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LPL 2021 | Dambulla, Colombo get off to winning starts as Ramesh Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva shine

Ramesh Mendis continued his form from the Test series against West Indies as the off-spinner picked three crucial wickets against Kandy Warriors to restrict them to 170 and win the first match for his team Dambulla Giants by 20 runs. Apart from Menids, Phil Salt was as yet another hero for the Giants as he hit quickfire 64 off just 27 balls, striking at more than 200 to power his team to 190 while batting first in Colombo. The Warriors didn’t get off to a good start anyways as they lost their first three wickets at the score of only 28 and that too in the first four overs itself. Kamindu Mendis and Angelo Perera then tried to establish some semblance in the chase, but both were cleaned up by Ramesh Mendis in quick successions to leave Kandy reeling at 71-5 in the 10th over. Some late blows from Rovman Powell Ishan Jayaratne and Sachindu Colombage took the Warriors past the 150 mark and eventually to 170, but they never looked in the hunt after the fall of the first six wickets at 88. West Indian Powell top-scored with 42 off 21 balls. Colombo Stars get through tricky run chase In another game in the league, the Colombo Stars were up against Galle Gladiators, the winner from the inaugural LPL 2021 encounter. However, the Gladiators didn’t even look like a shadow of what they were yesterday as they were restricted to only 116-8 in their 20 overs having won the toss and decided to bat first. Ben Dunk was the only batter that could stay at the crease for a long period of time as all big guns in Mohammad Hafeez, Samit Patel and Danushka Gunathilaka and skipper Bhanuka Rajapaksa failed big time. The two spinners from the Colombo side, Dhananjaya de Silva and Akila Dhananjaya were the trump cards as they picked among themselves four wickets and gave away only 37 runs in eight overs. As they say, chasing a small total can be a tough proposition and it turned out to be the same as Stars got stuck in the middle having lost their four out of the top five wickets for only 45 runs chasing 117. It was then that the experience of Dinesh Chandimal and de Silva counted as the two senior men in the team piled up a 27 runs partnership. Even as de Silva got out, David Weise’ quickfire 22 off 16 balls in a 31 runs stand with Chandimal made sure that the Stars were headed in the right direction for the win. The 32-year-old Chandimal stayed through to take his team home even as Weise got out with the team score at 103.

Spin twins Mendis, Embuldeniya blow West Indies away as Sri Lanka sweep series 2-0

Twin five-wicket hauls from Lasith Embuldeniya and Ramesh Mendis swept West Indies away for a mere 132 in the second innings and helped Sri Lanka to enforce a clean sweep in a two-match long Test series. Chasing a tough target of 297 runs, West Indies were already on the brink having lost the top five batsmen before reaching 100 runs. The pair of Jermaine Blackwood and Nkrumah Bonner provided resilience with the bat but could only delay what was inevitable on the final day of the Test match in Galle. Earlier on the first day, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. The top-order comprising of Pathum Nissanka and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne ratified the call with a big century opening partnership. However, their acts were not supported by the middle order and the hosts slipped to 204 all out from 106/0 to lose all the advantage. Veerasammy Permaul and Jomel Warrican were the chief destructors for West Indies as they shared nine wickets between them with the former picking up a five-wicket haul. The story was somewhat similar for the Windies with the bat as the top order putting up a strong performance and guiding the team past the 204-run mark. However, all batsmen including the skipper Kraigg Brathwaite wasted their hard-earned starts and could not make big scores and hence the tourists could manage a lead of only 49 runs. The hosts were up and ready with the second bout of battle as Dhananjaya de Silva produced a wonderful century and along with Nissanka, took Sri Lanka to a big score. They posted 345 in their second innings and Sri Lanka asked West Indies to chase 297 runs in the final innings. Their spinners, however, were too good for the conditions and the West Indies batting lineup and they could not muster any sort of big scores to challenge the hosts. Dhananjaya de Silva was adjudged player of the match for his big hundred in the second innings while Ramesh Mendis was adjudged player of the series for his 18-wicket stint with the ball.

