Akila Dananjaya yesterday spun a web around New Zealand’s batsmen, picking up all five wickets on a rain-shortened opening day of the first Test in Galle, Sri Lanka.
Experienced batsman Ross Taylor held firm with an unbeaten 86 against the guile of Dananjaya to take the touring side to 203-5 when rain forced early stumps.
Mitchell Santner was the other unbeaten batsman at the crease on 8.
Both sides selected three spinners for the Galle pitch and 25-year-old Dananjaya, who in the past has been suspended from bowling in international cricket for an illegal bowling action, made a quick impact.
After New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat, the opening pair added 64 before Dananjaya struck twice in the space of four deliveries to send back Tom Latham (30) and Williamson, who was dismissed without scoring.
Dananjaya then induced an edge from Jeet Raval to dismiss the other opener for 33 at the stroke of the lunch break to reduce New Zealand to 71-3.
Taylor, a veteran of 93 Tests, staged a fightback for the Black Caps with Henry Nicholls and added 100 for the fourth wicket before Dananjaya dismissed the latter.
Nicholls failed to connect a sweep shot and was out LBW for 42 and B.J. Watling soon joined him in the dressing room after being out in similar fashion to hand the off-spinner his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests.
The two-Test series, with the second match set for Colombo, is the first for both teams in the newly launched World Test Championship, which features the top nine Test-playing nations competing in a league over two years.
Ademola Lookman on Thursday scored on his Atletico Madrid debut in a 5-0 rout of Real Betis Balompie that sent Diego Simeone’s team to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. David Hancko, Giuliano Simeone, Antoine Griezmann and Thiago Almada also scored for Atletico as they advanced to the last four for the third straight season. Atletico are trying to reach their first Copa final since winning the competition in 2012-2013. Hancko opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute and Giuliano Simeone added to the lead in the 30th, before Lookman got his first goal for Atletico on a fast
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
SUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
France head coach Fabien Galthie on Thursday lauded his team’s attacking performance after their dazzling 36-14 victory over Ireland in their Six Nations opener. A brace of tries from Louis Bielley-Biarrey and one from mercurial flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert helped France storm into a 29-0 lead before taking their foot off the gas and allowing Ireland back into the match, before winger Theo Attissogbe put some gloss on the victory late on. “In an attacking sense, with the ball, the team played with great accuracy,” Galthie said. “It was one of the most accurate attacking performances in a long time, despite the weather
RSS