Sports
Zahira shock Ananda
Under 19 Cricket
by Reemus Fernando
Zahira knocked the daylight out of Ananda as Raaed Rizwan scored an unbeaten century to seal a remarkable victory and the fate of the two top teams in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘B’ Limited Overs cricket tournament at Maradana on Thursday.
In what turned out to be the most decisive round of matches in that group, Thurstan beat Dharmasoka by a huge margin to top the group, while Ananda were fighting to secure the second place in their group to book a quarterfinal berth. A victory would have helped them overtake St. Sylvester’s in the Group ‘Z’ points table. Zahira, who were searching for their first win of the tournament had other ideas as they contained the cricket powerhouse to 171 runs before cruising to a seven wickets victory with many overs to spare.
Chasing the target Raaed Rizwan hammered eight fours and five sixes in his unbeaten knock (106 runs in 80 balls) and put on a second wicket stand of 18 runs with Mohamed Yasir (50).
In contrast, Ananda’s formidable batting line up, which produced some strong performances during the first part of the tourney failed to deliver at the crucial stage.
With the victory Zahira also relived Mahinda, who were monitoring the progress of the match from elsewhere. Had Ananda won yesterday’s match it would have probably dented Mahinda’s chances of advancing to the knockout stage as the third best team in Group ‘X’.
In the other Tier ‘B’ matches, St. Peter’s beat St. Anthony’s, Wattala to complete the group stage unbeaten, Thurstan beat Dharmasoka to emerge champions in their group and Mahinda beat Dharmaraja.
The teams advancing to the knockout stage from Tier ‘B’ are (unofficial): (from group ‘X’) St. Peter’s, Maris Stella, Mahinda, (from group ‘Y’) Isipatana, Lumbini, Moratu Vidyalaya, (from group ‘Z’), Thurstan and St. Sylvester’s.
Meanwhile, in a Tier ‘A’ encounter Royal handed D.S. Senanayake their fifth defeat in group ‘Y’.
Match Results
Thurstan beat Dharmasoka at Ambalangoda
Scores:
Thurstan 357 for 3 in 50 overs (Tharindu Harshana 54, Pasindu Ratnayake 55, Vihas Thewmika 112, Bawantha Jayasinghe 113n.o.)
Dharmasoka 229 all out in 32.2 overs (Hasitha Rajapaksha 96, Maneesha Rashmika 27, Ishan Anuradha 21; Nipun Premaratne 4/45, Bawantha Jayasinghe 2/66, Vihas Thewmika 2/31)
Zahira beat Ananda by seven wickets at Maradana
Scores:
Ananda 171 all out in 47 overs (Nushal Dharmarathna 24, Nethma Karunarathne 25, Sachin Jayasinghe 23, Iruth Gimshan 23, Hansaja Jayasinghe 26; Chamod Lakshan 4/31, Mohamed Humaid 2/33)
Zahira 174 for 3 in 30.2 overs (Mohamed Yasir 50, Raaed Rizwan 106n.o.; Isuru Ayesh 2/21)
Mahinda beat Dharmaraja by five wickets at Lake View
Scores:
Dharmaraja 183 for 9 in 50 overs (Pulindu Perera 33, Sachintha Dissanayaka 59, Malitha Hapuarachchi 25; Shehan Hasaranga 2/32, Kushan Madusha 4/20, Hiruna Mandila 2/38
Mahinda 186 for 5 in 38.2 overs (Pramesh Madubashana 73, Hiruna Mandila 69)
St. Peter’s beat St. Anthony’s Wattala at Bambalapitiya
Scores:
St. Anthony’s 103 all out in 31.3 overs (Dilip Fernando 23; Niman Umesh 4/24)
St. Peters 105 for 4 in 25.5 overs (Dilana Damsara 45n.o.; Amitha Sandeepa 3/22)
Tier ‘A’
Royal beat DSS at Wijerama
Scores:
DSS 181 for 9 in 50 overs (Gaviru Senhas 29, Abhishek Liyanarachchi 35, Vishwa Shiwanka 55; Dan Poddiwela 3/36, Venusha Akash 2/48, Gishan Balasooriya 3/25)
Royal 187 for 5 in 33.5 overs (Sineth Jayawardena 20, Sadisha Rajapaksha 37, Uvindu Weerasekara 61n.o., Lahiru Gangewatte 24; Poorna Sulakshana 3/42)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
