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Wellalage, Nissanka fifties take Sri Lanka to 230

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Pathum Nissanka showed excellent footwork against spin [Cricinfo]

India’s spinners thrived on a slow, dry Khettarama pitch, limiting Sri Lanka to 230 for 8 in the ODI series opener. Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Washigton Sundar who was picked ahead of Riyan Parag, claimed combined figures of 29-1-112-4 and often raised puffs of dust from the surface that had also been used for the LPL Qualifier 2 last month. That Sri Lanka eventually got to 230 for 8 was down to half-centuries from opener Pathum Nissanka and allrounder Dunith Wellalage..

The first over of spin from Axar was a portent for the passage of play that was to follow. When Axar liberally tossed his first ball up outside off, he found immediate grip and turn and had Nissanka checking his drive to extra cover. Axar then got his fifth ball to kick up and rag away past the outside edge like Rangana Herath used to back in the day here. With the pitch offering plenty of purchase to the spinners, Axar didn’t go searching for the magic ball and simply tossed the ball up into the footmarks created by Arshdeep Singh. After building up the pressure with figures of 5-0-11-0, Axar struck in his sixth over when he had Sadeera Samarawickrama chipping a catch to short cover for eight off 18 balls.

Kuldeep then ramped up the pressure even further on Sri Lanka’s middle order with his nifty variations. After ripping a couple of deliveries past the outside edge of Charith Asalanka, he had the Sri Lanka captain guiding his stock ball straight to Rohit Sharma at first slip for 14 off 21 balls. Kuldeep could have also dismissed Wanindu Hasaranga on 8 had Rohit not dropped him at slip.

As for Washington, India’s third spinner, he wasn’t introduced into the attack until the 21st over. But he got into his groove immediately and beat Asalanka’s outside edge with a hard-spun offbreak. Washington then beat the right-handed Nissanka’s inside edge and pinned him lbw for 56 off 75 balls in the 27th over.

Wellalage, who was promoted to No. 7 ahead of Hasaranga, though, countered Washington’s offspin, hitting him for 20 off 21 balls. He even got inventive, reverse-sweeping Washington over the two slips and ramping Mohammed Siraj fine of deep third for fours. When Arshdeep pitched one in his arc, Wellalage showed glimpses of his power, too, clearing Siraj at wide long-on. He proceeded to bring up his maiden ODI fifty, off 59 balls.

Nissanka had scored a more measured fifty after Sri Lanka opted to bat. He respected the good balls and went on the offensive only when Siraj and Arshdeep erred with their lines and lengths. He reached his half-century off 67 balls and just when he looked good for more, he fell to Washington. India could have cut his innings short on 20 had Siraj not dropped a difficult chance at fine leg in the powerplay.

Wellalage then rallied with the lower order, forging stands of 41 with Janith Liyanage, 36 with Hasaranga and 46 with Akila Dananjaya, who was selected ahead of Maheesh Theekshana.

Hasaranga, Dananjaya and Wellalage will have a bigger role to play with the ball if Sri Lanka are to defend their total.

All up, India used seven bowling options, with even Shubman Gill rolling his arm over for only the second time in his ODI career. Allrounder Shivam Dube, who had to wait more than four years for his second ODI, took his first wicket in the format when he had Kusal Mendis lbw for 14 off 31 balls with one that nipped away to hit his back pad like a quick legcutter.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka 230/8 in 50 overs

[Pathum Nissanka 56, Janith Liyanage 20, Dunith Wellalage 6*, Wanidu Hasaranga 24; Arshdeep Singh 2-47] vs India



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IPL 2025: Venkatesh and Arora consign Sunrisers Hyderabad to their biggest-ever defeat

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Vaibhav Arora came in as an Impact sub and picked three wickets [BCCI]

While Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) regained the dazzling batting form they had lost somewhere on their trip to Mumbai, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batting continued to be lackluster as they slumped to their third loss in a row after starting IPL 2025 with a mammoth 286. Four days after being skittled for 116 by Mumbai Indians, KKR posted a stiff 200 for 6, led by a 29-ball 60 from vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer and an unbeaten 17-ball 32 from Rinku Singh. Venkatesh and Rinku enabled KKR to finish with a bang – they scored 78 runs in their last five overs – after Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi set things up with a third-wicket stand of 81.

