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St. Joseph beat St. Peter by 5 wickets to regain the Rev.Fr Peter Pillai Memorial shield
49th ‘Battle of the Saints’ limited over the encounter
An all-round performance helped St. Joseph’s College register a 5-wicket win over St. Peter’s College in the 49th ‘Battle of the Saints’ limited over the encounter and regain Rev.Fr Peter Pillai Memorial shield worked off at SSC grounds, Colombo on Sunday.
Batting first, the boys from Bambalapitya were bundled out for 156 runs despite Nathen David’s lone cameo, and in reply, the Josephian’s achieved the target in just 40.2 overs.
Oween Salgado and Nathen David walked out to open the innings for Peterites, but their partnership was short-lived, with Oween’s being the first wicket to fall for just 4 runs.
In came one down batter Nimuthu Gunawardene. He too failed to hang on as he was caught behind Avintha de Alwis’ bowing to make things worse for S. Peters.
With the scoreboard reading 42-2, Rusanda Gamage joined Nathen David in the middle and the duo revived the innings to a certain extent with a 57-run partnership for the third wicket.
The duo smashed the opposition bowlers all over the park, where at one stage it looked like they would single-handedly bat the allotted 50 overs and take their team to a total of at least 250.
However, things changed quickly as Josephian’s had the last laugh when rising star Shevon Daniel got the breakthrough to send Rusanda (32) back to the pavilion when he was caught at the boundary in the 26th over, and St. Joseph’s gained back the momentum.
After the breakthrough, St. Joseph’s bowlers didn’t allow any breathing space for the opposition to settle down, as they continued bowling good lines and lengths to put constant pressure. Nathen David was the only batter to trouble the bowling attack, and apart from him none of the other batters posed a threat to the Josephian’s.
Nathen went on to score a fighting 79 ball 53 runs including 4 boundaries before they were bowled out for a below-par score of 156 runs inside 41.5 overs.
In reply, it was a walk in the park for the Joesphian’s as they achieved the target in just 41.5 overs.
Hirun Matheesha was the architect of the chase top with a blistering 50 runs off 59 deliveries including 5 boundaries and a six, while Sadeesh Jayawardana (27) and Hiran Jaysundara (30) contributed with useful knocks to take their team home comfortably.
Earlier, the 89th Annual ‘Battle of the Saints’ ended in a draw on 29 April at the SSC Colombo due to bad weather.
Brief scores:
St. Peters: 156 (41.5) (Nathen David 53, Rusanda Gamage 32, Avintha de Alwis 3-27, Lahiru Amarasekara 2-37, Yenula Dewthusa 2-18, Shevon Daniel 2-33)
St. Joseph’s: 158-5 (40.2) (Hirun Matheesha 50, Hiran Jaysundara 30, Vishen Helambage 2-25)
ශාන්ත ජෝශප් පිල කඩුලු 5කින් ශාන්ත පීතර පිල පරදවා ගරු පීටර් පිල්ලේ අනුස්මරණ පලිහ යළි හිමිකර ගත්තේය.
49 වැනි ‘සාන්තුවරයන්ගේ සටන’ හමුවීම සීමා විය
තුන් ඉරියව් දස්කම් හේතුවෙන් ශාන්ත ජෝසප් විද්යාලය 49 වැනි ‘සාන්තුවරයන්ගේ සටන’ සීමාසහිත ශාන්ත පීතර විද්යාලයට එරෙහිව කඩුලු 5 ක ජයක් වාර්තා කිරීමට සමත් වූ අතර කොළඹ SSC ක්රීඩාංගණයේ දී වැඩ කරන ලද ගරු පීටර් පීටර් පිල්ලෙයි අනුස්මරණ පලිහ නැවත ලබා ගැනීමට සමත් විය. ඉරිදා.
පළමුවෙන් පන්දුවට පහර දුන් බම්බලපිටියේ ක්රීඩකයෝ නේතන් ඩේවිඩ්ගේ හුදකලා ආරාධිතයා නොතකා ලකුණු 156කට දැවී ගිය අතර පිළිතුරු ලෙස ජෝසප් ක්රීඩකයෝ ඕවර 40.2කදී එම ඉලක්කය සපුරා ගත්හ.
Peterites සඳහා ඉනිම ආරම්භ කිරීමට Oween Salgado සහ Nathen David ඉවත්ව ගිය නමුත් ඔවුන්ගේ සබඳතාව කෙටිකාලීන වූ අතර Oween ගේ පළමු කඩුල්ල ලකුණු 4කට පමණක් දැවී ගියේය.
