Latest News
Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer tons power India to 397/4
Virat Kohli scored his record-breaking 50th ODI hundred and Shreyas Iyer scored his second successive one – off just 67 balls – to take India a giant leap towards burying New Zealand under a mountain of runs and reaching the final of the World Cup. Kohli and Iyer’s efforts came after Rohit set the stage up with a blazing start while Gill too was among the runs until the sweltering Mumbai heat got to him.
Rohit Sharma went about business as usual after winning the toss and opting to bat, as he hit over mid-wicket and through covers against Trent Boult in the first over. The left-armer got no swing and was forced to change his angle to round the stumps in just his second over after Rohit gave him the charge and smashed a six over extra cover. Rohit’s brutality stretched to Tim Southee too, as short balls received the treatment it usually does from the opener. In the fifth over, Rohit hit his third six of the innings – and 50th in World Cups, overtaking Chris Gayle’s tally of most sixes in the history of the showpiece event.
Kane Williamson had to turn to Mitchell Santner as early as the sixth over, who too was taken apart by Rohit as he audaciously moved to 45 off just 22. In the ninth over, Rohit tried to drill a big shot down the ground but didn’t get the timing right on a clever change of pace from Southee. Kane Williamson covered quite a lot of ground from mid off, paced backwards and completed an excellent catch to send his opposite number packing. Shubman Gill however, ensured India didn’t step off the gas as he treated Lockie Ferguson’s first three overs with disdain, dispatching all the short balls on either side of the square boundary. New Zealand’s four specialist bowlers ploy was under the pump after Ferguson was hit for runs and Rachin Ravindra also started off with a 10-run over in which Gill brought up his 41-ball 50. Even as Kohli began slowly, Gill kept the boundaries flowing, taking India to 150/1 in 20 overs.
Gill was primed for his first World Cup century, but cramps got the better of him in the Mumbai heat, as he needed the physio’s attention between overs for his left leg and back. In the 23rd over, he retired hurt on 79 off 65. Shreyas Iyer walked out and Williamson straightaway brought back Ferguson to test the No.4 batter with the short ball but Iyer navigated past it to lay into the spinners in the company of Kohli. In the 28th over, Kohli brought up his eighth hundred of the World Cup – the most in a single edition, going past Sachin Tendulkar and Shakib Al Hasan’s tally.
Williamson’s effort to put a lid on the easy flow of runs by bringing back Boult and Southee was met with resistance as Kohli used his feet against both to get a four and a six respectively. Iyer meanwhile, saw through Southee’s ruse of repeatedly using the slower ball and clobbered him for a six over midwicket. After getting 84 runs in the first 10 overs, India consolidated well with 66 and 64 in the next two sets of 10, but Iyer and Kohli found a way to nudge it even further with 73 in the next 10. From 287/1 in 40 overs, India were set for a big finish. Before that came about, Kohli got to his milestone century, which cued some emotional celebrations from India’s No.3 batter. Iyer meanwhile showed off his spin-hitting prowess as he went after Ravindra, who conceded 60 off 7 overs. Even the pacers struggled to keep Iyer in check as he flew to a 67-ball century in the 48th over.
India hit 110 in the last 10 overs with even New Zealand’s seasoned bowlers going for plenty of runs. Boult went for 86 in his 10 overs while Southee leaked 100 as his plan to take pace off didn’t yield the desired results beyond Rohit’s wicket. Ferguson bowled only 8 for his 65 while the part-time spin pair of Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra went for 93 in 12 overs combined.
Brief scores:
India 397/4 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 47, Virat Kohli 117, Shreyas Iyer 105, Shubman Gill 80*, K L Rahul 39*; Tim Southee 3-100) vs New Zealand
There will be no auction for this year’s Lanka Premier League, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced, with a player draft set to take place instead on March 22.
The sixth edition of the LPL had originally been slated for early December 2025, but was postponed on account of ensuring the readiness of venues for the 2026 World Cup set to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India. The league has since been scheduled to take place from July 8 to August 8, which is the SLC’s preferred window.
This will be the first time since 2022 that a draft system is being utilised in the LPL, with both of the past two seasons hosting player auctions.
