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The India tour is a good preparation for ODI World Cup – Dasun Shanaka

Dasun Shanaka, the captain of the Sri Lankan team, said that this tournament is a good rehearsal as India is the host country of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
The Sri Lankan team wants to give a good challenging series against India after a T20 World Cup where they won only two matches in the main round. They will play three T20Is and a number of ODIs on this tour, and with India being the host country for the ODI World Cup later this year, getting used to the pitches and playing well will help them immensely in the ODI World Cup.
“We haven’t had a good [T20] World Cup, so we have to move on,” Shanaka said in Mumbai ahead of the opening T20I. “We hope to do well in this series.
“India is a good team. All we have to do is play good cricket. Being in the World Cup year, these T20 and ODI tournaments are very important because many boys have not played in India. It is the first opportunity for many young players to play international cricket. , it’s an opportunity to learn about field conditions. So this tournament will be very important.”
ඉන්දීය සංචාරය අපිට එක්දින ලෝක කුසලානයට හොද පෙර හුරුවක් – දසුන් ශානක
2023 එක්දින ලෝක කුසලානයේ සත්කාරකත්වය දරන රට ඉන්දියාව වීම නිසා මෙම තරගාවලිය හොද පෙරහුරුවක් බව ශ්රී ලංකා කණ්ඩායමේ නායක දසුන් ශානක පැවසීය.
ශ්රී ලංකා කණ්ඩායමට අවශ්ය වී ඇත්තේ ප්රධාන වටයේ තරග දෙකක් පමණක් ජයග්රහණය කළ විස්සයි20 ලෝක කුසලාන තරගාවලියකින් පසුව ඉන්දියාවට එරෙහිව හොද අභියෝගාත්මක තරගාවලියක් ලබා දීමයි. ඔවුන් මෙම සංචාරයේදී T20I තරඟ තුනක් සහ ODI තරඟ ගණනාවක් ක්රීඩා කරන අතර, මෙම වසර අගදී ODI ලෝක කුසලානය සඳහා සත්කාරක රට ඉන්දියාව වීම, තණතිරු වලට හුරුපුරුදු වීම සහ හොඳින් ක්රීඩා කිරීම ඔවුන්ට විශාල වශයෙන් එක්දින ලෝක කුසලානයට උපකාරී වනු ඇත.
“අපිට හොඳ [විස්සයි20] ලෝක කුසලානයක් තිබුණේ නැහැ, ඒ නිසා අපි ඉදිරියට යා යුතුයි,” ශානක ආරම්භක විස්සයි20 තරගයට පෙර මුම්බායිහිදී පැවසීය. “අපි මේ තරගමාලාව හොඳින් කරන්න බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා.
“ඉන්දියාව කියන්නේ හොඳ කණ්ඩායමක්. අපි කරන්න ඕනේ හොඳ ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩා කරන එක. ලෝක කුසලාන අවුරුද්දේ පැවැත්වෙනව, මේ T20 සහ ODI තරඟාවලිය ගොඩක් වැදගත්, මොකද ගොඩක් කොල්ලෝ ඉන්දියාවේ ක්රීඩා කරලා නැහැ. බොහෝ තරුණ ක්රීඩකයින්ට ජාත්යන්තර ක්රිකට් පිටියේ ක්රීඩා කිරීමට ඇති පළමු අවස්ථාව එය වන අතර, එය ක්රීඩා පිටියේ තත්ත්වයන් පිළිබඳව ඉගෙන ගැනීමට අවස්ථාවකි. එබැවින් මෙම තරඟාවලිය ඉතා වැදගත් වනු ඇත.”
ஒருநாள் உலகக் கோப்பைக்கு இந்திய சுற்றுப்பயணம் ஒரு நல்ல பயிற்சி – தசுன் ஷனகா
2023 ஆம் ஆண்டு ஒருநாள் உலகக் கிண்ணத்தை நடத்தும் நாடாக இந்தியா இருப்பதால், இந்த போட்டி ஒரு நல்ல ஒத்திகை என இலங்கை அணியின் தலைவர் தசுன் ஷனக தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
டி20 உலகக் கோப்பையின் பிரதான சுற்றில் இரண்டு போட்டிகளில் மட்டுமே வெற்றி பெற்ற பிறகு, இந்தியாவுக்கு எதிராக ஒரு நல்ல சவாலான தொடரை வழங்க இலங்கை அணி விரும்புகிறது. இந்த சுற்றுப்பயணத்தில் அவர்கள் மூன்று T20I மற்றும் பல ODI களில் விளையாடுவார்கள், மேலும் இந்த ஆண்டின் இறுதியில் ODI உலகக் கோப்பைக்கான ஹோஸ்ட் நாடாக இந்தியா இருப்பதால், ஆடுகளங்களுடன் பழகி நன்றாக விளையாடுவது ODI உலகக் கோப்பையில் அவர்களுக்கு பெரிதும் உதவும்.
“நாங்கள் ஒரு நல்ல [டி20] உலகக் கோப்பையைப் பெறவில்லை, எனவே நாங்கள் முன்னேற வேண்டும்” என்று ஷனகா மும்பையில் தொடக்க டி20ஐக்கு முன்னதாக கூறினார். “இந்த தொடரில் நாங்கள் சிறப்பாக செயல்படுவோம் என்று நம்புகிறோம்.
