Sri Lanka's Kusal Perera tests Covid-19 positive

Sri Lanka captain Kusal Perera has tested positive for Covid-19. The player who has been out of action ever since the tour of England due to an injury that he picked on the tour, has now tested positive for the Coronavirus confirmed Sri Lanka Cricket in a tweet. The cricketing body further updated that the wicket-keeper batter is undergoing the treatment and laid out protocols. 

“Wicket Keeper–Batsman Kusal Janith Perera has tested positive for Covid 19. He was found to be positive during a PCR test which was carried out on the players yesterday (15th August). Following the detection, Perera is undergoing due medical protocols pertaining to Covid 19,” read the SLC tweet. 

All the top Sri Lanka cricketers apart from Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka, who are serving the one year ban after their breach of protocol and bio-bubble during the England tour, are taking part in the SLC Invitational T20 tournament which is being played between four SLC teams. 

It was strange to see Perera not being part of it and thus, this confirmation reveals the reason behind his absence. Perera also missed the ODI and T20I series against India at home and Dasun Shanaka captained Sri Lanka in his absence. 

Discover more
Top Stories
news

WI vs PAK | Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales hold nerves to see Windies to thrilling one-wicket win

It’s a rare occasion in Test cricket that aside wins a match by one wicket. But whatever little amount of people that were available in the limited seating capacity of the Sabina Park at Kingston, Jamaica, they will surely remember the one-wicket win of the West Indies over Pakistan for the rest of their lives. Fast bowler Kemar Roach was the most unlikely hero with the bat for the home team, scoring an unbeaten 30 off 52 balls to guide them home in a chase of 168 in the fourth innings. He stitched together an unbeaten 17 run partnership with number 10 Jayden Seales to reach the total and maintain West Indies’ record of successful chases of targets below 200. Chasing 168, after getting Pakistan bundled out for 203 in their second essay thanks to Seales’ historic five-wicket haul, where he became the youngest West Indian t achieve the feat at 19 years of age, Windies didn’t really have a good start. Shaheen Afridi was spitting fire on that Jamiac wicket and removed the top three batters for just 16 runs on the board. Jermaine Blackwood and Roston chase then steadied the ship and got a partnership going to fuel the hopes of Men in Maroon of chasing the total down. The duo added 68 for the fourth wicket before Chase was removed by Faheem Ashraf. Kyle Mayers couldn’t do much either and was forced to register a pair after being caught at the slips for nought of another Ashraf delivery. Just as things started to look bright again with a 19 run stand between Blackwood and Jason Holder with the former picking up his 15th Test fifty, Hasan Ali struck and removed him. Soon, Holder was removed as well and Windies were staring at defeat with 54 runs still to get and new batters in Joshua Da Silva and Roch at the crease. The pair added 28 for the eighth wicket and gave hope to the Windies team. However, Da Silva was removed by Shaheen Afridi and then Mohammad Rizwan took an outstanding catch to send Jomel Warrican back to the pavilion with Windies still requiring 17 and that’s when Seales joined Roach and in legendary commentator, Ian Bishop’s words, “The teacher and his student led the Windies to a famous win”. This is the third occasion in 84 Tests in the last 12 years where a team has won a Test by one wicket and although it can’t be compared with the heroics of Ben Stokes to win the Headingley Test of the Ashes of 2019, this one is surely up there somewhere when it comes to thrilling test wins. Seales was awarded Man of the Match for his eight wickets and crucial stand with Roach at the end. The two teams will now once again be up against each other from August 20 for the second and final Test of the series at the same venue.

news

The Hundred | Southern Brave vs Oval Invincibles: When & where to watch Live, Probable XI, Fantasy XI

