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Ramesh Mendis Fifer script Sri Lanka’s thumping win Vs Ireland
Ireland tour of Sri Lanka second test match
Ramesh Mendis shone with the ball with a fifer as Sri Lanka thumped Ireland by an inning and 10 runs in the second Test to bag the series 2-0.
Sri Lanka, which made its first Test appearance in 1982 against England, won the first Test by an innings and 280 runs. Friday’s victory was the country’s 100th Test win.
Harry Tector fought a lone last-day rearguard action to try to bat out a draw, scoring 85 and mounting a 41-run stand for the ninth wicket, but Mendis took 5-64 as Ireland was bowled out for 202 in their second innings.
When Ireland slowly dragged the match to a draw pacer Asitha Fernando came to the rescue to bowl Tector with a yorker to end the resistance and accounted for last man Ben White with the very next ball to wrap up another emphatic win in style.
Earlier the visitors posted 492 in their first innings after Sri Lanka declared on 704-3.
Ireland resumed the fifth and last day on 54-2, hoping to hold on for a draw.
But Sri Lanka bowlers led by Ramesh Mendis were too hot to handle for the Irish as they never gave a breathing space for the visitors to play freely as Sri Lanka wrapped up things quite comfortably.
Highlights of the day were, the hero of the first test Parabath Jayasuriya became the quickest-ever spinner to take 50 wickets, in just seven Tests.
Fellow left-armer Alf Valentine of West Indies had taken eight games to the milestone more than seven decades earlier.
Brief Scores: Ireland 492 & 202 (Harry Tector 85, Andrew Balbirnie 46; Ramesh Mendis 5-64, Asitha Fernando 3-30) lost to Sri Lanka 704/3 decl. (Kusal Mendis 245, Nishan Madushka 205, Dimuth Karunaratne 115; Graham Hume 1-87) by an inning and 10 runs
Sri Lanka is on the brink of a victory
Nishan Madushka and Kusal Mendis smashed maiden double centuries to help Sri Lanka take control of the second test match against Ireland as they ended their first innings on 704-3.
Earlier Madushka converted his maiden Test century into a double hundred, becoming the second-youngest Sri Lankan to score a Test 200 after Mahela Jayawardene before he was dismissed for 205 in the third over after lunch when he was struck lbw off Andy McBrine’s bowling.
On the other hand, Kusal Mendis, showing his class with the bat reached his first Test 200 and went on to score 245 runs before he was caught at long-off.
Scoreboard reading at 3-629,
Angelo Mathews was dismissed for a duck in the first Test and bounced back to score a quick unbeaten century to lay the final touches for the Sri Lankan innings. It also registered as the quickest century the former skipper had scored.
Scoreboard reading at 704-3 skipper Dimuth Karunaratne declared their innings with a lead of 212 runs.
Earlier Captain Dimuth Karunaratne also contributed with a watchful 115 from the top of the order.
At stumps on day four, Ireland for their second innings was 54 for the loss of two wickets that of openers James McCollum (10) and Peter Moor (19) and still 159 runs from making Sri Lanka bat again.
McCollum was brilliantly bowled by offspinner Ramesh Mendis and Moor was dismissed when Angelo Mathews held a superb low catch at short extra cover.
Other highlights of the day were Dinesh Chandimal who lasted only 14 balls before having to retire hurt. The wicketkeeper-batter appeared to have hurt his shoulder while diving into the crease to avoid a runout, and couldn’t continue.
According to sources at SLC the wicket keeper batter has been sent to the hospital to obtain an x-ray.
Brief Scores: Ireland 492 & 54/2 (Ramesh Mendis 1-17, Prabath Jayasuriya 1-28) trail Sri Lanka 704/3 decl. (Kusal Mendis 245, Nishan Madushka 205, Dimuth Karunaratne 115; Graham Hume 1-87) by 158 runs
රමේෂ් මෙන්ඩිස්ගේ විශිෂ්ට ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩාවෙන් අයර්ලන්තයට එරෙහිව ශ්රී ලංකාව ලැබූ ජයග්රහණය.
අයර්ලන්ත ශ්රී ලංකා සංචාරය (දෙවන ටෙස්ට්)
රමේෂ් මෙන්ඩිස් පන්දුවෙන් දස්කම් දැක්වූ අතර ශ්රී ලංකාව අයර්ලන්තය සමඟ පැවැති දෙවැනි ටෙස්ට් තරගය ඉනිමකින් සහ ලකුණු 10කින් පරාජය කරමින් තරගාවලිය 2-0ක් ලෙස ජය ගත්තේය.
