News

A three-nil series win for the touring Indian team…

Published

4 years ago

July 28, 2022

Editor

According to Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method, the Indian team won the match easily by 119 runs in the match held yesterday (27) at the Queen’s park oval as the last and third match of the three-match ODI series between the touring Indian team and the West Indies. In the Caribbean, India entered the record books with the highest margin of victory against the West Indies.

Indian captain Shikhar Dhawan, who won the toss, decided to bat first and in the 24th over was underway when the match was stopped due to rain, India lost one wicket and scored 115 runs and was in a strong position. Again in the 36th over match stopped due to rain, the umpires decided to end the Indian innings and at that time the Indian team had scored 225 runs with the loss of 3 wickets. Indian opening batsmen Shubman Gill made 98 not out and Shikhar Dhawan strengthened the Indian innings by scoring 58 runs and in bowling Hayden Walsh managed to take two wickets for 57 runs.

According to the Duckworth-Lewis method, West Indies needed to score 257 runs in 35 overs to win the match.

Mohammed Siraj started his spell very well by dismissing the first two wickets of the West Indians before scoring any runs, who entered the field chasing a target of 257 runs. The Indian team’s bowling unit, which did not stop, demolished the West Indian batting lineup and managed to restrict all the batters for 137 runs in 25 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal took four wickets and Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur took two wickets each. Although Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King scored 42 runs each, it was not enough for the victory.

Shubman Gill, who scored 205 runs with two half-centuries, was awarded the man of the match and tournament.

சுற்றுலா இந்தியா அணிக்கு மூன்றுக்கு பூச்சியம் என்ற வகையில் தொடர் வெற்றி…

சுற்றுலா இந்திய அணிக்கும் மேற்கிந்திய தீவுகள் அணிக்கும் இடையிலான 3 போட்டிகள் கொண்ட ஒருநாள் தொடரின் கடைசி மற்றும் மூன்றாவது போட்டியாக நேற்று (27) குயின்ஸ் பார்க் ஓவலில் நடைபெற்ற ஆட்டத்தில் டக்வொர்த்–லூயிஸ்–ஸ்டெர்ன் முறைப்படி இந்திய அணி 119 ரன்கள் வித்தியாசத்தில் எளிதாக வெற்றி பெற்றது. மேற்கிந்தியத் தீவுகளுக்கு எதிராக இந்தியா அதிக வித்தியாசத்தில் வெற்றி பெற்று சாதனைப் புத்தகத்தில் நுழைந்தது.

டாஸ் வென்ற இந்திய கேப்டன் ஷிகர் தவான் முதலில் பேட் செய்ய முடிவு செய்தார், மழையால் ஆட்டம் நிறுத்தப்பட 24-வது ஓவரில் இந்தியா ஒரு விக்கெட்டை இழந்து 115 ரன்கள் எடுத்து வலுவான நிலையில் இருந்தது. மீண்டும் 36வது ஓவர் ஆட்டம் மழையால் நிறுத்தப்பட்டதையடுத்து, இந்திய இன்னிங்ஸை முடிக்க நடுவர்கள் முடிவு செய்தனர், அப்போது இந்திய அணி 3 விக்கெட் இழப்புக்கு 225 ரன்கள் எடுத்திருந்தது. இந்திய தொடக்க ஆட்டக்காரர்களான ஷுப்மான் கில் ஆட்டமிழக்காமல் 98 ரன்கள் எடுத்தார் மற்றும் ஷிகர் தவான் 58 ரன்கள் எடுத்து இந்திய இன்னிங்ஸை வலுப்படுத்தினார்.

டக்வொர்த் லூயிஸ் முறைப்படி மேற்கிந்திய தீவுகள் அணி வெற்றி பெற 35 ஓவர்களில் 257 ரன்கள் எடுக்க வேண்டியிருந்தது.

