Sri Lanka clip the wings of flying Dutchmen to enter Super 12’s. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE (eLanka Sports Editor) It was a game not for the faint hearted as Sri Lanka made heavy work of an assignment meant to be a formality before advancing to the Super 12’s against a spirited Netherlands.  The highly rated Lankans did nothing to let the rest of the world sit up and take notice and be excited of what to expect from  them as their batters struggled to come to grips with the two paced wicket at Kardinia Park before scrambling to safety and finally able to post a defendable score. The Papare band blared, the fans were over exuberant as the norm, but the early mood in the air was one of trepidation and anxiety about the unknown as they scratched and struggled to 36 for 2 off the first 6.4 overs. ...

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Sri Lanka face tough hurdle in qualifying round Source : sundayobserver Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka will have much on his plate when he marches his team out for the qualifying games of the T20 World Cup in Australia. The first of three qualifying round matches will be against the unpredictable Namibia on October 16 followed by games against the UAE on the 18th and the Netherlands on October 20. Shanaka will be captaining the team at his second T20 World Cup after leading the team on the first occasion in Oman and the UAE last year. This time he will have the services of batters Dhanushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis who were unavailable due to a disciplinary ban. Sri Lanka suffered two series defeats against Australia, 4-1 down under and 2-1 on home soil while suffering a 3-0 whitewash in India in the run up to the T20 World Cup. ...

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Five ex-Schoolboy Cricketers of the Year in action at T20 World Cup – BY DINESH WEERAWANSA Source : sundayobserver Five former Observer SLT Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketers of the Year will be seen in action during the forthcoming T20 World Cup tournament which starts in Australia next week. Out of the five Sri Lankans in action, three will be playing for the national T20 team while the other two will be on duty as ICC officials. Bhanuka Rajapakse (2010 and 2011 winner), Kusal Mendis (2013 winner) and Charith Asalanka (2016 and 2016 winner) will be the Sri Lanka T20 players in action while the other two award-winning ICC officials will be the chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle (1979 winner) and ICC Elite Panel umpire Kumara Dharmasena (1989 winner). Besides Madugalle, the other ICC Match Referees in the panel are former Zimbabwe player Andrew Pycroft, ex-England star Christopher Broad and ex-Australian top order ...

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Champions of Asia | Felicitation Dinner – By Dr. Sagara Lakmal De Mel Source : Dr. Sagara Lakmal De Mel linkedin 📸 Champions of Asia | Felicitation Dinner Official photographer Sagara Lakmal de Mel 👉Each netball player of the victorious team received Rs. 2 million from Sri Lanka Cricket. 👉Sri Lanka Cricket also handed over a cheque of USD 500,000 to the President as a donation to the Apeksha Hospital.   ...

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Decisive Cricket Secures Asia Cup for Lanka-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis Danyal Rasool, in ESPNcricinfo, 11 September 2022, where the title runs thus: “Rajapaksa, Hasaranga, Madushan win the Asia Cup crown for Sri Lanka” ….. In the final, Pakistan were outclassed with the bat, outsmarted with the ball and outdone in the field Sri Lanka 170 for 6 (Rajapaksa 71*, Rauf 3-29) beat Pakistan 147 all out (Rizwan 55, Madushan 4-34, Hasaranga 3-27) by 23 runs A tournament that began for Sri Lanka with tumult at home and turbulence in the UAE has ended with them taking home the Asia Cup trophy. Pakistan were the side at the receiving end of this thumping, outclassed with the bat, outsmarted with the ball, outdone in the field, and out-thought in the captaincy department by an electric Sri Lankan performance which wrapped up a commanding 23-run win. ...

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Sri Lanka charge towards Asia Cup triumph – by Trevine Rodrigo There’s something about the choice of former England coach Chris Silverwood that has the trimmings of a good luck charm to Sri Lanka cricket. Although not directly responsible for on field success, his appointment to a turbulent team spiralling downward and out of control has been baulked. They have in fact found a way to clamber upward from a situation of near despair giving fresh hope to their suffering fans at home and around the globe. With the T20 World Cup in Australia just around the corner in October, their resurgence could not have been timed better, having to get past embarrassing qualifying rounds before playing on the big stage. If anything, Silverwood has instilled a mindset of self belief and new found confidence in a Sri Lanka squad that appeared to have lost their vision. ...

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SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS (AUGUST 2022) Sri Lankan spinner Prabath Jayasuriya’s sensational start to international cricket has been capped off by winning the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for July 2022. the ICC announced. Jayasuriya beat England batter and June’s Player of the Month winner Jonny Bairstow, and French sensation Gustav McKeon for the coveted monthly award, after a brilliant start to international cricket in the longest format. The 30-year-old was thrilled to have won the monthly award. “I am delighted with this announcement, and wish to thank the fans for voting me as the ICC Men’s Player of the Month,” Jayasuriya said. “Certainly it has been an incredible month for me, as I made the Test debut, and also got the opportunity to contribute for my team to level the Test series played against Australia and Pakistan. “I take this opportunity to thank my fans, team-mates, coaches, ...

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Three replacements for Sri Lanka Asia Cup squad-by Dhammika Ratnaweera Source:Dailynews Three replacements have been named in the 20-man cricket squad for the six nation Asia Cup T20 cricket tournament which will commence on August 27 in Dubai. The selection committee headed by Pramodya Wickramasinghe has picked a 20-member squad (17-player squad and three stand-by players) and Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe has given his approval to this squad. Two players who were originally named pacemen Binura Fernando and Kasun Rajitha got injured during the recently concluded SLC Invitational T20 League tournament while Sri Lankan white ball format main strike bowler Dushmantha Chameera who was rested for the T20 invitational tournament once again got injured last Friday during the training and selectors named three replacements for Binura Fernando, Kasun Rajitha and Dushmantha Chameera. The selectors earlier named two replacements pace bowlers Asitha Fernando who was the best player of the recently ...

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Pumped up Sri Lanka chase consistency against Pakistan – by Trevine Rodrigo – Melbourne (eLanka Sport editor) Dimuth Karunaratne leads a pumped up Sri Lanka against Pakistan, confident that they can continue the upward trend after a series levelling effort against Australia.  There’s a new energy emanating among the Sri Lankans, overriding the political and economic crisis enveloping the country and it augurs well to create a necessary distraction among the suffering masses. Cricket among the population always takes away the troubles of the world, albeit during its limited duration, and Sri Lanka’s cricketing heroes have provided that.  The Australian tour in many ways provided a welcome avenue to quell the doom and gloom the country is going through apart from injecting much needed revenue towards an almost bare financial situation.  Australia and their fantastic band of ambassadors will be long remembered for their bravery in  embarking on a tour ...

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Dinesh Chandimal and debutante Prabath Jayasuriya stun Australia – By Trevine Rodrigo in Melbourne (eLanka Sports editor) If there is a turning point to a country ravaged by tragedy, Sri Lanka has emerged from it on all fronts with an inexplicable innings win over Australia against the tide of expectation. Absolutely annihilated in the first Test and embarrassed to a point where redemption appeared beyond the reach of reality, the Lankans proved that ‘ impossible’ was not a word that belonged to their belief or psyche. Two players made this dream a reality, much against all expectations, and the efforts of Dinesh Chandimal and debutante Prabath Jayasuriya will go down in the annals of history as two of the country’s most cherished heroes.  After the first Test debacle in Galle where Sri Lanka hastily discovered that preparing spinning tracks would give them a supreme advantage against all opposition only to ...

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