News

Sri Lanka topped Group B with a commanding win against Scotland

Published

2 years ago

June 29, 2023

Editor

Sri Lanka completed their group stage on a high when they defeated spirited Scotland by 82 runs to continue their unbeaten run with four victories out of four matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers on June 27, Tuesday.

The win also helped Sri Lanka to end their group stage on top of the points table.

Half-centuries from Nissanka and Charith Asalanka set Scotland a target of 246 runs. Still, some brilliant bowling across the Sri Lankan attack saw Scotland collapse, despite a valiant unbeaten 56 from Chris Greaves.

Invited to bat first in a difficult and tired wicket at the Queens Sports Club in Harare, Scotland did well to restrict Sri Lanka to just 245 runs at the break.

The Scottish team got early inroads picking up two wickets in the first powerplay. Sri Lanka however got back into the game, courtesy of three middle-order partnerships, which helped them put something respectable on board.

Opener Pathum Nissanka top scored with 75 runs off 85 balls, while Charith Asalanka hit 63 off 65.

Scotland slid to 73-5 in reply and was eventually dismissed for just 163 after two runouts in the same over sealed their fate despite an enterprising 56 not out from Greaves.

Mahesh Theekshana was the pick of the bowlers claiming 3-41, while Wanindu Hasaranag ended with figures of 2-42.

Theekshana was awarded the Player of the Match award after picking three wickets for 41 runs in 10 overs. Earlier in the game, Theekshana had contributed with the bat as well scoring 16 runs from 21 balls.

“When I batted, the wicket was a bit sloppy. We wanted to bowl stump to stump, and with our variation, we knew we could get them out. For the first two or three balls, I kept it wider, but then I kept it wicket to wicket. I think my strength is bowling with the new ball, my team is using that well. We knew we had 10 overs to bat when I walked out, so I wanted to play till the end and get that extra 20-30 runs”, said Mahesh Theekshana at the post-match presentation.

Commenting on the day’s performance Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka went on to say,

“All the boys are excited for the next round. These two points were very crucial. The wicket was not easy to bat on compared to the other wickets. Credit to Nissanka and Asalanka. Collapses happen. We play positive cricket. Playing positively and getting out is not a problem for us. Theekshana and Hasaranga always do the job for us. DDS and I are there to bowl for the fifth bowling option. Chameera is also injured”.

Meanwhile in the other encounter between Ireland and the UAE, Ireland batter Paul Stirling played a monstrous 162-run knockoff 134 balls to power his side to 349/4 in 50 overs against UAE in the ICC World Cup 2023 qualifiers. The bowlers then put on a clinical show to fold UAE for just 210 runs.

ස්කොට්ලන්තයට එරෙහිව විශිෂ්ට ජයග්‍රහණයක් ලබා ගනිමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව B කාණ්ඩයේ පෙරමුණ ගැනීමට සමත් විය

ජූනි 27 වෙනි අඟහරුවාදා පැවති ICC ක්‍රිකට් ලෝක කුසලාන සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ තරඟාවලියේ තරඟ හතරකින් ජයග්‍රහණ හතරක් සමඟින් ඔවුන්ගේ අපරාජිත බව අඛණ්ඩව පවත්වා ගෙන යාම සඳහා ස්කොට්ලන්තය ලකුණු 82 කින් පරාජය කරමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සිය කණ්ඩායම් අදියර ඉහළ මට්ටමක අවසන් කළේය.

මෙම ජයග්‍රහණය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ප්‍රසාද ලකුණු සටහනේ ඉහළින්ම සිය කාණ්ඩ වටය අවසන් කිරීමට ද ඉවහල් විය.

නිශ්ශංක සහ චරිත් අසලංකගේ අර්ධ ශතක හේතුවෙන් ස්කොට්ලන්තයට ලකුණු 246ක ඉලක්කයක් හිමිවිය. කෙසේ වෙතත්, ක්‍රිස් ග්‍රීව්ස් නොදැවී ලකුණු 56ක් ලබා සිටියද, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රහාරය හරහා සමහර දක්ෂ පන්දු යැවීම් නිසා ස්කොට්ලන්තය බිඳ වැටුණි.

