News
Saud Shakeel’s double ton put Pakistan in the driving seat at the stumps on day 3
Saud Shakeel’s brilliant double century has put Pakistan in a brilliant position against Sri Lanka at the stumps on Day 3 of the first Test in Galle.
Shakeel scored an unbeaten 208* as Pakistan reached 461 in the first innings.
Pakistan started the Day with Agha Salman and Saud Shakeel at the crease after ending Day 2 with a crucial partnership. They extended it further and at a good rate as well. Shakeel registered a fine hundred but they lost Salman in the same over who missed out on his century. However, that did not affect Shakeel one bit as he went on to build up two more big stands, one with Nauman Ali of 52 runs and then a huge one of 94 with Naseem Shah who showed great resistance which put the hosts on the back foot as they conceded a massive lead. Shakeel batted almost throughout the Day and completed his maiden double-hundred as well.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be very disappointed with their bowling effort. Galle is a ground where their spinner has a lot to say but that was not the case on day 3. They were not able to pick up wickets at regular intervals and let the visitors get away. It was the same old story for them as they struggled to get through the lower middle order as the last five wickets for Pakistan cost them 360 runs which is a lot. Their catching was poor as well as they dropped Saud Shakeel twice which has made a big impact in this Test. However, Ramesh Mendis was the pick of the bowlers and took a five-for as they managed to bowl out visitors in the last session.
Sri Lanka in their second innings, reached 14/0 at Stumps, trailing Pakistan by 135 runs. Earlier in the first innings Pakistan bundled out Sri Lanka for 312 before the lunch was taken on Day 2.
The match will continue today for day 4.
සවුද් ශකීල්ගේ ද්විත්ව ශතකයෙන් පාකිස්තානයට තෙවන දිනයේ දි වැඩි ගෞරව.
සවුද් ශකීල්ගේ විශිෂ්ට ද්විත්ව ශතකය හේතුවෙන් ගාල්ලේදී පැවැත්වෙන පළමු ටෙස්ට් තරගයේ 3 වන දිනය වන විට ශ්රී ලංකාවට එරෙහිව පාකිස්තානු පළමු ඉනිම ඉහළ මට්ටමකට ගෙන ඒමට සමත් විය.
ශකීල් නොදැවී ලකුණු 208*ක් ලබා ගත් අතර පාකිස්තාන පළමු ඉනිම ලකුණු 461කට ළඟා විය.
පාකිස්තානය දිනය ආරම්භ කළේ ආගා සල්මාන් සහ සවුද් ශකීල් දෙවැනි දිනය නිමා කිරීමෙන් පසු තීරණාත්මක සබඳතාවයක් සමඟින් ක්රීඩා කරමිනි. ඔවුන් එය තව දුරටත් දිගු කළ අතර හොඳ වේගයකින්ද විය. ශකීල් ශතකයක් වාර්තා කළ නමුත් ඔහුට එම ඕවරයේදීම සල්මාන් අහිමි වූ අතර ඔහුගේ ශතකය අහිමි විය. කෙසේ වෙතත්, ෂකීල්ට එය නොතකා තවත් සබඳතාවයක් ගොඩනැගූ අතර, එකක් නවමන් අලි ලකුණු 52 කින් සහ පසුව ලකුණු 94 න් දැවැන්ත සබඳතාවයක්න සීම් ෂා සමඟින් ගොඩනැගුවේය. ඔවුන්ගේ මනා සහයෝගයෙන් ශකීල් දවස පුරා පාහේ පන්දුවට පහර දුන් අතර ඔහුගේ මංගල ද්විත්ව ශතකයද සම්පූර්ණ කළේය.
අනෙක් අතට ශ්රී ලංකාව ඔවුන්ගේ පන්දු යැවීමේ උත්සාහය ගැන දැඩි කලකිරීමකට පත්වනු ඇත. ගාල්ල යනු ඔවුන්ගේ දඟ පන්දු යවන්නන්ට කීමට බොහෝ දේ ඇති පිටියක් වන නමුත් 3 වන දින එය එසේ නොවීය. ඔවුන්ට නියමිත කාල පරතරයන්හිදී කඩුලු ලබා ගැනීමට නොහැකි විය. පාකිස්තානය වෙනුවෙන් අවසන් කඩුලු 5 දැවී ලකුණු 360ක් වැය වූ බැවින් පහළ මැදපෙළ පසුකර යාමට ඔවුන් දැරූ උත්සාහය ඔවුන්ටද පරණ කතාවම විය. ඔවුන්ගේ උඩපන්දුව දුර්වල වූ අතර ඔවුන් සවුද් ශකීල් දෙවරක්ම දවා ගැනීමට වූ අවස්තා මගහැරී ගිය අතර එය මෙම ටෙස්ට් තරගයට විශාල බලපෑමක් කර ඇත. කෙසේ වෙතත්, රමේෂ් මෙන්ඩිස් පන්දු යවන්නන්ගේ තේරීම වූ අතර අවසන් සැසියේදී කඩුළු දවාලීමට ඔහු සමත් වූ හෙයින් කඩුලු 5ක් ද ලබා ගත්තේය.