257 ரன்கள் என்ற இலக்கை துரத்தி களம் இறங்கிய மேற்கிந்திய அணியின் முதல் இரண்டு விக்கெட்டுகளை ரன் ஏதும் எடுக்காமல் முகமது சிராஜ் சிறப்பாக ஆட்டமிழக்கத் தொடங்கினார். வெஸ்ட் இண்டிய பேட்டிங் வரிசையை நிலைகுலையச் செய்த இந்திய அணியின் பந்துவீச்சு பிரிவு, 25 ஓவர்களில் 137 ரன்களுக்கு அனைத்து வீரர்களையும் கட்டுப்படுத்த முடிந்தது. யுஸ்வேந்திர சாஹல் 4 விக்கெட்டுகளையும், முகமது சிராஜ், ஷர்துல் தாக்கூர் ஆகியோர் தலா 2 விக்கெட்டுகளையும் வீழ்த்தினர். நிக்கோலஸ் பூரன் மற்றும் பிராண்டன் கிங் ஆகியோர் தலா 42 ரன்கள் எடுத்தாலும், வெற்றிக்கு அது போதுமானதாக இல்லை.

இரண்டு அரை சதங்களுடன் 205 ரன்கள் குவித்த ஷுப்மான் கில் ஆட்டநாயகனாகவும் போட்டியின் ஆட்ட நாயகனாகவும் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டார்.

සංචාරක ඉන්දීය කණ්ඩායමට තුනට බිංදුවක තරගාවලි ජයක්…

සංචාරක ඉන්දීය කණ්ඩායම සහ බටහිර ඉන්දීය කොදෙව් දූපත් අතර පැවැත්වෙන තරග තුනකින් සමන්විත එක්දින තරගවලියේ අවසන් සහ තුන්වන තරගය ලෙස Queen’s park oval පිටියේ ඊයේ (27) පැවති තරගයෙන් ඩක්වර්ත් ලුවිස් නිය්‍යාට අනුව ලකුණු 119 ක පහසු ජයක් හිමි කර ගැනීමට ඉන්දීය කණ්ඩායම සමත්වුණා. කැරිබියන් දූපත්වල ඉන්දියාව කොදෙව්වන්ට එරෙහිව ලබාගත් ඉහලම ලකුණු පරතරය සහිත ජයග්‍රහණය ලෙස වාර්තා පොත් අතරට එක් විය.

කාසිය වාසිය ජයග්‍රහනය කල ඉන්දීය නායක Shikhar Dhawan ප්‍රථමයෙන් පන්දුවට පහරදීමට තීරණය කල අතර 24 වන පන්දු වාරය ක්‍රියාත්මක වන අතර වාරයේ වර්ෂාව ඇදවැටීම හේතුවෙන් තරගය නතර කරන විට එක් කඩුල්ලක් බිද වැටී ලකුණු 115 ක් ලබා ගෙන ප්‍රබල තත්වයක පසු විය. නැවතත් 36වන පන්දු වාරයේදී වර්ෂාව ඇදවැටීම හේතුවන් ඉන්දීය ඉණිම නිමා කීරිමට විනිසුරුවන් තීරණය කල අතර ඒ වන විට ඉන්දීය කණ්ඩායම කඩුලු 3ක් දැවී ලකුණු 225ක් රැස් කරගෙන සිටියා. ඉන්දීය ආරම්භක පිතිකරුවන් වන Shubman Gill නොදැවී ලකුණු අනුව 98 ක්දShikhar Dhawan ලකුණු 58 ක් ද රැස්කරමින් ඉන්දීය ඉනිම ශක්තිමත් කළ අතර පන්දු යැවීමේදී කොදෙව්වන් වෙනුවෙන් Hayden Walsh ලකුණු 57කට කඩුලු දෙකක් දවාගැනීමට සමත්වුණා.

ඩක්වර්ත් ලුවිස් න්‍යායට අනුව බටහිර ඉන්දීය කොදෙව් කණ්ඩායමට තරඟයේ ජයග්‍රහණය සඳහා පන්දුවාර 35 කදී ලකුණු 257ක රැස් කරගත යුතු විය.

