Tag: Sri Lanka

  • ‘Sri Lanka sold World Cup 2011 final to India,’ claims former sports minister

    ‘Sri Lanka sold World Cup 2011 final to India,’ claims former sports minister

    Sri Lanka “sold” the 2011 World Cup final to India, the country’s former sports minister said on Thursday, reviving one of cricket’s most explosive match-fixing controversies.

    Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was sports minister at the time, is the second senior figure to allege the final was fixed, after 1996 World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga.

    “I tell you today that we sold the 2011 World Cup finals,” Aluthgamage told Sirasa TV. “Even when I was sports minister I believed this.”

    Aluthgamage, sports minister from 2010 to 2015 and now state minister for renewable energy and power, said he “did not want to disclose” the plot at the time.

    “In 2011, we were to win, but we sold the match. I feel I can talk about it now. I am not connecting players, but some sections were involved,” he said.

    Sri Lanka lost the match at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium by six wickets. Indian players have strongly denied any wrongdoing.

    Ranatunga, who was at the stadium as a commentator, has previously called for an investigation into the defeat.

    “When we lost, I was distressed and I had a doubt,” he said in July 2017. “We must investigate what happened to Sri Lanka at the 2011 World Cup final.”

    “I cannot reveal everything now, but one day I will. There must be an inquiry,” added Ranatunga, who said players could not hide the “dirt”.

    Sri Lanka batted first and scored 274-6 off 50 overs. They appeared in a commanding position when Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar was out for 18.

    But India turned the game dramatically, thanks partly to poor fielding and bowling by Sri Lanka, who were led by Kumar Sangakkara.

    Sri Lankan cricket has regularly been involved in corruption controversies, including claims of match-fixing ahead of a 2018 Test against England.

    Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan cricket board said the International Cricket Council (ICC) was investigating three unnamed former players over alleged corruption.

    Sri Lanka introduced tough penalties for match-fixing and tightened sports betting restrictions in November in a bid to stamp out graft.

    Another former sports minister, Harin Fernando, has said Sri Lankan cricket was riddled with graft “from top to bottom”, and that the ICC considered Sri Lanka one of the world’s most corrupt nations.

    Former Sri Lankan fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige was suspended in 2018 for corruption relating to a limited-overs league.

    He was the third Sri Lankan charged under the ICC anti-corruption code, following former captain and ex-chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya, and former paceman Nuwan Zoysa.

    Jayasuriya was found guilty of failing to cooperate with a match-fixing probe and banned for two years. Zoysa was suspended for match-fixing.

  • Twitter goes crazy after Indians use hair dryers, steam irons to dry pitch

    Twitter goes crazy after Indians use hair dryers, steam irons to dry pitch

    Twitter on Sunday lost it after the staff at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, India used hair dryers and steam irons to dry the pitch after rain delayed the start of the first Twenty International (T20I) between India and Sri Lanka.

    As per the details, in the beginning, it just looked like a passing shower, but then it was pouring down minutes. Around 8 pm though the heavens relented, the rain had already affected the state of the pitch with wet patches.

    Just when ground staff started its repair work, rain returned to make things worse. This time though, more care was taken with an extra cover being placed on the 22 yards. However, the damage was already done, and when it all cleared around 8:45 pm, the ground staff much to everyone’s surprise brought out a hair dryer, steam iron, and vacuum cleaner to dry the wet patches.

    Here’s what Twitter has to say about it:

    https://twitter.com/DTRomesh/status/1213851204993867778

    Indian captain Virat Kohli had opted to field first after winning the toss. However, just as pacer Jasprit Bumrah was getting ready to bowl the first delivery, rain arrived and stopped the play.

    The match was eventually called off due to a damp pitch. The teams now head to Indore for the second T20I on January 7.

  • VIDEO: Teenage Shah speaks of dedicating five-wicket haul to late mother

    VIDEO: Teenage Shah speaks of dedicating five-wicket haul to late mother

    Fast bowler Naseem Shah who took a five-wicket haul in the last Test match against Sri Lanka, got emotional during a press conference while telling about how he wanted to dedicate this achievement to his mother but since she has recently passed away, he will now be dedicating it to his father.

    Naseem Shah has become the youngest fast bowler to claim five wickets in a Test match. He picked up the wickets of Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Embduldeniya and Vishwa Fernando to finish with 5/31 in 12.5 overs.

