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 ...

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Jaffna Kings – Galle Gladiators clash in LPL curtain raiser-by Dhammika Ratnaweera Source:Dailynews The third edition of the Lanka Premier League ( LPL) cricket tournament will commence today ) at three venues Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium Hambantota, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. This is the first time LPL the main franchise cricket tournament of Sri Lanka will be conducted at three venues Hambantota, Pallekele and Colombo and five teams will battle it out for this tournament which will commence today from Hambantota Said Tournament Director Samantha Dodanwela. Five teams Colombo Stars, Aura Dambulla ,Galle Gladiators, Jaffna Kings and Kandy Falcons will compete in this tournament which attracts several international players from West Indies, England, Afghanistan, Netherlands, Pakistan, and New Zealand. ...

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Kangaroo’s move in for Lion’s annihilation – By Trevine Rodrigo in Melbourne Lanka’s curators must be scrambling to reverse their preparation of spitting spinning tracks to docile less venom turners in an endeavour to give the technically flawed local batsmen fewer worries against Australia’s superior bowling.  Usually accustomed to terrorising visiting teams in Galle, the Lankans were embarrassed by Australia’s spinning duo, Nathan Lyon and Mitch Shwepson who bamboozled the local batsmen and swing the scales the other way. To be bowled out in a similar way to a T20 disaster by Australia in the first Test,  the Lankans will be smarting about the hopeless capitulation by their batsmen who failed to address a first innings debacle after the Aussies gave them  a lesson on defiant fighting batting qualities in their first dig. Same venue, similar conditions, see Pat Cummins men with their tails up and much more the dictators of ...

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No walk-in-the-park for Sri Lanka in Galle-BY CALLISTUS DAVY The Sri Lanka team celebrate winning the five-match ODI series against Australia 3-2 at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday night ahead of the Test series starting in Galle on Wednesday Source:Sundayobserver Elated by their triumph in the ODI series, Sri Lanka will be looking for a repeat of the home Test series against Australia in 2016 when the two teams leave aside the fanfare of white ball cricket and get down to more series stuff with the first of two Tests starting in Galle on Wednesday. Sri Lanka had a 3-0 clean sweep of Australia the last time the two teams played in a Test series in the island but the difference this time will be that the home team will be without their supreme match winning spin bowlers Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera. The duo accounted for 41 ...

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The Cliff-hanger Match at Khettarama: Reflections …. the Day After-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis The fourth ODI held at Khettarama on the June, as we know, was magnificent match …and a cliff-hanger. With the benefit of a night’s sleep, I can venture on a more considered commentary. Cricket is a great leveller is it not!! The skipper Dasun Shanaka had jolted the world with a heroic innings of the Maxwell variety in the second ODI at Palleakele. But, here, at Khettarama in the 4th ODI, he proved to be a lemon: running between the wickets like a novice …. with the first run taken in a dawdling manner, he was run-out at a crucial time. ...

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Debutant has day to remember but Aussie run chase falls flat in rain-ravaged contest Source:- www.foxsports.com.au Fast bowler Chamika Karunaratne led an inspired Sri Lankan attack to pull off a thrilling 26-run win over Australia in the rain-hit second one-day international on Thursday. Chasing a rain-revised target of 216 in 43 overs, Australia suffered from regular wicket falls to get bowled out for 189 in 37.1 overs as Sri Lanka bounced back from their opening loss in the five-match series in Pallekele. Watch Australia’s Tour of Sri Lanka. Every T20, ODI and Test Match Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now > Karunaratne returned figures of 3-47 including Steve Smith, for 28, and Glenn Maxwell, for 30, and was ably supported by fellow quick Dushmantha Chameera who got the final batsman to bring the raucous home crowd to its feet. Spinners Dhananjaya de Silva, Dunith Wellalage and ...

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Lankan T20 team takes wing for Australia – by Dhammika Ratnaweera   Source:dailynews.lk Sri Lanka T20 cricket team led by Dasun Shanaka left for Australia yesterday early morning to take part in the 5-match T20 series which is scheduled to commence from February 11. However, the Sri Lanka team is facing its biggest challenge with a few players who have tested positive for COVID-19 before this tour. Earlier, interim coach Rumesh Ratnayake, fast bowler Nuwan Thushara, and trainer Dilshan Fonseka had tested positive while all rounder Chamika Karunaratne had been detected with the virus during a test that was conducted before his departure. Professor Arjuna de Silva, head of Sri Lanka Cricket’s medical unit said, “Chamika has to wait for his second report to confirm and so far we can’t confirm his illness and measures have been taken to isolate the cricketer at this stage.” Prof. Arjuna further said, “fast ...

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SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS (JANUARY 2022) Compiled by Victor Melder Sri Lanka Cricket today (07) lifted the one-year ban imposed on Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella  from all forms of International cricket. The trio were banned for one year and six months from international cricket and domestic cricket, respectively, and were each fined Rs. 10 million on 30 July 2021, following allegations of breaching the bio-bubble whilst on tour in England. Upon completion of the one-year ban on International cricket, each of the players were to be subjected to a further ban of one year, which was to be suspended for two years, SLC stated at the time of the incident. Earlier today, Gunathilaka announced his retirement from Test cricket. (Ceylon Today, 8.1.2022) In the wake of cricketer Bhanuka Rajapaksa has announced his intention to retire from international cricket, the Sri Lanka Cricket has taken a number of decisions ...

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