SRH were punished for being sloppy in the field more than a few times, and managed just 120 in reply after the KKR quicks took their mighty top three down in just 13 balls. Last year’s runners-up slumped to the bottom of the table while the defending champions jumped five places from last to fifth.

Travis Head fell cheaply for the second time in a row against Vaibhay Arora as in the IPL final last year, while Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan managed just 2 each. The eight runs scored by SRH’s top three was their second worst start in the IPL. In last year’s final, their top three – though Kishan wasn’t part of it – had managed just 11.

SRH barely recovered from 9 for 3 and slipped to 66 for 5 and eventually suffered their biggest defeat by a runs margin in the IPL.

There was no venom in the pitch, no unplayable bounce or movement either, but the SRH top order had no answers for the KKR pace attack, even though Mitchell Starc is no longer part of it. Head skied the second ball to mid-off, Abhishek edged a slower one from Harshit Rana in the second over to slip, and Kishan smashed one to cover where Rahane pouched a sharp catch on the tumble to delight the home fans. Nine for 3 could have become 9 for 4 had Andre Russell held on to an on-drive from Kamindu Mendis at mid-on and made it a double-wicket maiden for Arora. Russell, however, redeemed himself when he got the next wicket as soon as the powerplay ended, having Nitish Reddy caught at long-on. Arora picked up his third eventually, getting the big scalp of Henrich Klaasen for 33 when he returned for his second spell.

In between, Reddy showed glimpses of his ball-striking talent, Mendis heaved a couple of sixes on the leg side off Russell, and Klaasen tried to take the game deep even as the asking rate climbed past 15 an over. Rahane stifled SRH with five overs in a row from Sunil Narine and Varun Chakarvarthy, from the eighth to the 12th, which went for just 33 and brought two more wickets, before Arora removed Klaasen and Varun nearly scalped a hat-trick in the 16th over. SRH were eventually bowled out for 120, again raising question marks over their batting approach.

Even though the Eden pitch didn’t have the spice that was offered by the Wankhede’s in KKR’s last game, they lost their openers cheaply again. Narine fell to another yorker, edging one behind this time, for 7, and Quinton de Kock pulled a short ball to deep square leg for 1 off 6 as KKR crawled their way to 17 for 2 after three overs. They got a lift thanks to the Mumbai duo of Rahane and Raghuvanshi, who between them struck four sixes in 14 balls to help KKR end the powerplay on 53 for 2. Rahane smashed three of them, even before hitting his first four, peppering the leg-side boundary with two pulls and a majestic flick behind square.

Cummins brought on spin as soon as the field spread out and rookie legspinner Zeeshan Ansari rewarded his captain by stifling the set batters with turn, flight and different lengths to concede just 25 runs in three overs on the trot while the quicks continued to leak boundaries from the other end. Ansari conceded just one boundary off his first 14 deliveries, that too off a misfield from Reddy, before Raghuvanshi carted him for a six and four when he erred too full. Ansari, however, fought back with Rahane’s wicket for 38.

SRH could have had two in two had Reddy not put down Raghuvanshi at the rope on 43. Raghuvanshi made them pay with a cover drive for four later in the over and brought up his second IPL fifty in the next. His luck finally ran out against the ambidextrous Sri Lanka spinner Kamindu Mendis, and when Harshal Patel held onto an excellent catch that he dived for after running in from deep point.

KKR were going at just over eight an over after 13 overs, with two new batters in the middle. Harshal and Simranjeet Singh slowed them down further by taking the pace off the ball, but the trick didn’t work for too long. Rinku and Venkatesh took off once they got their eyes in and powered KKR to their first 200 total of this campaign. Rinku started the carnage with three consecutive fours off Harshal in the 17th while Venkatesh reeled off two in the next over, which Rinku finished with a towering six over long-on. Venkatesh then turned his purr into a roar in the penultimate over. Even though Cummins tried his cutter, a slower bouncer and a yorker among other things, Venkatesh went 4, 6, 4, 4 and brought up a 25-ball fifty before blasting Harshal for a six and a four at the start of the final over. He holed out next ball, and Harshal conceded just three off the last three, but the damage had already been done.

Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 200 for 6 in 20 overs  (Venkatesh Iyer 60, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 50, Ajinkya Rahane 38, Rinku Singh 32*; Mohammed Shami 1-29, Pat Cummins 1-44, Zeeshan Ansari 1-25, Harshal Ptel 1-43, Kamindu Mendis 1-04) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 120 in 16.4 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 19, Kamindu Mendis 27, Heinrich Klaasen 33,Pat Cummins 14;  Vaibhav Arora 3-29, Varun Chakravarthy 3-22, Harshit Rana 1-15,Andre Russel 2-21, Sunil Narine 1-30 ) by 80 runs

[Cricinfo]

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New Zealand under 85kg rugby team set for historic tour of Sri Lanka

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New Zealand rugby team will feature in two games in Sri Lanka next month

Sri Lanka Rugby announced the historic visit of the New Zealand Under 85kg national team to Sri Lanka next month for two highly anticipated matches against the Sri Lankan team.

This landmark tour comes in response to an invitation extended by SLR early last year. The two-match series will see the sides face off on May 4, at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium in Kandy, and again on May 10, at the Race Course Grounds in Colombo.

While Sri Lanka may not boast the same storied rugby tradition as New Zealand, the island nation shares a special connection with the All Blacks through Sir Colin Meads. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rugby players of all time, Meads played his first game in the famous black jersey in then Ceylon in mid 1950s, as part of the NZ Colts side. That link adds a nostalgic touch to this exciting tour.

The matches promise to offer Sri Lankan players a rare and invaluable opportunity to challenge themselves against a technically sound and tactically astute side from New Zealand—arguably the world’s most celebrated rugby nation.

Crucially, the tour will also contribute to the continued development of the sport in Sri Lanka. Exposure to high-level competition is expected to equip local players with insights into advanced strategies, gameplay structure, and professionalism.

The Sri Lanka Tuskers will field an open-weight team, with one key restriction: all prop forwards must weigh under 105kg.

Notably, the Under 85kg rugby division is not currently played anywhere in Asia, making this event a groundbreaking initiative for the region. Despite their weight classification, the New Zealand side is expected to deliver a high standard of rugby, with their trademark skill and tactical sharpness on full display.

The Tuskers head into this series in strong form, having clinched the Asia Rugby Division 1 title in 2024. Their packed schedule continues in April 2025 with a crucial promotion-relegation match against Malaysia, which will determine whether Sri Lanka ascends to Asia’s top tier.

The New Zealand Under 85kg team, officially launched in 2024, represents a significant step in the development of weight-grade rugby globally. Initial discussions with a national union about a 2025 overseas tour have now materialized into this exciting visit to Sri Lanka.

Live coverage of both matches will be available on Dialog Television – ThePapare TV HD (Channel 126), as well as online via ThePapare.com and the Dialog ViU App.

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St. Peter’s reach 176 for seven wickets 

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91st Battle of the Saints

Electing to bat first St. Peter’s reached 176 for seven wickets at stumps against St. Joseph’s on day one of the 91st Battle of the Saints Big Match at the SSC ground on Thursday.

After skipper Oween Salgado was given out leg before wicket to paceman Manasa Madubashana in the fifth over of the day, the Petes were cautious in their approach and scored at just over two runs an over to reach stumps with three wickets in hand.

The Joes will consider it their day with Nusha Perera and Demion de Silva taking two wickets each to trouble their opponents

Open bat Dilana Damsara top scored with 44 runs. He faced 94 deliveries for his knock which contained six fours and a six.

Scores

St. Peter’s

176 for seven in 71.4 overs (Dilana Damsara 44, Nathan David 29, Asadisa de Silva 38,  Joshua Sebastian 27, Tharin Sanketh 20n.o.; Nusha Perera 2/29, Demion de Silva 2/47) (RF)

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