Sports
Sri Lanka storm into Asia Rugby Men’s Championship
Sri Lanka punched their ticket to the Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2025 with a commanding 59-19 win over Malaysia at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo, delivering a performance that was both ruthless and rousing.
The Tuskers, brimming with confidence after last year’s dominant Division One campaign, wasted no time stamping their authority. A rolling maul laid the foundation early, with Danushka Ranjan slicing through before skipper Nigel Ratwatte and Mursheed Zubair linked up to send Janindu Dilshan over for the opener.
Malaysia briefly hit back, capitalizing on a scrum turnover as No. 8 Etonia Vaga bulldozed over, with Amirul Aqil converting. But Sri Lanka’s response was swift. Despite conceding a few penalties, they held firm, turned over possession, and launched another clinical attack – Ranjan finishing this one himself, Zubair converting with ease.
From there, the floodgates opened.
A sharp 8-9 move between Lasindu Karunathilake and Heshan Jansen opened space for Akash Madushanka to score. Then came another well-rehearsed scrum play, freeing up Dinal Ekanayake to step inside for Sri Lanka’s fourth. Just before half-time, a blistering counter from deep saw Naveen Marasinghe bulldoze over, Zubair’s boot remaining immaculate as Sri Lanka went into the break firmly on top.
The second half began just as explosively. Zubair orchestrated a thrilling counter-attack, combining with Ranjan and Ekanayake, who completed his brace. A Thilina Bandara turnover soon sparked another flowing move, and Ekanayake sealed a hat-trick in style. The former Kingswood College, Kandy player was unstoppable. Zubair slotted his sixth straight conversion, his radar untouched.
Malaysia showed spirit, with Vaga powering over twice more to complete his own hat-trick. But by then, the horse had bolted.
Dilshan intercepted a loose Malaysian pass to cruise in for his second try, and Sri Lanka’s forwards had the final say. A well-worked lineout and rolling maul saw Dahan Wickramarachchi crash over to cap off a dominant afternoon.With power up front, panache out wide, and precision off the tee, Sri Lanka made a resounding statement. The Tuskers are back on the big stage—and they’ve arrived with a roar.
by Carlos Van de Berg
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IPL 2025: Kishan, Sunrisers Hyderabad quicks dent Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s chances of a top-two finish
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) proved to be the banana peel they were feared to be for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who still remained one point behind the table leaders Gujarat Titans with Punjab Kings (PBKS) now breathing down their necks with one game in hand.
Ishan Kishan, who had fizzled out after his century in the first match with just 125 runs off 117 in ten innings since then, anchored a hyper-aggressive SRH to 231. He was as efficient an anchor could be: scoring an unbeaten 94 off 48, including 54 out of the last 86 runs SRH made as he ran out of hitting partners.
Led by Phil Salt, RCB stayed abreast with the asking rate for 14 overs, but then endured a collapse of 7 for 16 to lose by 42 runs, a net-run-rate blow that could dent their chances of ending in the top two. They have fallen below PBKS’ net run rate, who are level with them on points.
The pitch looked tricky to everyone, but within one over of batting there, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma decided this was perhaps the best pitch they had batted on all year. They decided they needed 230-240 and went looking accordingly. Abhishek started the charge with 34 off 17, hitting three sixes and perishing trying to hit a fourth. Head was slightly slower in his 17 off ten, and was outdone by a Bhuvneshwar Kumar knuckle ball.
Two wickets down in the powerplay, SRH saw no reason to slow down. Heinrich Klassen got a couple of gifts from Suyash Sharma and smacked 24 off 13 before mis-hitting a third gift. Aniket Verma made all this look pedestrian as he hit sixes off even good balls in his nine-ball 26.
The only problem was, none of them could carry on, leaving SRH at 145 for 4 in the 12th over.
He looked sedentary in comparison but Kishan was 40 off 22 when Aniket got out. Especially with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Abhinav Manohar falling in quick succession to Romario Shepherd, it was on Kishan to make sure SRH had a finishing kick.
Kishan took charge, faced 12 balls out of 18 in his seventh-wicket stand of 43 with Pat Cummins, and ended up one hit short of another century. The hitting was clean but he had to dial down the risk a little. He did play a ramp in between.
Aware of the behaviour of the pitch, SRH looked to go into the pitch and run their fingers on the ball often. RCB, though, showed why they were so close to the top of the table. Each of the first 14 overs featured at least one boundary. Virat Kohli started the charge with 43 off 25, Salt took over spectacularly with 62 off 32, and SRH were just hanging in.
Reddy hasn’t had the best season with the bat, was untidy in the field, but then started the turnaround with the wicket of Mayank Agarwal in the 11th over. Cummins came back with the wicket of Salt, but RCB stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma hit a six first ball, and Rajat Patidar looked in decent touch. Even with those two wickets falling, RCB kept the asking rate under two runs a ball.
