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Sri Lanka secured a world cup spot thanks to Nissanka’s ton

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Pathum Nissanka’s century and Maheesh Theekshana’s four-for helped Sri Lanka thump Zimbabwe in their second super six games of the ongoing world cup qualifiers worked off at Bulawayo, Zimbabwe on Sunday.

The win saw Dasun Shanaka and co confirmed their tickets to India for the World Cup in October.

Put into bat first the host didn’t have the best of the starts as they were reduced to 30-3 inside the first powerplay.

With Zimbabwe at a spot of bother
In-form Sean Williams (56) and Sikandar Raza (31) however revived their innings with a 68-run fourth-wicket stand.

With Zimbabwe slowly recovering from their shaky start, skipper Dasun Shanaka delivered the all-important breakthrough when he claimed the wicket of his mate Sikandar Raza when he was caught at the boundary line.

After the breakthrough, the Zimbabwe middle and lower-middle-order never recovered as wickets tumbled like nine pins.

Mahesh Theekshana was the architect of Zimbabwe’s collapse as he ended with figures of 4-25.

He claimed the all-important wickets of Sean Williams (56), Ryan Burl (16), L Jonwe (10) and B. Muzarabani (00) to set up an easy win for Sri Lanka. The last seven wickets fell for just 67 runs.

In response to 165, Sri Lanka was led by Pathum Nissanka who made a run-a-ball fifty to seal the match.

He was involved in a 100-run partnership with Dimuth Karunaratne for the first wicket.

Dimuth playing an anchor role went on to score 30 runs before being caught at fine leg in the 19th over.

With the damage already done Nissanka continued to hammer the opposition bowlers all over the park steering Sri Lanka to their total, ably supported by Kusal Mendis who chipped in with unbeaten 25 runs.

Interestingly throughout the qualifying process, no team has scored over 200 runs against Sri Lanka which proves how quality a bowling attack they’ve got.

The islanders who are already booked their tickets to India will meet West Indies in their last outing on Friday (7).

Following the victory Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said it was crucial for the 1996 winners to be at the sport’s quadrennial showpiece.

“It was a much-needed thing for Sri Lanka to play on that big stage,” said Shanaka. “It’s always tough coming to the qualifiers, but still, if you go through the process and we knew with the team we’ve got, we were going to qualify for the World Cup.”

Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine said despite the heavy defeat they would stick to their game plan for Tuesday’s match against Scotland.

“I don’t think we need to prepare any differently from what we have been doing in this tournament [against Scotland],” said Ervine. “We have been playing some very good cricket. Sri Lanka was much better than us today.”

Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 165 in 32.5 overs (San Williams 56, Sikandar Raza 31, Maheesh Theekshana 4/25, Dilshan Madushanka 3/15).

Sri Lanka 169/1 in 33.1 overs (Pathum Nissanka 101 not out).

නිශ්ශංකගේ ශතකය නිසා ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ලෝක කුසලානයේ ස්ථානයක් තහවුරු කරගනී.

පැතුම් නිශ්ශංකගේ ශතකය සහ මහේෂ් තීක්ෂණගේ අනර්ඝ ක්‍රිඩා විලාශය හේතුවෙන් සිම්බාබ්වේ හි බුලවායෝ හිදී පැවැත්වෙන ලෝක කුසලාන සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ දෙවන සුපිරි හය තරඟවලදී ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සිම්බාබ්වේ පරාජය කළේය.

ප්‍රථමයෙන් පන්දුවට පහර දුන් සත්කාරක කණ්ඩායමට පළමු පවර් ප්ලේය තුළදී ඔවුන් ලකුණු 30-3ක් දක්වා අඩු වූ බැවින් හොඳම ආරම්භය නොතිබුණි.

