News
Dominant Australia thrashed India to win World Test Championship
Dominant Australia crashed India’s hope for an ICC title after the latter romped to a 209-run victory in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval on Sunday.
It took just one session for the Aussies to run through India’s batting order.
Resuming the day at 164-3, India needed another 280 runs on the final day to overhaul the mammoth 444 victory target set by Australia.
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane came out to bat on the final day but their partnership was shortlived when Scott Boland got the breakthrough to send virat kohli back to the pavilion for 49 runs.
After an early setback, India never recovered as their batters were seen struggling in the middle to score runs. Led by Scott Boland and his fellow bowlers they ripped through the Indian batting order to dismiss the world’s top-ranked team for 234 and wrap up victory before the lunch break.
Interestingly the Indians lost their last seven wickets for the addition of just 70 runs on the final day of the contest.
In the bowling front, Scott Boland and spinner Nathan Lyon, who finished off the India second innings with 4-41, took five wickets each in the match and Cummins, despite his no balls, Starc and Green contributed mightily to bowling out India twice after they put up 469 and 270-8 declared.
The win for Australia also saw, Australia creating history as the only team to win all the ICC trophies on the other hand India’s wait for a major ICC triumph continued as they are still in search of an ICC trophy after the 2011 ODI world cup triumph.
Brief scores
Australia 1st Innings 469 (T Head 163, S Smith 121; Mohammed Siraj 4-108)
India 1st Innings 296 (A Rahane 89, S Thakur 51; P Cummins 3-83)
Australia 2nd Innings 270-8 Dec (A Carey 66 no; R Jadeja 3-58)
India 2nd Innings 234 (N Lyon 4-41, S Boland 3-46)
ඉන්දියාව පරදවා ලෝක ටෙස්ට් ශූරතාව දිනා ගැනීමට ඔස්ට්රේලියාව සමත් විය
ඉරිදා ඕවල් හිදී පැවති ලෝක ටෙස්ට් ශූරතා (WTC) අවසන් මහා තරගයෙන් ලකුණු 209 ක ජයග්රහණයක් ලබා ගැනීමෙන් පසුව ICC ශූරතාව සඳහා වූ ඉන්දියාවේ බලාපොරොත්තුව බිඳ වැටුණි.
ඉන්දියාවේ පිතිකරණ අනුපිළිවෙල බිඳ හෙළීමට ඕස්ට්රේලියානුවන්ට ගත වූයේ එක් සැසියක් පමණි.
ලකුණු 164-3ක් ලෙස දිනය ආරම්භ කළ ඉන්දියාවට අවසන් දිනයේ තවත් ලකුණු 280ක් අවශ්යව තිබුණේ ඔස්ට්රේලියාව ලබාදුන් 444ක දැවැන්ත ජයග්රාහී ඉලක්කය නැවත සකස් කිරීමටයි.
විරාත් කෝලි සහ අජින්ක්යා රහනේ අවසන් දිනයේ පන්දුවට පහර දීමට පිටියට පැමිණි නමුත් ඔවුන්ගේ සබඳතාව කෙටි වූයේ ස්කොට් බෝලන්ඩ් විරාත් කෝලිව ලකුණු 49කට නැවත ක්රීඩාගාරයට හරවා යැවීමත් සමඟය.
මුල් පසුබෑමකින් පසුව, ඉන්දියාව කිසි විටෙකත් යථා තත්ත්වයට පත් නොවීය. ස්කොට් බෝලන්ඩ් සහ සෙසු පන්දු යවන්නන්ගේ නායකත්වයෙන් ඔවුන් ඉන්දීය පිතිකරණ අනුපිළිවෙල බිඳ හෙළමින් ලෝක ශ්රේණිගත කිරීම්හි ඉහළම ස්ථානයේ පසුවූ කණ්ඩායම ලකුණු 234කට දැවී ගොස් දිවා ආහාර විවේකයට පෙර ජයග්රහණය හකුළා ගත්හ.
තරගයේ අවසන් දිනයේ දී ලකුණු 70ක් පමණක් එක් වෙද්දී ඉන්දීය ක්රීඩකයන්ගේ අවසන් කඩුලු 7 දැවී යාම සිත්ගන්නා කරුණකි.
