) by 15 runs
[Cricinfo]
Under 19 Cricket
Manitha Rajapaksha collected a match bag of 11 wickets as Mahinda romped to an innings and 25 runs victory over Lumbini in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ cricket encounter at Galle.
Forced to follow on after being bowled out for 173 runs, the visitors managed to last only 33 overs as bowlers used the home advantage to good effect.
In a similar performance, Sri Sumangala reduced Isipatana to just 69 runs in the second innings to record an innings and 96 runs win in the Tier ‘B’ match at Panadura. While Mevindu Kumarasiri excelled once again to claim a match bag of 11 wickets, overnight batsmen Sandeep Wijerathna and Neksha Iddamalgoda went on to score centuries for Sri Sumangala to boost the score to 301 for eight wickets declared.
Meanwhile at DSS ground the home team scored a first innings win over Nalanda.
Match Results
Mahinda in innings win at Galle
Scores
Mahinda 284 all out in 72.2 overs
(Dulsith Darshana 63, Randula Mabarana 28, Manitha Rajapaksha 23, Kaveesha Githmal 43, Kavindu Nimsara 66; Yashod Kavindu 5/100, Dinal Sewmina 2/32)
Lumbini 76 for 4 overnight 173 all out in 53.4 overs
(Kisandu Dulneth 33, Yashod Kavindu 26, Jayanitha Mendis 41, Pasindu Mahisha 38; Manitha Rajapaksha 6/64, Sadev Nethmina 2/27) and 86 all out in 32.4 overs (Nikil Abilash 33; Manitha Rajapaksha 5/25, Gesandu Bisas 2/12, Arosha Udayanga 2/15)
Sri Sumangala in innings win at Panadura
Scores
Isipatana 136 all out in 47.2 overs (Yuveen Keshan 21, Dasith Senal 31; Mevindu Kumarasiri 6/54) and 69 all out in 25.2 overs (Janith Selaka 25; Mevindu Kumarasiri 5/32, Methum Fernando 4/23)
Sri Sumangala 158 for 2 overnight 301 for 8 decl. in 79.4 overs (Sandeep Wijerathna 100, Neksha Iddamalgoda 110, Mevindu Kumarasiri 34; Dasith Senal 2/86, Dimuthu Tharuka 2/34)
First innings win for DSS at DSS ground
Scores
DSS 365 all out in 79 overs (Savain Kalansooriya 54, Bihan Gamage 102, Janindu Ranasinghe 50, Shevan Welgama 73; Osanda Pamuditha 2/69, Dunitha Anusara 4/66, Sahas Godage 3/76) and 144 for 3 in 35.2 overs (Miyuru Bandara 41, Savain Kalansooriya 57, Shanaal Binuksha 34)
Nalanda 28 for 1 overnight 197 all out in 66.1 overs (Nemindu Akmeemana 40, Ranmith Dinuwara 42; Shanaal Binuksha 6/61, Randisha Bandaranayake 2/40)
by Reemus Fernando
India’s opening batter Shafali Verma and swing bowler Renuka Singh have moved up to sixth spots in the ICC’s T20I batting and bowling rankings respectively.
Shafali is the leading scorer in the ongoing bilateral series against Sri Lanka by a distance, her 236 runs nearly twice as many as second-highest scorer Smriti Mandhana’s 120. Renuka is also the leading wicket-taker, her four wickets level with team-mates Deepti Sharma, Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
Shafali went up four places with back-to-back scores of 69*, 79* and 79 in the second, third and fourth T20Is. Renuka, meanwhile, climbed eight places to reach the joint-sixth position along with South Africa’s Nonkululeko Mlaba, particularly through her 4 for 21 in the third game of the series. Deepti leads the bowlers’ rankings after taking that position last week. Both Shafali and Renuka have also bagged one Player-of-the-Match award each in the series that India lead 4-0, with the last match scheduled for Tuesday in Thiruvananthapuram.
If India win today (30), this will be their third 5-0 series win in T20Is. They won by that scoreline in the West Indies in 2019 and in Bangladesh last year. Sri Lanka have, however, never before lost a T20I series 5-0.
(Cricinfo)
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Northern, Eastern, Central, North-central, North-western and Uva provinces
Israel to bar 37 aid groups from Gaza
Protests spread across Iran for third day after currency hits record low
Sri Lanka Customs exceeds revenue targets to enters 2026 with a surplus of Rs. 300 billion – Director General
Harmanpreet Kaur leads the way as India complete 5-0 sweep over Sri Lanka
Educators slam govt. for ‘unprepared’ education reforms
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News6 days agoBritish MP calls on Foreign Secretary to expand sanction package against ‘Sri Lankan war criminals’
-
News5 days agoStreet vendors banned from Kandy City
-
Sports6 days agoChief selector’s remarks disappointing says Mickey Arthur
-
Opinion6 days agoDisasters do not destroy nations; the refusal to change does
-
Sports2 days agoGurusinha’s Boxing Day hundred celebrated in Melbourne
-
News5 days agoLankan aircrew fly daring UN Medevac in hostile conditions in Africa
-
Sports3 days agoTime to close the Dickwella chapter
-
Sports6 days agoRoyal record crushing innings win against Nalanda