සිම්බාබ්වේ සමඟ කරදරකාරී ස්ථානයක කෙසේ වෙතත් සිවුවැනි කඩුල්ලට ලකුණු 68ක සබඳතාවක් ගොඩනැගූ ෂෝන් විලියම්ස් (56) සහ සිකන්දර් රාසා (31) ඔවුන්ගේ ඉනිම යළි පණ ගැන්වූහ.

සිම්බාබ්වේ පිලේ බිඳවැටුණු ආරම්භයෙන් සෙමෙන් යථා තත්ත්වයට පත්වීමත් සමඟ නායක දසුන් ශානක සිය සගයා වූ සිකන්දර් රාසා හතරේ සීමාවේදී දැවී යන විට ඔහුගේ කඩුල්ල දවාගැනීමත් සමඟින් වැදගත් පෙරළියක් සිදු කළේය.

පෙරළියෙන් පසුව, සිම්බාබ්වේ මැද සහ පහළ මැදපෙළ කිසි විටෙකත් යථා තත්ත්වයට පත් නොවූයේ කඩුලු 9ක් මෙන් කඩා වැටුණු බැවිනි.

මහේෂ් තීක්ෂණ සිම්බාබ්වේ බිඳවැටීමේ නිර්මාපකයා වූ අතර ඔහු ලකුණු 4-25 කින් අවසන් විය.

ඔහු ෂෝන් විලියම්ස් (56), රයන් බර්ල් (16), එල් ජොන්වේ (10) සහ බී. මුසරබානි (00) යන සියලු වැදගත් කඩුලු දවා ගනිමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පහසු ජයග්‍රහණයක් ලබා දීමට සමත් විය. අවසන් කඩුලු 7 බිඳ වැටුණේ ලකුණු 67කට පමණි.

ලකුණු 165ට පිළිතුරු ලෙස පැතුම් නිශ්ශංක විසින් තරගයේ ජයග්‍රහණය සඳහා ලකුණු 50ක් රැස්කරමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඉදිරියෙන් සිටියේය.

ඔහු පළමු කඩුල්ලට දිමුත් කරුණාරත්න සමගින් ලකුණු 100ක සබඳතාවයකට සම්බන්ධ විය.

19 වැනි ඕවරයේදී ෆයින් ලෙග්හිදී දැවී යාමට පෙර දිමුත් නැංගුරමේ භූමිකාවක් ඉටු කරමින් ලකුණු 30ක් ලබා සිටියේය.

මේ වන විටත් සිදුවී ඇති හානියත් සමඟ නිශ්ශංක දිගින් දිගටම උද්‍යානය පුරා සිටින ප්‍රතිවාදී පන්දු යවන්නන්ට පහර දෙමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඔවුන්ගේ මුළු ලකුණු සංඛ්‍යාව කරා මෙහෙයවමින් නොදැවී ලකුණු 25ක් ලබා ගත් කුසල් මෙන්ඩිස්ගේ මනා සහයෙනි.

සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ ක්‍රියාවලිය පුරාවටම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට එරෙහිව කිසිදු කණ්ඩායමක් ලකුණු 200කට වඩා රැස් කර නොතිබීම සිත්ගන්නා කරුණක් වන්නේ ඔවුන් කෙතරම් ගුණාත්මක පන්දු යැවීමක නිරත වූවාද යන්නයි.

දැනටමත් ඉන්දියාවට යාමට ප්‍රවේශපත්‍ර වෙන්කරගෙන සිටින දූපත්වාසීන් සිකුරාදා (7) බටහිර ඉන්දීය කොදෙව් කණ්ඩායම හමුවනු ඇත.

ජයග්‍රහණයෙන් පසුව ශ්‍රී ලංකා නායක දසුන් ශානක ප්‍රකාශ කළේ 1996 ජයග්‍රාහකයින් ක්‍රීඩාවේ සිව්වසර ප්‍රදර්ශන භූමියට පැමිණීම ඉතා වැදගත් බවයි.