ලකුණු 257ක ජයග්‍රහි ඉලක්කයක් හඹා යාමට පිටියට පිවිසි කොදෙව් පිතිකරුවන්ගේ ප්‍රථම කඩුලු 2ක කිසිදු ලකුණක් ලබා ගැනීමට පෙර දෙවන පන්දුවාරයේදී දවාගැනීමට Mohammed Siraj සමත්විය. ඉන් නොනැවතුණු ඉන්දීය කණ්ඩායමේ පන්දු යැවීමේ බලඇණිය කොදෙව් පිතිකරුවන් මෙල්ල කරමින් පන්දුවාර 25 ක් තුළදී ලකුණු 137 කට සියලු ක්‍රීඩකයන් දවා ගැනීමට සමත් වුණා. Yuzvendra Chahal කඩුළු හතරක්ද Mohammed Siraj සහ Shardul Thakur කඩුලු 2 බැගින් දවා ගැනීමට සමත් වුණා. කොදෙව් කණ්ඩායමේ nicholas pooran සහ Brandon King ලකුණු 42 බැගින් රැස් කළද එය ජයග්‍රහණය සඳහා කිසිසේත් ප්‍රමාණවත් නොවීය.

තරගාවලිය පුරා පිත්තෙන් දස්කම් දක්වමින් අර්ධ ශතක දෙකක් සමගියෙන් ලකුණු 205 ක් රැස්කළ Shubman Gill තරඟයේ සහ තරගාවලියේ වීරයා ලෙස සම්මාන ලැබීය.

තරග පහකින් සමන්විත T20 තරගාවලිය ලබන 29 දා ආරම්භ වේ.

INDIA INNINGS 225/3 (Ov.36)
Shubman Gill 98* (98)
Shikhar Dhawan 58 (74)
Shreayas Iyer 44 (34)

Hayden Walsh 57/2 (8)

WEST INDIES INNINGS 137/10 (Ov. 26) (Target: 257 runs from 35 overs)
Nicholas Pooran 42 (32)
Brandon King 42 (37)

Yuzvendra Chahal 17/4 (4)
Mohammed Siraj 14/2 (3)
Shardul Thakur 17/2 (5)

India won by 119 runs (DLS)

News by Anjana Kaluarachchi

News

BALL BLASTER 2026: SRI LANKA’S BIGGEST SCHOOL FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT RETURNS BIGGER THAN EVER

Published

3 weeks ago

September 17, 2026

Editor

24 Schools, 15 Venues and Three National Trophies as Ball Blaster Enters Its Third Year

COLOMBO — Ball Blaster, Sri Lanka’s premier school football tournament, is set to return in 2026 with its biggest edition yet, organized by Aasgard Sports (Private) Limited in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Schools Football Association and the Ministry of Education.

Now entering its third year, Ball Blaster has grown from 2023 with 20 schools into one of the country’s largest youth football events. The 2025 edition featured 16 schools competing across four groups, drawing national broadcast attention through Sri Lankan Sports TV and PEO TV. For 2026, the tournament expands significantly, with 24 schools set to compete across 15 venues nationwide, in a season spanning six weeks and 84 matches.

A NEW FORMAT: THREE TROPHIES, THREE CHAMPIONS

The standout feature of Ball Blaster 2026 is a new three-tier trophy format. Schools will be drawn into four groups of six, playing a round-robin group stage before advancing into one of three parallel championships based on their group finish: the Cup Trophy for group winners, the Bowl Trophy for runners-up, and the Plate Trophy for second runners-up. The format ensures every participating school remains in contention for a national title deep into the tournament.

All three championships will reach their conclusion on the same finals weekend, with third-place playoffs and grand finals for the Cup, Bowl and Plate trophies all being played at Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.

“Ball Blaster has always been about giving young footballers a stage,” said a spokesperson for Aasgard Sports. “This year, we’re expanding that stage to every corner of the island, and making sure every school that takes part has something real to play for, right to the final whistle.”

BUILDING ON A STRONG 2025

Ball Blaster’s growth has been underpinned by strong sponsor support. The 2025 edition was backed by Lifebuoy as Title Sponsor, alongside Lemonade as Refreshing Partner and Sky Market Travels as Travelling Partner. Organizers say conversations are already underway with returning and new sponsors ahead of the 2026 season, as the tournament’s expanded scale — nationwide venues, a longer season and three separate finals — offers significantly greater visibility for partners.

BROADCAST AND COVERAGE

As in previous years, Ball Blaster 2026 will be broadcast live via Sri Lankan Sports TV and PEO Sports, with matches also available on YouTube and across Sri Lankan Sports TV’s digital platforms.

