Sports

Rainbow nation on cloud nine

Published

2 years ago

2023/10/30

by Rex Clementine

South Africa have won a record fourth Rugby World Cup beating the All Blacks in a nail-biter in Paris. Can their cricket team follow suit is the question many are asking in India.

The South African cricket team is known as Proteas while their rugby team is called the Springboks. Both have had contrasting results in World Cups. While the Springboks have reached four World Cup finals and won all four of them, the Proteas haven’t even reached the finals once despite entering multiple tournament (1996, 1999 and 2003) as firm favourites.

The Springboks didn’t compete in the first two World Cups as South Africa were alienated by rest of the world for their government’s apartheid policies. To win four out of the next eight tournaments is a remarkable achievement.

Time was when Springboks were a symbol of racism as rugby was exclusively a white man’s sport. But over the years, blacks have embraced the sport as well and today South African rugby captain is a black – Siya Kolisi.

White South Africans tend to move out of the country to other parts of the world as the quota systems operating in sports promotes black players, but that doesn’t seem to stop them from winning World Cups.

South Africa is a country that is mad about sports. They have top notch facilities with mega stadiums and training facilities. The development programs which various sports bodies run help them to identify talents early and their scientific approach to coaching isn’t far behind Australia.

A country that promotes sports to maintain healthy lifestyles, you see lot of South Africans involved in sports well past their prime.

Most South Africans would have watched their team win the world title with a ‘braai’ – a term used in South Africa for barbecue. They’ll be doing the same over the next three weeks hoping that their cricket team does something remarkable.

South African cricket team is a side that has all bases covered. Solid top order, big hitting middle order, genuine all-rounders, mean fast bowlers and crafty spinners. They have always had fabulous sides but at the sport’s biggest stage find ways to lose games in dramatic styles. In cricketing terms, their team is called, ‘chokers’. They nearly choked against Pakistan in Madras the other night. It is a popular belief that when put under pressure, South Africans fails to deliver. Everyone remembers Kumar Sangakkara’s famous sledge to South African captain Shaun Pollock in 2003 knock out in Durban, ‘Weight of expectations of 42 million South Africans on the captain.’

But boy, what cricketing talents they have got. They are a dangerous side as Sri Lanka found out in this World Cup in their opening game in Delhi. They are also unpredictable as they proved by losing to Netherlands. They are through to the semis and in the process have beaten some big teams – Australia, England and Pakistan.

Spending time in the press box during mega cricket events you also meet many current and former greats who have made watching the sport a pleasant experience.

Match Referee Javagal Srinath pops up to the press box during the England – Sri Lanka game to have a word to some reporters he knows. The game is played in his hometown of Bangalore and many are his friends in the media.

Srinath is a fine man and Sri Lanka were lucky that he was Match Referee in 2018 when they tampered with the ball and then brought the game to disrepute by failing to take to the field.

There is also Dinesh Karthik who enjoys curd rice in the dining area. You wonder whether he is vegetarian, but that he is not. ‘This brings the South Indian in me,’ he says before reminding that curd rice ideally should be consumed by hand and not spoon.

Karthik is a fabulous character, and he remains quite popular in Sri Lanka for that last ball six against Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy final in 2018.

A lot was expected of him when he made his India debut at Lord’s aged 19, but then, a few years down the line came a wicket keeper called M.S. Dhoni and Karthik’s opportunities were limited.

Karthik has endured a lot more off the field than on the field. Post retirement he is making good progress as a commentator and genuine folks like him should go onto have successful careers.

Having listened to top class commentators of yesteryear like Richie Benaud, Ian Chappell and Tony Greig you feel like the current lot are nowhere near to them. But guys like Karthik, Michael Atherton and Sunil Gavaskar are fun to listen to. You just wish that Gavaskar would tell you more old stories. There’s no better storyteller in cricket than him.

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Tilak ends Mumbai Indian’s losing streak with 45-ball century

Published

15 hours ago

2026/04/21

Priyan

Tilak Varma went from 19 off 22 to 101* off 45 [Cricinfo]

Mumbai Indians (MI) needed something dramatic to scrape themselves off the bottom of the table, and Tilak Varma provided that with a record-breaking hundred to lift them from 103 for 4 in 14 overs. The momentum MI built at the end of their innings was so irresistible it carried into a first-ball wicket for Jasprit Bumrah after he had gone six IPL games wicketless, and the Gujarat Titans (GT) wickets just kept tumbling, ending MI’s four-match losing streak. It was so dramatic in the end that GT ended one short of Tilak’s 101, losing by 99 runs.

The 82 runs that Tilak scored in the last six overs is the most anyone has scored in that period of an IPL innings, resulting in the joint-quickest century for MI, level with Sanath Jayasuriya’s effort in 45 balls in the inaugural IPL season. Sensationally, Tilak did so after not having hit a boundary in his first 20 balls, making this the highest IPL score after such a start.

Without taking anything away from Tilak, Naman Dhir arguably scored the tougher runs when the GT bowlers were red-hot: 45 off 32 from No. 3, when MI had slipped to 44 for 3. Tilak was offered some gifts by bowlers failing to stick to their plans, but his response to the errors was intimidating and likely resulted in further errors.

