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Root 75 sets up series-levelling win after spin-heavy England limit Sri Lanka

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3 months ago

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Harry Brook and Joe Root were the key partnership in England's chase [Cricinfo]

Joe Root struck his 45th ODI fifty and with it helped England snap an 11-match losing streak away from home, as they won the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo by five wickets and with it levelled the three-match series at 1-1.

Root was unable to see the game to a close, falling to an Asitha Fernando yorker with just 42 to get off 57 deliveries, but by that point – with England batting all the way down – it would have required a collapse of epic proportions for Sri Lanka overturn the result.

Even so, faint embers of hope were lit when the set Harry Brook (42 off 75) was trapped lbw by the impressive Jefftrey Vandersay shortly after. However, a couple of meaty blows from Jos Buttler ensured there would be no fairytale resurgence afoot for the boisterous home support as England romped to victory with 22 balls to spare. Buttler remained unbeaten on 33 off 21.

But while Root’s 75 off 90 was instrumental in England’s win, that he was allowed to play such risk-free cricket – highlighted by a control percentage hovering around 90 – was down to the excellent team display with the ball and in the field.

No less than eight bowling options were used – six of them spin – as England gave Sri Lanka a taste of their own medicine, producing 40.3 overs of spin bowling and thereby breaking their previous record of 36. That came in Sharjah in 1984-85,  when Norman Gifford captained England at the age of 44, and took four wickets. The team wore black armbands during the first ODI after his death last week.

The successes were spread out this time, with Adil Rashid, Jamie Overton and Root picking up two apiece, the latter with the final two balls of the innings. There were also wickets for Liam Dawson, Rehan Ahmed and the returning Will Jacks.

Several Sri Lankan batters got starts, but none was able to pass fifty. Charith Asalanka’s 45 off 64 and Dhananjaya de Silva’s 40 off 59 headlined, but England’s attack kept a firm lid on proceedings throughout.

With the target a good 50-runs shy of what they had fallen short of in the first game, from the outset England’s chase had less pressure surrounding it and it showed in their approach with the bat.

Rehan, who had been promoted to the top of the order with the injury-enforced absence of Zak Crawley, and Ben Duckett kept scoreboard ticking along early; the pair largely content with just surviving and picking up singles – this despite Rehan’s supposed remit to go after the attack – highlighting the difficulty of scoring on an extremely dry and sticky surface at the Premadasa.

Rehan eventually fell, castled by a surprise inswinger from Dhananjaya, but that would end up being the Sri Lanka’s sole respite for quite some time.

Duckett, having survived several nervy moments early in his innings, eventually settled into a nice rhythm alongside the unflappable Root, as the pair stitched together a stand of 68 off 67 – given the conditions this was positively rapid. And much of it owed to Root, who was proving incredibly adapt at turning over the strike with ease, as Duckett duly followed suit.

It was Vandersay that managed to break the stand with a sharp turning legbreak that cramped an attempted cut from Duckett to crash into the stumps, and shortly after Jacob Bethell slapped one low to Asalanka at short cover.

Sri Lanka might have sensed an opening, but the door was once more firmly shut and it was here England killed the chase. With Root ticking along nicely, and belying the turn and slow nature of the pitch, Brook played the ideal supporting hand as the pair put on the game’s best partnership – one which in the end secured the win.

Sri Lanka’s innings had earlier failed to really going as they eventually parked themselves at a middling total of 219, bowled out in 49.3 overs.

“Keeping the stumps in play,” was Brook’s refrain, speaking after losing the toss, and on an uber-dry surface with boundaries square and behind mostly protected, the onus was on the Lankan batters to use their feet in order to access extra cover and deep midwicket.

That sort of strokeplay however proved detrimental to the Lankan cause with four of their top five falling in their attempts to take on the boundaries in front of square. Kamil Mishara sought to bring some impetus to the innings after a miserly early burst from the England seamers, but his attempted lashing cover drive could not clear Duckett in the circle, who held on at the second attempt.

Pathum Nissanka, who had patiently waded through the opening powerplay when the scoring rate sat below four an over, then sought to capitalise on his added time in the middle, but only managed to loft an inside-out drive to long-off.

Later on in the innings, Dhananjaya whacked one low to Root at midwicket, before the set Asalanka found deep midwicket with a slog sweep.

And arguably Sri Lanka’s best batter at accessing those regions, Kusal Mendis, had earlier run himself out after grinding for 26, having cut one straight to point and absentmindedly set off for a single. The throw from the fit-again Jacks was pinpoint and found Mendis easily short as he sought in vain to fling himself back to safety.

While there were promising stands in-between, notably a 42-run effort between Nissanka and Mendis and 66 between Dhananjaya and Asalanka, none of the batters involved were able to push on and up the rate of scoring over any concerted period of time.

Pavan Rathnayake’s 29 off 34 also showed promise, but he fell foul looking to clear the straight boundary as he sliced one to long-off, and in the process an energetic Khettarama crowd was silenced.

Dunith Wellalage once more looked enterprising during a late cameo, but his 20 off 19 was far less damaging to England’s cause than had been the case in the first ODI. The frustrating nature of Sri Lanka’s innings was illustrated by the fact that five batters scored at least 25 and faced at least 30 deliveries, but the highest score remained Asalanka’s 45.