SL vs WI | 1st Test | Day- 4: Ramesh Mendis spins a web around Windies batters, gets Lanka on brink of victory

The Sri Lankan spinners look threateningly beautiful on the Glle wicket which was proving to be a graveyard for the West Indies top order. The ball which got the wicket of Jason, Holder which was also the last wicket to fall on day four of the first Test between the two sides, was a perfect example of a straighter one from an off-spinner. It straightened ever so slightly and clipped the off stump that Holder stood holding the pose in disbelief. It was indeed a beauty of a ball. However, to Holder’s wicket, five other Windies batter had fallen to spin, a series of dismissals that started on the team score of only three runs in the fourth innings, chasing a target of 348. The first to go was the Caribbean skipper Kraigg Brathwaite who was trapped in front by Mendis. Jermaine Blackwood, the next most experienced pure batter in the team fell next as he was caught by Angelo Mathews off Lasith Embulduniya. The second wicket fell on the fourth ball of the seventh over at the team score of 11, but what transpired in the next five overs threatened to get West Indies bowled out for probably the lowest total in Test history as they lost the next four wickets with just an addition of seven runs. Mendis was the wrecker in chief, claiming three out of the four wi kets. From 11-1, the Windies were 18-6 in a span of 30 balls. However, after this storm, there was finally some resistance as Joshua da Silva and Nkrumah Bonner put up unbeaten 34 runs for the seventh wicket and saw the Windies through the fourth day. The day was called early due to bad light and Sri Lankan bowlers will get another go on day five of the Test. With only four wickets left, it would be interesting to see how West Indies fare in their resistance. Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka bowlers rolled over the West Indian first innings with meagre addition of thor overnight total of 224-9. Batting in their second innings, skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and experienced Mathews guided the team to 190 in just 40 overs and gave their bowlers a real shot at getting 10 wickets in the remaining overs. Karunaratne scored 83 off 104 balls while Mathews made an unbeaten 69 off 84 balls.

Sri Lanka includes Pathum Nissanka among five additional members in T20 World Cup squad

The Sri Lanka Cricket’s Selection Committee included 05 more additional players to join the Sri Lanka squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. In a Press Release, the SLC said that the inclusions were made as part f the team’s Oman tour where they will be playing the host team ahead of the World Cup in a two-match T20I series. “The Minister of Youth and Sports Honorable Namal Rajapaksa ratified the following inclusions. Pathum Nissanka, Minod Bhanuka, Ashen Bandara, Lakshan Sandakan, Ramesh Mendis,” the release said. Along with five additions, there was a removal too as all-rounder Lahiru Madushanka, who was named in the original squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup got injured and hence will not travel with the team. Thus, the Sri Lankan squad flying on October 3rd to Oman would now consist of 23 players. Among the new entrants in the World Cup squad, Mindo Bhanuka has recently played for the national squad, while Nissanka and Ramesh Mendis have also been consistent members of the Sri Lankan squad. As far as Ashen Bandara and Lakshan Sandakan are concerned, they have also been in and out of the squad in the recent past and have international cricket exposure.

Abhishek Singh ∙ 24 July 2021

SL vs IND | 1st T20I: India eye T20I series after the ODI honours, hosts look to carry the momentum