The third last league game of the season and two of the best teams of the league in Southern Brave and Oval Invincibles would be up against each other to try and secure a birth for themselves in the final three in the points table to be able to make it to the Playoffs of the inaugural edition of The Hundred. The equation is very simple for Oval Invincibles who would be playing their last game of the season and have nine points in their kitty. For them to secure a berth in the finals, they just need a plain and simple win. If they fail to get that, chances are they would not be able to make the final as Birmingham Phoenix are already on 10 and points and their loss against Brave would also take Brave to 10 points and if Rockets win their game against Manchester Originals, they would be on 10 pints as well. So if Oval doesn’t want to remain dependent on someone else’s results, it must win. Similar is the case with the Brave who have won their previous four out of the five games with one of them getting washed out. If James Vince’ men secure a win in this game, they would ensure that Oval are almost out of the race of the Playoffs and they are in. How things unfold, only time will tell. Southern Brave vs Oval Invincibles: Match Details Match Number- 30 Date and Time: August 16, 2021, 11:00 pm IST, 06:30 pm Local, 05:30pm GMT Venue: The Rose Bowl Southampton Live Stream: FanCode Pitch Report The pitch at Southampton has been a decent one. Not as high scoring as Birmingham, but not dead either. It has something for the bowlers in terms of bounce and a slight bit of turn as well. But that does not mean that batters can’t score runs if they apply themselves well. Weather Forecast According to BCC Weather, there are only 5-6% chances of precipitation, hence a good full game, which would also be the best possible scenario for both the teams as no one would like to get through with a washout. But the teams would be looking to secure their place in the final three with an outright victory. Southern Brave Probable XI Quinton de Kock (wk), Paul Stirling, James Vince (c), Alex Davies, Colin de Grandhomme, Ross Whiteley, Chris Jordan, George Garton, Danny Briggs, Tymal Mills, Jake Lintott Oval Invincibles Probable XI Jason Roy, Will Jacks, Sunil Narine, Colin Ingram, Sam Billings (c & wk), Alex Blake, Laurie Evans, Tom Curran, Tabraiz Shamsi, Reece Topley, Saqib Mahmood Fantasy XI Quinton de Kock (wk), Jason Roy, James Vince, Sam Billings, Laurie Evans, Chris Jordan, Sunil Narine, Tom Curran, Danny Briggs, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tymal Mills, Captain Quinton de Kock Vice-Captain Tabraiz Shamsi

news

Sai Kishore keeps calm to nullify valiant effort from Sravana Kumar; hands Chepauk it's record third TNPL title

It was a match that moved like a seesaw in the second innings with Rybu Trichy Warriors gaining control at one point and Chepauk Super Gillies being in control at the other. However, Chepauk’s experienced hand Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore kept his cool to deliver a phenomenal final over to deny P Sarvana Kumar and Ruby Trichy Warriors a shot at their maiden Tamil Nadu Premier League title. Courtesy of Kishore’s tight over, the Warriors couldn’t chase down 13 runs in the last over and fell short by 8 runs in the end to lose the match. Sarvana Kumar, who played a blinder of an innings to take his team from 108-6 in the 14th over while chasing an imposing target of 184, to a striking distance of 171 in the 19th over, wasn’t able to finish the task. His 25 ball 45 unbeaten in which he hit three fours and three sixes and scored at a strike rate of more than 180, went in vain eventually. Trichy Warriors, who had eaten Super Gullies twice before this game in the TNPL 2021, once during the league stage and once in the Qualifier started off well adding 40 for the first wicket in the first three overs itself. They were going well even till the 9th over having crossed the 80 run mark while losing only two wickets. However, the downfall started with Antony Dhas’ wicket in the 10th over and in a span of just 20 runs and four overs, Trichy lost its four wickets. That is when Sarvana Kumar’s rescue act began in partnership with M Mathivanan. The two added 50 runs in just 26 balls before Mathivanan was dismissed and M Poiyamozhi took his place. Along with Sai Kishore, R Sonu Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for the Gillies, finishing with figures of 2/32 in his four overs. Earlier in the day, after winning the toss Trichy Warriors invited Super Gillies to bat. The opportunity was utilised well by the likes of Narayan Jagadeesan and Kaushik Gandhi who put on 58 for the first wicket. While Gandhi got out, Jagadeesan continued to plunder and eventually ended up with 90 from 58 balls to guide his team to a mammoth total of 183. With this win, the Chepauk Super Gilles have now won three out of the five TNPL titles so far.