Sports
Tokyo Cement Group renews Foundation of Goodness partnership
Tokyo Cement Group pledged its support to the Foundation of Goodness for another year, to extend their multi-prongged activities aimed at rural cricket development. 2020 marks the fifth year of partnership between the two organizations, who have united to unearth talented young cricketers from rural Sri Lanka.
The Company’s long-standing partnership with the Foundation of Goodness (FoG) established cricket training facilities, that included upgrading two school grounds in Hikkaduwa and Seenigama, to undergo formal cricket training. Hikkaduwa Sri Sumangala MCC Lords and Seenigama Sri Wimala Buddhi Surrey Oval, are the two cricket grounds that are managed and operated by FoG under the patronage of Tokyo Cement Group, where regular training sessions are held. Budding school cricketers in the area are welcomed to enroll themselves for regular Cricket Coaching Camps conducted free of charge by reputed coaches at the two training centers, that have indoor and outdoor practice nets.
Founded on the vision of Kushil Gunasekera, Founder/Chief Trustee of the Foundation of Goodness, the Tokyo Cement Group’s partnership intends to make a positive impact on the lives of talented young cricketers from remote backgrounds who have very limited access to quality training facilities to pursue their dreams. Anura de Silva, Director of Sports at the Foundation of Goodness heads the Cricket Academy together with a pool of coaches and qualified physical trainers. The special monthly training sessions are conducted by renowned cricket coach Hemantha Devapriya, a former Head Coach of Sri Lanka’s National Ladies’ Cricket Team, with his team of cricket coaches. From time to time, the Academy gets the service of famed local and international cricket stars who get involved in the program on a voluntary basis.
Since inception, the Academy has so far trained over 1,100 promising young cricketers from nearly 20 regional schools in the area. The program also conducts an elite coaching camp for star performers, where they get to hone their innate talents under specialized supervision. The Southern Coaching Camps produced several top-notch National U19 Players who now represent various Division I clubs in the country. In August 2017, the partnership extended the Cricket Coaching Camps to the North and East, conducting programs in Jaffna, Killinochchi, Oddusuddan, Mankulam, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar, Batticaloa, Kalmunai and Ampara, to unearth young cricketing sensations.
Speaking on the impact the Cricket Academy makes on the lives of young school boys and girls, Anura De Silva pointed out that, having access to top quality training facilities under the wings of world class coaching expertise is itself a great contribution to uplift the future of Sri Lankan cricket. He also said the success of the Academy lies in allowing these novices to maintain and polish up their natural style in either bowling, batting or fielding, so that they grow in confidence, as much as in their skill while undergoing the coaching program.
The number of cricketers who have risen from District / Provincial level to various National-level teams speak volumes for the Academy’s ability to unearth unique cricketing talent. Among them is Navod Paranavithana who is the Sri Lanka U-19 World Cup opener and captain of the Mahinda College Cricket Team, Galle, who shattered the batting records by becoming the first schoolboy to score a quadruple century in a school match. Navod joined the Cricket Academy at U-13 level and is a recipient of a MCC Cricket scholarship offered through The Foundation of Goodness. Kavisha Dilhari is another 17-year-old cricketing prodigy hailing from the Academy, who created the record as the youngest school girl cricketer to score a triple century at school level and also became the youngest person to represent Sri Lanka as part of the National Ladies Cricket Team. Furthermore, four young cricketers from the Seenigama Ladies Cricket Squad were selected to play for Sri Lanka at the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2020 in Australia.
With the extension of the partnership this year, Tokyo Cement Group and the Foundation of Goodness will continue the training sessions that gives schoolboy and schoolgirl cricketers the chance to hone their dormant skills. During this year, FoG has completed 12 coaching camps in the South, maintaining the training momentum of the players while looking after the facilities in their top condition, despite the many disruptions that occurred. Anura and his team of FoG coaches, together with Hemantha Devapriya and his team of coaches remain fully committed to this far-reaching initiative with the patronage of Tokyo Cement Group, whose objective is to provide the youth new opportunities to polish up their talent in the game of cricket. The Foundation of Goodness conducts a wide range of holistic development programs aimed at bridging the urban rural gap, that touch the lives of over 31,500 beneficiaries annually, free of cost, from over 400 villages island-wide. The two organizations united their forces in this endeavor with the shared objective of creating foundations for the future generations to become well-rounded leaders.
India pounced on poor bowling from the Bangladesh spinners to get out of jail on a Delhi surface that started off as tacky but kept on improving for batting as the night progressed. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh took India from 41 for 3 in the sixth over to 221, with a finishing kick provided by Hardik Pandya. In better batting conditions, the India bowling still proved too good for Bangladesh, sealing the series win.