The manner in which the ODI series was finished would not have been liked by the Indian team. But even during the loss, the Indian teams brought out p[ositives in form of Rahul Chahar and Chetan Sakariya’s bowling. The batting looked a bit wobbly as it was even during the second ODI and this is something that the team would look to work at. The hosts though would be happy to finally finish off a game, having not been able to execute the same in the second ODI. Dasun Shanaka and his coach Mickey Arthur would be planning to get along that momentum even in the shortest format as the players remain the same and so does the venue. Last chance for Indian batters to shine The Indian batters haven’t been able to take the opportunity to shine in the first three games as none of the batters have been able to score a century, whether batting first or second. Prithvi Shaw has had two scores of 49 and has got out playing such shots which are considered nothing but extravagant in cricketing terms. Similarly, the captain on the tour, Shikhar Dahaw2an has not been able to pull off anything significant either. The only batter to have mustered something fruitful so far is Suryakumar Yadav and as a result, he might be preparing himself to head to England to join the Test squad. But before that, he might just be able to take part in the first two T20Is as he doesn’t have to undergo quarantine because of a bubble to bubble transfer. The other batters, be it Sanju Samson, Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya really need to up their game if they are looking to put any sort of pressure on the current holders of the positions they are looking to grab in the Indian side. Spin to win for Sri Lanka In both the games, the one in which Sri Lanka came close, but couldn’t win as well as in the last ODI in which they did win, it is their spinners that have got them to a strong position. While Wanindu Hasaranga was injured and couldn’t take part in the last game, his replacement Akila Dhananjaya and Lakshan Sandakan replacement Praveen Jayawickrama did exceedingly well to bowl India out for the first time in the series. Ramesh Mendis, who also got a place in the XI in the last game has shown that he could be good with both the bat and the ball and hence till the time Hasarnaga is unfit, he could be Sri Lanka’s choice in the XI. Sri Lanka vs India: Match Details Match Number- 1st T20I Date and Time: July 25, 2021, 08:00 pm IST and Local, 02:30 pm GMT Venue: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Live Streaming: Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV Pitch Report Over the last few matches, the Colombo pitch has shown that it has got a lot of help for the spinners. Batters find it difficult to score quick runs initially. But once they are settled, they can score quick runs. Anyhow, a total of 160-170 could be par at this venue in the first innings. Weather Report There is more than a 60% chance of rain between 04:00 pm to 07:00 pm and hence the outfield can be slow for the game that starts at 08:00 pm. Chances of rain post eight are below 30% meaning that we would surely have a game at our hands. Team News Sri Lanka The Sri Lankan team would like to maintain the winning playing XI as with only four overs to bowl, the skipperShanka can chance his arms with the ball as well to become the third pace option alongside Chamika Karunaratne and Dushmantha Chameera. That way they can play all their spinners. Probable XI Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama India After trying their bench strength in the last game, the team would look to go back to basics although Devdutt Padikkla deserves a chance. Whether or not he will get is something that only time will tell. We can surely see at least 5-6 changes in the playing XI from the last ODI in the team. Ishan Kishan would most likely be back as a wicketkeeper, but Sanju Smason might still get a game as Manish Pandey’s replacement at number four in the T20Is. Krunal Pandya, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar too will be back. Whether Rahul Chaharwould is opted for instead of Kuldeep Yadav is another speculation and whether Skaariya would play or not is something that could not be guessed. Probable XI Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal Fantasy XI Avishka Fernando, Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Chamika Karunaratne, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Rahul Chahar, Captain: Suryakumar Yadav Vice-Captain: Avishka Fernando

BAN vs SL | Ton-up Kusal Perera, hostile Dushmantha Chameera propel Sri Lanka to face-saving win

