Batters hit top gear as Sri Lanka smash Afganistan to a series win – Same team but different mindset appears to be selectors master-stroke – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE (eLanka Sports editor) Sri Lanka shed their ‘inconsistency’ tag thrashing Afganistan by 155 runs while lightning up the hills of Pallekelle to the dawning of a welcome form turnaround, and silencing their critics in the process. Teetering on the edge of being written off in all formats, Sri Lanka appear to have discovered the correct horses for courses strategy from the available talent, and Coach Chris Silverwood can breathe easy as the new selection committee goes about putting together the pieces and the right squads for the different formats. There’s no disputing the talent in Sri Lanka cricket, but issues off field has derailed the games administration creating an unwanted distraction to their performances on the field. The new look ...
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SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS – By Victor Melder Chairman of cricket selectors Upul Tharanga said that Dhananjaya de Silva has been appointed the new captain of the Sri Lanka Test team succeeding Dimuth Karunaratne. Kusal Mendis will be the vice-captain. De Silva will become the country’s 18th Test captain when he leads Sri Lanka in the one-off Test against Afghanistan next month. Karunaratne was Sri Lanka’s Test captain from 2018-19 till 2023 leading his country in 28 Tests with 12 wins, 10 losses and 6 draws. He captained Sri Lanka to three series victories, a rare 2-0 win in South Africa making Sri Lanka the only Asian country to win a series in Rainbow Nation in 2018-19, and 2-0 wins against West Indies (2021) and Ireland (2023). (Daily Financial Times, 6.1.2024) The first One Day International (ODI), played at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, between the touring Zimbabweans and Sri Lanka, ended ...
Embarrassed Sri Lanka answers critics in merciless fashion- Hasarsnga and Matthews lead Zimbabwe rout in decider- BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE (eLanka Sports editor) Sri Lanka responded like a team stung by embarrassment smashing Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the T20 decider in Colombo. After two nail biters in the first two encounters, Sri Lanka hit their straps to set the record straight humiliating the Zimbabwean’s in a one-sided game that didn’t go the distance anticipated. New skipper Wannindu Hasarsnga De Silva underlined his liking to the new role leading from the front with a bamboozling performance with the ball to reduce Zimbabwe to rubble making Sri Lanka’s batting woes with less pressure to deal with. Hasarsnga mesmerised Zimbabwe’s batters to claim 4 fir 15 off 4 overs, Matthews 2 for 15and Maheesh Theeksheena 2 fir14 to destroy Zimbabwe to 82 all out. Angelo Matthews rectified his bowling embarrassment in ...
Hasaranga’s Heroic Return: Sri Lanka Crushes Zimbabwe in One-Day Series with Dominant Performance – By TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports editor) Image source: © ICC 2023 | Courtesy of ICC | Media Zone Access by Trevine Rodrigo (eLanka) (taken form media article from ICC: Hasaranga and Gardner voted ICC Players of the Month for June ) Wannindu Hasarsnga celebrated his return to international cricket after being sidelined with injury for eight months by wrecking Zimbabwe with a seven wicket haul in an eight wicket thrashing in Colombo. Hasarsnga was almost unplayable, producing a mesmerising spell in which he claimed 7 for 19 off 5.5 overs, leaving the Zimbabwe batters all at sea as they crashed to 96 all out in 22.5 overs. Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis then led the spirited run chase as they scurried to the under par target in 16.4 overs. Image source: © ICC 2023 ...
1st ODI – Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe – 6 January 2024 Sri Lanka; 273/9 (Charith Asalanka: 101, Kusal Mendis (c): 46, Dilshan Madushanka 2 wickets, 0 runs off 2 overs!) Zimbabwe: 12/2 No result (Rain) ...
Two New Cricket Captains for Sri Lanka-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis Item in The Island, 31 December 2023 ….. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi Dasun Shanaka’s reign as Sri Lanka’s white-ball captain has come to an end as Sri Lanka’s new selection committee appointed Kusal Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga to lead the ODI and T20I sides, respectively. With Dimuth Karunaratne currently leading the Test side, this is the first time Sri Lanka have three different captains in the three formats. Shanaka first captained Sri Lanka in 2019, on the team’s first tour to Pakistan since the 2009 Lahore attack, but it was not until 2021 that he became their regular captain. Under him, Sri Lanka won 23 out of 41 ODIs and 22 out of 48 T20Is. The highlight of his tenure was the 2022 T20 Asia Cup victory in the UAE where Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the final. Also notable were ODI series wins against South ...
Three Cricket Captains for Sri Lanka?-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis News Item in the Daily Mirror, 16 December 2023 …. https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/De-Silva-Mendis-and-Hasaranga-to-appoint-as-Test-ODI-and-T20-captains/108-273379The newly appointed selection committee of Sri Lanka Cricket led by Upul Tharanga, reportedly decided to change the leadership roles for the Sri Lanka Test, ODI and T20 teams.As per reports, Dhananjaya de Silva is slated to take on the role of Test captain, with Kusal Mendis assuming the position of vice-captain.For the ODI team, Kusal Mendis is set to be the captain, and Charith Asalanka will serve as the vice-captain. In the T20 format, Wanindu Hasaranga is to be appointed as the captain, with Charith Asalanka named as the vice-captain. The final decisions regarding the Sri Lanka squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe tournament in January will be deliberated in the next meeting of the selection committee, scheduled for next Monday. ...
Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs furious after the batting debacle against India scoring only 55 runs, then losing to Afghanistan by 7 wickets – By Sunil Thenabadu After this disastrous batting display against India collapsing for a paltry 55 runs ,thereafter to Afghanistan by seven wickets , to console the irritated fuming cricket fanatics very appropriately the Minister of sports and youth affairs Roshan Abeysinghe had requested the President and the supporting staff of the Sri Lanka Cricket to resign immediately before he takes drastic action. The Minster of sports and youth affairs Roshan Ranasinghe via his media division has expressed his discontentment on the dismal performance of our cricket team once again in the hands of India losing the WC encounter by a massive margin of 302 runs the worst defeat inflicted on Sri Lanka since participating in all world cups from year 1975.The defeat recently has made all ...
Afganistan give Sri Lanka a lesson on pressure and superior strategy. Lankans choked in seven – wicket defeat. – By TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports editor) Afganistan continues to astound the cricketing world claiming another big scalp in Sri Lanka with a convincing 7- wicket victory in Pune. With wins over defending champions England and Pakistan, Afganistan has catapulted themselves into contention for a semi- final berth in the World Cup which will be an astonishing achievement. All credit must go to the underrated Afgans who have stormed their way into recognition and have certainly earned the respect of all opposition. For a country with no real structure, the raw talent emerging from Afganistan proves that determination and natural ability can overcome the regimental training and advanced techniques utilised by the more affluent nations. They have been on the rise over the last decade producing world class players such as ...
Return of Angelo Matthews, the man with the Midas touch transforms Sri Lanka’s fortunes. England perish under new look Sri Lanka. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE(eLanka Sports editor). Angelo Matthews turned out to be Sri Lanka’s new good luck charm and Kusal Mendis warmed to his role as skipper leading the Island nation to a convincing 8 -wicket victory over defending World Cup champions England in Bengaluru. Shell- shocked England, currently languishing at the bottom of this edition, had no answers to a revitalised Sri Lanka, as Matthews provided the Midas touch, after Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat. The bowlers, at long last, hit superb lengths with good line and accuracy to destroy England’s strong batting line-up, dramatically changing the leather hunt they were on in the first three games. And this made it so much easier for Sri Lanka’s batters to romp to an ...
