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Sri Lanka’s assistant coach Naveed Nawaz, meanwhile, felt too many of his batters failed to capitalise on starts

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Jul-2023Pakistan will be aggressive as they attempt to knock off the 83 runs they need to get to go 1-0 up in the series. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, need three early wickets to give themselves a chance in the Galle Test.This was the latest from the two camps after play on day four. Although a target of 131 seemed like it would not present Pakistan with much of a challenge, particularly as they had hunted down 342 at this same venue on exactly the same day last year, three late wickets to Sri Lanka, including two to Prabath Jayasuriya, who has a spectacular record at this venue, made Pakistan’s position a little more precarious.Related

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Still, Pakistan have plenty of batting to come (one of those dismissed was nightwatcher Noman Ali), so there’s no cause to worry, said middle order batter Agha Salman. He also suggested there could be more of the new, attacking batting style that Pakistan embraced in the first innings.”We’re very confident, and at the same time we are very excited as well,” he said. “We’ll play the brand of cricket we have been playing since day one.”Sri Lanka’s assistant coach Naveed Nawaz was understandably not quite so upbeat about his team’s chances.”We’re going to go hard and try and put as much pressure on the Pakistan batsmen, to see what we can get out of it,” Nawaz said. ” I think if we can get through to another one or two wickets in their top order, it’s not going to be easy. The wicket seems to be taking a little bit of grip, and a bit of spin as well.”Dhananjaya de Silva followed up his first-innings 122 with 82 in the second•AFP/Getty Images

Sri Lanka were also left to rue their own batting. They had been 54 for 4 in the first innings before recovering through Dhananjaya de Silva to post 312. And in the second innings, they were 99 for 4 before another de Silva innings led a partial recovery.”Most of our batters got starts, and we needed them to carry on and make big runs,” Nawaz said. “If you look at the Pakistani batting, it was just two batters that contributed, and one of them made a big score and the others batted around them to put 400-plus on the board. That’s what we lacked. Dhananjaya was there till the end with a 120-odd. Angelo Mathews also contributed. We needed a few more contributions in the middle.”Unlike many Galle surfaces that take substantial turn from day three onwards, this one has remained reasonable for batting into day four. Sri Lanka, said Nawaz, should have taken advantage.”When we batted the pitch was good, even this morning. There wasn’t a lot of turn, though there was a bit of unevenness. There wasn’t a huge threat.”I thought we should have scored more runs in the second innings. If our batters had done well we could have got at least 100 more runs. In my head I was thinking that we should have batted for 120 overs to get to a good place in this match. Then we could have had them chasing 240 or more. If we had a score that we could have defended for 60 or 70 overs, we would have had the advantage. But that’s not how it happened.”

Visitors cling on after last-wicket pair defy Cricket Australia XI attack for more than an hour

ECB Reporters Network25-Jan-2025England Lions 316 (Flintoff 108, Davies 76, Whitney 4-72) and 276 for 9 (Coles 67, Hurst 53, Elliott 3-38) drew with Cricket Australia XI 214 (Hicks 64, Brown 5-21) and 442 for 9 dec (Ward 120, Clayton 84, Hackney 70*, Radhakrishnan 58, Cook 4-47)England Lions held out for a battling draw after last pair Josh Tongue and Sam Cook defied a Cricket Australia XI attack for more than an hour in their tour game at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.Half-centuries from Matt Hurst and James Coles rebuilt the Lions innings after they had slipped to 21 for 4, before the tail held on despite Jem Ryan and Sam Elliott claiming three wickets apiece.The Lions had been set a target of 331 after Ryan Hackney’s unbeaten 70 helped the home side to declare at 441 for 9. Cook finished with 4 for 47 but his unbeaten 8 in 86 minutes of batting at the end of the day was just as valuable as he survived alongside Tongue, who finished unbeaten on 19 from 50 balls.The Lions innings had run into trouble when Elliott struck twice in as many balls, removing Hamza Shaikh and James Rew, to leave the tourists four down inside nine overs.Opener Ben McKinney counter-attacked with 47 before Hurst and Coles got to work on balancing a salvage job with keeping a still-achievable victory target within their scope.Hurst was judged leg before after moving down the wicket and looking to engineer a shot to leg off Elliott before Coles pulled Ryan to Hackney as the field had started to spread.First-innings centurion Rocky Flintoff was cast into a different role, his patient 28 from 64 balls befitting the situation, while Shoaib Bashir (24) batted for an hour before Hugo Burdon found his off stump. Last pair Tongue and Cook completed the rearguard by surviving 45 balls, as the Lions reached stumps on 276 for 9.The Lions now turn their attention to next week’s first-class match against Australia A in Sydney, which start on 30 January.