ශ්රී ලංකාව සිය දෙවැනි ඉනිමේදී පාකිස්තානයට වඩා ලකුණු 135ක් පසුපසින් සිටිමින් තරගය නතර කරන විට ලකුණු 14/0ක් ලබා සිටියේය. දෙවැනි දිනයට දිවා ආහාරය ගැනීමට පෙර පාකිස්තානය පළමු ඉනිමේදී ශ්රී ලංකාව ලකුණු 312 කට දැවී ගියේය.
තරගය අද 4 වැනි දිනයටත් පැවැත්වේ.
Cricket
LPL Sixth Edition to Be Played Across Four Venues from July 10 to August 5
The sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) is set to take place from July 10 to August 5, 2026, promising another exciting season of top-quality Twenty20 cricket. As Sri Lanka’s premier domestic T20 competition with a strong international presence, the tournament continues to attract both local and overseas talent.
This year’s matches will be held across four venues: Sinhalese Sports Club Ground (SSC), R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS), Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (PICS), and Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium (RDICS). These iconic grounds are expected to provide a vibrant atmosphere and excellent playing conditions throughout the competition.
The online registration portal for foreign players will officially open on May 4, 2026, allowing international cricketers to sign up and participate in the league. This step ensures the continuation of LPL’s global appeal, as overseas players add competitiveness and diversity to the tournament.
The event will be organized by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the official owner of the league, in partnership with The IPG Group, which holds the event rights. Their collaboration has been instrumental in maintaining the league’s high standards since its inception.
Launched in 2020, the LPL has rapidly grown in popularity among cricket fans. Mr. Samantha Dodanwela, an Executive Committee Member of SLC, will continue in his role as Tournament Director, ensuring smooth organization and execution.
With thrilling matches and star players expected, LPL 2026 is set to deliver another unforgettable cricketing spectacle.
Cricket
Dambulla Gears Up for Women’s ‘A’ Cricket Action in May 2026
Sri Lanka is set to host an exciting bilateral cricket series as the New Zealand Women’s A Team tours the island in May 2026. The series, featuring both One Day and T20 matches, will see the visitors compete against the Sri Lanka Women’s A Team in what promises to be a competitive showcase of emerging talent.
All matches will be held at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium (RDICS), with play scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. each day. The New Zealand side is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on 7 May 2026, giving them several days to acclimatize before the series begins.
The tour will consist of three One Day matches followed by three T20 encounters. The One Day fixtures are scheduled for 12th, 15th, and 18th May, while the T20 series will take place on 21st, 23rd, and 25th May.
This series is seen as an important opportunity for both teams to develop their next generation of international players. With a mix of promising players and those on the cusp of senior national selection, the matches are expected to be closely contested.
Cricket
Bangladesh beat Chamari-less Sri Lanka despite late drama
Bangladesh Women edged out Sri Lanka Women in a tense finish during the first ODI of the Sri Lanka Women’s tour of Bangladesh 2026, chasing down 206 with just nine balls to spare in a match that swung dramatically in the final overs.
Put into bat, Sri Lanka Team posted a competitive 205/9 from their 50 overs, built on steady contributions rather than a single dominant innings. Imesha Dulani (52 off 77) and Hansima Karunaratne (54 off 71) anchored the innings with a crucial middle-order stand after early setbacks. Captain Hasini Perera made a brisk 27, but Sri Lanka struggled to accelerate in the final 10 overs, losing wickets at regular intervals.
Bangladesh’s bowling attack kept things tight throughout. Ritu Moni was the standout performer, claiming 3 for 36 and breaking key partnerships, while Nahida Akter and Marufa Akter maintained pressure with disciplined spells.
In reply, Bangladesh got off to a disastrous start, losing two wickets within the first two overs. However, Sharmin Akhter produced a match-defining innings, scoring a composed 86 off 127 balls to anchor the chase. She found support from Sobhana Mostary, who made 41 before retiring hurt, and later Shorna Akter, whose 35 added momentum in the middle overs.
Despite being in control for much of the chase, Bangladesh nearly stumbled at the finish. A late burst from Sri Lanka’s bowlers saw Dewmi Vihanga pick up three crucial wickets, triggering a collapse that left Bangladesh at 200/7 after being comfortably placed at 199/3.
The match briefly tilted back in Sri Lanka’s favor, but Bangladesh held their nerve. Extras proved decisive, with 21 wides significantly easing the chase. Eventually, Bangladesh crossed the target in 48.3 overs, sealing a hard-fought three-wicket victory.
Sri Lanka will rue their inability to capitalize on key moments, particularly in the death overs with both bat and ball. The absence of star player Chamari Athapaththu was evident, as they lacked the firepower to push their total beyond reach.
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