Rapid half-centuries from Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka and Janith Liyanage put Sri Lanka on course to a substantial total, before an electric new-ball spell from Asitha Fernando wrecked New Zealand’s chase.
Asitha swung the ball prodigiously in his five-over opening spell, taking 3 for 17 in that period. By the end of over seven, and chasing 291 for victory, New Zealand were 22 for 5, their chances all but dashed. Mark Chapman battled bravely for a run-a-ball 81, but had no team-mates to go with him.
New Zealand soon slipped to 48 for 6, then 77 for 7, and though the last rites took some time, Sri Lanka dismissed the opposition for 150, inside 30 overs. This was the third one-sided game in the series. New Zealand had won the other two.
Asitha’s 3 for 26 wasn’t quite a swing-bowling masterclass, as he occasionally struggled with his lines. But it did feature some spectacular deliveries, as he gleaned substantially more swing than any other bowler in the game. The ball to take out Rachin Ravindra’s leg stump was magnificent; Asitha angled it across the left-hander, and got it to tail in very late to slip between bat and pad. All through that new-ball spell, he had that shape to his deliveries. He struck twice in the seventh over, removing Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips, both for ducks.
Malinga also swung the ball, though not as much as Asitha, and bowled probing lines. Theekshana got turn out of a pitch that the New Zealand spinners had also enjoyed earlier in the match, particularly when they picked their way through Sri Lanka’s middle order. Though it was still Matt Henry, who was most penetrative, taking 4 for 55 from his ten overs. Three of those wickets came at the death, but Henry had been instrumental in building pressure through the middle overs too.
The first ingredients of Sri Lanka’s 140-run victory, however, were the fifties to Nissanka and Kusal. Nissanka’s 66 off 42 was unusual. He got to 50 off the 31st delivery he played, but as he was completing that run, appeared to pull a hamstring, and left the field at the end of the tenth over. Kusal then replaced him at the crease and reeled off 54 off 48 to salvage what has otherwise been a modest tour for him.
Nissanka, especially, reveled in taking on the short ball. He crashed five sixes and six fours in his innings, coming back to the middle in the 34th over to swing at a few though he was unable to run or reach particularly far outside off. Kusal hit two sixes and five fours, having made all his runs after the initial fielding restrictions had ended.
Both batters were dismissed by wide, turning Mitchell Santner deliveries, that they were trying to drag over the deep-midwicket boundary.
Santner had been among the primary architects of Sri Lanka’s middle-overs slowdown. They had been 155 for 1 (Nissanka was retired hurt also) after 27 overs, but in the following seven overs lost three wickets and made only 28. They recovered through a half-century to Liyanage, who constructed a clever innings that shepherded the lower-middle order and the tail. Liyanage made 53 off 52 balls before falling in the final over. He had hit five boundaries – two of them sixes – but largely sought to push the game deep and ensure Sri Lanka batted out their 50 overs.
But New Zealand had no answers to Asitha bowling one of the white-ball spells of his career. Chapman saw out that new-ball spell, and then gained confidence once the powerplay was over, finding the boundary with the kind of ease that Nissanka and Kusal earlier had. He was especially strong through the off side, hitting all but two of his ten fours on that side of the ground.
But thanks to that early collapse, they never looked like threatening the target.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 290 for 8 in 50 overs (Pathum Nissanka 66, Kusal Mendis 54, Janith Liyanage 53; Matt Henry 4-55, Mitchell Santner 2-55) beat New Zealand 150 in 29.4 overs (Mark Chapman 81; Asitha Fernando 3-26, Eshan Malinga 3-35, Maheesh Theekshana 3-35) by 140 runs
Four people shot dead by Cuban border guards in a US-registered speedboat were Cuban nationals living in the United States, Cuba’s government said.
In a statement posted online, Cuba’s interior ministry said that the speedboat’s passengers – the four who were killed and six others who were wounded, also Cuban citizens – opened fire on a coast guard vessel that approached them near an island off the country’s northern coast on Wednesday.
The 10 individuals, some with previous criminal records, were armed and intended to “carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes” the statement said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was also investigating the “highly unusual” incident
Cuba’s interior ministry identified the six surviving passengers, who have since been detained, and one passenger who was killed.
They added that most of them “have prior records involving criminal and violent activity”.
Handguns, assault rifles and improvised explosive devices were recovered on the speedboat, according to the statement, along with other tactical gear.
The interior ministry also identified an eleventh person they said had been arrested and had confessed to being part of the alleged plot.
In an earlier statement posted on X, the ministry said the Florida-registered vessel – with the registration number FL7726SH – was detected near Cayo Falcones, in the country’s central Villa Clara province on Wednesday morning.
When a Cuban boat carrying five members of the ministry’s border guard approached the vessel for identification, “the crew of the violating speedboat opened fire” and wounded the Cuban commander, the statement said.
“As a consequence of the confrontation, as of the time of this report, four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed and six injured.”
Those injured were evacuated and given medical assistance, the statement added.
Before the Cuban government released some of the passengers’ identities, Rubio confirmed the boat was not carrying US government personnel and that an investigation was ongoing to “clarify” the event and what the passengers were doing in the area.
Rubio, spoke from Saint Kitts and Nevis, where he had travelled to meet with Caribbean leaders amid the Trump administration’s push to ramp up pressure on Cuba’s government, as well as other regional issues.
“We’re going to find out exactly what happened, who was involved, and we’ll make a determination on the basis of what we find out,” he told reporters.
He vowed that US investigators would move “quickly” to gather the key facts, and that the US Coast Guard has travelled to the “vicinity” of the attack.
But he added that the US would not rely on information provided by the Cuban government, and that Washington would independently verify the facts of the case.