Two-time champions Lahore Qalandars finish their campaign with one win in ten games

Associated Press11-Mar-2024Quetta Gladiators finally sealed a playoff spot in the PSL after four years as Mohammad Wasim pulled Shaheen Shah Afridi for a last-ball six and handed Lahore Qalandars a six-wicket defeat on Sunday.That left the two-time defending champion Qalandars finishing their disastrous season with only one win in ten league games. Fourth-place Gladiators have 11 points and could still finish among the top two if they beat leader Multan Sultans in the final league game on Tuesday.Opening batter Saud Shakeel anchored Quetta’s run chase of 169 for 4 with an unbeaten 88 off 65 balls that included two successive boundaries against Afridi in the final over before Wasim smacked Lahore’s captain over mid-wicket for a winning six off the last ball.Left-arm fast bowler Jahandad Khan (2 for 30) squeezed Gladiators’ chase in the first half of the innings with the wickets of Jason Roy (18) and skipper Rilee Rossouw (13) before Shakeel and Khawaja Nafay (26) put on a 70-run stand.Earlier, Afridi hit 55 after promoting himself to No. 5 and Abdullah Shafique was 59 not out as Lahore made 166 for 4 after choosing to bat first. He hit two fours and four sixes and was involved in a 91-run partnership with Shafique. Shafique himself scored 59 in 39 in the first innings to help Qalandars finish on 166.

Notts allrounder continues stellar form as batters flunk on “blameless pitch”

ECB Reporters Network25-Jun-2023Brett Hutton claimed a five-wicket haul as Nottinghamshire took control on the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match with Somerset at Taunton.The hosts could post only 163 all out after winning the toss on a bright morning, Tom Kohler-Cadmore top-scoring with just 38 and Kasey Aldridge contributing 35. Hutton’s 5 for 34 and Matt Carter’s 3 for 43 did most of the damage for an accurate Notts attack.In reply, the visitors slipped to 105 for 4 on a seemingly blameless pitch, but opener Ben Slater’s unbeaten 67 saw them to 145 for 4 at the close, just 18 behind.With the sun shining brightly for most of the day, it was strange that 14 wickets should fall. Inability to post meaningful first-innings totals has been a long-standing problem for Somerset, and again there was a fragility about their top order as Hutton maintained an exemplary line and length from the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End.Sean Dickson and George Bartlett were both dismissed shouldering arms to the experienced seamer; the former bowled for 1 and the latter leg before for 13 to a ball that nipped back. Sandwiched in between was the wicket of Tom Lammonby, who edged Hutton to first slip having made 24.From 48 for 3, Tom Abell and Kohler-Cadmore added 40 in positive style before the introduction of Carter’s offspin from the River End. With the first ball of his second over, he had Abell caught at slip, driving, for 19. Kohler-Cadmore looked strong through the off-side, producing some sweet drives and depositing Carter over long-off for six. By lunch, he had helped Somerset to 106 for 4.The afternoon session began disastrously for the home side as, with only four runs added, they lost first James Rew, caught at short leg off bat and pad to give Carter his second wicket and Kohler-Cadmore lbw to Dane Paterson, having faced 53 balls and hit four fours and a six.There was no way back from 110 for 6, despite the valiant efforts of Aldridge, who reverse-swept Carter for six and struck five fours. He quickly ran out of partners as Craig Overton edged Hutton into the slips where Carter’s left hand scooped the ball up for Joe Clarke to complete the catch.Hutton returned after an opening spell of 3 for 27 from eight overs to mop up the tail, bowling Matt Henry and having the advancing Aldridge caught behind. His wickets were largely the result of keeping the ball on the spot and taking advantage of batting errors.Somerset had been bowled out in just 48.1 overs and it looked like a well below par total in the conditions. Henry struck an early blow in the Notts’ reply by beating Haseeb Hameed’s defensive push and bowling him for a duck. By tea, the visitors had reached 23 for 1. Soon Slater and Matthew Montgomery were building confidently on that total under increasingly clear skies.They had put together a stand of 71 in 23 overs, with few alarms, when Montgomery, on 33, got an inside edge onto his leg off Aldridge and was powerless to prevent the ball rolling back onto his stumps.Slater edged Aldridge just short of wicketkeeper Rew and Somerset’s fightback continued when 19-year-old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, making his first Championship appearance at the Cooper Associates County Ground, pinned Clarke lbw on the back foot for 12 to make it 94 for 3.Slater went to fifty off 104 balls before Henry struck another blow for Somerset with the total on 105, Lyndon James edging to Abell at first slip and departing for the second duck of the innings. But Steve Mullaney hit a six and two fours off a Bashir over as Notts regained some momentum before the close.Before the start of play, the teams lined up for a minute’s applause in memory of 19-year-old local club cricketer Barnaby Webber, who lost his life in the Nottingham stabbings earlier this month. Signed shirts from both counties were laid on the pitch at the toss and then presented to his mother, father and brother as tokens of support.