GT take the fewest risks among IPL teams when they bat. They can afford to do so because their bowlers regularly give them low scores to chase. For the second match in a row, they had their Test bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada bowl like they would in a Test match, running through the powerplay with three overs each.

Siraj was excellent with three overs for 15 runs, but the wickets went to Rabada, who was direct with his attack, bowling full, straight and fast. He ripped out Danish Malewar, Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav in this spell, the latter two with balls timed at 150 and 152kmph.

Led by Rashid Khan, GT kept the batters honest in the middle overs. Encouraged by the turn on offer for Rashid, Shubman Gill went to Washington Sundar in the 11th over. Tilak, still struggling for fluency, turned the strike over to Dhir, who took down Washington like a medium-pacer. And Washington did bowl like a medium-pacer, firing the ball at upwards of 100kmph and getting step-hit for six and four.

However, Prasidh Krishna soon got the wicket of Dhir with yet another short ball, making it 23 IPL wickets for him with short or short-of-a-length balls since the start of the 2025 season. That’s nine more than anyone. He also has the third-best economy rate off those lengths (minimum 30 balls bowled).

Which is what makes what followed all the more inexplicable. When he started the 15th over, Prasidh had the field set for the short ball, but proceeded to bowl one full ball after another. One can be a bluff, two can be errors, but four in a row is hard to explain. Tilak was ruthless, taking 16 off these balls.

Rabada came back to bring some order to proceedings, ending with figures of 4 for 33. Rashid, though, didn’t enjoy a similar end. He overpitched and underpitched the first two balls of the 17th over, and Tilak was now in an irresistible flow, hitting him for four and six.

The biggest over was the 18th, when Tilak outdid Ashok Sharma, who actually followed his plans. The first ball was a wide slower bouncer with the bigger boundary on the off side, but he still upper-cut it for a six. The second ball was hard length outside off, but he still managed to ramp it just over short fine. Now the young fast bowler begun to falter, and Varma demolished the rest of the over for 4, 4 and 6.

Siraj bowled a good 19th, getting the wicket of Hardik Pandya and ending up with figures of 4-0-25-1, but Prasidh again started the 20th over with a full ball. When he eventually went short, Tilak pulled him for a six, but only just cleared the sweeper. A high full-toss flew over long leg for a huge six, and the last ball was pulled away for four to bring up the hundred.

The last time Bumrah took a wicket in the IPL was in the Eliminator last year, incidentally against GT. He had gone six IPL matches without a wicket since then without bowling badly at all. He took the brand-new ball for the first time this season, and had a wicket first up with an unremarkable full ball, which B Sai Sudharsan sliced to cover point.

That MI’s luck was turning was evident in how Pandya got Jos Buttler lbw on umpire’s call with the ball projected to just clip the top of leg stump. Gill then played a nothing pull, neither rolling his wrists over nor trying to hit a six, to make it the first time in 21 matches that GT had lost all of their big three in the powerplay.

The powerplays cancelled each other out with GT scoring 45 for 3 to MI’s 46 for 3. Any hopes of a similar fightback to MI were dashed when Mitchell Santner took out Washington and Glenn Phillips in the same over, Washington to an excellent boundary catch by Dhir.

Ashwani Kumar was then at the receiving end of pressure-induced gifts on three occasions as GT continued to slide. Mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar wrapped up the tail with the wickets of Siraj and Rabada in the same over, making it the first time that an MI batter had outscored the entire opposition.

Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 199 for 5 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 13, Tilak Varma 101*, Naman Dhir 45, Suryakumar Yadav 15, Hardik Pandya 15; Mohammed Siraj 1-25, Kagiso Rabada 3-33, Prasidh Krishna 1-54) beat Gujarat Titans 100 in 15.5 overs (Shubman Gill 14, Washington Sundar 26, M Sharukh Khan 17, Kagiso Rabada 12; Jasprit Bumrah 1-15, Hardik Pandya 1-18, Ashwani Kumar 4-24, Mitchell Santner 2-16, AM Ghazanfar 2-17) by 99 runs

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Lyceum celebrate historic promotion with dominant title triumph‎

Published

18 hours ago

2026/04/21

Thilina Walpola

Lyceum International Wattala became the first international school in the country to earn a place in the Under 19 Division I tournament

Lyceum International School, Wattala etched their name into schools cricket history with a commanding first innings victory over Taxila College, Horana to clinch the Under 19 Division II Tier ‘A’ title at Kosgama on Sunday.‎The victory was the icing on the cake after they secured a landmark promotion to the top Division of the country’s premier schools cricket tournament by virtue of their semi final win.

‎The triumph was built on a disciplined all-round performance, with Ravindu Vikasitha spearheading an incisive bowling effort after a solid collective showing with the bat in the first innings.

‎Having elected to bat first, Lyceum’s top and middle order combined effectively to post a competitive 244 in 74.2 overs. Contributions flowed throughout the lineup, with Dinosh Jelon leading the way with a fluent 51, while Gagan Enosh (42), Tharusha Ranasinghe (24), Mihisara Osan (31), Thisanga Semith (27), and Shaleela Prabashshara (21) all played valuable supporting roles. Taxila’s response with the ball was steady, with Janiru Athulathmudali claiming 3 for 33, while Yasith Weththasinghe and Thilin Kumara picked up two wickets apiece.