පන්දු යැවීමේ දී ඉන්දීය දෙවැනි ඉනිම ලකුණු 4-41ක් ලෙස අවසන් කළ ස්කොට් බෝලන්ඩ් සහ දඟ පන්දු යවන නේතන් ලයන් තරගයේ කඩුලු 5 බැගින් දවාගත් අතර කමින්ස්ගේ පන්දු නොයවා තිබියදීත්, ස්ටාක් සහ ග්රීන් ඉන් පසුව දෙවතාවක් ඉන්දියාව දවා ගැනීමට ප්රබල දායකත්වයක් ලබා දුන්හ. ඔවුන් 469 තබා 270-8 ප්රකාශ කළහ.
2011 එක්දින ලෝක කුසලාන ජයග්රහණයෙන් පසුවත් ICC කුසලානයක් සොයමින් සිටින බැවින් අනෙක් අතට ICC හි ප්රධාන ජයග්රහණයක් සඳහා ඉන්දියාවේ බලා සිටීම දිගටම පැවතුනි.
කෙටි ලකුණු
ඔස්ට්රේලියාව පළමු ඉනිම 469 (ටී හෙඩ් 163, එස් ස්මිත් 121; මොහොමඩ් සිරාජ් 4-108)
ඉන්දියාව පළමු ඉනිම 296 (ඒ රහනේ 89, එස් තාකූර් 51; පී කමින්ස් 3-83)
ඔස්ට්රේලියානු දෙවන ඉනිම දෙසැම්බර් 270-8 (ඒ කේරි නොදැවී 66; ආර් ජඩේජා 3-58)
ඉන්දීය දෙවැනි ඉනිම 234 (එන් ලියොන් 4-41, එස් බෝලන්ඩ් 3-46)
உலக டெஸ்ட் சாம்பியன்ஷிப்பை இந்தியாவை வீழ்த்தி ஆஸ்திரேலியா வெற்றி பெற்றது
ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை தி ஓவலில் நடந்த உலக டெஸ்ட் சாம்பியன்ஷிப் (டபிள்யூடிசி) இறுதிப் போட்டியில் 209 ரன்கள் வித்தியாசத்தில் வெற்றி பெற்ற பிறகு இந்தியாவின் ஐசிசி பட்டம் நம்பிக்கை தகர்ந்தது.
இந்தியாவின் பேட்டிங் வரிசையை தகர்க்க ஆஸ்திரேலியர்களுக்கு ஒரு அமர்வு மட்டுமே தேவைப்பட்டது.
164-3 ரன்களுடன் ஆட்டத்தை தொடங்கிய இந்திய அணிக்கு ஆஸ்திரேலியா கொடுத்த 444 என்ற மிகப்பெரிய வெற்றி இலக்கை மீட்டெடுக்க கடைசி நாளில் இன்னும் 280 ரன்கள் தேவைப்பட்டது.
விராட் கோலி மற்றும் அஜிங்க்யா ரஹானே ஆகியோர் கடைசி நாளில் பேட்டிங் செய்ய வெளியேறினர், ஆனால் ஸ்காட் போலண்ட் விராட் கோலியை 49 ரன்களுக்கு மீண்டும் கிரீஸுக்கு அனுப்பியபோது அவர்களின் பார்ட்னர்ஷிப் துண்டிக்கப்பட்டது.
ஆரம்ப பின்னடைவுக்கு பிறகு இந்தியா மீளவே இல்லை. ஸ்காட் போலண்ட் மற்றும் மற்ற பந்துவீச்சாளர்கள் தலைமையில், அவர்கள் இந்திய பேட்டிங் வரிசையை சிதைத்தனர், ஏனெனில் அவர்கள் மதிய உணவு இடைவேளைக்கு முன் உலகின் முதல் தரவரிசை அணியை 234 ரன்களுக்கு ஆட்டமிழக்கச் செய்தனர்.
ஆட்டத்தின் கடைசி நாளில் 70 ரன்கள் மட்டுமே சேர்த்த போது இந்திய வீரர்களின் கடைசி 7 விக்கெட்டுகள் பறிபோனது சுவாரஸ்யம்.
இந்தியாவின் இரண்டாவது இன்னிங்ஸை 4-41 என முடித்த ஸ்காட் போலண்ட் மற்றும் சுழற்பந்து வீச்சாளர் நாதன் லியான் ஆகியோர் இந்த போட்டியில் தலா ஐந்து விக்கெட்டுகளை வீழ்த்தினர், மேலும் கம்மின்ஸ் பந்துவீசவில்லை என்றாலும், ஸ்டார்க் மற்றும் கிரீன் ஆகியோர் இந்தியாவை இரண்டு முறை தோற்கடிக்க வலுவான பங்களிப்பைச் செய்தனர். அவர்கள் 469 ஐ வைத்து 270-8 என்று அறிவித்தனர்.