He also confirmed his participation in the SA20 in January, though his “absolute priority” is still playing for New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2024Kane Williamson has confirmed that the SA20 will be his destination in January, after he declined a New Zealand central contract for the 2024-25 season, but added it was no indication that his international career was nearing an end.Williamson stressed that it was NZC’s rules around player availability to be eligible for a contract – they have to play Super Smash if not on international duty – that led him to make the decision, and that he remains committed to New Zealand outside of heading to South Africa.It could be that the only international cricket he misses is three ODIs and three T20Is against Sri Lanka, although reported there was some doubt over his participation in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in September. Williamson will play the WTC series against Sri Lanka and India away, the three-match home series against England, and then make an ODI trip to Pakistan ahead of the Champions Trophy in February.Related

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“There’s a number of great competitions on during that time, but SA20 looks really exciting,” Williamson told reporters on his return to New Zealand after the T20 World Cup. “Unfortunately, it meant turning down a central contract, however my priority still is, absolutely, playing for New Zealand. Think I miss maybe a handful of games over a three-week period.”It’s simply the contract, the rules that currently exist meant I wasn’t able to have one but in terms of playing for New Zealand I’m not missing almost any cricket really, so that was important to me.”In terms of how far Williamson’s international career extends, the reported that he and NZC CEO Scott Weenink had discussed the 2028 T20 World Cup to be staged in New Zealand and Australia when he would be 38. Publicly, Williamson remained coy although acknowledged major events and series – such as the Test series in Australia in 2026-27 – remained on his radar.”I want to play as long as I can,” he said. “I’ve really, really enjoyed my time captaining and it’s been a privilege and an honour to do that for a number of years. I’m excited with what’s next for the team in terms of the leadership as well and looking forward to being part of that.”In terms of a timeframe, it’s difficult to say. Want to keep being fit, doing as well as I can, keep trying to improve. That [2028] is a number of years away and it’s a year at a time. All major events and key series are things that whet the appetite and are an exciting prospect. They are down the line. Managing my time as well as I can after doing it for so many years is important and I know New Zealand Cricket are really supportive of that.”Williamson added that he was keen to continue international cricket across three formats, although his T20 spot may come under scrutiny as the team rebuilds from their group stage exit in West Indies.”Naturally after major events there are always different decisions that are made and you are always looking to bring different players through, but being part of this team is so dear to me and I want to remain in that community as long as I can, and as long as I’m offering value,” he said.Meanwhile, Weenink said that the casual playing arrangement afforded to Williamson would only be offered to a handful of senior players, citing Trent Boult, who opted out of a central contract in 2022, and Tim Southee as others who had earned that option. However, Test captain Southee is expected to be on the next contract list.”Those guys have certainly earned the right to be treated in a certain way, in that we want to try and prolong their careers,” Weenink told the . “If we had a hard and fast rule around certain players like Kane Williamson, we would lose him to playing for New Zealand earlier than we would need to.”That casual contract is not going to be offered to everyone and going off contract is pretty risky. There’s a lot of advantages to being on a New Zealand central contract and we will be prioritising the players who are centrally contracted.”

