Sports

Podium finish for Green Shirts at rugby knockout final

Published

2 years ago

2024/09/18

Dialog Axiata PLC Brand and Media Vice President Harsha Samaranayaka (left) hands over the President’s Trophy to Isipatana skipper Nisaja Jayaweera (third from right) at the awards presentation after the Green Shirts beat St. Peter’s College 34-29 in the school rugby final. Also in the picture is Isipatana College playmaker Shaahid Zumri (Second from right).

by A Special Sports Correspondent

The inter-school rugby season for 2024 was one of the most competitive with Isipatana coming back with vengeance to win the knockout final. St. Peter’s won the league tournament a few weeks ago, but were denied of winning a triple.

Time and again we saw close encounters during the school rugby season. Even a top rated team like Isipatana had to score many a come from behind wins. All the team’s playing in division 1 segment 1 had improved by leaps and bounds. No team was safe playing mediocre rugby because there were so many hungry wolves wanting a piece from the rugby pie. Once again school rugby showed that it is a product that is sellable or marketable in the commercial world. School rugby dwarfed school cricket in an island where the bat and ball game largely defines the character and colour of its people more than any other sport.

Sri Lanka at one time even believed in foreign coaches for even school teams. Royal and Trinity are two schools which have often opted for foreign coaches. But after so many years we saw Royal sticking with a Sri Lankan coach in Dushanth Lewke, who is also a product of this school at Reid Avenue. He has just completed 50 games for Royal this season as head coach and that feat came when his chargers beat S.Thomas’ at the annual Michael Guneratne trophy rugby encounter. There were so many other schools which banked on local or homegrown talent when picking their coaching staff.

Seasoned campaigner Sanath Martis has brought enough glory to St. Peter’s this season. The lads from Bambalapitiya won the Elite Rugby Sevens conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association and then took home the league title. They were denied of a triple by Isipatana. The only little set back suffered by the Peterites was losing Yumeth Shihara who was unavailable for the final due to injury.

Isipatana were loaded with steppers (fast runners). That opening try scored by Abdul Aziz epitomized the dazzling, nerve tingling rugby that the Havelock Town school plays. Aziz sliced through the Peterite defence with a swerving run and went under the posts untouched. That run and the style in which he played the game reminisced two past Isipatana players in the likes of Roger Rodrigo and T.K. Bohoran; both scrum halves who went on to represent Sri Lanka. These players have underscored the stuff that Isipatana rugby is made of.

But the game has changed drastically. Now it’s a man to man confrontation before someone takes the ball over the opposite team’s goal line. Skipper and number eight Nisaja Jayaweera knew that aspect of the game more than anyone else out there playing school rugby. Many times this season he left opposite teams in shambles with his power play. If we don’t talk about fly half Shaahid Zumri we’ll be doing injustice to a great talent. He is certainly beyond the level of the performance demanded in school rugby. There is speculation that the lad can play one more season for Isipatana. Possessing running skills, the side step, the ability to spot gaps in the defence and the appetite to tackle with gusto, he was the man to watch among the green shirts this season. And like how a schoolboy should be we come to hear, through sources at his school, that all these personal successes haven’t gone to his head. He remains a humble and friendly lad outside the rugby field. We see the warrior in him only on the rugby field. Isipatana’s head coach Saliya Kumara can take a bow for bringing to the school a lovely piece of silver wear. There is a school of thought in rugby that the true champions during a season are the ones who win the knockout tournament.

Mention must be made of S. Thomas’ for reaching the semi finals of the knockout tournament. They were so unlucky to lose to Isipatana after the scores were deadlocked at 20 all. Isipatana prevailed over S. Thomas’ in extra time; thanks to the match winning try coming from Zumri.

The school rugby season had full of opportunities for less popular teams. Lalith Athulathmudali MV won the Chairman’s Trophy beating Nugawela Central. Mahanama College Colombo beat Ananda College Maradana to win the Premier Trophy.

Rugby is a sport that keeps growing. We saw Thurstan and Sri Sumangala Katugastota entering division 1 segment 1. That was laudable. But the message in the top division in rugby was clear to all: many run race but only a few survive!

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Rahul, Gill hit centuries as India dominate Afghanistan on opening day

Published

33 mins ago

2026/06/7

Priyan

Shubman Gill brought up his 11th Test century (BCCI)

In the 11th over, KL Rahul edged a cut to the keeper off Ziaur Ahmed when he was on 16. Afghanistan did not review the not-out decision. In the 61st over, Rahul flicked a full ball off his pads, bringing up a gritty century – his 12th in Test cricket. Afghanistan’s bowling attack had been worn down in the intervening period. They could not cash in on their half-chances aplenty, in their first Test against India since their format debut in 2018. Instead, Rahul – alongside a regal Shubman Gill – headlined India’s march to 368 for 3 on day one in New Chandigarh.

The city was hosting a men’s Test for the first time. Temperatures soared up to 40 degrees Celsius, and India captain Gill opted to bat first, expecting the pitch to worsen as time wore on in the match. However, Afghanistan’s new-ball bowlers – Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohamed Saleem – extracted uneven bounce off the pitch right away. They kept bowling back-of-a-length deliveries to Jaiswal and Rahul, moving the ball away from the openers.

Rahul reached for deliveries far from his body early in the day, often mistiming his shots. He ambled away to 16 off 34 by the end of the 10th over. At the other end, Jaiswal pounced on fuller deliveries with more regularity to race to 20 off 26.

Then, in the 11th over off Ziaur, Rahul slashed at a wide delivery and both bowler and keeper went up with a big appeal. However, they opted out of the review. Replays later showed Rahul had edged the delivery. Rahul rode his luck thereafter, leaving balls outside off, and dead-batting fuller ones that gripped in the pitch.