மறுபுறம், 2011 ODI உலகக் கோப்பை வெற்றிக்குப் பிறகு ஐசிசி கோப்பையை இன்னும் தேடிக்கொண்டிருப்பதால், ஐசிசியில் ஒரு பெரிய வெற்றிக்காக இந்தியாவின் காத்திருப்பு தொடர்கிறது.
குறுகிய மதிப்பெண்கள்
ஆஸ்திரேலியா முதல் இன்னிங்ஸ் 469 (டி ஹெட் 163, எஸ் ஸ்மித் 121; முகமது சிராஜ் 4-108)
இந்தியா முதல் இன்னிங்ஸ் 296 (ஏ ரஹானே 89, எஸ் தாக்கூர் 51; பி கம்மின்ஸ் 3-83)
ஆஸ்திரேலிய இரண்டாவது இன்னிங்ஸ் டிசம்பர் 270-8 (ஏ கேரி ஆட்டமிழக்காமல் 66; ஆர் ஜடேஜா 3-58)
இந்தியா 2வது இன்னிங்ஸ் 234 (என் லியோன் 4-41, எஸ் போலண்ட் 3-46)
Football
Sri Lanka U20 Women’s Football Hits Rock Bottom at SAFF Championship Amid Continued National-Level Crisis
The Sri Lanka U20 Women’s Team endured a disappointing campaign at the SAFF U20 Women’s Championship 2025, suffering two heavy defeats with one group match left to play. In their opening encounter, Sri Lanka was thrashed 9 -1 by Bangladesh, followed by a 5-0 loss against Bhutan, indicating a deeper crisis in the country’s women’s football structure.


These back-to-back losses highlight the grim state of the women’s football program, especially when placed alongside the senior team’s exit from the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers earlier this year without a single win. This trend reflects not just a lack of preparation, but an institutional failure to establish a developmental pipeline or strategic plan.

What’s even more concerning is the absence of visible recovery mechanisms from the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL). Instead of addressing systemic issues—such as lack of coaching standards, insufficient grassroots investment, and poor player welfare—key decision-makers appear more focused on the upcoming FFSL elections. Behind-the-scenes politics continue to stall any meaningful progress in women’s football development.

Despite the promising young talent in Sri Lanka, the gap in fitness, tactical training, and match readiness compared to regional rivals is growing wider. Without immediate technical reforms and leadership that prioritizes performance over politics, the future of women’s football in the country remains uncertain.
With one more match against a strong Nepal side, the prospects of a comeback look bleak, unless there is a radical shift in how the game is managed from the ground up.
News
South Asian Karate Championship 2025: India and Sri Lanka Shine as Karate Celebrates 50 Years in Sri Lanka
Colombo, July 5–6, 2025 – The 9th South Asian Karate Championship and the 1st South Asian Youth Karate Championship successfully concluded at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, marking a landmark moment in Sri Lanka’s martial arts history as the nation celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Karate Federation.
This prestigious two-day event was jointly organized by the South Asian Karate Federation and the Sri Lanka Karate Federation, which is registered under the Ministry of Sports as one of the seven official sports federations in the country.
Day 1 (July 5) – Youth Championship Dominated by India and Sri Lanka
The opening day featured intense youth-level competition with over 700 athletes from seven South Asian nations – Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives – competing in age categories below 14.
🥇 Youth Medal Standings (U-14 Category):
- India – 22 Medals (1st Place)
- Nepal – 20 Medals (2nd Place)
- Sri Lanka – 10 Medals (3rd Place)
📺 Watch Day 1 Highlights:
Final Day (July 6) – Sri Lanka Takes Youth Title, India Clinches Senior Crown
The second day of the tournament featured both senior and youth finals. In a historic achievement, Sri Lanka emerged champions in the Youth Division, while India secured the Senior Team Championship, continuing their regional dominance.