“இந்தியா ஒரு நல்ல அணி. நாம் செய்ய வேண்டியது எல்லாம் நல்ல கிரிக்கெட்டை விளையாடுவதுதான். உலகக் கோப்பை ஆண்டாக இருப்பதால், இந்த டி20 மற்றும் ஒருநாள் போட்டி மிகவும் முக்கியமானது, ஏனெனில் பல சிறுவர்கள் இந்தியாவில் விளையாடவில்லை. பல இளம் வீரர்களுக்கு இது முதல் வாய்ப்பு. சர்வதேச கிரிக்கெட்டில் விளையாட, கள நிலவரங்களை அறிய இது ஒரு வாய்ப்பு. எனவே இந்த போட்டி மிகவும் முக்கியமானதாக இருக்கும்.”
Cricket
Battle of the Blues 2024: Thrilling Day 2 as Thomians Fight Back!
The 146th Battle of the Blues saw an intense contest on Day 2 as S. Thomas’ College put up a strong response to Royal College’s 319/7 declared.
Thomian Resistance 💪🏽
Duvindu Goonewardene led the charge with a brilliant 119, supported by A. Fernando’s valuable 50, guiding the Thomians to a commendable 302 all out in 103 overs.
Royal’s Bowling Heroics 🎯
Royal College’s Ramiru Perera was the star with a sensational 5-wicket haul (5/58), breaking through the Thomian batting lineup. He was well-supported by Malawiarachchi, who picked up 3/72.
With just 17 runs separating the teams, the match remains wide open as both teams head into the decisive final day! Who will lift the shield?
Cricket
ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Final: India vs New Zealand – The Ultimate Showdown
Dubai: The stage is set for an electrifying ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final as India takes on New Zealand in Dubai on March 9. Both teams have displayed remarkable form throughout the tournament, and fans worldwide are eagerly anticipating an intense battle for the coveted title.
India’s Path to the Final
India has been dominant in the tournament, securing crucial victories against Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand in the group stage. In the semi-final on March 4, they faced Australia and emerged victorious by four wickets, successfully chasing a target of 265 with 11 balls to spare. Rohit Sharma (68), Virat Kohli (54), and KL Rahul (45) played crucial roles, while Ravindra Jadeja (38*) ensured a composed finish.
New Zealand’s Journey
New Zealand stormed into the final with a commanding 50-run win over South Africa in the second semi-final on March 5 in Lahore. Batting first, the Kiwis posted a massive total of 362/6, with Devon Conway (112) and Glenn Phillips (89) leading the charge. South Africa fought hard but fell short, finishing at 312/9.
Key Absence: Bumrah Ruled Out
A significant concern for India heading into the final is the absence of star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who has been ruled out of the squad. This will put added responsibility on the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja to deliver with the ball against a strong New Zealand batting lineup.
Key Players to Watch
For India, the experienced duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be crucial in handling New Zealand’s disciplined bowling attack. With Bumrah out, Mohammed Siraj’s pace and Kuldeep Yadav’s spin could be decisive factors in restricting the Black Caps’ batting lineup.
New Zealand will rely on Kane Williamson’s tactical approach and the firepower of their bowling unit, led by Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson, to challenge India’s batting order. The all-round abilities of Mitchell Santner and Daryl Mitchell could also prove vital in this high-stakes clash.
A Historic Final Awaits
As two of the most consistent teams in world cricket prepare for the ultimate battle, fans can expect a thrilling contest in Dubai. Will India continue their dominance and add another ICC trophy to their collection, or will New Zealand finally claim their first Champions Trophy title?
The countdown to the grand finale begins – cricket enthusiasts, get ready for an unforgettable showdown!
Cricket
Royal Dominates Day 1 in 146th Battle of the Blues
The much-anticipated 146th Battle of the Blues between Royal College and S. Thomas’ College kicked off in thrilling fashion, with Royal College asserting dominance on Day 1.
Royal College Takes Control with a Strong Batting Display
Winning the toss and electing to bat, Royal College posted an imposing 319/7 before declaring their innings. The star of the show was Rehan Peiris, who played a majestic knock of 158 runs, anchoring the innings with composure and flair. He was well supported by T. Wewalwala, who contributed 48 runs.
S. Thomas’ College bowlers struggled to contain the Royalists, with Darien Diego (2/43) and Kavindu Dias (2/71) being the only notable wicket-takers.
S. Thomas’ College Steady at Stumps
In response, S. Thomas’ College ended Day 1 at 32/0 after 10 overs, with A. Fernando (18)* and J. Amaraweera (14)* holding firm. They will look to build a solid foundation on Day 2 to counter Royal’s first-innings dominance.
Head-to-Head Stats – A Rivalry of Legends
With a rich history spanning 145 matches, the Battle of the Blues remains one of Sri Lanka’s most prestigious school cricket encounters. Both teams have won 36 matches each, with the rest ending in draws.
- Highest Team Score: Royal College holds the edge with 432, while S. Thomas’ best is 411.
- Centurions: Both teams boast 29 century-makers in the history of this fixture.
- Recent Form: Royal last won in 2023, while S. Thomas’ College’s last victory was in 2019.
As the match heads into Day 2, all eyes will be on S. Thomas’ College’s batting lineup and whether they can match Royal’s first-innings dominance. Can they turn the tide, or will Royal tighten their grip on the game?
Stay tuned for more updates from the 146th Battle of the Blues!
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