News
Wanindu Hasaranga’s fifer-for helped Sri Lanka thump Oman in the World Cup qualifier
Man with a golden arm Wanindu Hasaranga bagged his second successive five-wicket haul to help Sri Lanka rout Oman by 10 wickets in the ongoing World Cup Qualifier on Friday.
The win so Sri Lanka to climb the top of the points table in Group B with a massive net run rate and now are well-placed to reach the Super Six stage now.
Putting Oman into bat first, Sri Lankan bowlers put on a dominant show to bundle them out for a meagre 98-run total as Wanindu Hasaranga claimed a sensational five-wicket haul.
Oman, who were unbeaten in their opening two matches of the CWC Qualifier, came face to face with Sri Lanka and felt the wrath of the former champions and Asia Cup winners.
Batting first in the 11th match of the tournament, Oman’s batting lineup failed completely and could only accumulate 98 runs before being bundled out in the 31st over.
All-rounder Ayaan Khan offered some resistance with a gutsy 41 off 60 deliveries while opening batter Jatinder Singh (21) was the other valuable contributor to Oman’s total, who had an overall dismal show with the bat.
Besides the two, none of their batters could make significant contributions, while eight of them even failed to make it to double digits.
Wanindu Hasaranga led the bowling attack for Sri Lanka with 5/13, while Lahiru Kumara returned with 3/22. Kasun Rajitha, on the other hand, had one scalp.
“I bowl at stumps, that’s why I got wickets,” Hasaranga said after winning ‘Player of the Match’.
“This is a very good wicket to bowl for leg spinners. I always tried to bowl at the Stumps and I believe that’s why I got wickets. I always try to stick to the basics and that goes well for me. The Pacers also did their job well with bowling in good areas. These matches will be very helpful for us for the big picture (world cup)”, Wanindu added.
Chasing just 99 runs in 50 overs, Sri Lanka openers completed their task in just 15 overs of the game. Dimuth Karunaratne top scored for Sri Lanka with 61* off just 51 deliveries, while his partner Pathum Nissanka remained unbeaten at 37 off 39 balls.
Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsod said that he wants his team to hold their heads high because these are games that they can take their learning.
“To play against Sri Lanka is proud for us. We have learned a lot from them, the way their bowlers bowled and their batters. First 10 overs, we lost too many wickets early on. We are tested now and that is good for us. Now we know what we need to do going forward. The positive for us is we have two wins. We cannot lose hope and we have to feel pride and play well,” the Oman captain said after the match.
Sri Lanka will next meet Ireland today in their third game.
Brief scores: Oman 98 in 30.2 overs (Ayaan Khan 41; Wanindu Hasaranga 5/13, Lahiru Kumara 3/22) lost to Sri Lanka 100 for no loss in 15 overs (Dimuth Karunaratne 61*) by 10 wickets
වනිඳු හසරංගගේ අනර්ඝ පන්දු යැවීමෙන් ලෝක කුසලාන සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ තරගයේදී ඕමානය පරාජය කිරීමට ශ්රී ලංකාව සමත් වේ.
සිකුරාදා පැවති ලෝක කුසලාන සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ තරගයේදී ඕමානය කඩුලු 10 කින් පරාජය කිරීමට ශ්රී ලංකා කණ්ඩායමට උපකාර කරමින් වනිඳු හසරංග සිය පිට පිට දෙවැනි කඩුලු 5 දවාලීමට සමත් විය.
මෙම ජයග්රහණය නිසා දැවැන්ත දළ ලකුණු වේගයක් සමඟින් B කාණ්ඩයේ ප්රසාද ලකුණු සටහනේ ඉහළට පැමිණීමට ශ්රී ලංකාව මේ වන විට සුපර් සික්ස් අදියරට පැමිණීමට හොඳ තැනක සිටී.
ඕමානය ප්රථමයෙන් පන්දුවට පහර දුන් ශ්රී ලංකා පන්දු යවන්නන් ප්රමුඛ පෙළේ ක්රීඩකයින් ලකුණු 98කට දැවී ගිය අතර වනිඳු හසරංග සංවේදී කඩුලු 5ක් දවා ගැනීමට සමත් විය.
CWC සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ තරගාවලියේ ආරම්භක තරග දෙකේදීම අපරාජිතව සිටි ඕමානය ශ්රී ලංකාව සමඟ මුහුණට මුහුණ ලා හිටපු ශූරයන්ගේ සහ ආසියානු කුසලාන ජයග්රාහකයන්ගේ අණසකට පත් විය.
තරගාවලියේ 11 වැනි තරගයේ පළමුවෙන් පන්දුවට පහරදුන් ඕමාන් පිතිකරණ පෙළ සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම අසාර්ථක වූ අතර 31 වැනි ඕවරයේදී දැවී යාමට පෙර රැස්කරගත හැකි වූයේ ලකුණු 98ක් පමණි.
තුන් ඉරියව් ක්රීඩක අයාන් ඛාන් පන්දු 60කින් ලකුණු 41ක් ලබා ගනිමින් යම් සටනක් ලබා දුන් අතර ආරම්භක පිතිකරු ජතින්දර් සිං (21) ඕමානයේ මුළු ලකුණු සංඛ්යාවට දායක වූ අනෙක් වටිනා දායකත්වය පිතිකරණයෙන් කළ නොහැකි විය.
ඔවුන් දෙදෙනාට අමතරව, ඔවුන්ගේ පිතිකරුවන් කිසිවෙකුට සැලකිය යුතු දායකත්වයක් ලබා දීමට නොහැකි වූ අතර, ඔවුන්ගෙන් අට දෙනෙකුට එය ඉලක්කම් දෙකකින් කිරීමට පවා නොහැකි විය.
වනිඳු හසරංග 5/13ක් ලෙසින් ශ්රී ලංකාව වෙනුවෙන් පන්දු යැවීමේ ප්රහාරය මෙහෙයවූ අතර, ළහිරු කුමාර 3/22කින් ආපසු පැමිණියේය. අනෙක් අතට කසුන් රාජිතට තිබුණේ එක හිස් කඩුල්ලකි.
ඕවර 50කදී ලකුණු 99ක් පමණක් හඹාගිය ශ්රී ලංකා ආරම්භක පිතිකරුවෝ තරගයේ ඕවර 15ක් පමණක් අවසානයේ සිය කාර්යය සම්පූර්ණ කළහ. ශ්රී ලංකාව වෙනුවෙන් දිමුත් කරුණාරත්න පන්දු 51කදී ලකුණු 61*ක් රැස්කළ අතර පැතුම් නිශ්ශංක පන්දු 39කදී නොදැවී ලකුණු 37ක් රැස් කළේය.
ශ්රී ලංකාව මීළඟට අයර්ලන්තය හමුවන්නේ සිය තුන්වැනි තරගයයි.
සංක්ෂිප්ත ලකුණු: ඕමානය ඕවර 30.2කදී 98 (අයාන් ඛාන් 41; වනිඳු හසරංග 5/13, ලහිරු කුමාර 3/22) ශ්රී ලංකාව හමුවේ ඕවර 15කදී නොදැවී ලකුණු 100 (දිමුත් කරුණාරත්න 61*) කඩුලු 10කින් පරාජයට පත්විය.
Football
Lifebuoy Ball Blaster 2025: Sri Lanka’s Biggest School Football Showdown Gears Up
Colombo, September 19 – The countdown is on for the Lifebuoy Ball Blaster 1st Eleven Football Challenge Trophy 2025, the most anticipated school football tournament of the year, set to bring together the best young footballing talent from across Sri Lanka.

