The best death-overs bowler in the game went up against the best finisher in the business with four to defend off the last ball. It was only fair that neither Lasith Malinga nor MS Dhoni ended up on the losing side of that contest. Malinga’s wide full-length ball would have hoodwinked most batsmen who would have been setting themselves up for the swing to the leg side. Not the fleet-footed Dhoni, though, who calmly stretched across and carved high over the covers even as he teetered on one foot. The ball didn’t have the strength to beat Sachithra Senanayake on the boundary, but Dhoni and last-man Umesh Yadav bounded through for three runs to tie a nerve-wracking classic at the Adelaide Oval.
The beauty of the ODI format shone throughout the duration of the chase, with the best minds in the game feeling the pressure of a close finish. India were coasting on the back of another polished effort from Gautam Gambhir, whose faultless 91 showed he has moved on well from his Test-match woes. Dhoni had added 60 runs with Gambhir off 12.5 overs, leaving India needing 59 off 58. At that stage, Dhoni made the first decisive error, when he sold Gambhir dear after calling him for a single. Gambhir was caught short by a direct hit from Nuwan Kulasekara, and his fall gave Sri Lanka an opening; Dhoni would later say it cost India victory.
The wicket was followed by a 28-ball phase that yielded only 13 runs for the loss of Ravindra Jadeja’s wicket. Sri Lanka’s seamers bowled out of their skins, backed by enterprising field placements from Mahela Jayawardene that cut off the singles. With two overs of Malinga left, Dhoni went after Thisara Perera in the 46th, dumping him for a huge six down the ground, before R Ashwin skimmed another four over the covers. Malinga returned after a quiet over from Kulasekara, with India needing 28 off 18. Mistakes began to sprout from every corner now.
Malinga got Ashwin to sky a slower ball, and Kumar Sangakkara called for, and clanged the chance as he ran towards point. Ashwin continued blundering against the slower ball, heaving and missing one, before chipping straight to cover. With 24 needed off 12, Jayawardene turned to Angelo Mathews who trotted in from round the stumps to cut Dhoni’s swinging angle. Mathews lost the plot against Irfan Pathan, though, delivering a high no-ball that Irfan deposited over square leg for six. Irfan was run out next ball, sacrificing his wicket after failing to get a slower ball away. India needed a boundary, and Mathews obliged with another full toss that Dhoni swiped through midwicket to reach 50. Nine was needed off the last over, from Malinga.
In the previous game, Dhoni chose to take the game to the very end. This time, he was forced to do so by Malinga’s unhittable lengths. While he bowled impeccably, Malinga’s fielding was ordinary, and he missed a couple of returns that would have yielded run outs in the last over. A couple off the first ball was followed by three singles before Vinay sacrificed his wicket to give Dhoni strike for the final ball. One could argue that Malinga should have gone full and straight, but the counter-argument would be that even a fractional error in length would have allowed Dhoni a free swing over the short square boundary. As it transpired, Malinga went wide, Dhoni went high and there was poetic justice in the denouement.
Sri Lanka 236 for 9 (Chandimal 81, Jayawardene 43, Vinay 3-46, Ashwin 2-30) tied with India 236 for 9 (Gambhir 91, Dhoni 58*, Thisara 2-45)
(ESPN)
February 14, 2012 at 5:11 pm
President Mahinda Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa have arrived at Changi Airport in Singapore a short while ago, the President’s Media Unit said. They were welcomed by the Singapore Minister of Home Affairs, Trade and Commerce, S. Iswaran at the airport, it added.
President is on a two-day official visit to Singapore on an invitation extended by President of Singapore Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam.
(JNW)
February 14, 2012 at 3:06 pm
A five member committee has been appointed by the Air Force Commander, to look into the cause of the crash of the MIG 27 fighter jet occurred yesterday(13). It is headed by Air Commodore D.L.S. Dias, the Air Force said. The MIG 27 fighter jet belonging to the Sri Lanka Air Force No. 12 Jet Squadron crashed at Dummalasooriya, while on a routine training mission. Pilot (Flight Lieutenant Tharidu Herath) executed a controlled ejection and is safe. No damage to life or properties have been reported on the ground as well.
(JNW)
February 14, 2012 at 10:10 am
Government has decided to appoint a Cabinet Sub-Committee to monitor the process of speedy implementation of the proposals in the Human Rights Action Plan of Sri Lanka.
The Cabinet has approved the following members to the Cabinet Sub-Committee.
Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development Prof.G.L.Peiris, Minister of External Affairs Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Plantation Industries Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister of Environment Dilan Perera, Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Plantation Industries continues to function as the Special Envoy of the President on Human Rights and as Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Officials Committee.
It has been further decided that Mohan Peiris, President’s Counsel, Former Attorney General and presently serving as the Senior Legal Advisor to the Cabinet of Ministers will assist the Cabinet Sub-Committee and the Committee may co-opt the services of any other officials deemed necessary.
This Action Plan has already been approved by the Cabinet for implementation on 7th September 2011.
February 11, 2012 at 4:51 am
Government has decided to pay rupees one hundred thousand each as compensation to closest relatives of fishermen who have lost lives and are missing.
People of the Southern and South-Western part of the country had experienced an unprecedented wind storm on 25th November of last year and it claimed the lives of 17 fisher-folk while 11 were reported missing in the Galle and Matara districts.
As a result of this devastated wind storm, marine fishing had been severely affected causing tremendous damages to the fishing industry in the areas. 32 fishing boats were destroyed fully while over 200 boats were damaged partially.
On a proposal made by Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, the Cabinet approved to provide Rs 100,000 to the closest relatives of fishermen who lost lives and were missing while providing 5000 life saving jackets at a cost of Rs 40 million.
February 11, 2012 at 4:49 am
Cases have been filed against 6182 owners of properties with high density of dengue mosquito larvae identified during the first National Dengue Prevention week of this year, Ministry of Health said. It was declared by the Ministry from 16 to the 22 of January this year.
(JNW)
January 31, 2012 at 11:13 pm
Sri Lanka A battled their way back into the five-match series against England Lions with a six-wicket win in Kurunegala. Despite Jos Buttler’s second century in three matches for the Lions, Sri Lanka completed their run chase with 15 balls to spare thanks in large part to a composed innings of 94 from No. 3 Dimuth Karunaratne.
Karunaratne, who made his ODI debut during Sri Lanka’s tour of England last year, was involved in a century stand with Bhanuka Rajapaksa after the hosts had lost their first two wickets for just 22. The two youngsters combined to put on 132 in 23 overs, with Rajapaksa recording an almost run-a-ball 72. Karunaratne was denied a century when he was dismissed by Danny Briggs but by then Sri Lanka were comfortably placed to finish the job, with Thilina Kandamby sealing victory – and reaching his own half-century – with a six.
The Lions’ innings had been based around another significant contribution from Buttler, whose first limited-overs hundred brought England victory in Dambulla last week. The Somerset man was on the losing side this time, however, as the rest of England’s batsmen failed to make the most of their starts. Jonny Bairstow’s 31 was the next-best score as England’s momentum, particularly in the closing overs, was repeatedly checked by the tumble of wickets.
Sri Lanka A 263 for 4 (Karunaratne 94, Rajapaksa 72) beat England Lions 258 for 9 (Buttler 119, Prasanna 3-32) by six wickets
(ESPN)
January 31, 2012 at 9:46 pm
Ministry of Higher Education has informed not to seek job opportunities in Cyprus under student visa without inquring from the Ministry of External Affairs and Embassy of Cyprus. The Ministry says it has received information regarding a racket that obtain money from university students promising them job opportunities in Cyprus. Therefore, the Ministry urge all university students not to fall into this as already number of cases related to this racket has been reported.
(JNW)
January 31, 2012 at 3:05 pm
Sri Lanka Army’s first state-of-the-art Army Training Command Headquarters at Diyatalawa was declared open by Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya today(29). This will incorporate all Army Training Schools, Battalion Trainings and all joint military training exercises.
The institute is expected to further streamline and reformulate Army training programmes to suit international standards and local requirements to meet with any challenges, the army media unit said.
(JNW)
January 29, 2012 at 2:52 pm
Seventeen people have died from 15 road accidents reported during the last 24 hours, till 6 a.m. today, Police Media Spokesman SP Ajith Rohana said. This is the highest number of fatal road accidents reported within a day in the recent past, he added. They were reported from 12 Police divisions.
The number of accidents reported so far this year is 156. Reckless driving, speeding and drunk driving are the main causes behind these accidents.
(JNW)
January 29, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Naval personnel attached to SLNS Pandukabaya of the North-central Naval Command have recovered four pressure mines and four 60mm mortars in the General Area of Puliyankuluma. The Navy Media Unit said they were found on information received by the Navy.