හරාරේ හි ක්වීන්ස් ක්‍රීඩා සමාජයේ දුෂ්කර හා වෙහෙසකර කඩුල්ලක් තුළ පළමුව පන්දුවට පහර දීමට ආරාධනය කළ ස්කොට්ලන්තය, විවේකය වන විට ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ලකුණු 245 කට සීමා කිරීමට හොඳින් ක්‍රියා කළේය.

ස්කොට්ලන්ත කණ්ඩායම පළමු පවර්ප්ලේ කඩුලු 2ක් දවා ගනිමින් වේලාසනින්ම පිවිසිණ. කෙසේ වෙතත්, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව නැවතත් ක්‍රීඩාවට පිවිසියේ, මැදපෙළ හවුල්කාරිත්ව තුනක අනුග්‍රහයෙනි, එය ඔවුන්ට ගෞරවනීය දෙයක් නැව්ගත කිරීමට උපකාරී විය.

ආරම්භක පිතිකරු පැතුම් නිශ්ශංක පන්දු 85කදී ලකුණු 75ක් ලබා ගත් අතර චරිත් අසලංක ලකුණු 65ක් ලබා ගත්තේ ය.

පිළිතුරු ලෙස ස්කොට්ලන්තය ලකුණු 73-5 දක්වා පහත වැටුණු අතර අවසානයේ ග්‍රීව්ස් නොදැවී ලකුණු 56ක් ලබා සිටියදී එකම ඕවරයේදී දුවද්දී දැවී යෑම් දෙකක් ඔවුන්ගේ ඉරණම මුද්‍රා තැබීමෙන් පසුව ලකුණු 163කට දැවී ගියේය.

පන්දු යවන්නන් අතරින් මහේෂ් තීක්ෂණ ලකුණු 3-41කට හිමිකම් කියූ අතර වනිඳු හසරනාග් ලකුණු 2-42කින් අවසන් විය.

ඕවර 10කදී ලකුණු 41කට කඩුලු 3ක් දවාගත් තීක්ෂණ තරගයේ වීරයා සම්මානයෙන් පිදුම් ලැබීය. මීට පෙර තරගයට පිත්තෙන් ද දායකත්වය ලබාදුන් තීක්ෂණ පන්දු 21කින් ලකුණු 16ක් රැස් කළේය.

මේ අතර අයර්ලන්තය සහ එක්සත් අරාබි එමීර් රාජ්‍යය අතර පැවති අනෙක් තරගයේදී අයර්ලන්ත පිතිකරු පෝල් ස්ටර්ලින් පන්දු 134 කදී ලකුණු 162 ක් රැස්කරමින් තම කණ්ඩායම 2023 අයිසීසී ලෝක කුසලාන සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ තරගාවලියේදී එක්සත් අරාබි එමීර් රාජ්‍යයට එරෙහිව ඕවර 50 කදී ලකුණු 349/4 ක් ලබා ගැනීමට සමත් විය. පසුව පන්දු යවන්නන් සායනික දර්ශනයක් පෙන්වූයේ එක්සත් අරාබි එමීර් රාජ්‍යය ලකුණු 210කට නවතා දැමීමටයි.

Football

Sri Lanka’s Performance at AFC U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers: Full Technical Review and Group A Outlook

Published

24 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

Sri Lanka’s U-17 national football team continues its AFC U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign in Group A, delivering a mix of promising moments and clear tactical challenges. After three matches, Sri Lanka sits on three points with one win and two defeats, and the remaining fixtures against China PR and Timor-Leste will determine their final group standings.

Strong Start: Sri Lanka Defeat Brunei 4–0

Sri Lanka opened the qualifiers with an impressive 4–0 victory over Brunei Darussalam. The team showcased fast transitional play, effective pressing in the attacking third, and confident finishing. Their use of wide areas and quick movement off the ball allowed Sri Lanka to control the pace of the match. The defensive unit had limited pressure but remained well-organised. This result highlighted Sri Lanka’s ability to dominate against opponents of similar ranking.

