Sports
The million dollar kid
by Rex Clementine
In sports, you shouldn’t be afraid to try out new things. Duleep Mendis tried out using Sanath Jayasuriya as a pinch-hitter, the late Lucky Rogers backed Ajantha Mendis of carrom ball fame to bowl a delivery flicking his fingers, T.M. Dilshan of Dilscoop fame experimented with a scoop shot over the wicketkeeper’s head. All those innovations went onto become an integral part of the game. In 2015, Richmond College coach Dhammika Sudarashana requested one of his pace bowlers to try out wrist spin, the game’s most difficult art. Wanindu Hasaranga is his name. Seven years later, the seamer turned leg-spinner has fetched an IPL deal with Royal Challengers Bangalore worth US$ 1.43 million! Isn’t life quite astonishing.
If your kids are any good at sports, don’t encourage them to become a doctor, a banker or an engineer. Back them to play cricket and it only requires one IPL deal for them to get settled in life.
Wanindu’s father is a policeman. They lived in Ratgama, the same village as Lasith Malinga. He was keen in getting his children sent to popular schools in Galle, although his kids had to travel 15 kilometers one way. Those who are in government service have a provision to get their kids admitted to popular schools and Wanindu’s father succeeded. He had to pick between Mahinda and Richmond. He chose the latter. It was a brilliant choice.
Richmond had one of the best cricket programs in the country. If you just look at the players they have gone onto produce in the last decade you can see that.
At Richmond, they don’t care whether you score 1000 runs for the season or take 100 wickets for the season. They teach you a winning mentality. To keep fighting no matter how hopeless the situation is. That’s why Richmond won many games in the season outright. The players have developed that toughness and that can be seen in the likes of Wanindu, Kamindu Mendis and Charith Asalanka.
It’s quite astonishing that even seasoned campaigners like Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga didn’t go beyond one million USD at IPL auctions. Last year was a breakthrough one for Wanindu. He was world’s highest wicket taker in T-20 cricket and finished the T-20 World Cup with most wickets. His batting has won Sri Lanka some games and he is so handy on the field too. RCB think they have got the right man.
Wanindu’s cricket has improved leaps and bounds in the last two yers. It remains a mystery why he was overlooked for the 2019 World Cup. Mickey Arthur saw his value and started backing him. Toady he is on a different league. Apart from Wanindu, there were other Sri Lankans who have got IPL deals. Dushmantha Chameera was bought by Lucknow for USD 250,000 while Chennai Super Kings paid USD 92,000 for Maheesh Theekshana. Chamika Karunaratne was picked up by Calcutta for USD 65,000.
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Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup: Australia begin with huge win against Scotland
Australia opened their Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup with a dominating nine-wicket win over Scotland in the Group D game in Bangi, Malaysia.
Fast bowler Caoimhe Bray starred with figures of 3 for 1 in 3.2 overs while left-arm quick Eleanor Larosa and left-arm legspinner Hasrat Gill shared five wickets among them to help Australia skittle Scotland for a mere 48 in 15.1 overs. Australia chased down the target in 6.4 overs with opener Katy Pelle remaining unbeaten on 29 off 18 balls.
In Kuching, rain played spoilsport with the match between Samoa and Nigeria abandoned without a single ball bowled. The Pakistan–USA fixture also ended similarly in Johor, with the match abandoned without a ball being bowled.
Meanwhile, in the Ireland–England match in Johor, England rode wicketkeeper-batter Jemima Spence’s 37 not out off 27 balls and Charlotte Lambert’s 14-ball 25 to post a competitive 144 for 7. Ireland were put under pressure when they lost two early wickets inside four overs, however, rain forced the game to end in no result.