The Bangladesh spinners suffered on both comparisons. Their fast bowlers bowled 12 overs for 102 runs, but the spinners conceded 116 in their eight. And then the India spinners rubbed it in for them with nine overs for just 49 runs and five wickets.
After a toss that didn’t seem to matter – Bangladesh said they wanted to use the dew coming in later to their advantage and chase, India said they wanted to bat first to test their bowlers in dew – Bangladesh opened the bowling with Mehidy Hasan Miraz, whose arm balls were either too full or short and taken apart by Sanju Samson. On a tacky surface, the fast bowlers managed to draw misbehaviour though. Samson and Suryakumar Yadav fell to checked shots because of the slowness of the pitch, and Abhishek Sharma played on trying to slog Tanzim Hasan.
Rinku was the only one able to play smoothly from the start. Reddy got away twice in the early phase of his innings. When Litton Das dropped him down the leg side of Tanzim, Reddy moved to 6 off 4, and he was 19 off 14 when he survived an extremely close lbw – umpire’s call on impact on a reverse-sweep. That 19 included a six off a free-hit thanks to a no-ball by Mahmudullah.
Rishad Hossain is a legspinner full of promise, especially in T20 cricket. However, against a Rinku intent on all kinds of sweeps, he bowled his fifth ball too full and was slog-swept for six. And then Mahmudulllah offered the free-hit. In his second over, Rishad erred on length on both sides. Reddy took him for two sixes down the ground before Rinku pulled him for one. That 24-run over took India past 100 in 10 overs.
After that, only Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman managed an over without a boundary. Mehidy suffered the worst punishment as he couldn’t get Reddy off strike and kept bowling in his wheelhouse for 26 runs in the 13th over. A hundred in just his second match looked on but a slower ball from Mustafizur got the better of him to dismiss him for 74 off 34.
This was the right time for Bangladesh to squeeze in an over of spin but Hardik Pandya offered no concessions to Rishad’s errors in length. Rinku might have looked like the silent partner in the carnage but he got to his fifty at almost two a ball.
As India kept losing wickets looking for quick runs, Rishad managed some respite and got to bowl the last over for just eight runs. Bangladesh were still being asked to score their highest T20I total to stay alive in the series.
There’s a reason Bangladesh have never scored more than 215 in T20Is’ their batters don’t seem to have the game for it. Looking for the unprecedented, the batters took too many risks and got off to a quick start but it was a matter of time before the risks caught up with them. Parvez Hossain played Arshdeep on, Washington Sundar got Najmul Hossain Shanto twice in two games, Litton Das was all at sea against Varun Chakravarthy, Towhid Hridoy was done in by an Abhishek Sharma arm ball, and the game was all but done at 46 for 4 in the seventh over.
The rest was mere formalities, which involved a wicket for Riyan Parag, a stunning catch by Pandya, and a wicket at least for each of the seven bowlers India tried.
Brief scores:
India 221 for 9 in 20 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 74, Rinku Singh 53, Hardik Pandya 32; Taskin Ahmed 2-16, Tanzim Hasan Sakib 2-50, Mustafizur Rahman 2-36, Rishad Hossain 3-55) beat Bangladesh 135 for 9 in 20 overs (Mahmudullah 41; Arshdeep Singh 1-26, Varun Chakrawarthy 2-19, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2-23, Washington Sundar 1-04, Abhishek Sharma 1-10, Mayank Yadav 1-30, Riyan Parag 1-16 ) by 86 runs
[Cricinfo]
On a slightly cooler evening in Dubai, with semi-final qualification hopes in the balance, India brought their A-game to the fore to thrash Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup 2024. They put on their best batting show – perhaps the best among all teams in the tournament so far – and then were clinical with the ball and on the field to send the Asia Cup champions packing from the tournament.
Batting first, India rode on half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur to post 172 for 3, the highest total in this T20 World Cup. They then skittled Sri Lanka out for 90 to register an 82-run win, India’s biggest in T20 World Cups, with Arundhati Reddy and Asha Sobhana picking up three wickets apiece. As a result of their massive win, their net run rate (NRR) jumped to 0.576, better than Pakistan’s and only behind Australia’s. This is notable as their NRR had taken a beating following the 58-run defeat to New Zealand in their opening match.
Before Wednesday, India’s opening stands against Pakistan and New Zealand were 18 and 11 respectively. In a tournament where batting first seemed to give teams an advantage, India batted second in both their matches. India got to bat first after Harmanpreet won her first toss and the openers set about their task steadily.
Sri Lanka pressed their spinners into service and both Shafali Verma and Mandhana found it tough to break free. Shafali took the aerial route for India’s first four in the third over and did so again in the fourth and the fifth. She was on 24 off 20 in the fifth over; at that point Mandhana was on 6 off 10. But in a pattern different from the previous game, she was not being impatient or trying too hard.
