Sports
Savini has fired tennis aces this year!
By a Special Sports Correspondent
Women’s tennis in Sri Lanka is a glamour sport and players like Anika Seneviratne, Janali Manampperi, Neyara Weerawansa, Oneli Perera and Savini Jayasuriya have made it more than exciting.
However during this year’s restricted tennis calendar, troubled due to the present pandemic, one player who has come up fast and gained so much attention is 18-year-old schoolgirl Savini Jayasuriya. She has won the Women’s singles events in the SSC Open and the HNB-Hutch Clay Court Nationals this year apart from winning the Under 18 Girls’ Singles at the Junior National Tennis Championships.
She started playing tennis at the age of four and didn’t taste instant success. She was losing more games than winning and by age 11 she made it known to her loved ones at home that she wanted to try a new sport. But a change of mind coupled with more focus and determination to remain in the racket sport saw her finding the art of winning.
Soon she was making it to tours abroad with the national age group teams. She of course had her most challenging moment in the sport at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. She was down with dengue and had to play a separate trial to make it to the national team. Her participation at the games was made possible after a court case and the intervention of the country’s sports minister. But despite Savini travelling all the way to Indonesia she had to remain a mere spectator. Her late entry was not accepted by the games’ organisers.
She had her initial schooling at Bishop’s College Colombo where her life was more or less centred around tennis. However, the year 2019 was a special year for Savini and her teammates. The schoolgirls clad in purple t-shirts saw their efforts giving them the under 19 All Island Championships.
Apart from all what she has achieved there are many lessons that the sport has taught her. As much as hard work tops the list she once told during an online interview that it’s equally important to enjoy the game and make progress step by step. Her parents and her brother, who influenced her to take to the sport, probably have had the patience and wait till Savini started blooming as a flower. She has cherished her small wins and learned well from her losses. She has said often that her losses have made her a true sportswoman.
This year it all started happening for Savini. She beat Janali 6/1, 6/4 at the SSC Open. She got the better of Janali again at the HNB-Hutch Clay Court Nationals in the women’s singles 6/1, 3/6, 6/1. The latter marked her maiden Clay Court Nationals win too. At the Junior National Tennis Championships, representing her new school Gateway College, she beat Oneli Perera 6/1, 6/0. She made it to the finals of the 105 Colombo Tennis Championships, but lost to reigning women’s singles championships Anika Senewiratne 7/5, 3/6, 6/3.
She has also won many doubles events partnering Janali Manampperi. Her latest success at the doubles event was when she won the 105th National Women’s Doubles Championships of Sri Lanka partnering Janali. She is also a South Asian Games (2019) Silver medallist and represented Sri Lanka at multiple International tournaments including Asian Games 2018, Fed Cup and is a former Jr. Fed Cup player.
Tennis calls for an early start and hours of slogging at both the tennis courts and the gymnasium. She started training early and has been committed to the game, on and off the court. The women’s segment in the Sri Lankan tennis scene is so competitive and Savini knows that truly well. This season we didn’t see Anjalika Kurera (Probably due to school exams) and little of Rushika Wijesuriya (who has had overseas training exposure). Still the women’s segment produced the sparks and much of it was created by Savini.
Tennis analysts have already predicted that Savini would go great guns in the future. Her power player and the short-ball initiative she takes at matches have been noticed by tennis commentators who have aired their views during online tennis coverages. But overall Savini’s tennis story is one of highs and lows and also underscores the efforts of a teenager who wants to reach her potential and leave her signature in the tennis annals of Sri Lanka. All that was possible due to the support she received from her parents, coaches, the SLTA and close associates in her tennis circle.
She has had her share of foreign tours and represented Sri Lanka. She is in a sport where participants manage both their education and sport quite well. Savini knows that education and sport go hand in hand; a combination which promises to release to the world a well-balanced person. When the attention is on a sportsman or a sportswoman during present times spectators or your followers are looking beyond tennis to relate to you. This is true when a sportstar is selected as a brand ambassador and has to relate to an audience by speaking. She was chosen to answer questions at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association conducted ‘Tennis Talk’ (live Q & A Session-Episode 19) in March this year.
More than all what she has earned in tennis she says that the sport has given her the ability to believe in herself.
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]
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