Sports
SLC confident of LPL success despite challenges
by Rex Clementine
Sri Lanka Cricket is in for a major financial windfall with Lanka Premier League tournament getting the go ahead from health authorities after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the event several times.
SLC will earn a total sum of US$ 10 million over a period of five years having outsourced the event to a Dubai based company – IPG.
The organizers announced that the franchise based tournament will now take place from the 27th of November to the 17th of December. However, there are still question marks about the competition.
With discussions with health authorities getting delayed, the IPG Group that has bought the rights has requested SLC for more time for the signing of the agreement. SLC has agreed for this and the board is expected to get a bank guarantee from the organizers which can be encashed on the day the tournament gets underway.
While IPG has come up with a lucrative deal that will benefit SLC there are questions about how they are going to make money.
Each franchise was initially priced at US$ one million but lack of interest saw that amount coming down to about US$ 500,000. The franchises will end up incurring further costs as they have got to pay players and look after other logistics.
While franchises earn money through sponsorships for their teams, the major portion of the revenue comes from the event itself. As per the agreement, the organizers will pay 40 percent of the television revenue to the franchises which means each franchise will receive eight percent of that money. The same module applies for the title sponsorship as well. But so far there has been no announcement made about the television deal or the main sponsor. There is speculation that Sony has bought the television rights and a gaming app will be the title sponsor. However, how much those deals are worth has not been revealed yet to get a clear idea as to whether the franchises will make money.
How much money the television companies will pay depends on the big players the organizers are able to attract for the event. The names such as Chris Gayle, Wahab Riaz, Ifran Pathan and Liam Plunkett have been thrown around and in a week’s time or so we will have a clear idea about the participants.
It is also believed that out of the five franchises, one is yet to be sold – Dambulla franchise captained by Dasun Shanaka.
This is the closest that we have come in conducting a franchise based tournament of our own since the Sri Lanka Premier League conducted a decade ago collapsed. There are several ifs and buts but observers are confident that the tournament will take place. Will it continue next year – for which to happen franchises need to make money – is something not known.
The entire tournament is slotted to take place at Hambantota with the players and production crew getting into a bio-secure bubble. There has been a concession on quarantine days with players expected to spend just seven days in isolation.
Oman made a couple of changes in the last two fixtures without success. Shakeel Ahmed went in and out of the side in the three games, but picked three wickets against Ireland and should keep his place. Jatinder might look at giving top-order batter Karan Sonavale another go.
[Cricbuzz]
Zimbabwe marched into the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup with the swagger of a side that refuses to read the script, completing the group phase unbeaten after a polished six-wicket win over co-hosts Sri Lanka at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.
Ranked 11th in the world, the African side have been the tournament’s disruptors-in-chief. Having already sent former champions Australia packing last week, they now added 2014 winners Sri Lanka to their growing list of scalps, underlining that this is no flash in the pan but a team riding a serious wave of momentum.
Chasing 179 on a surface that demanded both muscle and method, Zimbabwe found themselves at crossroads when 65 were needed off the last 36 balls. Enter Sikandar Raza, sleeves rolled up and eyes locked in.
The all-rounder flipped the contest on its head in one decisive over from Dushan Hemantha, plundering 20 runs with two towering sixes and a rasping boundary. In the blink of an eye, the asking rate dipped and Sri Lanka’s shoulders sagged.
Raza and Brian Bennett stitched together a match-defining 69 off 40 deliveries for the third wicket, mixing clean ball-striking with smart running between the wickets. Zimbabwe crossed the line with three balls to spare.
While Raza provided the late fireworks with 45 off 26 balls, peppered with two fours and four sixes, opener Bennett was the glue that held the innings together. His composed 63 off 48 deliveries, studded with eight fours, ensured Zimbabwe never lost sight of the target.
Even when Raza departed with 13 still required from two overs, Sri Lanka sensed a sniff. But Tony Munyonga calmly clubbed Maheesh Theekshana’s first delivery of the final over into the stands, draining the tension from the contest. Fittingly, Bennett sealed the deal with the winning boundary. Raza was named Man of the Match.
It was Zimbabwe’s second-highest successful run chase in T20Is.
Earlier, after opting to bat, Sri Lanka were once again anchored by Pathum Nissanka. Fresh from becoming the tournament’s first centurion earlier in the week, Nissanka produced a polished 62 off 47 balls, bringing up his seventh T20 World Cup half-century, equalling Mahela Jayawardene’s record for the most by a Sri Lankan.
He and Kusal Perera gave the innings early impetus with a brisk 54 off 30 balls for the opening stand before Nissanka added a further 46 in 43 deliveries alongside Kusal Mendis.
Pavan Rathnayake provided the late thrust, clearing the ropes twice in a 44 off 25 balls as Sri Lanka posted a competitive 178.
Zimbabwe’s bowlers, however, ensured it was a chaseable target rather than a daunting one. Veteran leg-spinner Graeme Cremer led the way with 2-27, applying the squeeze in the middle overs, while the towering Blessing Muzarabani struck twice to finish with 2-38.
Sri Lanka now turn their attention to a Super Eight showdown against England in Kandy on Sunday, a contest that promises high stakes and little margin for error. Zimbabwe, brimming with belief, head to Bombay to face the West Indies on Monday, no longer the underdogs but a side that has earned its place at the top table.
Yuhansa Peiris is set to meet Aaraa Aasaal Azim of Maldives in the girls’ singles final after emerging victorious in the semi finals of the J30 ITF Junior Week 4 tournament continued in Colombo on Thursday.
She was the only Sri Lankan player reaching the finals as Ganuka Fernando was eliminated in the boys’ semi final.
Semi Final results
Girls
Yuhansa Peiris beat Aarioda of Japan 6-4, 6-1.
Aaraa Aasaal Azim of Maldives beat Chiu Kwan Nina Wang of Hong Kong 4-6, 6-2, 7-6
Asahi Yamazaki of Japan beat Ganuka Fernando 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
Kenshin Sato of Japan beat Eunho Park of Korea 6-3, 6-1
Fairly heavy showers likely in the Eastern province and in Matale, Badulla, Mullaitivu and Polonnaruwa districts
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PM reveals allowances and perks available to MPs
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Construction begins on country’s largest solar power project in Hambantota
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