Organized under the guidance of the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Schools Football Association (SLSFA), and broadcast by Sri Lankan Sports TV, the championship is expected to raise the standard of school football while creating unforgettable memories for players and fans alike.
Tournament Structure
This year’s edition will feature 16 Division 1 schools, divided into four groups of four teams. Over the course of the first round, a total of 24 matches will be played across Colombo, starting in the first week of October with a grand opening ceremony at 2:00 pm.
- Opening Match: Hameed Al Hussaini College vs. Al Falah College, Negombo
- Curtain Raiser: Zahira College, Colombo (defending champions) vs. Darrussaalam College, Colombo
The top two teams from each group will progress to the quarter-finals, followed by the semi-finals, before the Grand Finale in the first week of November. The final venue will be chosen based on the teams that qualify, ensuring equal support and excitement from school fans.
Sponsorship Partnerships

A strong line-up of sponsors is powering Ball Blaster 2025, making it a professionally executed tournament.
- Title Sponsor – Lifebuoy: Leading the way, Lifebuoy continues to champion youth empowerment through sport, health, and hygiene, reinforcing its mission to build healthier, more active communities.

- Refreshing Partner – Elephant House Lemonade: A timeless favorite in Sri Lankan households, Lemonade will keep players and fans refreshed as the heat of competition rises.

- Official Travel Partner – Sky Market Travel: Supporting the smooth logistics of the event, ensuring school teams across regions can fully focus on their football journey.

- Official Clothing Partner – Aacty Wear: Outfitting players, referees, and officials with professional, stylish gear that elevates the identity of school football and promotes local sportswear excellence.