The Navy conducts search operations to clear the general areas of hidden LTTE war-like materials to ensure the public safety.
(JNW)
January 28, 2012 at 11:14 am
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is acknowledging publicly for the first time that a Pakistani doctor provided key information to the U.S. in advance of the successful Navy SEAL assault on Osama bin Laden’s compound last May.
Panetta told CBS’s “60 Minutes,” in a profile to be broadcast on Sunday, that Shakil Afridi helped provide intelligence for the raid on bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Afridi ran a vaccination program for the CIA to collectDNA and verify bin Laden’s presence in the compound. He has since been charged by Pakistan with treason. Panetta said he is “very concerned” for the doctor.
Panetta also told “60 Minutes” that he remains convinced that someone in the Pakistani government “must have had some sense” that a person of interest was in the compound. He added that he has no proof that Pakistan knew it was bin Laden.
(USA Today)
January 28, 2012 at 11:06 am
Private bus services in the Southern Expressway will commence today(27). The ceremony to mark the commencement of bus service will be held at the Makumbura interchange of the Expressway under the auspices of Minister C.B. Rathnayaka this morning(27).
Two luxury buses have been deployed for passenger transportation under the approval of National Transport Commission. The passenger fee for a journey will be Rs.400/-.
The buses will be monitored by the NTC using GSP technology throughout the journey. An alarm will be issued if a bus is being driven exceeding the approved speed limit.
(JNW)
January 27, 2012 at 7:11 am
Sri Lanka’s new Cricket Captain Mahela Jayawardena says he decided to take up the captaincy after considering the present situation of the national team. He also emphasized the decision was not taken because of an outside pressure. Mahela made this statement addressing a media briefing held at the Sri Lanka Cricket in Colombo today(26).
Former skipper T.M. Dilshan who also joined the press briefing said that, the decision to step down from the captaincy was an independent one. Dilshan pointed out he was appointed as the skipper till the end of South African tour.
“Media reported number of things about the captaincy during the final leg of the South African tour. But I decided to step down from it, to give the new selection committee a chance to take a decision on their own”, Dilshan said.
Responding to a query made by a journalist he added it was pleasing to see youngsters bloom.
“I gave them a lot of opportunity. Now they are becoming match winners for the team, which is pleasant to see”, Dilshan said.
(JNW)
January 26, 2012 at 8:05 pm
University admission applications for the academic year 2011/12 will be accepted from Sunday(29), the University Grants Commission said. The handbook on university admissions will also be issued on the same day(29), it disclosed.
(JNW)
January 26, 2012 at 5:00 pm
Memorandum of Understanding is to be signed with Italy to recognize Sri Lanka’s certification of sailors, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said. Under this MoU, the Italian Maritime Administration will facilitate the Sri Lankan seafarers to be employed on Italian Flag Vessels without holding an equivalent certificate of competency issued by the Maritime Administration of Italy.
Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal in this regard, presented by the President as the Minister of Ports and Highways.
(JNW)
January 26, 2012 at 12:47 pm
Graham Ford has been appointed Sri Lanka coach, replacing Geoff Marsh. Ford, the former South Africa coach, will begin his assignment with the triangular ODI series in Australia next month. His appointment is the latest decision by Sri Lanka Cricket to revamp the setup around the national team – the captaincy was changed on Monday and, last week, the selection panel was replaced before its term expired – following a string of disappointing results.
A statement by the board thanked Marsh for his services; it also thanked Anura Tennekoon, who has been replaced as team manager by Charith Senanayaka.
Sri Lanka’s performances have come in for much criticism since reaching the World Cup final – they have lost every Test and ODI series they have played since then and a new board that came to power in the elections earlier this month have rung in the changes.
Ford last week resigned as head coach of the Dolphins, the Durban-based franchise, saying he wanted to “follow my dreams of involvement at an international level”.
He will be the third coach appointed by Sri Lanka since Trevor Bayliss stepped down after leading them to the 2011 World Cup final. Marsh was appointed for two years in September 2011 and was in charge for the tours against Pakistan and South Africa. His appointment appeared to end a period of upheaval following Bayliss’ exit. Stuart Law, who was Bayliss’ assistant, took over for the England tour before quitting to coach Bangladesh. Rumesh Ratnayake then took over for the home series against Australia, before Marsh’s appointment.
(ESPN)
January 25, 2012 at 8:27 pm