1982 වසරේ එංගලන්තයට එරෙහිව පළමු ටෙස්ට් තරගයට එක් වූ ශ්රී ලංකාව පළමු ටෙස්ට් තරගය ඉනිමකින් සහ ලකුණු 280කින් ජය ගැනීමට සමත් විය. සිකුරාදා ජයග්රහණය එරට 100 වැනි ටෙස්ට් ජයග්රහණය විය.
හැරී ටෙක්ටර් අවසන් දිනයේ හුදකලා සටනක් කරමින් ලකුණු 85ක් ලබාගෙන ලකුණු 41ක සබඳතාවයක් නවවැනි කඩුල්ලට ගොඩනැගූ නමුත් මෙන්ඩිස් ලකුණු 5-64ක් ලබා ගත්තේ අයර්ලන්තය සිය දෙවැනි ඉනිමේදී ලකුණු 202කට දැවී ගිය බැවිනි.
අයර්ලන්තය සෙමෙන් තරගය ජය පරාජයෙන් තොරව ඇදගෙන යද්දී වේග පන්දු යවන ක්රීඩක අසිත ප්රනාන්දු ගලවා ගැනීමට පැමිණ ප්රතිරෝධය නිමා කිරීමට ටෙක්ටර් යෝකර් එකකින් දවා ගැනීමට සමත් වූ අතර ඊළඟ පන්දුවේදීම අවසන් ක්රීඩකයා වන බෙන් වයිට් වෙත තවත් විශිෂ්ට ජයග්රහණයක් ලබා ගැනීමට හැකි විය.
ශ්රී ලංකාව ලකුණු 704-3ක් ලබා සිටියදී පළමු ඉනිමේදී ලකුණු 492ක් රැස්කළේය.
අයර්ලන්තය ලකුණු 54-2ක් ලෙස පස්වැනි සහ අවසන් දිනය ආරම්භ කළේ තරගය ජය පරාජයෙන් තොරව පවත්වා ගැනීමේ අපේක්ෂාවෙනි.
නමුත් රමේෂ් මෙන්ඩිස්ගේ නායකත්වයෙන් යුත් ශ්රී ලංකා පන්දු යවන්නන් ඉර්සිට හැසිරවීමට නොහැකි තරම් උණුසුම් වූ අතර ඔවුන් කිසි විටෙකත් අමුත්තන්ට නිදහසේ ක්රීඩා කිරීමට හුස්ම ගැනීමේ ඉඩක් ලබා නොදුන් අතර ශ්රී ලංකාව ඉතා සුවපහසු ලෙස දේවල් ඔතා ගත්හ.
දිනයේ විශේෂත්වය වූයේ පළමු ටෙස්ට් තරගයේ වීරයා වූ පරබත් ජයසූරිය ටෙස්ට් තරග 7කදී පමණක් කඩුලු 50ක් දවාගත් වේගවත්ම දඟ පන්දු යවන්නා බවට පත්වීමයි.
බටහිර ඉන්දීය කොදෙව් කණ්ඩායමේ සෙසු වමත් ක්රීඩක ඇල්ෆ් වැලන්ටයින් දශක හතකට පෙර මෙම සන්ධිස්ථානයට තරඟ 8ක් ගෙන තිබුණි.
සංක්ෂිප්ත ලකුණු: අයර්ලන්තය 492 සහ 202 (හැරී ටෙක්ටර් 85, ඇන්ඩෲ බල්බිර්නි 46; රමේෂ් මෙන්ඩිස් 5-64, අසිත ප්රනාන්දු 3-30) ශ්රී ලංකාව හමුවේ 704/3 ඩී. (කුසල් මෙන්ඩිස් 245, නිශාන් මධුෂ්ක 205, දිමුත් කරුණාරත්න 115; ග්රැහැම් හියුම් 1-87) ඉනිමකින් සහ ලකුණු 10කින්
ரமேஷ் மெண்டிஸின் அபார கிரிக்கெட் மூலம் அயர்லாந்துக்கு எதிராக இலங்கையின் வெற்றி.
அயர்லாந்து இலங்கை சுற்றுப்பயணம் (2வது டெஸ்ட்)
இரண்டாவது டெஸ்டில் அயர்லாந்தை இன்னிங்ஸ் மற்றும் 10 ரன்கள் வித்தியாசத்தில் இலங்கை தோற்கடித்து தொடரை 2-0 என கைப்பற்ற, ரமேஷ் மெண்டிஸ் பந்து வீச்சில் பிரகாசித்தார்.