For sponsorship and partnership enquiries, contact: Pasindu Mihiranga Sri Lankan Sports TV | Aasgard Sports (Private) Limited 0726 85 18 18 marketing@srilankansportstv.com

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Football

Jaswar Umar Hails FIFA Series as Turning Point for Sri Lankan Football

Published

4 weeks ago

September 10, 2026

Editor

Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) President Jaswar Umar has described the inaugural FIFA Series in Colombo as a major milestone for the country’s football development, saying the tournament has given Sri Lanka renewed confidence and a stronger connection with the international game.

Umar, who has been involved in efforts to strengthen Sri Lankan football administration and development, said hosting the tournament demonstrated that developing football nations could compete on the global stage when given meaningful opportunities.

The FIFA Series, held in Colombo in March 2024, brought Sri Lanka together with Bhutan, Papua New Guinea and the Central African Republic. The four participating nations represented three different confederations, giving Sri Lanka an unusual opportunity to face teams with different playing styles.

Sri Lanka completed its campaign unbeaten, drawing 0-0 against Papua New Guinea and defeating Bhutan 2-0. Umar said the matches provided valuable experience for the national team and helped players adapt to different forms of international competition.

DOHA, QATAR – DECEMBER 17: FIFA President Gianni Infantino with Football Federation of Sri Lanka President Jaswar Umar during a meeting on December 17, 2024 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Serhat Akin/FIFA)

He stressed that the benefits extended beyond the football field. Sri Lankan officials involved in administration, technical operations, media, medical services and event management gained practical experience in organising matches to international standards.

The Racecourse Ground also received an important upgrade through assistance from FIFA’s Forward Programme. The renovation enabled the historic Colombo venue to host international football and created improved facilities for future events.

Umar said one of the most important achievements was bringing international football closer to Sri Lankan supporters. Young fans were able to watch national players compete against foreign opposition in their own city, helping to inspire a new generation.

He thanked FIFA and its President Gianni Infantino for supporting developing football nations.

According to Umar, the FIFA Series has left Sri Lanka with more than match results. It has provided international experience, stronger administrative capabilities, improved infrastructure and, most importantly, renewed belief in the future of Sri Lankan football.

Cricket

Dulani’s sparkling century powers Sri Lanka to thrilling victory

Published

2 months ago

July 31, 2026

Editor

Imesha Dulani stole the spotlight with a sensational unbeaten century as Sri Lanka Women chased down a formidable target of 177 to register a convincing six-wicket victory over Pakistan Women in the first T20I worked off at Dambulla international Stadium.

Pakistan looked set for victory after posting a competitive 176 for 7 in their 20 overs. Captain Muneeba Ali gave the innings early momentum with a fluent 42 off 24 balls, while Shawaal Zulfiqar anchored the innings superbly with a brilliant 63 from 41 deliveries, striking 10 fours and a six. Eman Naseer added a valuable 21, while Ayesha Zafar and Saira Jabeen played aggressive cameos in the closing overs to push Pakistan to an above-par total.

Sri Lanka’s bowlers shared the wickets, with Kavisha Dilhari leading the way with two dismissals. Chamudi Praboda, Sugandika Kumari and Kawya Kavindi chipped in with one wicket apiece, while disciplined fielding produced two crucial run-outs.

The chase belonged entirely to Dulani, who delivered the innings of the match. Displaying confidence, composure and a wide range of attacking strokes, she remained unbeaten on 101 from just 64 balls, smashing 17 boundaries and a six. Her innings combined elegance with controlled aggression, ensuring Sri Lanka stayed ahead of the required rate throughout the chase.

Captain Chamari Athapaththu provided the ideal platform with a sparkling 39 off 22 balls, adding 78 for the opening wicket before Nashra Sandhu broke the partnership. Although Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals in the middle overs, Dulani remained firmly in control, rotating the strike effectively before accelerating when it mattered most.

Kavisha Dilhari contributed 11 valuable runs, while Nilakshika Silva remained unbeaten on nine as Sri Lanka reached 177 for 4 in 19 overs, sealing victory with six balls to spare.

Pakistan spinner Nashra Sandhu finished with two wickets, but she could do little to halt Dulani’s memorable knock.