“එම විශාල වේදිකාවේ ක්‍රීඩා කිරීම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ඉතා අවශ්‍ය දෙයක්,” ශානක පැවසීය. “සුදුසුකම් වටයට පැමිණීම සැමවිටම දුෂ්කර ය, නමුත් තවමත්, ඔබ ක්‍රියාවලිය හරහා ගියහොත් සහ අප සතුව ඇති කණ්ඩායම සමඟ අපි දැන සිටියහොත්, අපි ලෝක කුසලානයට සුදුසුකම් ලබන්නෙමු.”

සිම්බාබ්වේ නායක ක්‍රේග් අර්වින් පැවසුවේ දරුණු පරාජයක් ලැබුවද ස්කොට්ලන්තයට එරෙහිව අඟහරුවාදා පැවැත්වෙන තරගය සඳහා ඔවුන්ගේ ක්‍රීඩා සැලැස්මට ඇලී සිටින බවයි.

“මෙම තරඟාවලියේ [ස්කොට්ලන්තයට එරෙහිව] අප කරමින් සිටි දෙයට වඩා වෙනස් ලෙස සූදානම් විය යුතු යැයි මම නොසිතමි,” අර්වින් පැවසීය. “අපි ඉතා හොඳ ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩා කරනවා. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අද අපට වඩා බොහෝ දියුණු විය.

සංක්ෂිප්ත ලකුණු: සිම්බාබ්වේ ඕවර 32.5 කදී 165 (සැන් විලියම්ස් 56, සිකන්දර් රාසා 31, මහේෂ් තීක්ෂණ 4/25, ඩිල්ෂාන් මධුශංක 3/15).

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඕවර 33.1කදී 169/1 (පැතුම් නිශ්ශංක නොදැවී 101).

Football

Quarter Finals Set for Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster 2025 – Four Epic Battles Await!

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After weeks of intense group-stage action across the island, the Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster 2025 – 1st XI School Football Challenge Trophy now heads into its Quarter Final stage with eight of the country’s top school football teams set to battle for a place in the semi-finals.

The group phase produced thrilling matches, dramatic finishes, and moments of pure school football passion, and now the competition reaches its knockout phase where every goal — and every mistake — will count.

🏆 Quarter Final Line-Up

Quarter Final 1
Zahira College, Colombo 🆚 Vaddakkachchi Central College
📅 5th November | ⏰ 8.30 AM | 📍 City League Grounds
Zahira College, one of the tournament favorites, will look to continue their dominant form against the spirited Vaddakkachchi Central College, who impressed in their provincial campaign to earn a historic spot in the final eight.

Quarter Final 2
Kalutara Muslim Central College 🆚 Gateway College
📅 5th November | ⏰ 11.00 AM | 📍 City League Grounds
Unbeaten so far, Kalutara Muslim Central College will face the technically disciplined Gateway College in a tactical showdown that promises end-to-end action.

Quarter Final 3
St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 🆚 Royal College, Colombo
📅 5th November | ⏰ 1.30 PM | 📍 City League Grounds
A Colombo classic awaits as Royal College step into the quarter finals following a protest decision that eliminated Aligar Central College. St. Joseph’s, Group C leaders, will aim to maintain their strong run in what is expected to be a fierce and emotional derby encounter.

Quarter Final 4
Hameed Al Husseini College 🆚 Darussalaam College
📅 5th November | ⏰ 4.00 PM | 📍 City League Grounds
Two of the most passionate teams in the competition collide in the day’s final fixture. Expect a physical, high-tempo contest as both sides chase their dream of a semi-final berth.

🎥 LIVE COVERAGE

All four matches will be broadcast live on Sri Lankan Sports TV, giving fans across the nation a front-row seat to witness the best of Sri Lankan school football.

The Lifebouy Ball Blaster 2025 continues to deliver on its promise of promoting youth football, sportsmanship, and school pride, powered by Lifebuoy Bodywash — encouraging young athletes to play clean, play strong, and play fair.