1982ஆம் ஆண்டு இங்கிலாந்துக்கு எதிராக முதல் டெஸ்ட் போட்டியில் களமிறங்கிய இலங்கை அணி, முதல் டெஸ்டில் இன்னிங்ஸ் மற்றும் 280 ரன்கள் வித்தியாசத்தில் வெற்றி பெற்றது. வெள்ளியன்று கிடைத்த வெற்றி அந்நாட்டின் 100வது டெஸ்ட் வெற்றியாகும்.
ஹாரி டெக்டர் கடைசி நாள் ரீர்கார்ட் ஆக்ஷனைப் போராடி டிரா அவுட் செய்ய முயன்றார், 85 ரன்கள் எடுத்தார் மற்றும் ஒன்பதாவது விக்கெட்டுக்கு 41 ரன்கள் எடுத்தார், ஆனால் மெண்டிஸ் 5-64 எடுத்தார், அயர்லாந்து தனது இரண்டாவது இன்னிங்ஸில் 202 ரன்களுக்கு ஆட்டமிழந்தது.
அயர்லாந்து மெதுவாக ஆட்டத்தை இழுத்துச் சென்றபோது, வேகப்பந்து வீச்சாளர் அசித்த பெர்னாண்டோ, டெக்டரை யார்க்கரால் பந்துவீச, எதிர்ப்பை முடிவுக்குக் கொண்டு வந்து, அடுத்த பந்திலேயே பென் வைட்டைக் கைப்பற்றி, ஸ்டைலில் மற்றொரு உறுதியான வெற்றியைப் பெற்றார்.
முன்னதாக, இலங்கை அணி 704-3 ரன்களுக்கு டிக்ளேர் செய்த பிறகு, பார்வையாளர்கள் தங்கள் முதல் இன்னிங்ஸில் 492 ரன்கள் எடுத்தனர்.
ஐந்தாவது மற்றும் கடைசி நாள் ஆட்டத்தை 54-2 என்ற கணக்கில் அயர்லாந்து மீண்டும் தொடங்கியது.
ஆனால் ரமேஷ் மெண்டிஸின் இலங்கை பந்துவீச்சாளர்கள் இர்சிக்கு கையாள முடியாத அளவுக்கு சூடாக இருந்தனர், ஏனெனில் அவர்கள் பார்வையாளர்களுக்கு சுதந்திரமாக விளையாடுவதற்கு மூச்சு விடவில்லை, ஏனெனில் இலங்கை மிகவும் வசதியாக விஷயங்களை முடித்தது.
அன்றைய சிறப்பம்சங்கள் என்னவென்றால், முதல் டெஸ்ட் போட்டியின் நாயகனான பரபத் ஜெயசூர்யா, ஏழு டெஸ்டில் விளையாடி மிக வேகமாக 50 விக்கெட்டுகளை வீழ்த்திய சுழற்பந்து வீச்சாளர் ஆனார்.
மேற்கிந்திய தீவுகளின் சக இடது கை வீரர் ஆல்ஃப் வாலண்டைன் ஏழு தசாப்தங்களுக்கு முன்னர் எட்டு ஆட்டங்களை மைல்கல்லுக்கு எடுத்திருந்தார்.
சுருக்கமான ஸ்கோர்: அயர்லாந்து 492 & 202 (ஹாரி டெக்டர் 85, ஆன்ட்ரூ பால்பிர்னி 46; ரமேஷ் மெண்டிஸ் 5-64, அசிதா பெர்னாண்டோ 3-30) இலங்கையிடம் 704/3 டிக்ளில் தோல்வியடைந்தார். (குசல் மெண்டிஸ் 245, நிஷான் மதுஷ்கா 205, திமுத் கருணாரத்ன 115; கிரஹாம் ஹியூம் 1-87) இன்னிங்ஸ் மற்றும் 10 ரன்கள் வித்தியாசத்தில்
Athletics
Island Nation Sets Sail for Glory at Asian Beach Games 2026
Sri Lanka has officially set its sights on the shores of Sanya as the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka unveiled its national contingent for the Asian Beach Games at a vibrant media briefing in Colombo. The announcement signals the country’s formal entry into one of Asia’s most dynamic multi-sport events, where sand and sea form the arena for elite competition.
Scheduled to unfold from 22 to 30 April 2026 in Sanya, the Games will gather athletes from across the continent in a celebration of coastal sport and culture. With its tropical setting and growing reputation as a global beach sports destination, Sanya is expected to provide a fitting stage for both competition and camaraderie, beginning with the Opening Ceremony on 22 April and concluding on 30 April.