A captain’s knock from Kusal Perera and a dominating five-wicket haul from Dushmantha Chameera helped Sri Lanka salvage pride after losing the first two match and the ODI series against Bangladesh. Chasing a formidable target of 286 runs, Bangladesh got off to almost the worst possible start against Chameera as the tall pacer ripped through the top order and sent back Mohammad Naim and Shakib Al Hasan before in a span of 13 balls. Naim was guilty of wafting at a delivery that kept on going away from him with the angle and the edge was snaffled by Kusal Mendis while Shakib was beaten for pace on a short ball when he tried to take on the short deliveries from Chameera. Then, the skipper Tamim Iqbal and man-in form Mushfiqur Rahim adopted a pretty defensive approach in face of a hostile bowling spell from Chameera. The duo would have hoped to prey on others after seeing off the new ball but the move did not work well as Tamim disappointingly fell to Chameera while trying to be cheeky and handed the right-armer his third wicket inside the powerplay. Tamim felt his bat touched simultaneously when the ball was near and hence the decision was not correct and he made no qualms about his disapproval of the decision which might also fetch him some demerit points later on. The next man in, Mosaddek Hossain tried to tee off and hit some lusty boundaries and tried to put Bangladesh back on track. However, Mushfiqur Rahim was getting stuck at the other end and failure to hit boundaries while the required run rate was going up made him desperate against debutant Ramesh Mendis who got him caught at long-on as his maiden ODI wicket. Mosaddek was in a great rhythm and he got excellent support from Mahmudullah as the dup started hitting the gaps to keep Bangladesh in the game. Mosaddek reached his fifty but an always increasing required rate forced him to manufacture shot and Mendis came back to claim another wicket on his debut. Mahmudullah got going with crisp boundaries but Chameera came back to wipe up the tail and open the account for Sri Lanka in the ODI Super League. Earlier, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first after making as many as three changes in the playing XI from the series-losing game. In contrast to Bangladesh’s start in batting, Sri Lanka were off to a rollicking start as Danushka Gunathilaka got going with a boundary on the very first ball. There was no dearth of momentum and the opening pair of Kusal Perera and Gunathilaka made merry of Bangladesh’s inaccuracies with the ball. The pair put on a rapid 82-run partnership in 12 overs before Taskin Ahmed came into the attack and struck two back to back wickets to peg Sri Lanka back. Perera reached his fifty and did not look in any mood to throw his wicket away as Kusal Mendis joined him in the middle. The right-hander took a calculated risk to keep the scoreboard going till the 26th over when he too was undone by Taskin Ahmed’s pace. Perera then found a perfect partner in Dhananjaya de Silva but he earned a reprieve only by DRS when the umpired adjudged him LBW against Taskin. There was no stopping Perera though but he too earned a timely reprieve at 99 when Mahmudullah failed to grab a tough chance at mid-off against Mustafizur Rahman. He later redeemed himself with an excellent catch to send back the Sri Lankan skipper. Perera’s dismissal did little to change Sri Lanka’s momentum as de Silva in the company of Niroshan Dickwella and Wanindu Hasaranga took Sri Lanka to a formidable total. Perera would be relived at getting off the mark in his ODI captaincy career as he has already earned a rather unceremonious tag of becoming the first Sri Lanka captain to lose a series against Bangladesh. The win although can’t change the scoreline of the series provided glimpses of Perera’s changing role in the current Sri Lankan batting order while Bangladesh over-reliance on Mushfiqur, Tamim and Shakib finally came back to hurt them as none of them could bail them out of trouble what could have been an otherwise dead rubber but not in the current era of ODI Super League.

SL vs BAN | 2nd Test - Sri Lanka complete formalities, thrash Bangladesh to a 1-0 series win

Sri Lanka didnt take much time to complete the formalities on the final day of the second Test against Bangladesh registering a convincing 209 runs victory to win the series 1-0. Sri Lanka was smelling victory by the end of day 4 and made sure that they finished off proceedings early on Day 5. With 5 wickets already down, Bangladesh needed to bat out of their skin to harbour hopes of getting anywhere close to the target. However, nothing of that sort transpired as the two spinners Ramesh Mendis and Praveen Jayawickrama ran through the Bangladesh lower order. Bangladesh began the final day’s play on 177/5 with still 260 more runs to win the encounter. Liton Das was the first man dismissed in the day’s play as he was trapped in front of a slider from Jayawickrama. The slow left-arm spinner bagged his second five-wicket haul of the match and also finishing with a 10 wicket match haul. Taijul Islam was the next man dismissed and this time it was Dhananjaya de Silva who bagged the wicket. Seven wickets down and Sri Lanka looked like finishing off the match in quick time. A brief 21 runs partnership between Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan defied the Sri Lankan bowlers for a few overs but the inevitable was always on the cards. The last three wickets fell without any more addition to the score as Bangladesh were skittled out for 227 in 71 overs, thus handing a 209 victory to the Islanders. While Mendis bagged four and Jayawickrama snapped up 5 wickets yet again. Brief Scores Sri Lanka 1st innings- 493/7 dec (Lahiru Thirimanne 140, Dimuth Karunaratne 118, Taskin Ahmed 4/127) Bangladesh 1st innings- 251 all-out (Tamim Iqbal 92, Praveen Jayawickrama 6/92) Sri Lanka 2nd innings- 194/9 dec (Dimuth Karunaratne 66, Taijul Islam 5/72) Bangladesh 2nd innings- 227 all-out (Mushfiqur Rahim 40, Praveen Jayawickrama 5/86) Sri Lanka won by 209 runs