    Pacer Shah — aged 16 year and 311 days — has also surpassed his countryman Mohammad Amir who had in 2009 claimed five wickets against Australia at the age of 17 years 257 days at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

    Pacer Naseem’s mother had passed away in November while he was in Australia awaiting his Test debut. Shah later decided not to fly back home and stayed in Australia after consulting with his family members who advised him not to come back.

    Pakistan on Monday had claimed an historic 263-run victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Karachi and it took the team only three overs and just 15 minutes to wrap up the game.

    It was Pakistan’s first Test victory on home soil in over 13 years; their last victory in Pakistan also came in Karachi, against West Indies in November 2006.

  • Pakistan wrap up historic series win at home in just 15 minutes

    Pakistan wrap up historic series win at home in just 15 minutes

    Three overs on the final day was all it took for Pakistan to seal a 263-run victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Karachi on Monday, International Cricket Council (ICC) reported.

    It was Pakistan’s first Test victory on home soil in over 13 years; their last victory in Pakistan also came in Karachi, against West Indies in November 2006.

    Naseem Shah, the 16-year-old, resumed the day on 3/31, and went on to dismiss Lasith Embuldeniya and Vishwa Fernando in his consecutive overs to seal the victory, with Yasir Shah claiming the big wicket of Oshada Fernando, the opener, who finished on 102.

    The two wickets meant Shah ended with 5/31 – his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket – and with Shaheen Shah Afridi, the 19-year-old, claiming a five-for in the first-innings, the Test has been a good one for the young Pakistani pacemen.

    Sri Lanka were in the Test for the first two days. They bundled out Pakistan for 191 in the first innings, and then posted a lead of 80. However, thereafter, it was all Pakistan.

    Centuries from Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali and Babar Azam helped the home side post 555/3 declared in the second innings, and bogged down by the weight of runs, the Sri Lankan batsmen crumbled.

    They were reduced to 212/7 by stumps on the fourth day, with Oshada’s century and Niroshan Dickwella’s half-century their only displays of resistance, and on resumption on the fifth morning, they just weren’t allowed to muster a fightback.

    The series victory means Pakistan move up to No 3 on the ICC World Test Championship table, with 80 points from their four matches. Sri Lanka are level on points after four matches as well, but are fourth on the table due to their inferior runs-per-wicket ratio.

  • Sri Lankan commentator Russel Arnold becomes a Biryani fan

    Famous
    Sri Lankan cricket commentator Russel Arnold has become a fan of Karachi’s
    biryani. The former cricketer is now  in
    Karachi with the ICC’s official commentators’ team for the second Test match
    between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

    Russel took to Twitter to express his love for biryani, stating Karachi as the ‘Biryani Capital’ of the world.

    Unsatisfied with a single plate, Russel even hit an extra session in the gym to eat  some more biryani.

    The
    arrival of Sri Lankan cricket team has marked the return of Test cricket in
    Pakistan. With the first Test match in Rawalpindi being washed out by
    rain, everybody is now waiting for Karachi Test that will decide the series.

    The matches are scheduled from December 19 (Wednesday) to December 23 (Monday) at the National Stadium, Karachi.

  • Sri Lanka appoints Mickey Arthur as head coach ahead of Pakistan visit

    Sri Lanka appoints Mickey Arthur as head coach ahead of Pakistan visit

    Sri Lanka have appointed South African Mickey Arthur as their new head coach on a two-year contract before the team’s tour to Pakistan for the two-Test match series, BBC reported.

    According to the details, Sri Lanka cricket (SLC) appointed Mickey as head coach and former fast bowler Rumesh Ratnayake as interim coach in August after a fallout with coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who was criticized for Sri Lanka’s exit at the group stage of the 50-over World Cup in England.

    Arthur had been the head coach of Pakistan cricket team for three years from 2016 to 2019. Later in Ausgust, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided not to renew his contract, after the country failed to reach the semi-finals of this summer’s World Cup.

    PCB later appointed former captain Misbahul Haq as the cricket team’s head coach and chief selector.

    Arthur said: “It had been three very good years with Pakistan and I needed a little bit of time away. The Sri Lankan job became available and I started discussions”.

    “I looked at the talent that’s available and that’s the key motivating factor – to help these young players fulfil their potential”, Mickey added.

    Mickey Arthur’s first assignment will see him return to Pakistan for a two-match Test series starting on 11 December.

  • Get tickets for Pak vs Sri Lanka Test matches in just Rs50

    Get tickets for Pak vs Sri Lanka Test matches in just Rs50

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has fixed Rs50 as price of the tickets for the upcoming two-Test series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Dawn reported.