Competitive but Costly Defeat: Bahrain 2–1 Sri Lanka

Against Bahrain, Sri Lanka produced a competitive performance but were undone by defensive inconsistencies. Bahrain repeatedly exploited the spaces between fullbacks and centre-backs, taking advantage of gaps during transitions. Sri Lanka struggled to track midfield runners, allowing Bahrain to create sustained pressure. Despite these issues, Sri Lanka produced quality attacking sequences, including a well-worked equaliser. Goalkeeper Mohamed Kathafi delivered several key saves to keep Sri Lanka in the contest. This match illustrated both the team’s potential and the areas requiring structural improvement.

Bangladesh Expose Sri Lanka’s Structural Weaknesses

Bangladesh outplayed Sri Lanka in a 5–0 defeat, using a high-pressing system that Sri Lanka struggled to manage. The defensive line dropped too deep, creating large spaces in midfield that Bangladesh exploited. Sri Lanka were unable to build out from the back or maintain possession under pressure. Fatigue and gaps between lines contributed to the widening scoreline in the second half. This performance underscored the need for stronger defensive compactness, improved press resistance, physical conditioning, and better management of transitions.

Overall Assessment

Sri Lanka’s strengths lie in quick counter-attacks, energetic wing play, and reliable goalkeeping. However, weaknesses remain evident in defensive organisation, ball retention under pressure, central creativity, and physical match endurance. The campaign continues to provide critical experience for long-term youth development.

Upcoming Match Analysis

Sri Lanka vs China PR

China PR enters the fourth match with exceptional form, scoring 30 goals and conceding none. Their physicality, structured build-up, and high press are expected to challenge Sri Lanka heavily. Based on form and tactical profiles, China are strong favourites to secure a large-margin victory.

Sri Lanka vs Timor-Leste

Sri Lanka’s final fixture against Timor-Leste offers a favourable opportunity. Timor-Leste have conceded heavily in all matches and have yet to score or collect a point. Sri Lanka will likely control transitions and attacking phases, making this a realistic chance to secure a second win in the group.

Projected Final Group A Standings Based on Current Form

Rank	Team	P	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	China PR	5	5	0	~40	0	+40	15
2	Bangladesh	5	4	1	~23	6	+17	12
3	Bahrain	5	3	2	~10	8	+2	9
4	Sri Lanka	5	2	3	~8	18	-10	6
5	Timor-Leste	5	0	5	~2	28	-26	0
6	Brunei	5	0	5	~0	32	-32	0

A win against Timor-Leste would confirm Sri Lanka’s place in the top four and provide a positive conclusion to their AFC U-17 Asian Cup Qualifying campaign.

Football

Under-16 Division II Football Championship 2025 Kicks Off in Negombo

Published

1 day ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

Negombo, November 26–27, 2025 — The Sri Lanka Schools Football Association (SLSFA) has officially commenced the Under-16 Division II National Football Championship 2025, bringing together schools from all corners of the island for two days of intense competition in Negombo.

A total of 21 schools are grouped into seven groups (A–G), with matches taking place across four venues:

St. Mary’s College Ground
Kurana Mejaraaj Ground
Don Bosco Ground
Katunayaka 18 Kanuwa Ground

The tournament will be played in a first-round group stage, followed by a 2nd round knockout stage, leading to the crowning of the Division II champions.

Group Allocations & Schools (First Round)

Group A – St. Mary’s College Ground

Aligar National School – Batticaloa
Abdul Majeed – Kinniya
Stafford International School – Colombo

Group B – St. Mary’s College Ground

Zahira College – Mawanella
Vidyialoka College – Galle
Gateway College – Kandy

Group C – Kurana Mejaraaj Ground

St. Mary’s College – Chilaw
Zahira College – Matale
Gateway College – Colombo

Group D – Don Bosco Ground

Maris Stella College – Negombo
Maliyadeva Model School – Kurunegala
Al Minhaj National School – Nuwara Eliya

Group E – Don Bosco Ground

Jailani National School – Balangoda
Arafa National School – Weligama
Al-Falal College – Negombo