Scores:
Australia crushed Scotland by
Scotland Women Under 19s 48 in 15.5 overs [Emma Walsingham 12, Charlotte Nevard 10; Elenaor Larosa 3-07, Caoimhe Bray 3-01, Hasrat Gill 2-10, Tegan Williamson 1-06, Julliet Morton 1-08] lost to Australia Women Under 19s 49/1 in 6.4 overs [Kate Pelle 29*, Innes Mckeon 12; Naymah Sheikh 1-02] by nine wickets
England vs Ireland ends without a result
England Women Under 19s 144/7 in 20 overs [Davina Perrin 26, Charlotte Stubs 31, Jemima Spence 37, Charloett Lambert 25; Freya Sargent 1-41, Kia McCartney 1-09, Lara McBride 1-19, Ellie McGee 2-20] vs Ireland Women Under 19s 28.2 in 3.5 overs [Alice Walsh 10, Rebecca Lowe14*]
Bangladesh overcome Nepal by 5 wickets
Nepal Women Under 19s 52 in 18.2 overs [Sana Praveen 19, Seemana KC 10; Nishita Akter Nishi 1-13, Faominda Choya 1-07, Anita Akter Soba 1-06, Jannatul Maoua 2-11] lost to Bangladesh Women Under 19s 53/5 in13.2 overs [ Sadia Islam 16, Sumaiya Akter 12; Rachana Chaudhary 1-16, Riya Sharma 1-10, Seemana KC 1-10, Puja Mahato 1-11] by five wickets
South Africa beat New Zealand in 11 overs per side game
South Africa Women Under 19s 91/7 in 11 overs [Jemma Botha 32, Simone Laurens 21, Karabo Meso 25; Tash Wakelin 2-18, Rishika Jaswal 1-21, Anika Todd 1-12, Ayaan Lambat 3-06] beat New Zealand Women Under 19s 69/5 in 11 overs [Emma McLeod 34, Eve Wolland 12*; Kayla Reneke 2-15, Monalisa Legodi 2-08] by 22 runs
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Noman, Sajid share nine West Indies wickets as Pakistan dominate day two
Noman Ali and Sajid Khan put on a spin-bowling masterclass on a surface they found to their tastes, taking nine of the ten wickets to skittle West Indies out for 137 in less than a session. Either side of that, Pakistan fared better with the bat, putting up 230 in the first innings despite a collapse after Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan’s 141-run stand was broken.
But they pulled away from the visitors in the final session with a commanding second-innings show with the bat. That was spearheaded by their captain Shan Masood, whose half-century drove Pakistan’s lead to 202 with seven wickets still in hand. The dominant story of a day when 19 wickets fell, though, came in the middle session, where West Indies had little answer to Noman and Sajid, who bowled all but 14 deliveries of their innings.
Sajid started the dismantling in just his second over when he dismissed Mikyle Louis and Keacy Carty off successive balls, even as Carty fell thanks to a superb slip catch from Mohammad Hurraira. By the end of his third over, Sajid had four wickets as West Indies floundered, unable to either defend or attack against an unerringly accurate spin duo.
Noman joined the fun, getting drift and turn to clip the edge of Justin Greaves’ off stump. It was the first of five wickets for the left-armer, who was beginning to get huge rip off the barely formed footmarks.
As the innings proceeded, West Indies began to adopt a more bellicose outlook, trying to swindle some runs along the way. But there was limited success as multiple batters dragged it on to their stumps, before the final two partnerships flourished. Gudakesh Motie and Jomel Warrican began to play belligerent shots, with Warrican utilising the back of the bat while playing the reverse sweeps a handful of times.
From 66 for 8 at one stage, West Indies added 71 for the last two wickets. After Motie and Warrican had a partnership of 25, it was only during the last-wicket stand between Warrican and Jayden Seales when West Indies dominated the spinners. Both batters connected cleanly as they hit the spinners over cow corner for multiple sixes.
That forced Pakistan into bringing on Abrar Ahmed for the first time. Eventually, Abrar did end the partnership, but only after the pair had plundered 46 runs off 21 balls. Seales failed to pick up a googly and miscued it straight up, as Rizwan took the catch and ended the punchy counterattack.
If West Indies thought that their collapse against spin meant they too would be among the wickets in the final session, Masood and Hurraira soon disabused them off that notion. Seales, whose pace and seam movement had made him the surprise pick of the bowlers on the first day, reprised his potent threat but without the wickets that would reflect this in the scorecard.