Getting to his 400th wicket in his 100th Test, with a flurry of records thrown in, makes it a game to remember for Mitchell Starc

Andrew McGlashan15-Jul-2025Mitchell Starc termed the Jamaica Test match as an “uncomfortable” one for him. West Indies’ batters might well have said, “speak for yourself”. Starc was not, of course, referring to when he had the pink ball in hand.Starc’s feelings around the last few days refer to the attention on him for his 100th Test. “Get on with the cricket,” he said ahead of the game. He has often spoken about how he will only reflect on landmarks and achievements when he hangs up the bowling boots. In this match, he added plenty to the list: a triple-wicket opening over, his 400th wicket, and the quickest five-wicket haul in a Test innings.It was as though he was putting together his own highlights package to mark the occasion: inswingers, pads struck, stumps splattered. Only one of his wickets needed the assistance of a fielder. In some ways, it was a bit of a shame Mikyle Louis got his pad in the way of the 400th.Related

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The night before the match, Starc was presented with a couple of signed shirts and a bottle of Jamaican rum to mark his century. But what seemed most special was a video put together with messages from family, friends, former Australia cricketers and players from his AFL team, Greater Western Sydney Giants.”It’s certainly been uncomfortable throughout the week,” he said. “I was happy just to have a win and sing the song. It’s certainly been a special week to play, to wear the baggy green. It’s been one I’ll cherish for a long time.”Such was the speed of Australia’s victory (or West Indies’ disintegration) that supporters were playing on the outfield before it even went dark. While Starc and Scott Boland finished the game in the blink of eye, this was not a collapse under lights. On the first two days of the match, wickets had been hard-earned in the first two sessions. But on the third, the sun hadn’t even started setting when Starc claimed three in his first over.In fact, Australia bowled just nine overs under lights for the game, on the first evening after they made the decision to have a thrash, losing 7 for 68 in the process. They found themselves batting under lights yesterday and were 99 for 6. In the fourth innings, they were preparing to try and hold the game until the lights took hold, hoping 203 runs would be enough to take the game deep if needed.”[It’s] probably a win against the conditions in the fact that we only bowled ten [nine] overs under lights,” Starc said. “I think everyone today with the ball was pretty spot on. I don’t think anyone thought it was going to happen that quickly. We were talking about almost consolidating the scoreboard until we got closer to that night session.”It wasn’t a plan to drag it out. [But] if things weren’t happening straight away, we knew that things would happen quicker in the night session. [It was like] this is what we want to do at the start, but if it doesn’t happen straight away, let’s just chill out and stop the scoreboard and cash in at night. Didn’t need to.”Starc’s 6 for 9 took him to 20 wickets at 16.45 in this four-Test stretch, which started with the World Test Championship final. For the second time in ten Tests, following his 6 for 48, also with the pink ball against India last season in Adelaide, he has improved his career-best.Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins lead the trophy celebrations•AFP/Getty Images

“I felt like my rhythm has been pretty good for a while now,” he said. “Even coming into the lead up to Lord’s, I felt like everything was clicking into place. It’s been nice to have that carry on throughout the series. Today, again, just felt like everything was in sync and got some late swing. I think perhaps the breeze might have helped in the fact that I wasn’t under lights.”Starc’s six and Boland’s hat-trick meant that for just the second time in an innings of significance when he was fit, Pat Cummins wasn’t required to bowl. “My favourite part,” he joked.”I think a lot of the chat leading into this week is how resilient you need to be and professional to make it 100 Tests,” Cummins said of Starc. “[But] I think that’s kind of the Starcy I always remember playing alongside. He can tear a game open by himself really in the matter of a couple of overs. It feels like he can do it in any format, any time.”When day-night Tests were introduced, Starc was a strong voice questioning the wisdom of it. He still believes they need to be scheduled carefully, and that Adelaide is an ideal model, but he can see a place for them – 81 wickets 17.08 no doubt helps.”It’s good for my record,” he said with a smile.