SL vs BAN | 2nd Test | Day-4: Sri Lanka inch closer to series victory

Sri Lanka looks set to complete a resounding victory against Bangladesh after ruling the roost for the majority of Day 4. After bowling out Bangladesh for a below-par 251 in their first innings, Sri Lanka needed some quick runs. However, they lost two quick wickets and started the 4th day’s play on 17/2 with a huge lead of 242 runs. They needed to get some quick runs and put Bangladesh on the backfoot and that was exactly what they did. Sri Lanka lost the wicket of Angelo Matthews early on in the day and it was a good delivery from Taijul Islam to bring his downfall. With such a huge lead, Sri Lanka was well in control despite the loss of Matthews. A partnership of 73 runs from Dhananjaya de Silva and skipper Dimuth Karunratne set the tone for the rest of the day. They started scoring quickly without caring about the wickets. Pathum Nissanka and Niroshan Dickwella breezed through in the mini knocks which allowed Sri Lanka to post 194 on the board with the loss of 9 wickets. Karunartne decided to declare the innings on 194, giving a highly impossible target of 437. While the skipper was the top scorer for the Lankans with 66, Taijul Islam bowled brilliantly and finished with a fifer. He returned with figures of 5/72 in 19.2 overs. The visitors got off to a brisk start courtesy some fine strokeplay from opener Tamim Iqbal. He looked in sublime touch but had to depart after making 24 of 26 in a bid to play his strokes. The most disappointing part with Bangladesh’s batting display was everyone got off to start but none could turn it into a big one. All the top five batsmen looked in great touch and played some delightful shots en route to their brief knocks. However, despite their exceptional starts, Bangladesh could only muster 177 on the board with the loss of 5 wickets. Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim went past 25 but none could convert it into a half-century. Ramesh Mendis and Praveen Jayawickrama bowled brilliantly in the middle overs and bagged three and two wickets respectively. With Bangladesh still needing 260 to win, Sri Lanka can sense victory and they should be hoping to wrap up things early on Day 5. Brief Scores Sri Lanka 1st innings- 493/7 dec (Lahiru Thirimanne 140, Dimuth Karunaratne 118, Taskin Ahmed 4/127) Bangladesh 1st innings- 251 all-out (Tamim Iqbal 92, Praveen Jayawickrama 6/92) Sri Lanka 2nd innings- 194/9 dec (Dimuth Karunaratne 66, Taijul Islam 5/72) Bangladesh 2nd innings- 177/5 (Mushfiqur Rahim 40, Ramesh Mendis 3/86) Bangladesh need 260 more runs to win

SL vs BAN | 2nd Test | Day-3: Praveen Jayawickrama dazzles on debut as Lankans tame the Tigers

It was a dream day for debutant leg spinner Praveen Jayawickrama as he not only picked six wickets in his maiden innings in international cricket but also broke Upula Chandana’s 21-year-old record for best figures on Test debut for Sri Lanka. Jayawickrama, 22, picked the wickets of the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das, some of the established names in international cricket. He ended up with the figures of 6-92. The day started with Sri Lanka declaring their innings for 493-7 even as wicket-keeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella remained unbeaten on 77 from 72 balls. Coming to bat, Bangladesh had a great start with the opening pair putting on 98 runs. Saif Hasan was the first international wicket of Jayawickrama. Najmul Hossain Shanto, the centurion from the last game was then removed for a duck by Ramesh Mendis. The experienced pair of Tamim and skipper Mominul then tried to steady the ship with a 52 runs stand. It was broken by Jayawickrama once again. Tamim missed his century by two runs. He now has three half-centuries in the series. Post this partnership, Mominul tried to build another one with another experienced man, wicket-keeper batsman and former skipper Rahim. But this 63 run partnership between the duo was the last considerable one as then the Bangladeshi batting order went down like a pack of cards. From 214-3, the team was all out at 251. The Sri Lankan team had a lead of 242 runs. Instead of enforcing the follow on, the Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne came out to bat once again. The Lankans were rattled by the Bangla spinners as well as they lost two quick wickets to end the day at 17-2 with Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews at the crease. Mehidy Hasan and Taijul Islam picked one each to end the day at the Pallekele International Stadium.

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