Reddy came back to bowl the first over without a boundary in the 15th, and then Eshan Malinga delivered the big blows. Banging the ball in in the first half had probably aided a bit of reverse. He kept nailing the yorkers, changing up with the odd slower ball. He ran out Patidar, drew a return catch from Shepherd, and handcuffed the injured Tim David, who seemed to have done his hamstring when fielding.
The dramatic slide continued to the end of the innings.
Brief scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 231 for 6 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 94*, Abhishek Sharma 34, Travis Head 17, Heinrich Klassen 24, Aniket Verma 26, Abhinav Manohar 12, Pat Cummins 13*; Bhuvenshwar Kumar 1-43, Lungi Ngidi 1-51, Suyash Sharma 1-45, Krunal Pandya 1-38, Romairo Shepherd 2-14, Krunal 1-38) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 189 in 19.5 overs (Phil Salt 62, Virat Kohli 43, Mayank Agrawal 11, Rajat Patidar 18, Jitesh Sharma 24; Pat Cummins 3-28, Jaydev Unadkat 1-41, Eshan Malinga 2-37, Harsh Dubev 1-20, Nitish Kumar Reddy 1-13) by 42 runs
[Cricinfo]
Angelo Mathews has finally played his last card. While his longtime mate Dimuth Karunaratne called it a day after the Australian series, Mathews had resisted – gritting his teeth and soldiering on, even as the runs began to run dry and Sri Lanka slumped to four straight Test defeats. But now, the veteran has decided to walk away. The upcoming Test against Bangladesh in Galle will be his swansong.
That it ends in Galle feels poetic. It was here, back in 2009, that Mathews made a memorable debut against Pakistan – Kumar Sangakkara’s first outing as Test captain. And it was Sangakkara who famously, without blinking, said at the MCG in 2012 that Mathews would be the next Sri Lankan to reach 10,000 Test runs.
That milestone remained elusive. Mathews didn’t even crack 9000, but he bows out as Sri Lanka’s third-highest run scorer in Tests. Numbers alone can’t define him – after all, even Virat Kohli didn’t reach 10,000 in the format. But Mathews was in the company of the greats. Never flashy like Smith, flamboyant like Kohli or textbook like Williamson, his strengths lay elsewhere – temperament, grit, and the ability to dig deep when it mattered most.
He says he’ll continue pushing for a place in the white-ball squad, though with his 38th birthday looming, the road ahead will be steep.
Still, his contribution to Sri Lankan cricket is unquestionable. A natural leader, he inspired the team to dizzying heights—not least the stunning 3-0 whitewash of Australia in 2016. That he was replaced as captain within a year only adds to the bittersweet tale.
Injuries may have robbed him of greater glory, but what remains is a celebrated career: dependable in the middle order, dignified off the field, and an example for generations to come. Sri Lanka will miss him.
by Rex Clementine
Veteran Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews will retire from Test cricket after the first Test against Bangladesh in Galle, starting June 17. Mathews, who turns 38 just before the match, will bring the curtains down on a decorated Test career that began at the very same venue in July 2009. While this marks the end of his red-ball journey, he has made himself available for white-ball selection “if and when my country needs me.”
“It is time for me to say goodbye to the most cherished format of the game, international Test Cricket! I have given everything to cricket and cricket has given me everything in return and made me the person I am today,” Mathews wrote in a social media post.
The Galle Test will be Mathews’ 119th in the format, 34 of which he played as captain. He is set to finish as Sri Lanka’s third-highest run-scorer in Tests, behind only Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Heading into his final match, he has amassed 8,167 runs at an average of 44.62, with 16 centuries and a highest score of 200*. He also chipped in with 33 wickets.
Among the highlights of his career was a prolific stretch between 2013 and 2015, when he averaged 74.60, 77.33 and 42.25 across the three years, scoring six hundreds and 12 fifties. That purple patch included a second-innings 160 in Sri Lanka’s memorable win at Headingley. Though he never quite recaptured those heights, Mathews averaged over 50 in both 2022 and 2023, notching up four more centuries. His most recent ton came against Afghanistan in 2024.
“I stand grateful to the game and thankful to the thousands of Sri Lanka cricket fans who have been there for me throughout my career during my highest of highs and lowest of lows,” Mathews wrote. “I believe this Test team is a talented side with many future and present greats playing the game. Now seems like the best time to make way for a younger player to take the mantle to shine for our nation.
“A chapter ends but the love for the game will always remain.”
IPL 2025: Kishan, Sunrisers Hyderabad quicks dent Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s chances of a top-two finish
Showers above 75 mm are likely at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Northwestern provinces and in Galle, Matara, Nuwara-Eliya and Kandy districts.
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