“During the draft, franchises will select both Sri Lankan and overseas players for the upcoming season of Sri Lanka’s premier domestic T20 tournament,” an SLC media release confirmed.
The inclusion of a sixth team had also been mooted prior to the competition’s postponement, however there have been no developments on that front since. Each of the first five editions of the LPL saw five teams representing Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Dambulla and Jaffna compete.
Earlier this year, Jaffna Kings – formerly the longest-standing franchise, having joined in the tournament’s second edition – and Colombo Strikers were terminated by SLC for “failure to uphold contractual obligations.” As a result, the LPL currently has no franchise owners with a history stretching back beyond 2024. New owners for both the Jaffna and Colombo teams are yet to be announced.
[Cricinfo]
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado will meet President Donald Trump on Thursday, the White House has confirmed.
The visit comes just weeks after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was seized in Caracas by US forces. But Trump declined to endorse Machado, whose movement claimed victory in 2024’s widely contested elections, as its new leader.
The US instead backed Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice-president.
Machado said last week she hoped to thank Trump personally for the action against Maduro and would like to give the Nobel Prize to him. Trump called it “a great honour”, but the Nobel Committee later clarified that it was not transferable.
Earlier, Trump had expressed displeasure over Machado’s decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, an honour the president has long coveted.
Asked on Friday whether receiving Machado’s prize might change his view of her role in Venezuela, the president said: “She might be involved in some aspect of it.”
“I will have to speak to her. I think it’s very nice that she wants to come in. And that’s what I understand the reason is,” he said.
Earlier this month, after Maduro’s ouster, Trump had said Machado “doesn’t have the support within, or the respect within, the country”. “She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect,” he said.
The US has so far backed Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s interim president.
Trump describes Rodríguez as an “ally”, and she has not been charged by US officials with any crimes.
“Delcy Rodríguez and her team have been very cooperative with the United States,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.
But Machado has maintained that her coalition should “absolutely” be in charge of the country.
Machado has said nobody trusted Rodríguez, telling CBS that the interim leader was “one of the main architects… of repression for innocent people” in the South American country.
“Everybody in Venezuela and abroad knows perfectly who she is and the role she has played,” Machado said.
The former legislator, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, described US military action in Venezuela as “a major step towards restoring prosperity and rule of law and democracy in Venezuela”.
Rodríguez has rebuffed claims by Trump that the US was in charge of Venezuela.
“The Venezuelan government rules our country, and no-one else does,” she said in a televised speech. “There is no external agent governing Venezuela.”
[BBC]
In terms of the provisions of the Establishments Code on payment of festival advance to government officers, there’s a possibility of obtaining rupees 10,000/- as an advance for celebrating festivals of Theipongal, Ramazan, Sinhala and Hindu New Year, Wesak, Deepavali, and Christmas as well as for pilgrimages (Sri Paada pilgrimage and Hajj pilgrimage).
Provisions have been given to recover the said advance in 08 installments or if required earlier without interest. It has been proposed by the Budget 2026 to increase the said festival advance up to rupees 15,000/-.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal submitted by the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local governments to revise the relevant provisions so that the festival advance can be increased up to rupees 15,000/- .
Lanka Premier League draft set to take place on March 22
Trump to meet Venezuelan opposition leader Machado at the White House
Festival advance for government officers to be increased
Providing underutilized lands/properties to suitable investors for optimal utilization.
Implementation of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy
Expressions of Interest called to develop selected locations within the Pelawatte Sugar Factory premises
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News3 days agoSajith: Ashoka Chakra replaces Dharmachakra in Buddhism textbook
-
Business3 days agoDialog and UnionPay International Join Forces to Elevate Sri Lanka’s Digital Payment Landscape
-
Features3 days agoThe Paradox of Trump Power: Contested Authoritarian at Home, Uncontested Bully Abroad
-
Features3 days agoSubject:Whatever happened to (my) three million dollars?
-
News3 days agoLevel I landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Badulla, Kandy, Matale and Nuwara-Eliya extended
-
News3 days agoNational Communication Programme for Child Health Promotion (SBCC) has been launched. – PM
-
News3 days ago65 withdrawn cases re-filed by Govt, PM tells Parliament
-
Opinion5 days agoThe minstrel monk and Rafiki, the old mandrill in The Lion King – II