Sports
Sri Lanka women clinch series after Atapattu heroics
A stunning batting display by captain Chamari Atapattu saw Sri Lanka women record a comprehensive eight-wicket win over New Zealand women in the third ODI between the teams in Galle yesterday.Set a revised target of 196 in 29 overs, Sri Lanka women won with 13 deliveries to spare as Atapattu and Nilakshi de Silva were involved in an unfinished 190 run stand for the third wicket to see Sri Lanka home.
The hosts were in a spot of bother, as they lost two wickets with just six runs on the board, but Atapattu threw caution to the wind showcasing attack is the best form of defence.
Atapattu, who had posted a match-winning hundred in the first ODI too reached her second hundred in the series off just 60 deliveries and was unbeaten on 140 that came off 80 deliveries with 13 hits to the rope and nine over it.While Atapattu was the aggressor Nilakshi de Silva was the anchor as her unbeaten 48 came off 68 deliveries with five fours.
It was Atapattu’s eighth ODI hundred and only three other players have made more ODI hundreds than her in the world.She finished the series with 248 runs and was named both Player of the Match and Player of the Series.
Earlier the New Zealand innings was reduced to 31 overs and the White Ferns posted 127 for two with Suzie Bates top scoring with 63. Skipper Sophie Devine chipped in with an unbeaten 38.
The series is part of the ICC Women’s Championship and Sri Lanka are well placed with ten points just behind first-placed India, who have 12 points.The teams now move to Colombo for the three-match T20 series which P. Sara Oval will host.
New Zealand had won the second ODI but with a big win in the final ODI, Sri Lanka clinched the three-match series 2-1.
Brief Scores:
New Zealand 127 for two in 29 overs (Suzie Bates 63*, Sophie Devine 38*, Oshadi Ranasinghe 1-22)
Sri Lanka 196 for two in 26.5 overs (Chamari Atapattu 140*, Nilakshi de Silva 48*, Lea Tahuhu 1-29, Sophie Devine 1-32)
Result:
Sri Lanka won by eight wickets and 13 balls to spare.
Series:
Sri Lanka 2-1.
by Reemus Fernando
All three Sri Lankan sprinters qualified for the finals of their respective disciplines to give country’s track and field campaign a positive start at the Asian Games on Friday.While Kalinga Kumarage and Aruna Dharshana qualified for the men’s 400 metres final, Asian Championship gold medallist Nadeesha Ramanayake reached the finals of the women’s 400metres.
Ramanayake clocked the third fastest time in the heats to qualify for the finals where Bahrain’s Oluwakemi Kujidat and Salwa Nesar are the strongest contenders for the gold medal.
Competing in the third heat Ramanayake clocked 52.67 seconds to finish second behind Oluwakemi Kujidat. Ramanayake’s time was the third fastest in the heats in the final analysis. While former world champion Salwa Nesar was the winner in the second heat, Shereen Samson of Malaysia won the first heat in a time of 52.89 seconds.
Both Salwa and Oluwakemi Kujidat were not in the fray when Ramanayake won Sri Lanka the gold medal at the recently held Asian Athletics Championship. Ramanayake will have a tough ask today when she competes for Asian Games glory.
In the men’s category 400 metres, Kumarage clocked 45.57 seconds to win his heat, while Aruna Dharshana finished third in his heat in a time of 46.07 seconds.\Kumarage’s 45.54 seconds is the third fastest time in the heats, while Dharshana enters final as the eighth fastest from the heats.
All three sprinters will be eager to create history when they compete in the 400 metres finals. Sri Lanka has not won a medal of any colour in track and field at these Games since 2006.
Sri Lanka won two bronze medals at the Asian Games in Doha. Susanthika Jayasinghe in the women’s 200 metres and the men’s 4×400 metres team of Sugath Thilakaratne, Rohan Pradeep Kumara, Prasanna Amarasekara and Ranga Wimalawansa were the last medallist for Sri Lanka in track and field at these Games.
Superb New Zealand scored an incredible 14 tries and hit 96 points against Italy in Pool A to move to the cusp of the World Cup quarter-finals.
Knowing a defeat would see them eliminated, the All Blacks raced into a pulsating 49-3 half-time lead. They ultimately ran out 96-17 victors with scrum-half Aaron Smith scoring a hat-trick after just 33 minutes.
The All Blacks will guarantee a spot in the knockouts with a win over Uruguay in their final pool match on Thursday. Italy must beat hosts France in their next match to reach a first World Cup quarter-final.
The All Blacks’ win sees them jump up to second in Pool A, level on points with Italy who they now have a superior head-to-head record over.
(BBC)
Kane Williamson’s return to action headlined New Zealand’s first official warmup match of the 2023 World Cup as they hit the right notes with the bat in a high-scoring game in Hyderabad. Mohammad Rizwan (103) and Babar Azam (80) provided a good platform and the middle order got amongst the runs to help Pakistan post 345. The total, however, proved insufficient as New Zealand, led by Rachin Ravindra’s 97 and three other half-century scores, including that of Williamson, pulled off the chase with 6.2 overs to spare
After Devon Conway was dismissed by Hasan Ali for a golden duck, Ravindra and Williamson got together and added 179 runs in just 22 overs to power New Zealand’s chase. Williamson decided to retire after crossing fifty while Ravindra was dismissed by Agha Salman before he could get a ton. Usama Mir then picked up the wickets of Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips in quick succession but fifties from Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell, and an important 33 from James Neesham, helped New Zealand over the line in the 44th over.
Earlier, After opting to bat, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq in the second over to Matt Henry while Mitch Santner had Abdullah Shafique out stumped. Babar, who started watchfully, found his groove while Rizwan also scored at a steady rate as they raised a century partnership to set things up nicely for Pakistan. Babar, however, missed a hundred while Rizwan retired after reaching three figures, giving Pakistan’s lower middle order some time out in the middle. Saud Shakeel (75) and Agha Salman (33*) came up with handy contributions to propel Pakistan past 340.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 345/5 in 50 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 103, Babar Azam 80; Mitch Santner 2-39) lost to New Zealand 346/5 in 43.4 overs (Rachin Ravindra 97, Mark Chapman 65; Usama Mir 2-68) by 5 wickets
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