Dimuth to lead Sri Lanka in Test Series against West Indies – Sunil Thenabadu (Sports editor – eLanka) Opener Dimuth Karunaratne  sans any surprise has been preserved as the captain to lead Sri Lanka for the two-test series against West Indies which is scheduled to begin from November 21 at the Galle Cricket Stadium.Both Tests are scheduled to be played at The Galle International Cricket Stadium  The national selectors who are strongly contemplating on young talent have elected newcomers in dashing batsmen Charith Asalanka, Kamil Mishara, and leg spinner Suminda Lakshan and seamer Chamika Gunesekara based on their domestic performance to reinforce the team which was not performing well in the recent past. The other highlight of this squad is that there are ten specialised batsmen, two all-rounders and four spin bowlers while six fast bowlers are drafted in to keep the options wide open for selection.  The batting department is spearheaded ...

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Dickwella, Gunathilake and Mendis given a pardon, permitted to play in domestic cricket- Lanka Premier League to commence on 5th December  By sunil Thenabadu (sports editor-eLanka) Banned Sri Lanka cricketers  for misconduct for breaking the Bio-Bubble while touring England with SL team Niroshan Dickwella, Dhanushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis in June this year have got a reprieve  before their one year ban period expired have been granted permission to play in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) that will have top players both overseas and local in action when it begins on December 5 in Sri Lanka.  The three players were banned from both international and domestic cricket and fined Rs.10 million each at a time they were also involved in a pay dispute with Sri Lanka Cricket.  The squads:  Jaffna Kings: Faf du Plessis, Thisara Perera, Wahab Riaz, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shoaib Malik, Usman Shinwari, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Avishka Fernando, Upul Tharanga, Chaturanga de Silva, ...

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An inspirational campaign with piles of positives by our young T 20 team – By Sunil Thenabadu (Sports editor – eLanka) The national cricket team journeyed back home on Friday night having been away for approximately a calendar month and their showing during the seventh edition of the ICC T-20 World Cup held successfully in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai organised to precision which even the pessimistic fans commended and endorsed the performance by beating the formidable West Indians the reigning champions in the sixth edition with so many famous names. Sri Lanka former champions in year 2014 and twice runners up of course had little impetus behind them when they left the island having been whitewashed by touring South Africa 3-0 at our own backyard. home. It is pertinent to quote that more than half the members in the tour party had played less than a handful of T-20 Internationals and there ...

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SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS (OCTOBER 2021) Compiled by Victor Melder Minod Bhanuka, Ramesh Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Lakshan Sandakan and Ashen Bandara have been added to Sri Lanka’s original squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup – announced mid-September. Lahiru Madhushanka, who was named in the original squad will not travel with the team as he is recovering from an injury. Reserve-keeper Minod Bhanuka and the two batsmen – Ramesh Mendis and Pathum Nissanka – were part of Sri Lanka’s recent home series defeat to South Africa in August. They came away with underwhelming performances and were omitted from the initial squad. Ashen Bandara last played a month before at home in the series win against India, while Lakshan Sandakan’s previous outing for the national side came in July in England. Neither made a big enough mark to be considered initially, but Sri Lanka have now added to their squad, which ...

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Sri Lanka’s fortunes are on the rise despite limited success – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE Photo source: CricketAddictor ( https://cricketaddictor.com/icc-t20-wc-2021/icc-t20-world-cup-2021-sri-lanka-announces-15-member-squad-for-the-tournament/ ) Sri Lanka’s attempt to resurrect its dying image as a force in international cricket hit a vital stumbling block when they squandered a chance to topple South Africa in the T20 World Cup in Sharjah. But all is not lost as a mostly inexperienced outfit showed grit in a last over disaster to warn the rest of the world that they are well on the way back to being respected and feared as they were during the reign of Arjuna Ranatunge, Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda De Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillekeratne Dilshan and a few others who had them riding the crest of a wave during their time with the Island nation. Sliding down to the embarrassing depths of having to qualify for the Super 12’s, the Lankans romped ...