Final Team Standings:
- Senior Category:
- 🥇 India (Champions)
- 🥈 Nepal (Runners-up)
- 🥉 Sri Lanka (Third Place)
- Youth Category:
- 🥇 Sri Lanka (Champions)
- 🥈 India (Runners-up)
- 🥉 Nepal (Third Place)
Watch Final Day Highlights:
Special Guests & Recognition
The event was graced by His Excellency Akio Isomata, the Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, who attended as the Chief Guest, acknowledging Sri Lanka’s long-standing contribution to the growth of karate in South Asia.
Also present was Bharat Sharma, President of the South Asian Karate Federation, who praised the standard of competition and Sri Lanka’s organizing excellence.
Karate in Sri Lanka – 50 Years of Legacy
This championship coincided with the 50th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Karate Federation, which has played a vital role in shaping karate talent nationally and internationally. With continued support from the Ministry of Sports, karate remains one of Sri Lanka’s fastest-growing combat sports.
Football
Sri Lanka Women Finish Qualifiers with 0 Goals, 20 Conceded – Who Will Take Responsibility?
Colombo, July 3 – Sri Lanka Women’s National Football Team wrapped up their AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers campaign with a third straight defeat — a 2-0 loss to Laos — confirming their position at the bottom of Group F, with 0 wins, 0 goals scored, and 18 conceded in just three games.
But beyond the scorelines lies a far more serious issue: a complete collapse of women’s football development in Sri Lanka. And this time, the blame does not lie on one individual — but on a system that has failed the sport, from top to bottom.

Match-by-Match Recap
Match 1: Sri Lanka 0 – 10 Uzbekistan
- Possession: 30%
- Shots on Target: 0
- xG: 0.0 vs Uzbekistan’s 3.60
- A game that exposed a lack of preparation, structure, and fitness from the very start.
Match 2: Sri Lanka 0 – 8 Nepal
- Possession: 50%
- Defensive errors gifted goals, including a hat-trick by Sabitra Bhandari.
- xG: Nepal 3.76 vs Sri Lanka 0.60
- Tactical breakdown: Midfield collapsed under pressure, backline failed to close space.
Match 3: Sri Lanka 0 – 2 Laos
- Possession: 50%
- Shots on Target: 5
- xG: 2.56 (Laos) vs 1.08 (Sri Lanka)
- A more balanced performance, but defensive lapses in the 73rd and 90+2 minutes led to defeat. Sri Lanka couldn’t convert chances despite their best game statistically.
Final Group Standings – Group F
Team | MP | GF | GA | GD | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
🇳🇵 Nepal | 2 | 17 | 0 | +17 | 6 |
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 2 | 17 | 0 | +17 | 6 |
🇱🇦 Laos | 2 | 2 | 16 | -14 | 0 |
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 3 | 0 | 20 | -20 | 0 |
Tactical Issues Across All Matches
- No clear formation or transition play.
- Lack of defensive coordination — players failed to track runners, especially on the flanks.
- No attacking identity — only 1.08 xG across three games.
- In-game management absent — few substitutions or tactical shifts despite being outplayed.
While public criticism often targets the President of the Football Federation, this decline in women’s football runs deeper:
Who Is Accountable? Not Just the President
Women’s Football Committee:
- Failed to organize any domestic tournament in recent years.
- Selected the squad via open trials, with no league performance data to back selections.
- No consistent training camps or fitness programs.
Executive Committee:
- Remains silent on the recurring failures.
- No inquiries, reviews, or structural reforms have followed Sri Lanka’s repeated humiliations — including the U20 Women’s SAFF defeat earlier this year.
Technical & Development Staff:
- No tactical framework or youth development.
- No modern coaching methods or international exposure for players.
The Bigger Problem: Silence and Stagnation
Sri Lanka is not just losing matches — it’s losing direction. The current state of women’s football is not the result of one bad campaign. It’s the product of years of neglect, political appointments, and a failure to treat women’s football with equal priority.
Even now, there is no explanation from the Executive Committee on how the women’s team was prepared or what plans exist for recovery.
Time for a Reset, Not Excuses
If Sri Lanka is serious about competing in international football, the following must be addressed:
- ✅ A national women’s league
- ✅ Provincial and school-level competitions
- ✅ Professional coaching staff and structured fitness programs
- ✅ Regular international friendlies and camps
- ✅ Transparent selection processes based on performance, not politics
🔚 Conclusion
Sri Lanka’s 2026 AFC campaign should not just be remembered for the scorelines — but as a call for change. It is time for every stakeholder — from the Women’s Committee to the Executive — to reflect, respond, and rebuild.
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