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Football

Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster 2025: Quarter-Final Lineup Shapes Up with Thrilling Group Stage Battles

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The Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster 2025 has reached the most exciting stage yet as teams battle for quarter-final glory.

In Group B, Kalutara Central College has stamped their authority with 2 wins from 2 matches, boasting a flawless defense and an impressive +2 goal difference. The battle for the second spot is wide open between Royal College and Alighar Central College, both on 3 points and looking to secure their place in the knockout rounds. Maris Stella College has unfortunately bowed out after a tough group stage.

Meanwhile, Group C promises drama in the final match between St. Patrick’s College and St. Joseph’s College. A win for Joseph will see them top the group, while Patrick could sneak into the quarter-finals with a narrow 1-0 victory. A draw would favor Joseph’s qualification on goal difference.

The quarter-finals, scheduled for 5th November at City League, will feature the following fixtures:

  • Q1: Zahira College, Colombo 🆚 Vaddakachchi Central College – 8:30 AM
  • Q2: Kalutara Central College 🆚 St. Joseph’s College / St. Patrick’s College – 11:00 AM
  • Q3: Gateway College/ St. Joseph’s College 🆚 Royal / Alighar – 1:30 PM
  • Q4: Hameed Al Husseinie College 🆚 Darussalaam College – 4:00 PM

Fans can expect high-octane football and edge-of-the-seat action as Sri Lanka’s brightest school football talents compete for the prestigious Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster Trophy 2025. Stay tuned to Sri Lankan Sports TV for live coverage, match updates, and exclusive interviews.

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Football

Group C Still Up for Grabs as Four Teams Eye Quarterfinal Spots in Lifebuoy Ball Blaster 2025!

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The Lifebuoy Bodywash Ball Blaster 2025 Schools Football Championship Group C stage remains finely poised — with all four schools still in contention to reach the quarterfinals. With Gateway College having completed all their matches, the final fixtures will decide the fate of St. Benedict’s, St. Patrick’s, and St. Joseph’s Colleges.

Current Standings:

SchoolMWLDGSGAGDPoints
Gateway College310264+25
St. Benedict’s College210132+14
St. Patrick’s College201134-11
St. Joseph’s College101013-20

Gateway College – Top for Now 🟢

Gateway College leads with 5 points after finishing all their group-stage matches. Their unbeaten record gives them a strong edge, but their qualification still depends on the final two matchdays. They’ll be watching closely as St. Benedict’s and St. Patrick’s fight for crucial wins.

St. Benedict’s College – Advantage in Hand ⚪

With 4 points from 2 games, St. Benedict’s College holds the upper hand. A victory in their next match will guarantee a quarterfinal spot, potentially as Group winners. A draw could still be enough, but a defeat would leave them vulnerable to a late surge from the other two schools.

St. Patrick’s College – Still in the Race 🟡

With 1 point from 2 games, St. Patrick’s still has a chance to qualify — but only if they win the remaining match. They’ll also need to improve their goal difference, currently at -1, to stay competitive in case of a tie on points.

St. Joseph’s College – A Must-Win Situation 🔵

After losing their opening game, St. Joseph’s College faces a do-or-die scenario. With two matches left, the Josephians must win both — and by convincing margins — to stay in contention for a top-two finish. Anything less will end their campaign.

Qualification Scenarios:

  • 🏆 If St. Benedict’s wins next match: Gateway and Benedict’s advance.
  • 🤝 If St. Benedict’s draws next match: Gateway likely through; second spot open between Benedict’s and Patrick’s.
  • If St. Benedict’s loses: St. Patrick’s or St. Joseph’s could qualify by winning their remaining games.

The Group C showdown promises edge-of-the-seat drama as school football’s finest battle for survival in the Lifebuoy Ball Blaster 2025. Every point counts — and one mistake could end a dream run.

Stay tuned to Sri Lankan Sports TV for live coverage, photos, and exclusive post-match reactions from the players and coaches.

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