වන් ඩවුන් පිතිකරු නිමුතු ගුණවර්ධන පැමිණියේය. එස් පීටර්ස්ගේ තත්ත්වය තවත් නරක අතට හැරීම සඳහා අවින්ද ද අල්විස්ගේ දණ නමා පිටුපසට හසුවීම නිසා ඔහුද එල්ලී සිටීමට අසමත් විය.
ලකුණු පුවරුව 42-2ක් ලෙස සටහන් වෙද්දී නේතන් ඩේවිඩ් සමගින් එක්ව සිටි රුසඳ ගමගේ තෙවැනි කඩුල්ලට ලකුණු 57ක සබඳතාවයක් ගොඩනැගූ අතර ඔවුන් දෙදෙනාම යම් දුරකට ඉනිමට පණ දුන්හ.
ඔවුන් දෙදෙනා උද්යානය පුරා ප්රතිවාදී පන්දු යවන්නන් බිඳ දැමූ අතර, එක් අවස්ථාවකදී ඔවුන් නියමිත පන්දුවාර 50 තනි අතින් පන්දුවට පහර දී තම කණ්ඩායම අවම වශයෙන් ලකුණු 250 දක්වා ගෙන යනු ඇති බවක් පෙනෙන්නට තිබුණි.
කෙසේ වෙතත්, 26 වැනි ඕවරයේදී හතරේ සීමාවේදී දැවී ගිය රුසැන්ඩා (32) නැවත මණ්ඩපයට යැවීමට නැගී එන ක්රීඩක ෂෙවෝන් ඩැනියෙල්ගේ පෙරළිය ජොසපියන්ස් පිලට ලැබුණු විට අවසන් සිනහව ඇති වූ විට සියල්ල ඉක්මනින් වෙනස් වූ අතර සාන්ත ජෝසප් ක්රීඩකයෝ නැවතත් වේගවත් වූහ.
ප්රගතියෙන් පසුව, ශාන්ත ජෝසප් පන්දු යවන්නන් ප්රතිවාදීන්ට කිසිදු හුස්ම ගැනීමේ ඉඩක් ලබා දුන්නේ නැත, ඔවුන් නිරන්තර පීඩනයක් ඇති කිරීම සඳහා හොඳ රේඛා සහ දිග දිගේ පන්දු යවමින් සිටියහ. පන්දු යැවීමේ ප්රහාරයට බාධා කළ එකම පිතිකරුවා වූයේ නේතන් ඩේවිඩ් වන අතර ඔහු හැර සෙසු පිතිකරුවන් කිසිවෙක් ජෝසප් පිතිකරුවන්ට තර්ජනයක් වූයේ නැත.
පන්දු 79කදී හතරේ පහර 4ක් සමඟින් ලකුණු 53ක් ලබා ගත් නේතන් ඕවර 41.5ක් ඇතුළත ලකුණු 156කට අඩුවෙන් දැවී ගියේය.
පිළිතුරු ලෙස ජෝස්පියන් ක්රීඩකයින් පන්දුවාර 41.5කදී එම ඉලක්කය සපුරා ගත් අතර එය උද්යානයේ ඇවිදීමකි.
පන්දු 59කදී හතරේ පහර 5ක් සහ හයේ පහරක් සමඟින් ලකුණු 50ක් රැස්කළ හිරුන් මතීෂ ලකුණු 50ක් ලබා ගත් අතර සදීෂ් ජයවර්ධන (27) සහ හිරාන් ජයසුන්දර (30) ප්රයෝජනවත් දස්කම් දක්වමින් තම කණ්ඩායම සුවපහසු ලෙස ගෙදර ගෙන යාමට දායක වූහ.
මීට පෙර, අයහපත් කාලගුණය හේතුවෙන් 89 වැනි වාර්ෂික ‘සාන්තුවරයන්ගේ සටන’ අප්රේල් 29 වන දින කොළඹ SSC හිදී ජය පරාජයෙන් තොරව අවසන් විය.