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Pathum Nissanka’s 72, Wanindu Hasaranga’s hat-trick  futile as Six- happy Miller-Rabada aid Proteas to triumph in penultimate ball – by Sunil Thenabadu (eLanka Sports editor) David Miller and Kagiso Rabada celebrate after pulling off the tricky win  ICC via Getty  This encounter in the Group 1 between South Africa and Sri Lanka was crucial for both teams. Sri Lanka needed a win to have any chances to earn a place in the semi finals.Sri Lanka were the underdogs having been white washed by the Proteas in the run up to the T 20 WC series in our own backyard in the 3 match series.  Having put into bat chasing a modest total of 142 to win, their chase swerved almost hindered threatened to stagger off a cliff specifically when Wanindu Hasaranga claimed a T 20 WC hat-trick claiming the wickets of Markram,Bavuma and Pretorius in successive balls in the last ball and the ...

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Watch Cricket T20 World Cup Match Highlights: South Africa v Sri Lanka Oct 30 2021  Sri Lanka: 142 South Africa: (19.5/20 ov, target 143) 146/6 South Africa won by 4 wickets (with 1 ball remaining) Source: ( Hindustan Times) South Africa vs Sri Lanka Highlights T20 World Cup 2021 : In a dramatic turnaround in the final two overs, South Africa held their nerves to go past Sri Lanka by six wickets and keep their chances intact for a place in the semi-final of the 2021 T20 World Cup. After SA faced the early setbacks – losing both openers to Dushmantha Chameera in the fourth over, Temba Bavuma (46) fetched partnership alongside Aiden Markram (19) before David Miller (23 off 13 deliveries) pulled off an incredible comeback victory. After Wanindu Hasaranga’s hat-trick put Sri Lanka on the brink of win, Miller, alongside Kagiso Rabada (13* off 7  balls) steered the ...

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Sri Lanka cruise to convincing win against PNG Pathum Nissanka and Dushmantha Chameera Source:Dailynews Sri Lanka recorded a convincing 38-run win over Papua New Guinea (PNG) in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 warm-up encounter played at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Batting first, Sri Lanka posted a competitive score of 162 for five from their 20 overs. The islanders tested out a new opening combination of Dhananjaya de Silva and Pathum Nissanka. ...

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Preview to the T 20 WORLD CUP Losing streak “HOODOO’ smashed, time to focus on T20 WC 2021 by Sunil Thenabadu In a philanthropic gesture, Sri Lanka’s white-ball skipper Dasun Shanaka has  donated his Man-of-the-Series prize money ( Rs 200,000/-) won in the SLC Invitational T20 League, to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital in Kalubowila.It had been brought to his notice that the national cricketers are planning to set up a special unit at the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital with a fixed ventilator for the benefit of the COVID-19 patients.Dasun Shanaka had confessed that it is the responsibility to contribute for worthy causes like this as  the situation of the country is critical. The newly knit Sri Lanka’s T20 team recently triumphed the series 2-1 in the recently completed white ball series over the formidable Indian team all with IPL experience including five Test players. In order to recognize this triumph, ...

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Beware of Dulla-by Rex Clementine Source:Island Amal Silva spoke little English those days. During the Lord’s Test in 1984, when Ian Botham said not so complementary things about Amal’s mother, the opening bat was asking the non-striker and captain Duleep Mendis what’s going on. Both Moratuwa boys, they were playing contrasting knocks. Amal took 255 balls for his hundred while Duleep raced to 94 in 97 balls. The latter was dealing in boundaries particularly targeting Mr. Botham. That the golden boy of English cricket ended up bowling off-spin in that game is a little known fact. That’s Duleep. Never cross his path. Well, the Sri Lankan cricket team will be crossing his path in a fortnight’s time. They take on Oman in two T-20 Internationals, a side coached by Duleep. One thing is absolutely certain, Duleep will be prepared for this challenge. He would have studied every Sri Lankan player; ...

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