Sports
Sri Lanka spin their way to a gritty 63-run win
Rex Clementine in Galle
In a game as tense as a tightrope walk over Ravana Falls, Sri Lanka clung on to secure a hard-fought 63-run victory against New Zealand in the first Test in Galle yesterday.
The star of the show was none other than the wily left-arm spinner, Prabath Jayasuriya, who spun his magic web to grab a fifer, bagging nine wickets in the match. It was no surprise when he strutted off with the Man of the Match award tucked under his arm although some felt that Kamindu Mendis, only centurion in the game deserved the prize.
The Kiwis resumed the final day’s play needing 68 runs to reach their target of 275 but it took Sri Lanka just 22 deliveries to finish off the game.
New Zealand’s slender hopes hung on the shoulders of the tenacious Rachin Ravindra, who had dug in for a hard fought 91 overnight. But the promising left-hander barely had time to blink when Jayasuriya delivered the fatal blow. Ravindra, perhaps dreaming of reaching a century, missed one that spun into him and was trapped plumb leg before wicket playing on the back foot. Fatal against Jayasuriya when he’s on song. Just like that, the Kiwi dreams of an upset victory were snuffed out.
Jayasuriya swooped in again like a hawk, knocking over last man William O’Rourke for a duck in his very next over. With that, Jayasuriya added another feather to his cap, securing his eighth five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Ravindra fell just eight runs shy of a century. Still, his knock of 92 did earn him a place in the history books, surpassing Ross Taylor’s 86 to become the highest Kiwi scorer at this ground. No New Zealander has scored a hundred in Galle, evident by the fact that they have lost all five Tests played here.
This victory also enabled Sri Lanka to leapfrog New Zealand to claim the number three spot in the World Test Championship behind India and Australia. Meanwhile, New Zealand, who started the series ranked third, slid down to fourth.
The teams will dust themselves off and stay put in Galle, with the second Test starting on Thursday. Sri Lanka haven’t won a Test series against New Zealand since 2009. In between there have been six series with the Kiwis winning four, and the other two drawn. Will the tables finally turn for Sri Lanka? Only time and perhaps a bit more spin will tell!
Canada captain Dilpreet Bajwa won the toss and asked South Africa to bat in their World Cup opener in Ahmedabad.
South Africa have opted for a pace-heavy attack. Keshav Maharaj slots in as their only spinner, alongside the speedy quartet of Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. Tristan Stubbs also begins the tournament at the No. 6 spot – a position Jason Smith had occupied in their last T20I, while Stubbs had slid down to No. 7. Smith is in the World Cup squad but did not find a spot in South Africa’s starting eleven.
South Africa’s pace is expected to get the most out of a characteristically flat Ahmedabad black-soil pitch. But first, their batters will have a hit in a game they begin as overwhelming favourites against Canada, who are their second World Cup.
Canada’s new captain, Bajwa, will lead the side at a global tournament for the first time. He also slots in at the top of the order, alongside Yuvraj Samra, and their batting power will be key to their hopes of causing a massive upset.
Canada have lost both their warm-up games – to Italy and Nepal – but should their batters come off on a friendly pitch, South Africa will look to have the added insurance of a few more runs in the bank before dew takes over when Canada begin their chase at night.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
Canada: Dilpreet Bajwa (capt), Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva, Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel
(Cricinfo)
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza decided to field first against Oman in the men’s T20 World Cup match at the SSC in Colombo. Both teams were pleased to arrive in Sri Lanka early to get themselves attuned to the conditions.
Zimbabwe have Blessing Muzarabani back in the squad after he missed the tri-series in Pakistan in November.
Oman, meanwhile, include 44-year-old Aaamir Kaleem the oldest player in the tournament – after he came into the side in place of Hasnain Shah, who was injured after the squad was named.
Zimbabwe return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition in West Indies and the United States of America. They had made it to the Super 12s of the 2022 T20 World Cup but failed to progress through the qualifiers for the 2024 tournament. They completed qualification alongside Namibia; Brian Bennett was the tournament’s top run-scorer, while Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were among the leading wicket-takers.
Zimbabwe are bolstered by the return of Graeme Cremer, whose November 2025 comeback marked the longest gap between T20I appearances.
Oman are one of three qualifiers from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Nepal and the UAE. They have previously appeared in the 2016, 2021, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.
Oman: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmad
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Scotland may have suffered a blip the last time they faced Italy in a T20I but ensured they picked up the first points of their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign after a dominant performance at Eden Gardens. George Munsey’s 54-ball 84, supported by cameos from Brandon McMullen and Michael Leask, followed by Leask’s four-wicket haul helped Scotland spoil Italy’s debut in the tournament. The 73-run win gave Scotland two points after their defeat to West Indies in Kolkata two days ago.
Brief scores:
Scotland 207 for 4 in 20 overs (George Munsey 84, Michael Jones 37, Brandon McMullen 41, Richie Berrington 15, Michael Leask 22*; Ali Hasan 1-21, Grant Stewart 1-44, Thomas Draca 1-37, JJ Smuts 1-38) beat Italy 134 in 16.4 overs (Anthony Mosca 13, JJ Smutts 22, Harry Manenti 52; Michael Leask 4-17, Brad Currie 1-12, Brad Wheal 1-29, Mark Watt 2-24, Oliver Davidson 1-33 ) by 73 runs
(Cricinfo)
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