Masood, meanwhile, was proactive in his use of the feet, and adept against spin bowling, eager to attack and expand the lead even further before the day was done. Some untidiness crept into the bowling; there were 12 byes as the spin became as tricky to handle for the bowlers as it was for the batters. But Warrican was dangerous with the one that carried on with the arm, and got both his wickets that way – Hurraira at first, before Babar Azam played for the spin and found himself rapped in front of middle.
West Indies were unfortunate not to snare Kamran Ghulam too when a miscued sweep struck him on the arm as he got down low. The umpire raised the finger, although HawkEye, incongruously, projected the ball to be rising well above the stumps.
As if to compensate, West Indies were gifted the wicket of Masood. He called for a run and didn’t quite realise that Ghulam was well down the pitch in response, and found himself stranded in the middle of the pitch. Thus, Masood was left with little chance of getting to the non-striker’s end, before Warrican whipped the bails off.
Earlier, during the morning session, West Indies took four wickets for 13 runs to trigger a Pakistan collapse. That started by breaking the stand between Shakeel and Rizwan, leaving West Indies two wickets away from wrapping the hosts up. Shakeel and Rizwan had begun with the same authority with which they had ended the first day. But once Kevin Sinclair snared Shakeel 16 short of what would have been his fifth Test hundred, Pakistan’s resistance melted away.
Only a punchy rearguard partnership between Sajid and Khurram Shahzad prevented West Indies from running through the innings even sooner, but Pakistan were still bowled out for 230 on the stroke of lunch.
West Indies had begun the day by sticking to disciplined and tight lines, at one point conceding six runs in seven overs as Seales and Warrican locked in. But neither batter offered up chances during this time, and when Pakistan negotiated the first hour without loss, West Indies were in danger of being shut out of the game.
But the first ball after drinks brought joy for West Indies. Sinclair lured Shakeel forward before getting the ball to grip, and then taking his edge. As if it had been forgotten, the pitch suddenly began to remind everyone how hostile it could be to batters against quality spin, as the ball hissed and spat off the surface.
Salman Ali Agha was deceived in the flight from Warrican to drag on before Pakistan imploded. A bizarre mix-up between Rizwan and Noman saw the former turn his back on Noman to leave him unsuccessfully scrambling to return to the non-striker’s end. But an attempted reverse sweep off the next delivery ended Rizwan’s own innings, as a sharp review from West Indies finished Rizwan’s innings on 71.
It was only an entertaining stand from Sajid and Shahzad that saw a few more runs flow for Pakistan, before the innings petered out. Sajid launched Sinclair over cow corner for six amid a little flurry as Pakistan added 25 quickfire runs. But Warrican returned to fold the innings, making short work of both, as West Indies took the last six wickets for 43 runs in a session of two halves. It was a harbinger for the rest of the day, when the wicket-taking continued unabated.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 230 in 68.5 overs (Saud Shakeel 84, Mohammad Rizwan 71; Jayden Seales 3-27, Kevin Sinclair 2-61, Jomel Warrican 3-69) and 109 for 3 in 31 overs (Shan Masood 52, Muhammad Hurraira 29; Jomel Warrican 2-17) lead West Indies 137 in 25.2 overs (Jomel Warrican 31*, Jayden Seales 22; Noman Ali 5-39, Sajid Khan 4-65)by 202 runs
[Cricinfo]
Sports
Kithma takes all ten wickets in T. B. Jayah trophy encounter
Under 19 Cricket
by Reemus Fernando
Off spinner Kithma Withanapathirana achieved the rare feat of taking all ten wickets in an innings as Ananda dismissed Zahira for 131 runs on day one of the T.B. Jayah Trophy traditional cricket encounter at Maradana on Friday.
Introduced to the attack as the fifth bowler Withanapathirana broke the opening stand (66) between Ranidu Malith and Zayan Ismath in the 18 th over before taking three wickets in the 24th over to trigger a collapse.
Apart from the top three batsman no one reached double figures as the home team were bowled out in the 56th over.
Withanapathirana has played vital roles in both the batting and bowling departments. Incidentally, his absence was felt greatly in the match against St. Thomas’ which Ananda lost by five wickets.
Scores
Zahira 131 all out in 55.2 overs (Ranidu Malith 41, Zayan Ismath 31, Maswooth Mohideen 25; Kithma Withanapathirana 10/29)
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