Sports
Sri Lanka’s path to Lord’s
by Rex Clementine
Imagine Sri Lanka striding onto the hallowed turf at Lord’s next June for the World Test Championship final. That would be a real shot in the arm for the nation’s cricket. Who would have imagined that little Sri Lanka could climb such heights? Yet here they are, on the cusp of making history, thanks to stellar performances both at home and away, making steady strides towards glory.
As things stand, five teams are still in the hunt for the WTC final, but India and New Zealand have a mountain to climb. To put it plainly, India must win their current Test against New Zealand in Bombay and then triumph in three Tests down under, which seems like pie in the sky given their struggles against New Zealand on home soil.
The Kiwis, on the other hand, would need to pull off a nearly impossible feat – winning three out of four Tests. If they falter in Bombay, that would mean whitewashing England 3-0 at home – a tall order, especially on New Zealand’s smaller grounds, where England’s ‘Bazball’ style could prove potent.
That narrows the field to Australia, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.
South Africa have four home games left, hosting Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Winning three of those should see them through. Australia’s path is clear but challenging – they need to beat India at home and clinch one of the Galle Tests against Sri Lanka to punch their ticket to the final.
For Sri Lanka, a win in Galle against the Aussies and another in South Africa could well secure their passage to London Heathrow. With only two spots up for grabs, all three teams will have to be sharp, allowing themselves little room for error.
The coming months promise high-stakes drama, with the fate of the World Test Championship hanging in the balance. And where better to decide this than Galle – a fitting stage for such a climactic event.
Sri Lanka will fancy their chances in South Africa, especially since the two Tests will be played in Port Elizabeth and Durban. These are the slower pitches of South Africa, where they pulled off a historic series win in 2019. With several veterans of that series still in the squad and the rise of run-machines like Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis, they’ll relish the challenge.
It’s unfortunate that Sri Lanka won’t have a warm-up game in South Africa, given the jam-packed international calendar. The good news is that SLC is sending the Test squad to South Africa early for acclimatization, but players like Kamindu, Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, and Asitha Fernando may be delayed due to their white-ball commitments against New Zealand.
Sri Lanka’s hard work is paying dividends across all formats. They’ve clawed their way up to fifth in the Test rankings – their best in a decade – and their sixth spot in ODIs came after a whitewash over top-ranked India. The team seems hungry for more, eyeing another upward move by securing ODI wins over New Zealand, who sit above them in the rankings. Hence, it’s likely that multi-format players will stay for the New Zealand series before heading to South Africa. Asitha Fernando might be an exception, though, as the team has several seamers ready to roll.
With grit and ambition, Sri Lanka stand at the doorstep of history. They’ve shown that, against all odds, they’re prepared to weather the storms and seize their place on the world stage.
Delhi Capitals’ (DC) signing of Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizure Rahman for the remainder of IPL 2025 has hit a snag, with the BCB stating that it hasn’t been approached for a no-objection certificate (NOC).
Usually, the IPL only announces signings after a player has received an NOC from his home board. According to its CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury, however, the BCB had yet to receive a request for one.
“Mustafizur is supposed to go with the team to the UAE according to the schedule,” Chowdhury told ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday. “We have not received any communication from IPL officials. I have also not received any such official communication from Mustafizur either.”
Mustafizur is part of the Bangladesh T20I squad that is due to play back-to-back away T20I series against UAE and Pakistan, both of which clash with the IPL. On Wednesday, hours after the IPL announced his signing as a replacement for Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mustafizur flew out to Dubai with the rest of Bangladesh’s squad.
Bangladesh are due to play two T20Is in the UAE on May 17 and 19, followed by five in Pakistan on May 25, 27 and 30, and June 1 and 3. Those two series are in conflict with the IPL; DC are set to play their last three league matches on May 18, 21 and 24, followed by the playoffs should they get there.
ESPNcricinfo has sought a response from DC on this development.
[Cricinfo]
Sprinter Aruna Dharshana who is undergoing treatments for an injury he sustained during the World Relays, is racing against time to recover for the Asian Athletics Championships which will be held in South Korea later this month.
The 400 metres specialist is one of the two sprinters slated to compete in the one lap race. He is also a key member of the men’s 4×400 metres and 4×400 metres mixed relays alongside Kalinga Kumarage.
“Currently Dharshana is undergoing treatments. We are hopeful that he will recover in time for the Asian Championships,” Dharshana’s coach Asanka Rajakaruna told ‘The Island’.
“Sri Lanka Athletics will conduct a fitness test before the Asian Championships. Hopefully he will be ready by that time,” said Rajakaruna.
Sri Lanka Athletics earlier said that a fitness test will be held to assess the strength of the 20 strong team selected for the biennial event.
Sri Lanka fielded only a mixed relay team for the recently held World Relays in Guangzhou, China where an injury to Dharshana cost them a chance to achieve a top performance and a probable ticket to the World Championships in Tokyo later this year.
Sri Lanka won a historic gold medal in the men’s 4×400 metres at the last edition of the Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok Thailand where the team inclusive of Dharshana beat India to the second place with a new championship record time of 03:01.56 seconds.
Kalinga Kumarage who did the anchor leg and Dharshana are the only members from that gold winning team selected for the upcoming event.
Dharshana is the only Sri Lankan athlete to have clocked sub 45 seconds in the 400 metres after legendary Sugath Thilakaratne.
Dharshana and Kumarage hold the second and third places respectively in the list of fastest times achieved in the 400 metres by Sri Lankan athletes. Dharshana has a personal best of 44.99 seconds achieved during the last Olympic games.
by Reemus Fernando
110th Colombo Championships
Dinara de Silva bagged her second title of the Colombo Championships as she partnered Inuki Jayaweera to record straight sets victory in the women’s doubles final played at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts on Wednesday.
Dinara and Inuki beat Venuli Jayasinghe and Sandithi Usgodaarachchi 6-2, 6-3 in the doubles final.
Incidentally, it was the second title of the tournament for both Dinara and Inuki.
While Dinara won the women’s singles and doubles titles, Inuki was the winner of the mixed doubles and the women’s doubles.
Women’s doubles results
Semi-finals
Dinara de Silva and Inuki Jayaweera beat Dulkini Ranasinghe and Tania Doloswala 6-3, 6-2
Venuli Jayasinghe and Sandithi Usgodaarachchi beat Bovindee Imihamy and Siyara Devappriya 6-3, 6-0.
Quarter-finals
Venuli Jayasinghe and S. Usgodaarachchi beat Tuvini de Alwis and Hasali Gajaba 6-4, 5-7, 10-3.
Dinara de Silva and Inuki Jayaweera beat Nimasha Shehara and Arushi Thomas 6-1, 6-3.
Dulkini Ranasinghe and Tania Doloswala beat Diyansa de Silva and Lihini Jayakody 4-6, 6-3, 10-6.
Bovindee Imihamy and Siyara Devappriya received a walkover from Gehansa Methnadi and Akeesha Silva.
Second lot of luxury and decommissioned vehicles owned by the Presidential Secretariat sold
President approves establishment of Anti-Corruption Investigation Units in Provincial Councils and LG Institutions
Seven new envoys to Sri Lanka present credentials to the President
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