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Sri Lankan Cricketer Accused of Rape Sees Bail Conditions Eased

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A prominent Sri Lankan cricket player, who had been stuck in Australia for over eight months, has been granted permission for domestic travel following a relaxation of his bail terms.

Danushka Gunathilaka, dressed in black pants and a heavy black jacket, made an appearance at the Sydney Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday to seek leniency regarding his bail conditions.

Gunathilaka, who has maintained his innocence, had been charged with the rape of a woman at her Sydney residence while he was in Australia participating in the T20 World Cup last year.

The cricketer was apprehended and charged in November of the previous year as he was about to return to Sri Lanka alongside his teammates. Consequently, he had been prohibited from leaving the country.

Initially granted bail on November 17 under strict conditions such as surrendering his passport and avoiding international departure points, Gunathilaka, aged 32, approached the court on Tuesday to request a revision of his bail terms. His plea was to allow him to travel within Australia on two separate occasions within the current month.

Acting Judge Graeme Henson consented to temporarily lift the restriction on approaching international departure points for four days this week and another four days at the end of the month. The judge stipulated that Gunathilaka must notify the police at least 48 hours in advance, providing details of his trip’s duration, location, and itinerary for any domestic travel.

However, the 32-year-old cricketer is still required to check in with the police three times a week, and he is limited to possessing only one mobile phone. Additionally, due to the pending allegations, he is prohibited from accessing dating sites or apps.

According to the police’s account, Gunathilaka matched with a woman on a dating app and engaged in several online conversations before meeting in person. After the meeting, they had drinks in the city before heading to the woman’s residence in Sydney’s eastern suburbs around 11 pm, as stated by the police report.

Allegedly, Gunathilaka disregarded the woman’s request to proceed slowly and instead assaulted her sexually within her residence. The police contend that the cricketer engaged in forceful intercourse during which he reportedly choked the woman on three occasions.

The woman expressed to the police that fear had immobilized her, preventing her from taking any action. She claimed that she had only consented to sexual activity with the cricket player under the condition that he use a condom. Later, she found the condom discarded on the floor next to the bed.

The court was informed that the sexual assault charge was connected to “stealing,” which involves the unauthorized removal of a condom during intercourse.

Gunathilaka is scheduled for a trial by a judge alone in September.

Source: The Australian

දූෂණය පිළිබඳ චෝදනාවට ලක්වූ ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩකයාට ඇප කොන්දේසි ලිහිල් වේ.

මාස අටකට වැඩි කාලයක් ඕස්ට්රේලියාවේ සිරවී සිටි ප්රමුඛ ශ්රී ලංකා ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩකයෙක් ඔහුගේ ඇප අනුදර්ශන ලිහිල් කිරීමෙන් පසු ගෘහස්ථ සංචාරය සඳහා අවසර ලබා දී ඇත.

පසුගිය වසරේදී විස්සයි විස්ස ලෝක කුසලානයට සහභාගී වූ ඔහු ඕස්ට්රේලියාවෙහි සිටියදී කාන්තාවක් ස්ලොනු නිවසේ කාන්තාවක් දූෂණය කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් චෝදනාවට ලක්ව තිබුණි.

ඔහුගේ කණ්ඩායමේ සාමාජිකයන් සමඟ නැවත ශ්රී ලංකාවට පැමිණී නමුත් ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩකයා පසුගිය වසරේ නොවැම්බර් මාසයේදී අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන තිබේ. එහි ප්රතිඵලයක් වශයෙන්, ඔහුට රට හැර යාම තහනම් විය.

ඔහුගේ විදේශ ගමන් බලපත්රය යටත් කිරීම හා ජාත්යන්තර පිටත්වීමේ ස්ථානවලට යටත් වීම සහ ජාත්යන්තර පිටත්වීමේ ස්ථානවල ලකුණු 32 ක් වැනි දැඩි කොන්දේසි යටතේ මුලින් ඇප ලබා දී ඇති අතර, ඔහුගේ ඇප අනුදර්ශනවල සංශෝධනයක් ඉල්ලා සිටීම සඳහා ගුණතිලක මහතා අඟහරුවාදා පැමිණියේය. ඔහුගේ ආයාචනය නම්, වත්මන් මාසය තුළ අවස්ථා දෙකකදී ඔහුට ඕස්ට්රේලියාව තුළ ගමන් කිරීමට ඉඩ දීමයි.

