SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS – JULY 2017

Compiled by Victor Melder

The touring Zimbabweans beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets to win the first One Day International, played at Galle International Stadium. Scores
Sri Lanka – 316/5 in 50 Overs (Mendis 86, Tharanga 79no, Gunathilaka 60, Mathews 43, Chatara 2/49, Mire 1/47, Williams 1/57)
Zimbabwe – 322/4 in 47.4 Overs (Mire 96, Raza 67no, Williams 65, Waller 40no, Gunaratne 2/45, Malinga 1/51, Danajaya 1/61)
Player of the match: Solomon Mira (Zimbabwe)

Sri Lanka beat the touring Zimbabweans by 7 wickets to win the second One Day International, played at Galle International Stadium. Scores:
Zimbabwe – 155 in 33.4 Overs (Masakadza 41, Ervine 41, Waller 38, Sandakan 4/52, de Silva 3/15, Gunathilaka 1/9, Pradeep 1/18)
Sri Lanka – 158/3 in 30.1 Overs (Dickwella 35, Tharanga 75no, Mathews 28no, Chatra 2/33, Cremer 1/46)
ODI debuit: P.W.H de Silva (Sri Lanka)

Angelo Mathews has stepped down as captain of the national cricket team, SLC sources told The Island. Following Sri Lanka’s shock defeat to Zimbabwe on Monday at Suriyawewa, Mathews had indicated that his future is under scrutiny. On his return to Colombo, he met the members of the national selection panel and informed them that he no longer wants to lead the team. He has stepped down from all three formats of the game. Dinesh Chandimal is the front runner to take over the captaincy for the one off Test match against Zimbabwe. The selectors will meet again this morning to confirm on the Test captaincy. Sri Lanka suffered a first ever series defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe when they lost the deciding fifth ODI at Suriyawewa on Monday. Mathews was almost in tears during the post match presentation after he became the first Sri Lankan captain to lose a series to 11th ranked Zimbabwe. Mathews was groomed for captaincy from a young age. He was understudy to Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene for several years and in 2013 became Sri Lanka’s youngest Test captain at the age of 25 breaking Aravinda de Silva’s record when he took over from Mahela Jayawardene. While some players’ form with the bat tend to suffer with the weight of captaincy, Mathews looked to be enjoying the extra responsibility. In 2013, Mathews became the second Sri Lankan captain to win a series in Australia when Sri Lanka triumphed in a T-20 series down under. The gift Nishantha Ranatunga’s Interim Committee gave him was to remove him as T-20 skipper following the tremendous success. Sri Lanka Cricket had repeatedly indicated that Mathews was the man to take them through to the 2019 World Cup, but defeat to Zimbabwe has convinced Mathews that the time was right to go. D/I 12/7
Sri Lanka beat the touring Zimbabweans by 8 wickets to win the third One Day International, played at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Soriyawewa, Hambantota. Scores:
Zimbabwe – 310/8 in 50 Overs (Masakadza 111, Musakanda 48, Williams 43, de Silva 2/44, Gunaratne 2/53, Pradeep 1/28, Malinga 1/71)
Sri Lanka – 312/2 in 47.2 Overs (Dickwella 102, Gunathilaka 116, Tharanga 44no, Mendis 28no, Waller 1/32, Williams 1/63)
Player of the match: Danushka Gunathilaka Sri Lanka)

The touring Zimbabweans beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets (D/L method) to win the fourth One Day International, played at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota. Scores:
Sri Lanka – 300/6 in 50 Overs (Dickwella 116, Gunathilaka 87, Mathews 42, Waller 2/44, Mpofu 2/61, Chatra 1/32, Raza 1/56)
Zimbabwe – 219/6 in 29.2 Overs (Ervine 69no, Mire 43, Musakanda 30, de Silva 3/40, Chameera 1/32, Gunaratne 1/41, Sandakan 1/45)
Player of the match: Crag Ervine (Zimbabwe)
ODI debut: A.M.Fernando (Sri Lanka)

The touring Zimbabweans beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets, to win the fith and final One Day International, played at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota. Scores:
Sri Lanka – 203/8 in 50 Overs (Gunaratna 59no, Gunathilaka 52, Mathews 24, Raza 3/21, Cremer 2/23, Waller 1/21, Williams 1/41)
Zimbabwe – 204/7 in 38.1 Overs (Masakadza 73, Mire 43, Musakanda 37, Danajaya 4/47, Malinga 2/44, Gunaratna 1/23)
Zimbabwe won the 5-match series 3 – 2.
Player of the match: Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe)
Player of the series: Hamilton Masakadza (Zimbabwe)

Sri Lanka beat the touring Zimbabweans by 4 wickets to win the one-off Test match played at the R. Premadasa, Khettarama, Colombo. Scores:
Zimbabwe, 1st Innings – 356 (Ervine 160, Waller 36, Raza 36, Herath 5/116, Gunaratna 2/28, Kumara 2/68, Perera 1/86)
Sri Lanka, 1st Innings – 346 (Tharanga 71, Chandimal 55, Gunaratna 45, Mathews 41, Cremer 5/125, Williams 2/62, Tiripano 1/38)
Zimbabwe, 2nd Innings – 377 (Raza 127, Waller 68, Moor 40, Herath 6/133, Perera 3/95, Kumara 1/72)
Sri Lanka , 2nd Innings – 391/6 (Dickwella 81, Gunaratna 80no, Mendis 66, Karunaratne 49, Cremer 4/150, Williams 2/146)
Sri Lanka won the one-off match.
Player of the match: Asela Gunaatna (Sri Lanka)
Player of the series: Rangana Herath.
Test debut: T. K. Musakanda (Zimbabwe)

The touring Indians beat Sri Lanka by 304 runs (with a day to spare) to win the first test played at Galle International Stadium. Scores:
India, 1st Innings – 600 (Dhawan 190, Pujara 153, Rahane 57, Pandaya 50, Ashwin 47, Pradeep 6/132, Kumara 3/131, Herath 1/159)
Sri Lanka, 1st Innings – 291 (Perera 92no, Mathews 83, Tharanga 64, Jadega 3/67, Shami 2/45, Pandya 1/13, Yadav 1/78, Ashwin 1/84)
India, 2nd Innings – 240/3 dec (Kohli 103no, Mukund 81, Gunathilaka 1/16, Kumara 1/59, Perera 1/67)
Sri Lanka, 2nd Innings – 245 (Karunaratne 97, Dickwell 67, Mendis 36, Ashwin 3/65, Jadega 3/71, Yadav 1/42, Shami 1/43)
Player of the match: Shikhar Dhawan (India)
Test debut: H. H. Pandya (India) and M.D.Gunathilaka (Sri Lanka)

Chandimal spent four days in the hospital after doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia and after being discharged he was advised to take bed rest for a few more days. He resumed training in Colombo two days ago and will lead the side in the second Test to be played in Colombo (SSC). Rangana Herath captained the side in the first Test, which Sri Lanka lost by a massive 304 runs. “Chandimal looks fine for the second Test. He started training two days ago. I spent some time with him today and he has checked in to the team hotel,” Sri Lanka’s Cricket Manager Asanka Gurusinha told Cricbuzz. “We will still monitor him and work with doctors. But the main thing is that Chandimal is happy and we will see how it goes and then make a call. But all in all he should be fine,” Gurusinha added. (Cricbuzz)