Sports
Sri Lanka’s players can draw inspiration from their rugby sevens history
Asian Sevens Series
By A Special Sports Correspondent
Sri Lanka’s men’s players would have to find inspiration from their past glories as they step into contest the first leg of the Asian Sevens Rugby circuit in Dubai (On November 19 and 20) sans much training.
As much as the islanders are proud of their achievements in cricket the same can be said about the country’s rugby players.
History has great power to motivate and its memories can fuel the human spirit when the chips are down. Rugby training in Sri Lanka was hampered to a great extent because of health regulations delaying the players from getting on to the field and having real sessions. What could be described as a burst of rain during the rugby drought in the island came in the form of the arrival of rugby sevens star Ben Gollings as Sri Lanka’s Rugby Sevens Director.
Sri Lanka’s rugby hierarchy has acknowledged the fact that the islanders will be represented by a new-look side where as many as four players are set to make their national sevens debut. These players are Nuwan Perera, Samuel Ogbebor, Kushan Indunil and Ishara Madushan. The Sri Lanka men’s team is led by Adeesha Weratunga who is a reputed third row forward in 15-a-side rugby in the country. Sri Lanka is pooled alongside Japan, China, and UAE in Group B. Sri Lanka is coached by Nilfer Ibrahim.
In a way, it is good that Sri Lanka has to field a young side because the cream of the country’s players from Kandy SC are unavailable because they didn’t participate in a selection trial; participation at the recent ‘Warriors Cup’ invitation club rugby sevens was mandatory for selections.
In the past there were under 21 and under 24 tournaments conducted by the SLR to keep the players in the game; hence there being a well-groomed youth line-up that could chip in if the need arose.
Our very own beast of a man Radeeka Hettiarachchi was spotted by the national selectors at an under 21 rugby game between Sri Lanka and China in Colombo and played in the late 1990s. A little-known fact is that Chinese officials were much impressed by Hettiarachchi’s performance that day and invited him to take wing to China and be part of their rugby team. Hettiarachchi hadn’t represented the senior Sri Lanka team by then and IRB rules allow a player to crossover from one nation to another if he or she has only played age-group rugby for the country of birth. This story was related to this writer by Hettiarachchi himself at a time when happenings in the sport of rugby were rocking his boat. This was largely because he was having issues with the club that he loved most to represent. For the record, he turned down the offer from China because his heart was with Sri Lanka rugby. Hettiarachchi was perhaps the best utility sevens player we have seen and we do have fond memories of those two ‘cracker’ tries he scored against Australia at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2009 where the islanders went down fighting to the Wallabies 56-12.
Some of Sri Lanka’s best performances in the sevens rugby came between 2001 and 2014 and that was thanks to the island concentrating on the abbreviated form of rugby in tournaments played overseas. And a point to ponder is that these performances were produced under homegrown coaches like Asanga Senewiratne, Hisham Abdeen, and Sudath Sampath. Sri Lanka produced one of its best performances in rugby sevens under coach Senewiratne when he guided the team to a memorable 24-14 win over Kenya at the Dubai Sevens. Sri Lanka also produced its only try against the All Blacks in any form of the game in that tournament when Sanjeewa Jayasinghe scored in a game where New Zealand walked away as winners with a 77-5 score.
One notable performance by Sri Lanka came at the 2006 Hong Kong Sevens where the islanders ran out as the winners with a score of 21-7 against the USA. The Commonwealth Games in 2014 was remarkable for Fazil Marija’s team when it beat Trinidad and Tobago 43-7 to win the Shield Competition. That’s a little bit from Sri Lanka’s rugby sevens history in the case readers are a bit jaded reading and rereading about two very old performances at rugby sevens which came in the form of winning the Bowl Competition at both the 1984 Hong Kong Sevens and the 1994 Fiji Invitation Sevens.
Sri Lanka has always performed well when the sevens set-up is structured, but not necessarily under a foreign coach though. Sri Lanka needs time and space (International events must not clash with domestic tournaments because the clubs own the players and not the SLR). We also remember small inputs made to the side when managers like Chaminda Rupasinghe organised sessions for the team overseas before the Sevens Tournament with coaches like Gordon Tietjens and his players.
So Sri Lanka’s present national players have a rich rugby history to draw inspiration from. The players must take note that rugby as a sport has evolved but the foundation for the sport was laid by past players who had half the support and technology the present athletes are enjoying.
Some years ago there was no Asian Sevens series and Sri Lanka when invited had to lock horns with the giants of world rugby. At present Sri Lanka can play with pride, respect and hope because the Asian Sevens Series offers them a level playing field and a chance to qualify for the IRB 11-leg World Sevens Series.
The sport of rugby sevens is also a discipline at the Olympic Games and that too offers great inspiration for the players to train hard, perform well, and be counted. Sri Lanka is also planning to send a women’s team for the Asian Sevens Series in Dubai.