    According to the details, the PCB has announced that the tickets for both the Tests will be available online through website www.yayvo.com from Saturday.

    The Test series is part of the ICC World Test Championship with the first Test starting in Rawalpindi from December 11 and the second in Karachi from December 19.

    For the Rawalpindi Test, the fans can buy tickets from the TCS sale centres from Saturday and in Karachi, sale of tickets from the TCS sale centres will commence from Monday.

    The board in its news release said, “The PCB, in an effort to encourage the fans to be part of return of Test cricket in Pakistan, have fixed price of Shoaib Akhtar Enclosure at the Pindi Cricket Stadium at Rs50”.

  • Resolution in Punjab Assembly wants Sarfaraz fired

    Resolution in Punjab Assembly wants Sarfaraz fired

    A day after Sri Lanka humiliated Pakistan with a 3-0 win in the T20 series marking the former’s return to the country ever since the 2009 bus attack, a resolution in the Punjab Assembly has sought skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s removal from the national cricket team.

    “The team that tops the global T20 rankings, has lost from a team that sits at the eighth spot,” read the resolution submitted by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Malik Zaheer Iqbal.

    Seeking Sarfaraz’s removal from the team, the resolution further demanded an investigation into Pakistan’s whitewash against a comparatively inexperienced team like Sri Lanka.

    Earlier, head coach, chief selector and former national cricket team captain Misbahul Haq conceded that the defeat had been a “wake-up call for the team”.

    Pakistan have been humbled thrice in Lahore, losing the first game by 64 runs, the second by 35 and the third by 13 runs, to a Sri Lankan side missing some of their top players, such as Lasith Malinga, Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews.

    “This was an eye-opener for us and you as well. The way we go after the seniors, and what we did in the World Cup. We forget their performances,” said Misbah at a presser in Lahore as he appeared to blame the team’s naivety and struggles against spin bowling the reason for the defeat.

    Sarfaraz, who came in to bat at number four and scored 17 off 16 balls before throwing away his wicket, appeared to pin the responsibility of the failed run chase on his partner Haris Sohail.

    He has earlier been trained guns at also for his poor performance at the 2019 World Cup, which was followed by a campaign seeking his removal as the captain.

  • Babar Azam beats Kohli, becomes 3rd fastest to reach 11 ODI hundreds

    Babar Azam beats Kohli, becomes 3rd fastest to reach 11 ODI hundreds

    Pakistan top-order batsman Babar Azam has surpassed Indian captain Virat Kohli to become the third-fastest player to reach 11 one-day international (ODI) hundreds. Babar reached this milestone in just 71 innings while Kohli needed 82, The News International reported.

    According to the details, the right-handed batsmen, who had scored 96 in Pakistan’s last ODI against Bangladesh during the 2019 World Cup, smashed his eleventh ODI century while playing against Sri Lanka in the second ODI at the National Stadium in Karachi on Monday.

    The first match was washed out without a ball being bowled at the same venue on Friday.

    South Africa’s batsman Hashim Amla remains the quickest to 11 ODI hundreds, getting there in only 64 innings. Another South African Quinton de Kock reached hi 11 hundreds mark in only 65 innings.

    Babar Azam also became the quickest to score 1000 ODI runs in a calendar year for Pakistan, reaching to the milestone in only 19 innings.

    Babar has so far scored two centuries and seven half-centuries in this year.

  • Najam Sethi trolls Imran Khan with ‘Relukata’ tweet

    Najam Sethi trolls Imran Khan with ‘Relukata’ tweet

    Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi has trolled Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan after it was reported that various Sri Lankan players had opted out of the proposed Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan.

    Sethi took to Twitter to mock PM Imran for his comments on international players who took part in the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2017.

    “Imran Khan should guide the PCB on how to make sure Sri Lanka doesn’t send a “Relukata” team to Pakistan!” Sethi tweeted.

    The former chairman was highly crticised in 2017 for bringing in second tier players for the HBL PSL final which was held in Lahore.

    Adding to the criticism Imran Khan called the international players ‘phateechar’, ‘rallukatta’ and ‘from Africa’. The former World Cup winning captain believed that these second tier players could have been called to play in the country regardless of the security conditions.

    These terms used by Imran Khan were classified as derogatory and racist during the time and he also received massive backlash for the comments and had to justify his stance accordingly.

    Sethis’s remarks come at a time when the PCB is still striving to get international cricketers to play in Pakistan.