කෙටි ලකුණු:
සාන්ත පීතර: 156 (41.5) (නාදන් ඩේවිඩ් 53, රුසඳ ගමගේ 32, අවින්ත ද අල්විස් 3-27, ලහිරු අමරසේකර 2-37, යෙනුල දෙව්තුසා 2-18, ෂෙවෝන් ඩැනියෙල් 2-33)
ශාන්ත ජෝශප්: 158-5 (40.2) (හිරුන් මතීෂ 50, හිරාන් ජයසුන්දර 30, විශේන් හැලඹගේ 2-25)
புனித ஜோசப், செயின்ட் பீட்டரை 5 விக்கெட் வித்தியாசத்தில் தோற்கடித்து, திருத்தந்தை பீட்டர் பிள்ளை நினைவுக் கேடயத்தை மீட்டார்.
49வது ‘புனிதர்களின் போர்’ என்கவுண்டரில் மட்டுப்படுத்தப்பட்டது
ஆல்ரவுண்ட் ஆட்டத்தால் புனித ஜோசப் கல்லூரி 49வது ‘புனிதர்களின் போரில்’ செயின்ட் பீட்டர்ஸ் கல்லூரிக்கு எதிராக 5 விக்கெட் வித்தியாசத்தில் வெற்றி பெற்றது மற்றும் கொழும்பு SSC மைதானத்தில் பணிபுரிந்த புனிதர் பீட்டர் பிள்ளை நினைவுக் கேடயத்தை மீட்டெடுத்தது. ஞாயிறு அன்று.
முதலில் துடுப்பெடுத்தாடிய பம்பலப்பிட்டியைச் சேர்ந்த சிறுவர்கள் நேதன் டேவிட் தனித்து விளையாடினாலும் 156 ஓட்டங்களுக்கு ஆட்டமிழந்தனர், பதிலுக்கு ஜோசபியன் அணி 40.2 ஓவர்களில் இலக்கை எட்டியது.
ஓவீன் சல்கடோ மற்றும் நேதன் டேவிட் ஆகியோர் பீட்டரைட்டுக்காக இன்னிங்ஸைத் தொடங்க வெளியேறினர், ஆனால் அவர்களது பார்ட்னர்ஷிப் குறுகிய காலமே நீடித்தது, ஓவின் 4 ரன்களுக்கு முதல் விக்கெட்டை வீழ்த்தினார்.
ஒன் டவுன் பேட்டர் நிமுத்து குணவர்தன வந்தார். அவிந்த டி அல்விஸின் குனிந்து S. பீட்டர்ஸை மோசமாக்குவதற்குப் பின்னால் பிடிபட்டதால் அவரும் தொங்கத் தவறிவிட்டார்.
ஸ்கோர்போர்டு 42-2 ஆக இருந்த நிலையில், நடுவில் நாதன் டேவிட்டுடன் ருசண்டா கமகே இணைந்தார், இருவரும் மூன்றாவது விக்கெட்டுக்கு 57 ரன்கள் கூட்டாண்மை மூலம் இன்னிங்ஸை ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட அளவிற்கு மீட்டெடுத்தனர்.
இருவரும் பார்க் முழுவதும் எதிரணி பந்துவீச்சாளர்களை அடித்து நொறுக்கினர், அங்கு ஒரு கட்டத்தில் அவர்கள் தனித்தனியாக நிர்ணயிக்கப்பட்ட 50 ஓவர்களை பேட் செய்து தங்கள் அணியை குறைந்தபட்சம் 250 ரன்களுக்கு கொண்டு செல்வார்கள் என்று தோன்றியது.
எவ்வாறாயினும், 26வது ஓவரில் பவுண்டரியில் கேட்ச் ஆனபோது, ருசாண்டாவை (32) பெவிலியனுக்கு அனுப்ப, எழுச்சி நட்சத்திரம் ஷெவோன் டேனியல் திருப்புமுனையைப் பெற்றபோது ஜோசபியன் கடைசியாகச் சிரித்ததால் விஷயங்கள் விரைவாக மாறியது, மேலும் செயின்ட் ஜோசப்ஸ் மீண்டும் வேகத்தைப் பெற்றது.
திருப்புமுனைக்குப் பிறகு, செயின்ட் ஜோசப் பந்துவீச்சாளர்கள் எதிரணியை நிலைநிறுத்த எந்த சுவாச இடத்தையும் அனுமதிக்கவில்லை, ஏனெனில் அவர்கள் தொடர்ந்து நல்ல லைன்கள் மற்றும் லென்த்களை தொடர்ந்து அழுத்தம் கொடுத்து பந்துவீசினர். நேதன் டேவிட் மட்டுமே பந்துவீச்சைத் தொந்தரவு செய்த ஒரே வீரர், அவரைத் தவிர மற்ற பேட்டர்கள் எவரும் ஜோசபியன்களுக்கு அச்சுறுத்தலாக இருக்கவில்லை.