The men’s squad:
Adeesha Weeratunga (Captain), Kanchana Ramanayake, Nishon Perera, Sachith Silva, Iroshan Silva, Sudaraka Dikkubura, Janidu Dilshan, Samuel Ogbebor, Kushan Indunil, Anjula Hettiarahchi, Ishara Madshan, Nuwan Perera.
Mohammad Rizwan and Imam ul Haq were questioned by Pakistan’s National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Lahore, as the fallout from Pakistan’s disastrous Test tour of England continued.
The two, who were in the group of seven players who were dropped from the Pakistan squad and sent back home after the defeat in the second Test at Lord’s, were sent summons to appear before the NCCIA. They appeared on Thursday. At least one of the players is believed to have been there for several hours.
It is not clear yet what the questioning was about, or whether it is related to the PCB’s own inquiry, which they announced earlier this week. The board did not name any players then but said it had “initiated an internal disciplinary inquiry following media reports concerning discipline and conduct, which are currently being reviewed internally”. That process, the board said, was being “conducted under PCB regulations”.
Cricinfo understands that at least one of the players has been given a questionnaire to respond to and return to the NCCIA next week.
At the end of the Lord’s Test, which Pakistan lost by 194 runs after losing the first by an innings and 103 runs, seven players as well as the head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were removed from the squad. In their place, seven other players travelled to England, five of whom were uncapped at international level.
Rizwan’s form with the bat on this tour had been poor, with scores of 12, 41, 7 and 1, following low returns in two Tests in the Caribbean as well. His glovework, however, has been exemplary on both tours and until the West Indies series, he had been Pakistan’s leading Test run scorer since January 2024. But an ungainly hoick to be dismissed for 1 in the second innings at Lord’s attracted plenty of criticism.
Imam, meanwhile, was diagnosed with a grade-1 tear in his left calf after the conclusion of the first day’s play at Lord’s and did not appear on the field during either of Pakistan’s innings. On the final morning, during pre-game warm-ups, he came out to attempt some gentle knockdowns but struggled physically. Aaqib Javed, the PCB’s chief selector and director of high performance publicly questioned Imam’s injury and warned then of an inquiry into it.
In defending the squad changes, the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi alluded to wider factors at play, without expanding. “We have had a discussion to ascertain the reasons behind it. They include factors beyond performance and we will get to the bottom of it.”
The selection of both the players for the West Indies and England tours was also the subject of a notice sent by the PCB to selectors after the Lord’s Test. The notice asked for a written explanation outlining the reasons for their selection and the process through which it was arrived at, within 24 hours of the receipt of notice. Misbah-ul-Haq, one of the selectors, resigned from the post following the changes to the squad.
[Cricinfo]
Soon-to-be world number one Elena Rybakina produced a gritty comeback against Coco Gauff to reach the US Open final, in which she will face Aryna Sabalenka in a blockbuster showdown between the tournament’s top two seeds.
Rybakina is guaranteed to end Sabalenka’s 99-week reign as world number one and will replace the Belarusian at the top when the rankings are updated on Monday.
But the Kazakh second seed could rub more salt in Sabalenka’s wounds if she can deny the top seed a third successive US Open title in Saturday’s showpiece.
Sabalenka sent a warning to her rivals as she overpowered home hope Jessica Pegula 7-5 6-2 to keep alive her bid to become the third woman in the Open era to win the New York singles title three times in a row.
Rybakina will stand in her way after she fought back to beat American fourth seed Gauff 3-6 6-4 6-4 and silence the partisan crowd.
“I took a deep breath and just told myself I needed to fight and show good tennis,” Rybakina said.
The 27-year-old is chasing her third Grand Slam title after winning Wimbledon in 2022 and beating Sabalenka in January’s Australian Open final.
It will be the first time the top two women’s seeds have contested a US Open final since Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in the 2013 showpiece.
Aryna Sabalenka is the first player – male or female – to reach eight successive hard-court Grand Slam finals [BBC Sport]
Sabalenka has not been beaten in New York since losing the 2023 final to Gauff, but there were doubts over her title defence following a poor run-up to the tournament.
After a strong start to the season and winning the ‘Sunshine Double’ at Indian Wells and Miami in March, Sabalenka suffered a quarter-final defeat at Roland Garros and a fourth-round exit at Wimbledon.
However, she has found her form again, dropping just one set en route to the final.
“I was super desperate,” Sabalenka said after her win over Pegula.
“It feels for me, talking about Grand Slams, like a last push of the season.
“I wanted it badly to go to the finals, and of course, I want to go all the way.”
In a tense opening set, Sabalenka bristled with frustration early on as unforced errors crept into her game while Pegula settled quickly and struck the ball cleanly.
But eventually the four-time major singles winner found her rhythm and, after striking decisively at 6-5 to take the first set, she cranked up the power.
Pegula looked helpless as Sabalenka raced through the second set, with the Belarusian pounding 29 winners to her 12.
The victory meant Sabalenka broke the Open era record for the most Grand Slam hard-court finals in a row, with the 28-year-old reaching every major final on her favoured surface since the 2023 Australian Open.