First-Time Milestones
For the first time in history, the tournament has launched its very own official anthem, adding an extra layer of pride, passion, and identity to Ball Blaster 2025. The anthem’s lyrical video has already captured the excitement of fans, building momentum as kick-off draws near.
Furthermore, in a significant step towards supporting schools, the organizers have taken the initiative to provide all participating teams with playing kits and official kits. This move ensures equal opportunity and professionalism across the competition, uplifting both the players’ experience and the overall image of the championship.
A Celebration of Youth & Football
“The Lifebuoy Ball Blaster is not just a football tournament; it’s a celebration of youth, talent, and sportsmanship,” the organizers stated. “With the support of our valued partners Lifebuoy, Elephant House Lemonade, Sky Market Travel, and Aacty Wear, we are committed to elevating school football in Sri Lanka.”
Fans nationwide can look forward to live telecasts, highlights, and digital updates on Sri Lankan Sports TV, ensuring the energy of the matches reaches every corner of the country.
As excitement builds, one thing is clear – Ball Blaster 2025 is set to be more than just a tournament; it’s a stage for the next generation of Sri Lankan football stars to shine.
Football
AIFF Faces FIFA, AFC Ban Threat as October 30 Deadline Looms
Indian football is staring at yet another international suspension as FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have jointly warned the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to ratify its long-pending constitution by October 30, 2025, or risk a complete ban from world football.
In a strongly-worded two-page letter sent on Tuesday (August 26) to AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, FIFA and AFC expressed “profound concern” over the failure to finalise and implement a revised constitution, a matter pending before India’s Supreme Court since 2017.
If suspended, India’s national teams and clubs would be barred from all international competitions, while the country’s ambitious 2036 Olympic Games bid in Ahmedabad could also be thrown into uncertainty.
FIFA & AFC Ultimatum
The letter, signed by FIFA’s Chief Member Associations Officer Elkhan Mammadov and AFC Deputy General Secretary Vahid Kardany, set out three urgent requirements for the AIFF:
1. Obtain a definitive Supreme Court order approving the revised constitution.
2. Ensure full compliance with FIFA and AFC statutes.
3. Formally ratify the constitution at the next AIFF General Meeting.
Failure to comply, they warned, would trigger sanctions, including full suspension of AIFF membership.
Previous Suspension in 2022
This is not the first governance crisis to hit Indian football. In August 2022, FIFA suspended the AIFF for “third-party interference” after a court-appointed Committee of Administrators temporarily ran the federation. That ban lasted just two weeks, lifted only after fresh elections were held in which Kalyan Chaubey defeated football legend Bhaichung Bhutia.
Domestic Fallout – ISL in Crisis
The deadlock has already disrupted Indian football at the domestic level. The Indian Super League (ISL), India’s top-tier professional league, has been put “on hold” by Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the AIFF’s commercial partner, due to uncertainty over its Master Rights Agreement, which expires in December 2025.
At least three clubs have suspended operations or delayed salaries, while all 11 ISL clubs have warned of an “existential crisis.” Reports from FIFPRO further highlight cases of players’ contracts being terminated, leaving livelihoods at risk.
The Supreme Court of India will hear the matter again on August 28, a session that could determine the immediate future of the ISL and India’s football calendar.
What’s at Stake
If AIFF fails to meet the October deadline, India could lose:
• Participation in FIFA and AFC tournaments.
• Entry rights for national teams and clubs in international competitions.
• Momentum in its 2036 Olympics bid.
• Credibility with players, fans, and commercial partners.
For now, the football fraternity in India waits anxiously for the Supreme Court’s verdict and AIFF’s ability to steer through yet another governance storm
Football
Heritage Derby Trophy Goes to Hameed Al Husseinie College
Colombo – Hameed Al Husseinie College emerged victorious in the prestigious Heritage Derby Trophy football encounter against Zahira College, Maradana, securing a 3–1 win at the Colombo Racecourse grounds yesterday.
The match kicked off under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, adding special significance to this annual football rivalry.
Hameed Al Husseinie College took control early, leading 2–0 at halftime before sealing the victory with a third goal in the second half. Zahira College managed to pull one back, but it was not enough to challenge the dominant performance of the winners.
The trophy presentation was held soon after the final whistle, with the principals of both schools — Rizvi Marikkar of Zahira College and Mrs. Dain of Hameed Al Husseinie College — present to witness the celebrations.
This latest victory adds another chapter to the rich history of the Heritage Derby, further cementing Hameed Al Husseinie College’s reputation in school football.
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