Sri Lanka’s presence at the Games will be marked by a 109-member delegation, featuring 77 athletes 40 men and 37 women competing across eight disciplines. Beyond the athletes, a dedicated support system of coaches, officials, and medical staff will ensure the team is equipped to perform at its best throughout the event.
The nation will compete in a diverse mix of sports that reflect both endurance and agility, including beach athletics, beach kabaddi, beach handball, beach volleyball, 3×3 basketball, open water swimming, beach wrestling, and sailing. This broad representation highlights Sri Lanka’s growing versatility in beach and water-based sports on the continental stage.
In a message shared in conjunction with the unveiling, Suresh Subramaniam, President of the National Olympic Committee, expressed strong confidence in the squad. He emphasized that the journey to Sanya represents more than just participation, describing it as a moment defined by unity, preparation, and national pride. He praised the athletes’ commitment and reaffirmed the country’s support as they prepare to compete with determination.
The event also introduced the team’s Chef de Mission, Samith Thilina, whose multifaceted background spans sports management, disaster risk reduction, and creative design. His role carries an additional layer of distinction, having personally designed the official team attire for the Games. Drawing inspiration from the Black Ruby Barb, the designs incorporate fluid oceanic elements that reflect Sri Lanka’s island identity, blending symbolism with a modern athletic aesthetic.

The unveiling of the official attire and Opening Ceremony outfits added a visual highlight to the occasion, reinforcing the team’s identity as they prepare to step onto an international stage.
Carrying the national flag at the Opening Ceremony will be Lakshika Sugandhi and Haren Dineth Wickramatillake. Sugandhi is set to compete in the women’s 60m and 4x60m events in beach athletics, while Wickramatillake will represent Sri Lanka in sailing under the Optimist Boys category, symbolizing both experience and emerging talent within the squad.
Cricket
IPL a Dream Stage for Sri Lankan Cricketers, Says Pathum Nissanka
Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka has hailed the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a coveted platform for players from his country, stressing the importance of making the most of every opportunity at the elite level. Representing Delhi Capitals, Nissanka noted that while injuries have sidelined some Sri Lankan players this season, those selected must step up and perform.
Speaking after a closely contested match, Nissanka highlighted the pride associated with competing in the IPL. He emphasized that every Sri Lankan cricketer aspires to play in the tournament and that seizing such opportunities is crucial for both personal and national progress.
Nissanka played a key role in Delhi’s chase, scoring a brisk 41 off 24 deliveries, including six boundaries and a six. Earlier, Gujarat Titans posted a formidable 210 for 4 after being sent in to bat. Their innings was powered by captain Shubman Gill (70 off 45), Washington Sundar (55 off 32), and Jos Buttler (52 off 27).
In response, Delhi Capitals got off to a strong start with Nissanka and KL Rahul putting together a 76-run opening stand in just eight overs. Despite the solid foundation, Delhi fell agonizingly short, losing the match by a single run.
Reflecting on the partnership, Nissanka credited Rahul’s experience and guidance, particularly in navigating challenging conditions. He explained that their strategy was to capitalize on the powerplay and build early momentum, adding that self-belief remains central to his approach at the crease.
Following the narrow defeat, Delhi Capitals sit fourth on the IPL points table with two wins from three matches, while Gujarat Titans occupy sixth place with one victory in as many games.
Cricket
Sri Lanka Cricket to Challenge Nuwan Thushara’s IPL NOC Petition
Sri Lanka Cricket has notified the Colombo District Court of its intention to challenge a petition filed by fast bowler Nuwan Thushara, who is seeking clearance to compete in overseas franchise tournaments, including the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL).
During recent court proceedings, the governing body stated that formal objections to the application will be submitted. The court has scheduled the matter to be taken up again on April 23, allowing Sri Lanka Cricket time to present its response.
Thushara’s petition requests an interim order compelling the board to grant him a No Objection Certificate (NOC), a requirement for players մասնակցating in foreign leagues. He argues that the certificate is essential for him to honor commitments with international franchises.
In his filing, Thushara has named several top officials of Sri Lanka Cricket as respondents, citing their roles in the decision-making process. He claims he was selected by an IPL franchise for the 2026 season, having previously taken part in earlier editions of the tournament with the board’s approval.
However, Sri Lanka Cricket has declined to issue the NOC this year, reportedly citing newly introduced fitness requirements. Thushara disputes this reasoning, noting that his contract with the board ended in March 2026 and that he has already stepped away from international cricket.
He further maintains that denying the NOC could result in financial losses and missed professional opportunities, as franchises may be forced to replace him.
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