“It is highly unusual to see shootouts on the open sea like that. It’s not something that happens everyday,” Rubio said.
The incident comes amid increased tensions between the US and Cuba, which is facing a deepening fuel crisis that has been worsened by the US blocking oil shipments from Venezuela, a long-standing ally in the region, to the island.
The first Cuban interior ministry statement alluded to these tensions, saying that “in the face of current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its determination to protect it territorial waters” and safeguard its sovereignty.
On Wednesday, the US Treasury said it would ease some small private sector transactions, including oil sales, to “support the Cuban people, for commercial and humanitarian use”.
The incident also happened one day after Cuban-American groups in Miami commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown, which killed four people.
Wednesday’s incident sparked Florida lawmakers and state to call for an investigation and to criticise the Cuban government.
Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez, a Cuban-American former mayor of Miami, said he would demand an investigation into what he called a “massacre”.
James Uthmeier, Florida’s attorney general, said he would direct local law enforcement to investigate the incident.
“The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable,” he said.
In the US Senate, Florida Republican Rick Scott, demanded “a full investigation into this deeply concerning situation and to determine what happened.”
“The Communist Cuban regime must be held accountable!” he added.
’Reimagining International Relations from a Global South Perspective’ offers a timely and rigorous contribution, providing key insights into policy, diplomacy, and global governance – PM
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya made while participating in the latest publication of the Bandaranaike Center for International Studies (BCIS) titled ‘Reimagining International Relations from a Global South’ held on the 24 February 2026 at the BCIS Auditorium said that the volume offers a timely and rigorous contribution, providing key insights into policy, diplomcy and global governance.
Authored by Emeritus Professor Gamini Keerawella, former Senior Professor of History at the University of Peradeniya and a member of the BCIS Council of Management and Academic Affairs Board, the book ’Reimagining International Relations from a Global South Perspective’ offers a compelling re-examination of International Relations through a distinctly Global South perspective.
Congratulating on the publication, the Prime Minister stated that the publication represents a timely and important intervention in understanding how the Global South’s international relations and international policy has evolved and traces the many different pathways. She further noted that this volume invites for re-imagine international relations as a genuinely plural and it doesn’t necessarily only go for the discipline of international relations, that is something that applies to all disciplines.
The occasion was attended by the former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Chairperson of BCIS, Deputy Minister of Mass Media Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne, members of the diplomatic community, representatives of the Bandaranaike National Memorial Foundation Board of Management, members of the BCIS governing bodies, and invited scholars and practitioners.
As India seek to return to winning ways, they will hope to boost their net run-rate as well [Cricbuzz]
Blue jerseys on the backs of a teeming crowd along the Walajah Road on Thursday evening will finally not be out of context. Fans in Chennai have embraced every team that has set foot in the city and played at the iconic venue, turning up in tens of thousands even for sweltering afternoon matches here. But India are finally in town, with everything riding on their fixture.
For the second World Cup in a row, the locals were meant to be treated to an India-Australia spectacle. That’s what the pre-tournament seeding had it chalked down as. But Zimbabwe emphatically struck that out, proving once again that there are no certainties in this format.Speaking of no certainties, India have reached Chennai with their tag of favourites fast fading, and their batting – unrivaled until the tournament began – is now being seriously questioned. Not all is lost yet of course, but the Net Run Rate column has them in a tangle. The defeat to South Africa means India can only reach four points at best. There’s a possibility where they could be dragged into a three-way tangle for two semifinal spots with NRR being the deciding factor. The decimation in Ahmedabad left them with -3.800, which they need to resuscitate over the next four days. Wins alone won’t cut it.Zimbabwe are now in the same boat, needing two wins and a surge in NRR. Their unbeaten journey through the group stage in Sri Lanka was cut short violently by West Indies in Mumbai, where a six-hitting batting line-up and the short square boundaries caught them unawares. Chennai offers better dimensions in that regard, but there will be the challenge of dew to deal with.The competitiveness of the Super Eights group has raised the stakes for the 3 PM fixture on Thursday too. West Indies and South Africa will jostle for two crucial points in Ahmedabad, and nearly 2,000 kilometers away in Chennai, India and Zimbabwe will watch on keenly for as long as they can.Yet, their futures in the tournament will still be determined by what they can control later that evening, as Chepauk gears up to bounce with bated anticipation for one last time at the World Cup.Equal-sized square boundaries, with the game to be played on the central pitch (No.5). It’s confirmed to be a black soil surface, but in what will come as music to India’s ears, Chepauk has the worst bowling strike-rate and second-worst bowling average for spinners among the eight venues in this World Cup.Furthermore, they might just stumble upon the true surface they have sought all along. In the two 7 PM matches at the venue, first innings scores have been 200/4 (by Afghanistan) and 196/6 (by USA).
Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak revealed that there have been conversations about changes to mix up the left-handed top-three. Sanju Samson, who batted long and did keeping drills two days out from the fixture, could be an option.
Kotak also confirmed that Rinku Singh had left to attend to his ailing father but was due to return on Wednesday evening. There’s still a chance India don’t feature him and maintain their batting depth by adding to the heft at the top. With only two left-handers in Zimbabwe’s top-order, expect Axar Patel to reclaim his spot too.
“Sikandar Raza is 100% playing. Good luck telling him that he’s not going to play against India,” Ryan Burl said with a chuckle. The Zimbabwe skipper took a hit to his left palm in the game against West Indies in Mumbai, but is ready to go again.
Zimbabwe could resist the urge to make changes after the big loss in Mumbai, and instead choose to alter their bowling plans. Against West Indies, they used four quicks and just two spinners in Raza and Graeme Cremer. If the opportunity comes up, Raza could throw on leg-spinner Burl against the likes of Suryakumar and Tilak in the middle-overs.