For 32-year-old Pegula – the only semi-finalist without a Grand Slam title – it is yet another US Open defeat by long-time rival Sabalenka.
Sabalenka denied the third seed a maiden major in the 2024 final, while she also got the better of her in last year’s semi-finals – although Pegula had won their most recent meeting in June’s Berlin Open.
“I do think she probably would have beaten 99% of people,” Pegula said.
“Probably the best match she’s played this year.”
[BBC Sports]
India continued their unbeaten run and marched into their sixth final in six editions of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup after beating Bangladesh by 40 runs in an error laden semi final in Dubai.
After India were put in on a slow pitch, Shafali Verma scored 64 off 40 balls, making full use of the reprieves she got on 6, 11, 50 and 56. The knock helped India post a formidable 149 for 6 even though most other batters struggled for timing.
Juairiya Ferdous and Dilara Akter came out with positive intent but once the spin was introduced, they too felt powerless. India helped them by dropping four catches of varying difficulty, but Bangladesh did not have someone like Shafali to take advantage of those. In the end, they could reach only 109 for 7.
Shafali lives a charmed life
Marufa Akter was impressive once again with the new ball. Apart from her stock in-swinger to the right-hand batter, she also showed off her leg-cutter, which beat Shafali’s outside edge a couple of times.
Opening the bowling from the other end, off-spinner Sultana Khatun produced two chances in her very first over. Fahima Khatun dropped Shafali at long-on but Smriti Mandhana was not that fortunate. Shorna Akter caught her miscued aerial attempt at mid-on.
Shafali got another reprieve in the third over when Nahida Akter failed to latch on to a low chance at mid-on off Marufa. The batter rubbed salt into Bangladesh’s wounds by launching Sultana over long-off for back-to-back sixes in the following over. Despite Pratika Rawal struggling at the other end, Shafali’s fireworks ensured India finished the powerplay on 45 for 1.
Rawal and Harmanpreet’s toil
Rawal had opened her account with a classical off-drive for four off the first ball. She also launched Rabeya Khan for a six in the last over of the powerplay. But she struggled to rotate strike and could manage only 20 off 24 balls in the end.
Harmanpreet Kaur, too, found it difficult to get going. At one point, she was on 3 off 15 balls. As a result, India could score only 33 runs in seven overs after the powerplay.
Shafali continues to ride her luck
Shafali reached her fifty off 35 balls and then enjoyed some more luck. On the very next ball, she had a miscommunication with Harmanpreet. It should have been an easy run-out at the bowler’s end but Fahima fumbled the throw.
Shafali then pulled Sultana over deep midwicket for a six. She tried to repeat the dose on the next ball but Shorna dropped the catch. The ball burst through her hands, hit her on the face and trickled to the deep-midwicket boundary. However, she holed out to long-on in the same over, with substitute Farjana Easmin taking the catch.
Richa Ghosh (21 off 16) and Deepti Sharma (13 off six) injected some momentum towards the end while Harmanpreet finished on 24 not out off 28.
Ferdous and Dilara gave Bangladesh a steady start, with both batters hitting two boundaries each in the first three overs. But there were plenty of dot balls too, which meant the scoreboard read only 18 for no loss after three overs.
After that, Harmanpreet introduced spin from both ends and the scoring rate dropped further. Bowling the last over of the powerplay, N Sjhree Charani delivered a wicket maiden, making Ferdous her 50th T20I wicket.
Deepti does Deepti things
Deepti struck in her very first over. With the asking rate climbing fast, Ferdous tried to go aerial but holed out to deep midwicket. Nigar Sultana and Sobhana Mostary added 31 for the third wicket but consumed 34 balls for it.
Deepti ended the stand by castling Mostary. That triggered a mini-collapse with Bangladesh losing three wickets in 15 balls for 17 runs. Prema Rawat had Nigar caught at short third before Deepti bowled Sharmin Akhter to make it 83 for 5 in the 16th over.
India’s fielding woes
The result was all but sealed by then. But India, too, were sub-par in the field, right from the start. In the very first over of the chase, Rawal had dropped an overhead catch at cover-point to reprieve Dilara. Later on, she dropped Mostary at backward point. Mandhana misjudged a boundary catch as well, before Ghosh and Nandani Sharma collided while going for one near square leg. On another day, these mistakes could have proved costly.
Scores:
India Women 149 for 6 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 64, Pratika Rawal 20, Harmanpreet Kaur 24*, Richa Ghosh 21, Deepti Sharma 13; Marufa Akter 1-40, Sultana Khatun 2-30, Nahida Akter 1-25, Rabeya Khan 1-22) beat Bangladesh 109 for 7 in 20 overs (Dilara Akter 21, Juairiya Ferdous 14, Sobhana Mostary 18, Nigar Sultana 19, Shorna Akter 22*, Fahima Khatun 14; Nandani Sharma 2-10, Shree Charani 1-14, Prema Rawat 1-21, Deepti Sharma3-26) by 40 runs
[Cricinfo]
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