Phil Salt fifty, Fazalhaq Farooqi’s three wickets seal victory at Lord’s

ECB Media09-Aug-2024Inspired performances from Phil Salt and Fazalhaq Farooqi secured Manchester Originals their first win of The Hundred against London Spirit at Lord’s.Meerkat Match Hero Salt hit 58 from 41 balls to set London Spirit a target of 136, which Originals defended thanks to Farooqi taking 3 for 24 from his 20 balls.The result spelled the end of London Spirit’s campaign this season, unable to reach the knockout phase as they joined the already eliminated Originals stuck at the bottom of the table.Farooqi dismissed Michael Pepper for 9, then Ollie Pope for 0, and when Dan Lawrence was run out with a direct hit from wicketkeeper Salt, Originals looked favourites.Despite being dropped twice, Keaton Jennings’ 61 not out from 50 balls wasn’t enough to get Spirit over the line, falling 12 short of Originals’ total.He shared a 96-run partnership off 74 balls with Shimron Hetmyer, who reached 44 off 35 balls before he skied Scott Currie to Salt.Hetmyer’s dismissal brought the big-hitting Andre Russell to the crease with Spirit still needing 28 runs off 12 balls and when he fell cheaply picking out Wayne Madsen at extra cover to give Farooqi his third, the home side were left with too much to do.Originals got away with a poor performance in the field, a rash of dropped chances ultimately going unpunished.Earlier, Salt’s innings, which included four fours and two sixes, was the highlight of the Originals’ innings, with both Richard Gleeson and Olly Stone taking two wickets.Salt said: “The results haven’t gone our way. We’re on a mission now to be the party spoilers and with the luck we’ve had in the competition so far, I think that’s a role we’re going to enjoy.”

The left-arm spinner’s second ODI five-for bowled New Zealand out for another low score before the England opener scored her maiden international ton

Valkerie Baynes30-Jun-2024England sealed their domination of New Zealand via Maia Bouchier’s maiden international century and Sophie Ecclestone’s five-wicket haul to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three match ODI series.Ecclestone’s 5 for 25 from nine overs was instrumental in bowling New Zealand out for a sub-par total for the second game in a row – this time they were bundled out for 141 in 41.5 overs – and Bouchier saw England home with 25.3 overs to spare.Only four New Zealand batters, led by Amelia Kerr’s 43, reached double figures, but, as in the opening match of the series in Durham when they were all out for 156, it didn’t look like nearly enough. England’s bowlers kept New Zealand hemmed in, sending down 10 maidens between them, and Amelia faced 10 deliveries in seven overs for her last three runs.Early incisions by Kate Cross and Lauren Filer had New Zealand floundering at 10 for 2 in the sixth over.Ecclestone was introduced to the attack in the 12th over but it wasn’t until the 18th that she broke a sedate partnership of 46 in 72 balls between Sophie Devine and Amelia, her beautifully flighted delivery luring Devine well down the pitch, then dipping and turning to beat the bat as Amy Jones whipped off the bails.Maddy Green had faced 28 balls for her four runs before doubling her score by lofting the penultimate ball of Cross’ allocation to long-on. Green had reached 30 off 48 when Charlie Dean pinned her on the pad with one that turned sharply from outside off stump to end a 58-run stand with Kerr.Her dismissal brought Brooke Halliday to the crease, the standout performer with her half-century in an otherwise poor display by New Zealand’s batters in their nine-wicket defeat last Wednesday. But Halliday couldn’t repeat her innings after she was undone on 6 attempting to sweep an Ecclestone delivery, which clattered into off stump.Ecclestone made it two wickets in four balls and three for the match when, next over, she bowled Lauren Down for a duck with an excellent ball that turned past the bat and crashed into the top of middle stump. That ended Down’s first international appearance since giving birth to daughter Ruby in January before it had begun.Amelia faced 86 balls for her score, passing 2000 career ODI runs in the process, but her innings was otherwise uneventful, her dismissal via a return catch to Dean coming amid a collapse of seven wickets for 27 runs in 10.4 overs. During that time, Ecclestone also removed Izzy Gaze and Molly Penfold.It was Alice Capsey who took the last wicket when she had Jess Kerr caught slog-sweeping to deep midwicket by Nat Sciver-Brunt for 14 with only her fifth delivery of the day.Maia Bouchier celebrates after reaching her maiden international hundred•Getty Images