‎However, the game turned decisively in Lyceum’s favour when their bowlers dismantled the Taxila batting lineup for just 92 runs in 34.3 overs. Vikasitha was the chief destroyer with an outstanding five-wicket haul, while Sadil Dias and Jelon chipped in with two wickets each to ensure a massive first innings lead.

‎Lyceum continued their dominance in the second innings, scoring 276 runs in 95 overs. Mihisara Osan came agonizingly close to a century, falling for 99, while Thisanga Semith (68) and Shaleela Prabashshara (56) produced impressive half-centuries to further underline the team’s batting depth. Despite Yasiru Kalhara’s excellent effort of 6 for 59 and Rashan Nawanjana’s 3 for 58, Taxila were unable to claw their way back into the contest.

‎Set an improbable task, Taxila showed some resistance in their second innings, reaching 121 for 3 in 49 overs at the close. Sandith Ranaweera top-scored with 40, while Raniru Athulathmudali added 38 in a steady rebuilding effort.

‎Despite the defeat, Taxila have much to celebrate, as both finalists earned promotion to the top Division—marking a historic breakthrough for the Horana school, which, like Lyceum, had never previously competed at that level.

‎For Lyceum International, this victory carries even greater significance, as they become the first international school in Sri Lanka to qualify for the top Division of the Under 19 schools cricket tournament—an achievement that signals a new chapter in the island’s school cricket landscape.

‎Brief Scores:

‎Lyceum International, Wattala – 244 all out in 74.2 overs (Gagan Enosh 42, Dinosh Jelon 51, Mihisara Osan 31; Janiru Athulathmudali 3/33) and 276 all out in 95 overs (Mihisara Osan 99, Thisanga Semith 68, Shaleela Prabashshara 56; Yasiru Kalhara 6/59)

‎Taxila College, Horana – 92 all out in 34.3 overs (Sandith Ranaweera 23; Ravindu Vikasitha 5/18) and 121 for 3 in 49 overs (Sandith Ranaweera 40, Raniru Athulathmudali 38)

(RF)‎

Sports

Lithum, Kavindu steer Wesley to title with huge stand

Published

18 hours ago

2026/04/21

Thilina Walpola

Wesley College clinched the Under 19 Division I Tier B cricket title with a first innings win over Sri Sumangala College, Panadura at Surray Village ground on Monday

A monumental sixth-wicket partnership between Lithum Senuja and Kavindu Hettiarachchi powered Wesley College to a commanding first innings victory over Sri Sumangala College Panadura in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘B’ cricket tournament final at Surrey Village Ground, Maggona on Monday.

‎Resuming the final day on 281 for 5 in reply to Sri Sumangala’s first innings total of 239, Wesley were already in a strong position. However, the overnight pair of Senuja and Hettiarachchi ensured there would be no way back for their opponents, extending their partnership to a match-defining 278 runs for the sixth wicket.

‎Sri Sumangala, who had built a reputation for strong second innings fightbacks during the latter stages of the tournament, were effectively taken out of contention as Wesley piled up a formidable 416 for seven wickets in their alloted first innings overs. The sheer scale of the total left the Panadura outfit with no realistic chance of mounting another comeback.

‎Both batsmen converted their overnight scores into well-deserved centuries. Senuja anchored the innings with a patient 101 off 239 deliveries, striking 13 boundaries, while Hettiarachchi played the more aggressive role, compiling an impressive 134 off 164 balls, including 13 fours and three sixes. Their contrasting yet complementary knocks laid the foundation for Wesley’s dominance.

‎In their second essay Sri Sumangala were 148 for four wickets at close.

‎Earlier in the match, Sri Sumangala posted 239 in their first innings, with Vidura Basuru leading the way with a solid 97. He received support from Nikesh Iddamalgoda (54) and Bihanga Silva (32). Wesley’s bowling effort was shared, with Jeewahan Sriram claiming 3 for 40, while Hettiarachchi and Methnula Mayadunna chipped in with two wickets apiece.

‎Despite the defeat, Sri Sumangala had the consolation of promotion, as both finalists secured elevation to the top tier of Division I cricket next season.

‎‎Scores:

‎Sri Sumangala

239 all out in 82.5 overs

‎(Vidura Basuru 97, Nikesh Iddamalgoda 54, Bihanga Silva 32; Jeewahan Sriram 3/40, Kavindu Hettiarachchi 2/37, Methnula Mayadunna 2/20) and 148 for 4 in 46.4 overs (Sandeep Wijerathne 31, Neksha Iddamalgoda 63, Bihanga Silva 23n.o.; Kavindu Hettiarachchi 2/09)

‎Wesley 281 for 5 overnight 416 for 7 in 120 overs (Rasheed Nahyan 78, Lithum Senuja 101, Kavindu Hettiarachchi 134, Senura Lakshan 32n.o.; Mevindu Kumarasiri 5/197)