Mandhana finally got going with a smack over the left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari’s head as India ended the powerplay on 41 for 0. She also slogged another left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera for a six over wide long-on in the next year to signal the gear change. India managed to hit at least one four in each over between the third and the ninth. Chamari Athapaththu kept India guessing by giving her bowlers one-over spells till the 13th over, by then Mandhana overtook Shafali to get to a fourth T20 World Cup half-century.
It took a run-out to end India’s opening partnership at 98, their third-highest in T20 World Cups, when Athapaththu and Ama Kanchana – brought in for Hasini Perera – combined to catch Mandhana short on 50. On the very next ball, Athapaththu had Shafali miscuing a heave to cover. That over meant Athapaththu ended the one-spell strategy and bowled a second over in the spell – the 13th and the 15th overs.
Having batted at No. 4 against Pakistan, Harmanpreet came in at No. 3 and was soon joined by Jemimah Rodrigues before she even faced a ball. Few batters in the Indian line-up are at ease against spin than Rodrigues. She used the sweep to first put Ranaweera away and then moved in her crease to pull Athapaththu to the deep square leg boundary.
At the other end, Harmanpreet hit Kumari for a four and a six to ensure the openers’ platform did not go to waste. Rodrigues soon fell for 16 off 10 – she was given a life at 13 when Kavisha Dilhari dropped a dolly at deep midwicket – but played a vital role in injecting momentum after two quick wickets.
By then, Harmanpreet, with a cushion of a long batting line-up to follow, cut loose. She first paddled Kanchana past short fine leg before hitting two fours to spoil Athapaththu’s figures. Ranaweera could not hang on to a powerful hit at cover when Harmanpreet was on 22. She hit Kanchana and Prabodhani for two fours each in the last two overs to bring up only her third half-century in T20Is since the 2023 T20 World Cup. That blitz – 52 not out off just 27 balls – helped India take 46 off the last four overs, the most by any team in this T20 World Cup.
She had retired hurt against Pakistan due to a neck injury, and had come for the toss with a pain-relief patch on the right side of her neck but was termed fit for this game. However, she did not take the field in the chase, with Mandhana captaining the team
by Rex Clementine
Sri Lanka have thrown open the doors for Bhanuka Rajapaksa, recalling him to the squad after more than 20 months in the wilderness. The hard-hitting southpaw was benched post the Indian tour in early 2023, and despite being on the radar for the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies, he missed out, relegated to the role of traveling reserve.
Rajapaksa’s ability to clear the ropes in crunch time swayed the national selectors to pull him back into the fray. With former skipper Dasun Shanaka shown the door, a vacancy has opened up, calling for the firepower only a seasoned hitter can bring.
At 32, Rajapaksa remains hot property in franchise leagues across the globe, most recently turning out for St. Lucia in the Caribbean Premier League. The memory of his blistering, unbeaten 71 that paved the way for Sri Lanka’s 2022 Asia Cup triumph over Pakistan in Dubai still lingers – proof that he knows how to steal the show when the stakes are high.
Though Rajapaksa’s batting skills have never been in doubt since his school days at Royal College, his fitness – or rather lack of it – has been the proverbial thorn in his side. Passing the two-kilometer run, once a non-negotiable for national selection, has been a steep mountain for him. Nowadays, players face hefty fines for failing fitness tests, a rule Rajapaksa will need to toe.
Fielding has been another Achilles’ heel for Rajapaksa. With Head Coach Sanath Jayasuriya prioritizing fielding brilliance, the big question remains: can Rajapaksa rise to the challenge and cement his spot?
The national team has been licking its wounds after an early exit from this year’s T20 World Cup and a rough series against India. However, with gaps being patched and players finding their groove, hopes are high for a rebound against the West Indies.
Sri Lanka sit at a lowly eighth in T20 rankings – a bitter pill to swallow as their lowest standing across formats – while the West Indies boast the third spot. This upcoming series presents a golden opportunity for Sri Lanka to climb the ranks.
West Indies, however, are playing without their full arsenal, with heavyweights like Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, and Akeal Hosein opting out for personal reasons.
The Sri Lankan squad reached Dambulla on Tuesday, hit the nets yesterday, and are set for a warm-up game today. The first T20 International kicks off on Sunday. After the T-20s, both teams will head to Pallekele for the three-match ODI series.
It’s shaping up to be a showdown where Sri Lanka’s resilience meets the Caribbean flair – and Rajapaksa’s return adds just the right spice.
Nitish Kumar Reddy makes an all-round splash as India seal the series
Heavy showers above 100mm are likely at some places in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle and Matara districts
Harmanpreet, bowlers demolish Sri Lanka to hand India big NRR boost
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