Tammy Beaumont survived New Zealand’s review when she was adjudged not out lbw on the first ball of the run-chase, Jess striking the pad with one that moved in but was shown to be tracking down the leg side.As in Durham, Beaumont and Bouchier broke the back of the target, this time via a 73-run partnership in 80 balls. Bouchier took charge here, even more so once Beaumont was run-out by the finest of margins for 28. Bouchier struck Amelia to cover, where Suzie Bates gathered and threw the ball back to the bowler to catch Beaumont short despite the dive.Bouchier was on 42 at the time but unfurled five boundaries in eight balls in the aftermath of Beaumont’s dismissal, four of them off one Devine over. She smashed another off Amelia through the leg side moments before Heather Knight despatched Halliday for the only six of the match, over deep square leg. Knight perished on 9, spooning Halliday straight to Amelia at midwicket.Bouchier was on 92 when she was given not out attempting to pull a Jess delivery, which rapped the back pad low down and New Zealand’s review was turned down on umpire’s call, keeping the century on the table.Bouchier skied the next ball and it dropped short of long-off as she and Sciver-Brunt scampered two and two singles took her past her previous best, 95, scored in the third ODI against Sri Lanka last September.With four more runs needed to win, Sciver-Brunt blocked the remaining four balls of Penfold’s over – one of them a full toss – to give Bouchier the strike. Bouchier tucked Jess’ first delivery to backward square leg and ran two more. Then, after a dot ball prodded towards point, Bouchier struck the next into the space through midwicket and took off for the two runs she needed to reach her ton and complete England’s victory.

“We had a really good match, it was just some small moments that we could’ve done better,” says New Zealand head coach Gary Stead

Madushka Balasuriya25-Sep-2024You win the toss, you bat. When it comes to playing a Test in Galle, that is not so much as received wisdom as it as an etched in stone eleventh commandment. While this might on the face of it seem a ploy to get the best of the batting conditions, in actuality, it’s more down to not wanting to get the worst of it.In the first Test, Sri Lanka won the toss and obviously batted, but while the notable turn on day one signified a raging turner from the outset, Sri Lanka still managed to run up 305 in the first innings – even accounting for them losing their last four wickets for just 24 runs.And after that, it was in fact New Zealand’s batters that got to utilise the most batter friendly of conditions across the Test – on day two, when the turn had slowed down and Sri Lanka’s spinners struggled for control. But their innings, too, was hampered by a late collapse, going from a pretty strong 269 for 5 to 340 all out.Related