Brief scores:
England 223 for 5 in 46.2 overs (Joe Root 75, Ben Duckett 39, Harry Brook 42, Jos Buttler 33*; Dhananjaya de Silva 2-37, Jeffrey Vandersay 2-45) beat Sri Lanka 219 in 49.3  overs (Charith Asalanka 45, Dhananjaya De Silva 40, Pavan Ratnayake 29, Pathum Nissanka 26, Kusal  Mendis 26, Dunith Wellalage 20; Joe Root 2-12, Jamie  Overton 2-21, Adil Rashid 2-34)  by five wickets

[Cricinfo]


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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued For Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western province

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11 hours ago

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2026/04/25

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Advisory for Severe Lightning
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 12.00 noon 25 April 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 25 April 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur in the  Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya
districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning
activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:
The Department of Meteorology advises that
people should:
• Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
• Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
• Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
• For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

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Kohli, Padikkal hit fifties as Royal Challengers Bengaluru ace the chase against Gujarat Titans

Published

17 hours ago

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2026/04/25

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Virat Kohli hit eight fours, to go with four sixes [Cricinfo]

An exhibition of clean hitting by Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal ensured Sai Sudarshan’s measured 100 off 58 balls ended in a losing cause as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

After winning the toss, RCB captain Rajat Patidar had no hesitation in putting GT in. Sudharsan laid a strong foundation on a pitch he described as “two-paced and sticky to start with”. But even when the surface became easier to bat on, GT could not get into overdrive. They scored only 35 in the last four overs and finished on 205 for 3.

In response, Kohli, who was dropped on zero, smashed 81 off 44 balls and Padikkal blasted 55 off just 27. They put on 115 in 9.5 overs for the second wicket, and despite a bit of wobble towards the end, RCB romped home with seven balls to spare.

The GT openers prefer to take as few risks as possible and it was no different on Friday. Sudharsan was circumspect at the start and was on 17 off 16 after three overs. But he found his timing after that and moved to 41 off 27 by the end of the fifth. Gill had faced just three balls till then. GT finished the powerplay on 57 for no loss.

Sudharsan went inventive after the powerplay, scooping Romario Shepherd for a six. When Krunal Pandya bowled a bouncer, he uppercut him over deep third. Later in the over, he slog-swept the spinner for another six, reaching 2000 runs in the IPL. Taking 47 innings, he was the fastest to get there, bettering Chris Gayle’s record by one.

He and Gill added 128 in 12.4 overs, with Gill contributing 32 off 24 balls. The GT captain was starved of strike throughout his stay and holed out to long-on off Suyash Sharma. Sudharsan brought up his hundred off 57 balls, the slowest of the six so far this season. There was no cutting loose after reaching the milestone either. He was out on the very next ball he faced.

GT were 170 for 2 after 16 overs but Suyash, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hazlewood gave away only 17 in the next three. At 187 for 3, Rasikh Salam ran in to bowl the final over but he stopped even before he could bowl a delivery. It looked like cramps and despite the physio working on him, he had to walk off the field. Krunal replaced him and was hit for a six by Jason Holder off the first ball. After another ball, Krunal too pulled out of his delivery stride holding his groin. But after a bit of medical attention, he completed the over, but ended up leaking 18 runs.

With Phil Salt injured, Jacob Bethell finally got a chance to play this season. Opening the innings after coming in as Impact Player, he had a close shave in the second over. He got an inside edge to a length ball from Kagiso Rabada but it missed the stumps and beat Buttler for four. In the next over, he shuffled across and hit Mohammed Siraj for a four on either side of the wicket. But when he tried the same trick later in the over, he hit it straight to the backward point. He made 14 off ten.

Kohli was dropped off the first ball he faced. It was a length delivery from Siraj that he flicked uppishly towards short midwicket but Washington Sundar grassed a regulation chance. Kohli made his intentions clear in the following over when he hit Rabada over mid-on for a four.

Padikkal was even more ruthless. He opened his account with a first-ball six, picking up a 153.6kph length ball from Rabada over square leg. The GT bowlers didn’t help themselves by bowling onto his pads, and he kept flicking them fine for boundaries.

Rashid Khan wasn’t spared either. He dropped one short to Kohli and the batter duly pulled it over deep midwicket for a six before cutting the following delivery for four. In the spinner’s second over, Padikkal hit him for two sixes, the second one taking him to his fifty off just 20 balls. It made Kohli’s 30-ball fifty look pedestrian.

Rashid bowled Padikkal with a googly from around the wicket, and Kohli played Holder on but not before hitting the allrounder for back-to-back sixes.

Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma kept the attack going. They hit a six each off Rashid but fell in quick succession. Suddenly, RCB were five down with 31 required from four overs. Krunal, though, bashed Manav Suthar for two fours and a six in the 18th over, bringing the equation down to seven needed from 12. In the penultimate over, he swatted Holder through midwicket for four before wrapping up the game with a gentle pull to fine leg.

Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 206 for 5 in 18.5 overs (Jacob Bethell 14, Virat Kohli 81, Devdutt Padikkal 55, Jitesh Sharma 10, Tim David 10*, Krunal Pandya 23*; Mohammed Siraj 1-25, Jason Holder 1-35, Rashid Khan 2-49, Manav  Suther 1-19) beat Gujarat Titans 205 for 3 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 100, Shubman Gill 32, Jos Buttler 25, Washington Sundar 19*,Jason Holder 23*; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1-31, Josh Hazelwood 40, Suyash Sharma 1-36) by five wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa and  Eastern provinces during the day time

Published

19 hours ago

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2026/04/25

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 24 April 2026, valid for 25 April 2026.

Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa and
Eastern provinces during the day time.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.


Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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