In the next over – the 12th – Jaiswal leaned into a front-foot drive off Mohammad Saleem. Then he jumped at an inswinger drifting down leg, and tried to flick it off his hips. He edged it to the keeper instead. Against the run of play, Jaiswal departed for a 32-ball 24, giving Saleem his maiden Test wicket.

Soon after, the new-ball swing dissipated and the bounce became less treacherous. B Sai Sudarshan made full use of this period of play at the back end of Saleem and Omarzai’s extended spells. He laced three fours in his first 15 deliveries.

In the 35th over off Ziaur, Sai Sudharsan stepped out of his crease for a tentative defense outside off. His edge dissected the wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai and first slip. Eight overs later, with Sai Sudharsan looking set for his maiden Test century, the batter played an expansive drive outside off against Saleem. Once more, the ball flew into the slip cordon, but was snared by Zazai with a one-handed stunner to his right. Sai Sudharsan was dismissed for 81. The second-wicket partnership was aborted at 131, with Rahul still steady at the other end.

As the day wore on, the New Chandigarh surface began gripping and turning more. Afghanistan’s captain Hashmatullah Shahidi was their most effective spinner. He bowled slowly, often keeping his speeds under 80 kph, and used drift to troublealla batters. Still, he never induced any real chances, with edges off him flying past short leg or the keeper.

From the other end, debutant Nangeyalia Kharote induced a thin edge off Sai Sudharsan with just his fourth delivery. Rahmanullah Gurbaz dropped the consequent one-hander, diving to his right at first slip. On his return spell, Kharote – as well as part-timer Abdul Malik – both strayed into leg-stump lines too often.

With Afghanistan’s fast bowlers erring in discipline too, Gill took full toll on them, especially after the tea break. If Rahul’s knock was a product of battling against the early swing and seam, Gill’s imperious century – his 11th in the format – was aided by a worn-down attack. Still, he pounced on good-length deliveries outside off as he unfurled his drives, and cut close to his body, in trademark fashion to rack up 11 fours and one six.

Gill had Rahul for company through the beginning of his knock, during a 67-run partnership for the third wicket. However, just one delivery after bringing up his century, Rahul perished for the third time in Test cricket on exactly a 100 – the joint-second most times in Test cricket, right behind England’s Len Hutton (4). Rahul had been out playing a loose waft away from his body, off Ziaur, straight to short extra cover.

Once Rishabh Pant walked out to join Gill, the brief was clear: by their standards, India had already shut up shop for the final hour of play. An unusually restrained Pant, also playing his 50th Test for India, batted within his means until his eyes lit up against offspinner Abdul Malik in the 68th over. He took advantage of half-trackers to flat-bat three sixes in trademark Pant style. Tellingly, these would also be Pant’s only sixes of the evening.

Gill brought up his century just a few minutes before close of play, off a flick to square leg, in the 83rd over off Saleem. Afghanistan had opted not to choose the new ball, bowling through till the close of play with a battered ball. Pant manipulated a thinly spread leg-side field in these final overs to bring up his own fifty off 70 balls, on the penultimate delivery of the day’s play.

SCORES:

India 368 for 3 in 85 overs (Shubman Gill 103*, KL Rahul 100, B Sai Sudharsan 81, Rishabh Pant 50*; MohaSaleem 2-67) vs Afghanistan

(Cricinfo)

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Persistent rain in Kingston washes out second ODI between West Indies and Sri Lanka

Published

56 mins ago

2026/06/7

Priyan

The Sabina Park staff clear the water on the ground (Cric8nfo)

West Indies won the toss and put Sri Lanka into bat, but that was the extent of the action from thesecod ODI at Sabina Park, as persistent rain put an end to proceedings before they had even begun.

The washout means West Indies’ hopes of winning the series are wiped out, but they can still draw level in the final game on Monday. Perhaps more importantly, a win there will give the hosts a much needed rankings boost, with qualification for next year’s World Cup hinging on their final position come March next year.

The toss itself had been delayed by 30 minutes following rain earlier in the day, and it was the possibility of rain intervening later on that had influenced Shai Hope’s decision to field first.

Both teams had also made changes, with Amir Jangoo due to get a game for the injured Matthew Forde, while Eshan Malinga had been drafted in for Asitha Fernando. Shai Hope, playing his 150th ODI for West Indies, received a special jersey before rain came along.

(Cricinfo)

Sports

Sri Lanka to play women’s T-20 World Cup curtain-raiser

Published

2 hours ago

2026/06/7

Thilina Walpola

Sri Lanka women’s cricket team flew off to London this week to take part in the ICC T-20 World Cup that will get underway on the 12th June in Birmingham with Chamari Atapattu’s side playing England in the curtain-raiser.The national team will enter the 12 nation global showpiece event with renewed confidence and ambition under the newly appointed Head Coach Jamie Siddons.

Prior to the opening match, the team will play two warm-up fixtures against Pakistan and Netherlands. Placed in a challenging Group 2, apart from England, they have defending champions New Zealand, West Indies, Ireland and Scotland. The team arrives in England buoyed by recent successes, having secured impressive series victories over both West Indies and Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka’s participation in the tournament marks another significant chapter in the continued growth of women’s cricket in the country. Dialog, who holds the exclusive broadcast rights of ICC events in Sri Lanka, remains committed to supporting the development of the game and powering Sri Lankan athletes to compete on the global stage.

Cricket Fans can catch all the action live on Dialog Television (Channel Numbers 68,120 & 63), or stream via the Dialog Play mobile App and ThePapare.com.