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But as the Test wore on, particularly on the fourth and fifth day, batting became the chore Galle is more commonly renowned for, with 14 wickets falling on day four and two wickets within 15 minutes on day five to wrap up the game.”The pitch can change quite quickly and we saw that,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead noted on the eve of the second Test. “From being relatively good off the straight areas, to then spinning, quite a bit on that fourth day. The conditions can change very quickly.”So I think every run you get in the first innings is very important. And making sure you can post a as large a total as possible, as that means it’s just less runs you have to score in the second innings.”Stead’s sentiment was something shared by Sri Lanka batting coach Thilina Kandamby, who spoke towards the importance of setting the tone early on, be it with the bat or ball.”Setting the tone is key in Test cricket, even with the ball. In Manchester also, if you remember, we had a really bad day starting with the bowling. Then we recovered really well. That’s the positive part of it, whether it comes to bowling or batting our recovery is really good. But setting the tone is really important, and all the players know that.”Both teams are also acutely aware of the areas in which they need to improve, primarily in pressing home hard-fought advantages. With five wickets in hand, 50 runs adrift of Sri Lanka’s first innings total, and a set pair of Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips at the crease at the start of day three, New Zealand might have been eyeing a hefty first-innings lead – particularly taking into account the confidence with which they had approached their batting the previous day.As it turned out, they would lose their remaining five wickets for 86 runs on the third morning, and in the process relinquish the grip they had on the game. With 63 runs the final margin of defeat it’s pivotal passages such as these, that Stead knows proved the difference in the end.”I actually think we had a really good Test match and for the most part it was very evenly contested. I thought that it was just some small moments that we could have done better,” he explained. “We probably should have got more run in terms of that first innings, and the lead from the position we were in.”And then the second session, I think it was of the third day, where we didn’t take a wicket. [Dinesh] Chandimal and [Dimuth] Karunaratne batted very well, but we maybe were just a little bit slow to adjust and adapt to that situation.””We probably should have got more run in terms of that first innings, and the lead from the position we were in” – Stead•AFP/Getty Images

Kandamby had similar grievances with his own side. Sri Lanka lost five of their top six batters (including Angelo Mathews who retired hurt) inside the first 35 overs of day one, before a century from Kamindu Mendis and a Kusal Mendis fifty revived their innings. In the second innings, having got to 153 for the loss of just one wicket, Sri Lanka stumbled to 178 for 4. And then again went from 286 for 6 to 309 all out.”Mindset will be the same [going into the game], but we have discussed where we went wrong, especially in the batting,” revealed Kandamby. “We had a collapse in the third or fourth day, it had happened a couple of times earlier also. The senior players need to take the responsibility because they have played a lot of cricket in Galle. We all knew the wicket would be helpful for spinners.”When we see the stats, I think they swept more than us, which is a concern. We played some good sweep shots as well, but you can’t always trust the defence on a wicket like this. So you’re better always to be in a positive mindset to score runs.”One other area of concern has been the contribution from Sri Lanka’s tail. In terms of batting contributions from those batting at 9, 10 and 11, Sri Lanka know they could be doing better. Across both innings they contributed a total of 13 runs, while Ramesh Mendis batting at eight offered not much more.This has partly been reason for Sri Lanka bringing in Milan Rathnayake – following his impressive showing with the bat in England – in place of Lahiru Kumara, but Kandamby said it was nevertheless an area they were actively looking at improving on.”Yes we’re looking for runs from them [the tail], but more than that it’s about supporting the batter at the other end. It’s only after the recognised batter gets out that we start thinking about how to put the pressure back on the bowlers and get some runs. So honestly if they can get about 30-40 runs, that would be good. Because if you look at it compared the rest of the Test playing nations, our batters at 9, 10, 11, are quite low down.”Whenever we have practice, batting is compulsory for them. And when we’re not playing in a series, they will work the coaches at the HPC (high performance centre) to work on their technical errors.”

They became the joint-most-expensive uncapped Indian players ever signed at an IPL auction

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-20251:11

Watch – Prashant Veer’s family soak in the moment after CSK buy him for INR 14.2 crores

Prashant Veer, a 20-year old left-arm spin allrounder from Uttar Pradesh, and Kartik Sharma, a 19-year old wicketkeeper from Rajasthan, have smashed the record for the most expensive uncapped Indian player ever bought at an IPL auction, with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bidding a whopping INR 14.2 crore for each of them at the IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.The previous record bid for an uncapped Indian was INR 10 crore for fast bowler Avesh Khan by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in 2022.Veer and Kartik headlined a massive payday for uncapped Indians, with Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler Auqib Nabi getting signed by Delhi Capitals (DC) for INR 8.4 crore, and 23-year-old pace allrounder Mangesh Yadav by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for INR 5.2 crore. Wicketkeepers Tejasvi Dahiya (INR 3 crore to KKR), Mukul Choudhary (INR 2.6 crore to LSG) and Salil Arora (INR 1.5 crore to SRH), batter Akshat Raghuwanshi (INR 2.2 crore to LSG), and fast bowler Naman Tiwari (INR 1 CR to LSG) were the other uncapped Indians to get to or past the INR 1 crore mark.Related

