Upul Tharanga, centre, and Tillakaratne Dilshan embrace during their stand.
Upul Tharanga, centre, and Tillakaratne Dilshan embrace during their stand.
Upul Tharanga, centre, and Tillakaratne Dilshan embrace during their stand.
Upul Tharanga, centre, and Tillakaratne Dilshan embrace during their stand.

Dilshan's all-round show guides Sri Lanka into World Cup quarter-finals


Paul Radley
  • English
  • Arabic

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka // With the beauty of the mountains in the background and the coconut groves lining the perimeter, Sri Lanka's newest World Cup venue does not need any extra visual aids.

The management at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium have provided one, nonetheless. Just to the side of the main grandstand, a massive billboard carries the image of Tillakaratne Dilshan diving to take a catch, accompanied by the catchline: "Superheroes sans tights".

He was in full possession of those superpowers again yesterday. He even wore a tight-fitting undergarment beneath his blue Sri Lanka shirt. All he needed was a red cape and the image would have been complete.

Dilshan played like he had a point to prove. Given the amount of goodwill floating around Sri Lanka towards their national cricketers, it is surprising how many times the team's management have had to fend off "destabilising" tittle-tattle so far in this World Cup.

Last week in Colombo, a television station besmirched one of the most highly regarded players in cricket, let alone Sri Lanka, when they broadcast a programme suggesting Mahela Jayawardene had underperformed deliberately against Pakistan.

After moving up into the hills for the next leg of the competition, it was Dilshan's turn to be the target of whispers. A rumour had started on the eve of the game that he had failed a dope test. The management were able to laugh it off, by stating he had not even taken a test, let alone failed one.

As with the Jayawardene incident, the dirt is unlikely to stick, but Dilshan will have been angry that it had been allowed to be thrown in the first place.

He certainly batted like he was. Tinashe Panyangara, Zimbabwe's new-ball bowler, was made to pay. With Dilshan windmilling, his first four balls disappeared for 18 runs, and the batsman did not look back from there.

The force was clearly with Dilshan, even when he came on to bowl. In his first over, Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's wicketkeeper, botched a stumping chance with a Kamran Akmal-style clunk of glove on ball. Yet it still rebounded on to the stumps to dismiss Prosper Utseya.

Dilshan was starting to spread the wealth when it came to superpowers.

When he induced an edge from the bat of Greg Lamb in the next over it produced a one-handed diving catch from Jayawardene. The bowler himself, Sri Lanka's most electric fielder, would have been proud.

That put Dilshan on a hat-trick. He did find the edge off the next ball, but by that time Jayawardene at first slip had reverted to Clark Kent mode, and was unable to scoop the catch up from in front of him.

Zimbabwe, for their part, were fresh out of kryptonite. Rarely can a side have ever endured such a lean streak before.

It was not solely that they took the best part of 45 overs to get a wicket. They had not even been given a sniff to keep them interested before then.

Christopher Mpofu had an lbw appeal against Upul Tharanga off the first ball of the game. But between them, Zimbabwe decided it was not close enough to be worth reviewing.

And between then and Tharanga's departure - by which time Sri Lanka were on 282 and the batsman had a century - Zimbabwe only managed a single appeal, and that was a tenuous one for a catch down the legside.

Dilshan's one-man exhibition stole much of the thunder from Muttiah Muralitharan.

The great off-spinner was playing his first and last match at a stadium which he helped come into being, and which is seven kilometres from his family home.

The family biscuit factory was operating with a skeleton staff, as the majority decamped to see Muralitharan play for the final time in the Hill Country before he retires at the end of the World Cup. He left them some forget-me-nots with three wickets, including the final one of the match.

His plans post cricket are not yet decided, but one of his adoring public had an idea of her own. "Murali 4 president" read a hand-scrawled sign in the grandstand.

West Asia Premiership

Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles

Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain

Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants

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  • Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
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  • Flexible work arrangements
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

RESULTS

Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.

Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.

Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.

Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.

Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.

Catchweight 80kg​​​​​​​
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.

Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.

Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.

Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.

Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.

Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.

Chatham House Rule

A mark of Chatham House’s influence 100 years on since its founding,  was Moscow’s formal declaration last month that it was an “undesirable
organisation”. 

 

The depth of knowledge and academics that it drew on
following the Ukraine invasion had broadcast Mr Putin’s chicanery.  

 

The institute is more used to accommodating world leaders,
with Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher among those helping it provide
authoritative commentary on world events. 

 

Chatham House was formally founded as the Royal Institute of
International Affairs following the peace conferences of World War One. Its
founder, Lionel Curtis, wanted a more scientific examination of international affairs
with a transparent exchange of information and ideas.  

 

That arena of debate and analysis was enhanced by the “Chatham
House Rule” states that the contents of any meeting can be discussed outside Chatham
House but no mention can be made identifying individuals who commented.  

 

This has enabled some candid exchanges on difficult subjects
allowing a greater degree of free speech from high-ranking figures.  

 

These meetings are highly valued, so much so that
ambassadors reported them in secret diplomatic cables that – when they were
revealed in the Wikileaks reporting – were thus found to have broken the rule. However,
most speeches are held on the record.  

 

Its research and debate has offered fresh ideas to
policymakers enabling them to more coherently address troubling issues from climate
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- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final:

First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2

Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)

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FIXTURES

Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan

The top two teams qualify for the World Cup

Classification matches 
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.

Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off

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Dubai World Cup Carnival Card:

6.30pm: Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 1,200m
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7.40pm: Zabeel Turf Listed $175,000 (T) 2,000m​​​​​​​
8.15pm: Cape Verdi Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m​​​​​​​
8.50pm: Handicap $135,000 (D) 1,600m​​​​​​​
9.25pm: Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,600m

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

'Ashkal'
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Panipat

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /stars

FIXTURES

Saturday, November 3
Japan v New Zealand
Wales v Scotland
England v South Africa
Ireland v Italy

Saturday, November 10
Italy v Georgia
Scotland v Fiji
England v New Zealand
Wales v Australia
Ireland v Argentina
France v South Africa

Saturday, November 17
Italy v Australia
Wales v Tonga
England v Japan
Scotland v South Africa
Ireland v New Zealand

Saturday, November 24
|Italy v New Zealand
Scotland v Argentina
England v Australia
Wales v South Africa
Ireland v United States
France v Fiji

About Takalam

Date started: early 2020

Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: HealthTech and wellness

Number of staff: 4

Funding to date: Bootstrapped

Know before you go
  • Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
  • If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
  • By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
  • Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
  • Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.

 

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What are the influencer academy modules?
  1. Mastery of audio-visual content creation. 
  2. Cinematography, shots and movement.
  3. All aspects of post-production.
  4. Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
  5. Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
  6. Tourism industry knowledge.
  7. Professional ethics.