මේ සතියේ දින හතරක් සහ මාසය අවසානයේ තවත් දින හතරක් සඳහා වූ ජාත්යන්තර පිටත්වීමේ ස්ථාන තාවකාලිකව ඔසවා තැබීමට වැඩබලන විනිසුරු ග්රේට හෙන්සන් ඊට එකඟ වීමට එකඟ විය. විනිසුරුවරයා නියම කළේ ගුණතිලක අවම වශයෙන් පැය 48 කට පෙරව පෙර පැය 48 කට පෙර පොලිසියට දැනුම් දිය යුතු බවයි.

කෙසේ වෙතත්, 32 හැවිරිදි ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩකයාට සතියකට තුන් වතාවක් පොලීසිය සමඟ පොලිසිය සමඟ පරීක්ෂා කිරීම අවශ්ය වන අතර, එක් ජංගම දුරකථනයක් පමණක් සන්තක වීමට ඔහු සීමා වේ. මීට අමතරව, අපේක්ෂිත චෝදනාවරුන් නිසා, ආලය අඩවි හෝ යෙදුම් වෙත ප්රවේශ වීම තහනම්ය.

ගුණතිලක හට සැප්තැම්බර් මාසයේ විනිසුරුවරයා විසින් නඩු විභාගයක් පැවැත්වීමට නියෝග කර ඇත.

Cricket

Team Green Clinch Women’s NSL T20 Title with Commanding Final Victory

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Team Green were crowned champions of the Women’s National Super League T20 tournament after producing a dominant six-wicket victory over Team Blue in the final played at the P. Sara Oval on Saturday.

The championship triumph was built on a disciplined and clinical bowling performance, as Team Green dismissed Team Blue for a modest total of 95 in 18.1 overs. Oshadi Ranasinghe led the attack with an outstanding four-wicket haul, applying sustained pressure through the middle overs and preventing any meaningful recovery. She received strong support from Malsha Shehani, Kawya Kavindi, Nimasha Madushani, and Udeshika Prabodani, as Team Blue struggled to establish partnerships.

Team Blue found resistance through Chamari Athapaththu, who played a determined innings of 51 from 41 deliveries. Her knock helped stabilise the innings after early setbacks, but regular wickets at the other end stalled momentum. Once Athapaththu was dismissed, the remainder of the batting lineup was unable to provide support, leading to a rapid collapse.

In response, Team Green approached the chase with calm assurance. Despite losing a few early wickets, they remained firmly in control throughout the pursuit of the modest target. Nilakshika Silva anchored the innings with a composed unbeaten 36, rotating the strike effectively and keeping the scoreboard ticking. Oshadi Ranasinghe completed a memorable all-round performance by contributing an unbeaten 16, ensuring there were no late complications.

Team Green reached the target at 98 for 4 in 18.1 overs, sealing the title with 11 balls to spare. Team Blue’s bowlers attempted to apply pressure, but the total proved insufficient to trouble a well-organised batting unit.

The victory capped a successful campaign for Team Green, underlining their consistency and balance throughout the tournament, while Oshadi Ranasinghe’s all-round brilliance stood out on the biggest stage.

Brief Scores

Team Blue – 95 all out in 18.1 overs
Chamari Athapaththu 51; Oshadi Ranasinghe 4/17, Udeshika Prabodani 1/17

Team Green – 98/4 in 18.1 overs
Nilakshika Silva 36*, Oshadi Ranasinghe 16*; Devmi Vihanga 1/22

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Cricket

Milan, Dunith Likely to Return for ODIs as Sri Lanka Prepare for England Series

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England Tour of Sri Lanka 2026

All-rounders Milan Rathnayake and Dunith Wellalage are set to make their return to Sri Lanka’s One-Day International squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England, which is scheduled to begin in the coming days.

Sri Lanka selectors have opted for a well-balanced squad that blends experienced campaigners with emerging talent as the hosts prepare for a demanding home series against a strong England side.

