Sports
Sri Lanka’s Galle fight back not good enough
Rex Clementine in Galle Fort
Sri Lanka came up with a much better performance in their second innings of the opening Test against England but that effort may not be good enough to test the tourists who require 36 more runs to go 1-0 up in the two match series.
Sri Lanka had conceded too much of advantage on day one after they were bowled out for 135 on a good batting wicket and England made them pay by piling up 421. Having conceded a lead of 286 runs, the hosts batted for more than four sessions to wipe off the deficit and then take a lead of 73 runs.
Sri Lanka showed lot of energy on the final session’s play and England lost three quick wickets for just 14 runs in pursuit of a 74 run target. Jonny Bairstow and Dan Lawrence then steadied the ship to help their team reach 38 for three.
Lahiru Thirimanne probably playing to save his place came up with a valiant effort posting his second Test hundred. But he should have done much more to take the game beyond England, who struck with the second new ball.
Dinesh Chandimal was dismissed soon after lunch for 20 leaving Angelo Mathews with too much to do.
The extended afternoon session – between lunch and tea – produced just 60 runs in 29 overs for the fall of three wickets. With England’s bowlers tiring that was the phase that Sri Lanka should have looked for runs but their over cautious approach backfired. The caution was very much needed in the first innings when the bowlers were fresh. In contrast, Sri Lanka were going in reverse.
Dilruwan Perera and Angelo Mathews kept Sri Lanka interested with a ninth wicket stand that was worth 38 runs. Perera who hit five fours for his 24 was stumped by Buttler, a dismissal that raised a few eyebrows.
With more than 15 overs left for the day, England finishing off the game with a day to spare was a possibility. But Lasith Embuldeniya ensured that it went for a fifth day. He bowled Dom Sibley with an arm ball. It was clever bowling by the left-arm spinner taking a few away from the right-hander and then slowly sneaking one that held its line.
Zak Crawley was well caught at gully by Kusal Mendis to give Embuldeniya his second wicket.
Joe Root was then run out by a direct hit from Niroshan Dickwella, who did well to sprint to covers and throw the stumps down.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 135 and 359
(Kusal Perera 62, Lahiru Thirimanne 111, Angelo Mathews 71, Dinesh Chandimal 20, Niroshan Dickwella 29, Dilruwan Perera 24; Sam Curran 2/37, Dom Bess 3/100, Jack Leach 5/122)
England 421 and 38 for 3
(Lasith Embuldeniya 2/13)
The BCB has said that they will rely on the Bangladesh government’s directive before finalising their tour to Pakistan later this month. Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play five T20Is there from May 25 to June 3, but the PSLs schedule was revised following cross-border tensions between Pakistan and India.
According to the revised fixtures, the PSL final will now be held on May 25, when Pakistan and Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play the first T20I.
ESPNcricinfo has learned that the PCB has sent a new schedule for the T20Is between Pakistan and Bangladesh, with the first match now slotted for May 27, and the last on June 5.
BCB’s media committee chairman Iftekhar Rahman said they will rely on information from government security agencies and the Bangladesh high commission in Islamabad to take the final decision.
“Once we receive official communication about the dates and venues [of the tour], we will forward it to the government,” Rahman said. “The BCB is not the decision-maker in this matter. If the government agencies and our embassy declare Pakistan safe for travel, only then will we proceed.
“In our previous meeting, we agreed that any such situation would be referred to the foreign and home ministries. Once we get clearance from all relevant bodies, we will finalise the tour. Security concerns were more significant in the past, but Pakistan has proven it can ensure safety. Still, given the current circumstances, we need to assess whether the situation across the country is stable before sending the team.”
Before playing Pakistan, Bangladesh are scheduled to play two T20Is against UAE in Sharjah on May 17 and 19. They were then supposed to fly to Lahore on May 21.
[Cricinfo]
Apna Perera won his third title of the 110th Colombo Championships as he partnered Dhilvan Herath to beat Dumindu Dilum and Chehan Fernando in the open men’s doubles final.
Apna and Dhilvan registered 6-2, 6-2 win in the final.
Apna, the open men’s singles champion, was also the winner of the mixed doubles which was played according to round robin method. In the mixed doubles Apna partnered Inuki Jayaweera.
Results
Men’s doubles semi-finals
Apna Perera and Dhilvan Herath beat Ashen Silva and Lithum Jayabandu 6-1, 6-2
Dumindu Dilum and Chehan Fernando beat Methika Wickramasinghe and Vichinthya Nilaweera 6-3, 2-6, 10-4.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) recently carried out a Fast Bowling Talent Search program in the Polonnaruwa District as part of its ongoing efforts to identify and nurture emerging cricketing talent across the country.
The program, held at the Royal College Ground, Polonnaruwa, attracted over 60 promising young players—both boys and girls—including school cricketers of the district. Each participant underwent skill assessments to evaluate their fast bowling potential.
Following the evaluations, 20 talented bowlers were selected for further development.
The selected players will now receive structured training under the guidance of Provincial coaches of Sri Lanka Cricket, with a focus on refining their techniques and enhancing their overall performance.
Those who continue to demonstrate consistent improvement will be given the opportunity to join SLC’s district squads, thereby becoming part of the official National Pathway Program.
This initiative is a part of SLC’s ‘Cricket Gamata’, program which aims to find talent from rural areas across Sri Lanka.
The talent assessments were conducted by Lasantha Lakmin, SLC Talent Scout for the North Central and North Western Provinces; Lakshitha Herath, North Central Provincial Women’s Coach; and Saman Senanayake, North Central Provincial Fast Bowling Coach.
The event was organized by the North Central Provincial Cricket Association under the guidance of Sri Lanka Cricket. It was managed by Krishan Anandakumar, Manager of the Center of Excellence, Dambulla.
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