நேதன் 79 பந்துகளில் 4 பவுண்டரிகள் உட்பட 53 ரன்கள் எடுத்து 41.5 ஓவர்களில் 156 ரன்களுக்கு குறைவான ஸ்கோரில் ஆட்டமிழந்தார்.
பதிலுக்கு, 41.5 ஓவர்களில் ஜோஸ்பியன்ஸ் வெற்றி இலக்கை அடைந்தது.
ஹிருன் மதீஷா 59 பந்துகளில் 5 பவுண்டரிகள் மற்றும் ஒரு சிக்ஸர் உள்ளடங்கலாக 50 ஓட்டங்களை விளாசினார், அதே சமயம் சதீஷ் ஜயவர்தன (27) மற்றும் ஹிரன் ஜெயசுந்தரா (30) ஆகியோர் தங்கள் அணியை வசதியாக வீட்டிற்கு அழைத்துச் செல்ல பயனுள்ள ஆட்டங்களால் பங்களித்தனர்.
முன்னதாக, 89வது வருடாந்த ‘புனிதர்களின் போர்’ மோசமான வானிலை காரணமாக கொழும்பு SSC இல் ஏப்ரல் 29 அன்று சமநிலையில் முடிந்தது.
சுருக்கமான மதிப்பெண்கள்:
செயின்ட் பீட்டர்ஸ்: 156 (41.5) (நேதன் டேவிட் 53, ருசன்டா கமகே 32, அவிந்த டி அல்விஸ் 3-27, லஹிரு அமரசேகர 2-37, யெனுலா டெவ்துசா 2-18, ஷெவோன் டேனியல் 2-33)
செயின்ட் ஜோசப்ஸ்: 158-5 (40.2) (ஹிருன் மதீஷா 50, ஹிரன் ஜெயசுந்தர 30, விஷேன் ஹெலம்பகே 2-25)
Cricket
Feroza, Sidra guide Pakistan Women to comfortable win
Pakistan Women produced a composed batting performance led by Gull Feroza and Sidra Amin to register a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka Women in the opening ODI of their tour after successfully chasing 211 with seven overs to spare.
After opting to bat, Sri Lanka struggled to build substantial partnerships despite several batters making useful contributions. Opener Vishmi Gunaratne gave the hosts a positive start with 28 off 38 deliveries, striking four boundaries before becoming the first of three victims for left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu.
Captain Chamari Athapaththu looked set for a bigger score, compiling an elegant 46 from 67 balls with six fours. She added 53 runs with Hasini Perera for the second wicket, but Nashra’s timely breakthrough halted Sri Lanka’s momentum.
Perera contributed a patient 35 while Kavisha Dilhari added another valuable 35 in the middle order. Nilakshika Silva remained unbeaten on 46 from 50 deliveries, ensuring Sri Lanka batted out their full quota of 50 overs to post 210 for nine.
Pakistan’s disciplined bowling attack shared the workload effectively. Nashra Sandhu finished with impressive figures of 3 for 42, while Tasmia Rubab claimed 2 for 34. Umm-e-Hani, Syeda Aroob Shah and captain Fatima Sana chipped in with a wicket apiece to keep the scoring under control.
In reply, Pakistan laid the foundation through Gull Feroza, who produced a fluent 78 off 77 balls, laced with 11 boundaries. She dominated the opening stand before being trapped leg before wicket by Kavisha Dilhari after steering her side into a commanding position.
Experienced batter Sidra Amin anchored the chase with a measured 57 from 94 deliveries, rotating the strike effectively while building partnerships that kept Pakistan comfortably ahead of the required rate. Ayesha Zafar then finished the job with an unbeaten 27, while Najiha Alvi contributed a useful 13.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers found occasional breakthroughs, with Dilhari returning 2 for 37, while Inoka Ranaweera, Chamari Athapaththu and Nimasha Meepage claimed one wicket each. However, the modest target never placed Pakistan under sustained pressure as they reached 211 for five in 43 overs to take an early lead in the series.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka Women 210/9 (50 overs) – Chamari Athapaththu 46, Nilakshika Silva 46; Nashra Sandhu 3/42, Tasmia Rubab 2/34. Pakistan Women 211/5 (43 overs) – Gull Feroza 78, Sidra Amin 57, Ayesha Zafar 27; Kavisha Dilhari 2/37.