Group F – Kurana Mejaraaj Ground

Uva College – Badulla
Malhara Suliya MV – Galle
Thopawewa National School – Polonnaruwa

Group G – Katunayake 18 Kanuwa Ground

Jinaraja Boys’ College – Gampola
Zahira College – Puttalam
Al Fahiriya – Panadura

Day 1 Match Schedule – 26 November 2025

St. Mary’s College Ground (Groups A & B)

8.00 AM: Aligar NS vs Abdul Majeed
9.30 AM: Zahira Mawanella vs Vidyialoka Galle
10.30 AM: Abdul Majeed vs Stafford IS
11.30 AM: Vidyialoka Galle vs Gateway Kandy
1.00 PM: Aligar NS vs Stafford IS
2.00 PM: Zahira Mawanella vs Gateway Kandy

Kurana Mejaraaj Ground (Groups C & F)

8.00 AM: St. Mary’s Chilaw vs Zahira Matale
9.30 AM: Uva College vs Malhara Suliya MV
10.30 AM: Zahira Matale vs Gateway Colombo
11.30 AM: Malhara Suliya MV vs Thopawewa NS
1.00 PM: St. Mary’s Chilaw vs Gateway Colombo
2.00 PM: Uva College vs Thopawewa NS

Don Bosco Ground (Groups D & E)

8.00 AM: Jailani NS vs Arafa NS
9.30 AM: Maris Stella Negombo vs Maliyadeva MS
10.30 AM: Arafa NS vs Al-Falal College
11.30 AM: Maliyadeva MS vs Al Minhaj NS
1.00 PM: Jailani NS vs Al-Falal College
2.00 PM: Maris Stella vs Al Minhaj NS

Katunayake 18 Kanuwa Ground (Group G)

8.00 AM: Jinaraja Boys’ College vs Zahira Puttalam
9.30 AM: Zahira Puttalam vs Al Fahiriya Panadura
10.30 AM: Jinaraja Boys’ College vs Al Fahiriya

Knockout Stage – Second Round

The winners of Groups A, B, C, D, E, F, and G will advance to the Knockout Stage scheduled after the completion of group matches

. Match pairings will be finalized based on group rankings.

A Platform for Young Talent

The Under-16 Division II Championship continues to be a pivotal tournament in identifying and elevating Sri Lanka’s rising footballers. Teams will fight for qualification to higher divisions and for national-level recognition.

Sri Lankan Sports TV will provide live updates, match scores, photos, and special coverage throughout the tournament.

Football

Sri Lanka Champions League Kicks Off – 14 Teams, New Format & A New Era for Domestic Football

Published

4 days ago

November 23, 2025

Editor

The Champions League, the second-tier elite tournament of Football Sri Lanka (FFSL), returns with a revamped structure and a renewed vision for elevating the domestic game. A total of 14 top clubs have been drawn into two competitive groups, setting the stage for one of the most dynamic football seasons in recent years.

Tournament Format

14 teams will compete in two groups.
The top 4 teams from each group will advance to the prestigious Super 8 Round.
In the Super 8, all eight teams will battle each other in a league format.
The team with the highest points at the end of the Super 8 will be crowned Champions League winners.

This structure ensures more high-level matches, stronger competition, and maximum exposure for players and clubs across the country.

A Message That Marks a New Era — Exclusive to Sri Lankan Sports TV

President of Football Sri Lanka, Jaswar Umar, delivered a powerful and forward-thinking message reflecting the transformation happening within the game:

“We have now invested and elevated the domestic game with a world-class Champions League experience, delivering top-level match operations, enhanced presentation, commercial partnerships, and live TV broadcasts for all matches—an unprecedented milestone for local football.

The tournament not only provides advanced facilities for teams, players, coaches, and referees, but also launches a major social initiative: the ‘No to Drugs’ campaign, using football to educate communities and inspire rejection of drugs.

The Champions League marks a new era and a transformative step forward for football in Sri Lanka.

I request all teams, players and coaches to take maximum benefits from the facilities given.

This is – One Game. One Heart.”
— Jaswar Umar, FFSL President