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Veer’s base price at the auction was INR 30 lakh but the bidding for him skyrocketed – it began between Mumbai Indians (MI) and LSG initially, followed by a battle between CSK and LSG, then with Rajasthan Royals (RR) and eventually Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) joining in. At the time of the auction, Veer had played nine domestic T20s and his performances in the UPT20 League, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and Uttar Pradesh’s Under-23 fixtures earned him a call up for trials with CSK.After CSK had signed Veer for INR 14.2 crore from the set of uncapped allrounders, they bid aggressively for Kartik, whose base price was also INR 30 lakh, from the next set of uncapped wicketkeepers. Once again MI and LSG began the bidding, followed by battles between LSG and KKR, KKR and CSK, and eventually CSK and SRH, who once again dropped out once the bid reached INR 14.2 crore. Kartik, who has been signed up by JSW Sports, which manages several top athletes including the Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, is building a reputation as a lower-order finisher who can hit big sixes. In 12 T20s, Kartik has scored 334 runs at a strike rate of 164, hitting 28 sixes.Prashant Veer (left) has become the joint most expensive uncapped Indian player bought at an IPL auction•UPT20 League

“Kartik Sharma, we had him last year and he did some trialing with us,” CSK coach Stephen Fleming said. “We’ve been watching Kartik for some time and I’ll go back to the scouting and the work that’s done in a lot of tournaments. Prashant Veer, given that we needed that kind of skillset with trading Jadeja for Sanju and we identified him as a good talent going forward and filling that spot for us, doing that skillset.”As the game has evolved, we might have been a little bit slow to evolve with it. Only halfway through the tournament [IPL 2025] we had a big shift and you saw with the players we got in as reserves, there was a shift in what we needed to do. Sometimes you can hang on to theories and philosophies because of past success but we identified that we needed to shift and partly the work that we did last season halfway through has enabled us to continue that work done.”We knew if we can get a strong core of local players I think your team’s in good shape, and sometimes you have to invest time in them and also money because what is happening is the scouting on numerous tournaments around India are becoming very important. So players are being watched and being studied and being bought with a view to perform in the way they’re performing now but also another eye on the future. The fact it can be life-changing is a very rewarding aspect for doing something that they love. But first and foremost they are bought for their skills and that’s what they’ve been identified as doing which is a celebration for them and their family.”The first uncapped Indian player to go big at the IPL 2026 auction was Nabi, who was signed by DC after they fought off competition from RR, RCB and SRH. Unlike Veer and Kartik, the 29-year-old Nabi has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket over the past few seasons. In the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he has taken 15 wickets in seven matches at an economy rate of under eight and has been a net bowler with KKR and SRH in the past.”He’s done well in all formats, he’s somebody we believe that gives us an option up top, he can bat a bit, and there’s a reason why he’s gone for that [high] price,” DC head coach Hemang Badani said. “And only when someone else is bidding against us can someone go up to 8-8.5 crores. So, that tells you that this kid has something in him, like a Prashant Veer has or a Karthik Sharma has. There’s a reason why people go up to 12 or 14 crores. One kid doesn’t go up to that price unless there’s a bidding war. A lot of the younger boys are coming through and Auqib Nabi is one of those we feel will go forward. We believe he’s a good bowler for us.”Mangesh’s bidding was between RCB and SRH, and his bid rose from his base price of INR 30 lakh to INR 5.2 crore, at which point SRH dropped out. He has played only two domestic T20s, scoring 28 runs off 12 balls and taking three wickets, but made a strong impression in the Madhya Pradesh Premier League.