Charith Asalanka will continue to lead the ODI team as captain, with his role in the middle order expected to be pivotal. Asalanka’s ability to absorb pressure and accelerate when required will be key against England’s varied bowling attack.

At the top of the order, Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Mishara are expected to open the batting. Nissanka’s consistency and sound technique remain central to Sri Lanka’s ODI plans, while Mishara will be eager to convert starts into meaningful contributions. Their partnership will be crucial in providing solid foundations.

Wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis adds experience and aggression to the middle order, offering Sri Lanka flexibility in both tempo and shot selection. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Janith Liyanage further strengthen the batting unit, with both players capable of anchoring the innings or playing decisive roles when momentum is needed.

The squad features strong all-round depth, with Kamindu Mendis offering versatility with both bat and ball. The return of Wanindu Hasaranga significantly enhances Sri Lanka’s all-round options, with his leg-spin expected to play a decisive role on home pitches. Dunith Wellalage’s inclusion adds another spin-bowling all-rounder capable of controlling the middle overs.

Milan Rathnayake’s likely return boosts the seam-bowling all-round resources, while the pace attack will be led by Asitha Fernando, supported by Eshan Malinga and Pramod Madushan. The spin department is further reinforced by Maheesh Theekshana and Jeffrey Vandersay, both expected to be influential under Sri Lankan conditions.

The first ODI of the series is scheduled to be played on Thursday (22) at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

Probable Sri Lanka ODI Squad vs England

Charith Asalanka (Captain), Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Pavan Rathnayake, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Eshan Malinga, Pramod Madushan, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay.

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Peiris, Norbert, Usgodaarachchi and De Silva Lead Women’s Charge at Yeti SSC Open

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The Women’s Singles quarterfinals at the Yeti SSC Open Tennis Championship delivered a high standard of competition, with Yuhansa Peiris, Annaya Norbert, Sandithi Usgodaarachchi, and Dinara De Silva producing impressive performances to book their places in the semifinals.

Yuhansa Peiris produced one of the most commanding displays of the tournament, overwhelming Dulkini Ranasinghe in straight sets, 6/0, 6/0. Peiris controlled the match from the outset, combining solid baseline dominance with precise shot placement and relentless pressure that gave her opponent little opportunity to find rhythm.

Dinara De Silva was equally dominant in her quarterfinal encounter, cruising past Aroshi Thomas 6/1, 6/0. De Silva’s confident shot selection, consistent aggression, and sharp court movement allowed her to dictate play throughout the match, underlining her strong form in the championship.

One of the most competitive matches of the women’s quarterfinals saw Annaya Norbert edge past Biyanka Acquistapace in a tightly contested contest. Norbert held her nerve in crucial moments to secure a 6/4, 7/6 victory, clinching the match in a tense second-set tiebreak after sustained pressure from both players.

Sandithi Usgodaarachchi showcased impressive resilience and mental strength in her quarterfinal clash against Vinethya Dharmarathne. After dropping the opening set 2/6, Usgodaarachchi regrouped and raised her intensity, dominating the next two sets 6/3, 6/1 to complete a hard-fought comeback and advance to the semifinals.

The Men’s Singles quarterfinals were equally compelling, with several strong performances shaping an exciting semifinal lineup. Ganuka Fernando advanced with a composed 6/3, 6/4 victory over Ashen Silva, using disciplined baseline play and timely winners to maintain control during key phases of the match.

Thehan Wijemanne delivered one of the most dominant performances in the men’s draw, dismantling Neven Kannangara 6/1, 6/2. Wijemanne’s aggressive approach and constant pressure from the opening game left little room for his opponent to recover.

Harishva Parameshwaran demonstrated experience and tactical awareness in a solid 6/2, 6/4 win against Rehan Gunawardhana, maintaining steady momentum and dictating play with well-constructed points. Rounding off the quarterfinal stage, Methvan Vijemanne advanced in emphatic fashion, defeating Aahil Kallel 6/1, 6/1 with excellent court coverage and sharp finishing.

With the semifinals now set, the Yeti SSC Open Tennis Championship continues to highlight the growing depth, competitiveness, and quality of Sri Lanka’s tennis talent across both the women’s and men’s categories.

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