Football
European Parliament Members Push for FIFA Inquiry Over Balogun Suspension Decision
A group of European Parliament members is seeking a formal investigation into FIFA President Gianni Infantino following the controversial decision to allow United States forward Folarin Balogun to play after receiving a red card earlier in the tournament.
The lawmakers argue that the move raises serious concerns about FIFA’s independence and whether political influence played a role in altering a disciplinary decision during the FIFA World Cup.
Balogun, 25, was sent off in the United States’ July 1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under standard tournament regulations, the dismissal would have ruled him out of his team’s next fixture. However, FIFA’s disciplinary authorities later lifted the suspension, enabling the striker to feature in Monday’s match.
The decision came after U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly appealed directly to Infantino on Balogun’s behalf, prompting criticism from European lawmakers who say football’s governing body compromised the integrity of its own rules.
In a joint statement, Members of the European Parliament Barry Andrews, Lara Wolters and Niels Fuglsang described the decision as “a disgrace and a perversion of justice,” arguing that changing the application of red-card suspensions during an ongoing tournament undermines confidence in the sport’s disciplinary system.
The lawmakers are calling on football associations across European Union member states to urge FIFA’s Ethics Committee to examine Infantino’s conduct. They want investigators to determine whether political pressure from the Trump administration influenced the reversal of Balogun’s suspension and to assess what they describe as other possible violations of FIFA’s principle of political neutrality, including the awarding of the FIFA Peace Prize to Trump.
FIFA has maintained that the decision to overturn Balogun’s suspension was made independently by its disciplinary committee.
According to the lawmakers, support for the initiative is growing, with 35 members of the European Parliament already backing the proposal.
“The beauty of sport lies in the consistent and transparent application of its rules,” the statement said. “When political influence determines who is eligible to compete, the principle of fairness is fundamentally weakened.”
News
Sri Lanka dominate Ceylon Masters with 36 gold medals
Sri Lankan shuttle experts recorded a majestic dominance at the claiming a record overall tally of 137 medals at the CMB Masters International Badminton Championships 2026, successfully held at the AIR Sports Complex in Rajagiriya. Out of the total Sri Lanka won a straight tally of 101 medals through their experienced shuttlers, while the remaining 36 were added from collaborations in Doubles with shuttlers from other nations.
From the tally of 101, Sri Lanka claimed 22 gold, 27, silver and 52 bronze medals to lead the medals tally at the end of the five-day competition held with the participation of over 500 leading Masters’ shuttlers representing 15 countries. India finished overall second with 65 medals – 19 each of gold and silver and 27 bronze medals.
Malaysia finished behind at third with nine medals, three each of gold and bronze and a silver to their tally. Chinese Taipei, China, Nepal, Switzerland, UAE, France, Australia and Indonesia followed in behind one another to complete the medal board, while certain nations claimed medals from Doubles events collaborating with shuttlers from other countries.
Among the standout performers for Sri Lanka were Niroshan Wijekoon, Nadeesha Gayanthi, Renu Chandrika de Silva, Thushari Brahmanage, Niluka Karunaratne, Rohan de Silva, Hasitha Chanaka, Duminda Jayakody and Deshani Bandara, who were among a host of local players to produce outstanding performances throughout the tournament. Many of the leading Sri Lankan competitors are former national players who represented the country during their prime, while several are former national champions. Their continued success highlighted the depth of experience and enduring quality within Sri Lanka’s Masters badminton circuit.
The strong participation of overseas players also reflected the growing appeal of the event on the international calendar. Players from 15 countries competed in the championships, reinforcing Sri Lanka’s potential to develop sports tourism by hosting major international Masters events.
The CMB International Badminton Championships 2026, organised by Ceylon Masters Badminton (CMB), also received strong backing from the corporate sector. Some of the country’s leading companies, including McLarens Group, Mobil, Prime Group, 3M, Cool Max, Iodex, Li-Ning, Hundred, RovinAds, Seylan Bank, Sampath Bank, HNB Finance, Ceylon Biscuits Ltd, Mr. FixIt, McFoil and Elite Badminton, stepped forward as sponsors, playing a key role in the successful staging of the tournament.
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