Dominic Drakes’ Colombo Stars have advanced to Friday’s final of the 2022 Lankan Premier League after storming to a six wicket win over the Kandy Falcons in Qualifier 2 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday.

Despite a pair of golden ducks from Andre Fletcher and Fabian Allen, the Falcons posted a competitive 168-6 from their 20 overs after the Stars won the toss and chose to field first.

Falcons captain Wanindu Hasaranga was excellent, producing an unbeaten 34-ball 77 including eight fours and three sixes. Ashen Bandara provided good support for the skipper with 40 against Kasun Rajitha’s 4-20 from four overs. Drakes chipped in with 1-32 from his four.

The Stars then needed just 18.5 overs to successfully reach their target for the loss of just four wickets. Charith Asalanka led the way with 64 off 40 balls including seven fours and three sixes and was supported well by Dinesh Chandimal (38), Ravi Bopara (29 not out) and captain Angelo Matthews (21).

The Stars will take on the Jaffna Kings in tomorrow’s final.

Barbadian all-rounder Matthew Forde produced an excellent display to help the Dambulla Aura defeat the Galle Gladiators by four wickets in the Lankan Premier League on Monday.

Despite a top score of 63 not out from Nuwanidu Fernando, the Gladiators were restricted to 129-8 from their 20 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat.

Forde, who represented the West Indies at the 2020 ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa and the St. Lucia Kings in the most recent edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), was spectacular with the ball, producing figures of 4-11 from his four overs, conceding just one boundary in the process.

The Barbadian also led the way with the bat, scoring a 30-ball 52 including six fours and two sixes to spearhead an easy chase. Englishman Jordan Cox also contributed well with 34 as the Aura needed just 14.2 overs to reach 134-6.

The win was just the second for the Aura this season meaning they failed to advance to the playoffs.

The Playoffs begin on Wednesday with the Kandy Falcons taking on the Jaffna Kings in Qualifier one before the Colombo Stars and the Galle Gladiators face off in the eliminator.

Oshane Thomas and Andre Fletcher provided handy contributions to help the Kandy Falcons secure a nine wicket win over the Colombo Stars in the Lankan Premier League on Saturday.

Thomas was economical with the ball, finishing his four overs with figures of 3-20 to help restrict the Stars to 106 all out after they won the toss and chose to bat.

Sri Lankan pacer Chamika Karunaratne was the spearhead of the attack for the Falcons with a brilliant 4-11 off 3.1 overs while Captain Angelo Matthews (41) and Dinesh Chandimal (20) were the only batsmen to provide any resistance for the Stars.

The chase was a simple one thanks to a 101-run second wicket partnership between Kamindu Mendis (51 not out) and Fletcher (44 not out). The pair got together after the wicket of Minod Bhanuka for just six in the second over and guided the Falcons to 108-1 after 16 overs for their sixth win in seven matches.

A whirlwind knock of 47 from Fabian Allen and Carlos Brathwaite’s four-wicket haul steered Kandy Falcons to a 10-run win over Jaffna Kings in their Lanka Premier League match-up in Pallekele on Wednesday.

Allen smashed three fours and four sixes to rally Kandy Falcons to 160-8 after they had slumped to 79-6 in the 14^th over despite 35 from Andre Fletcher and 24 from Ashan Bandara, who was dismissed in the 17^th over with the score at 119.

Allen raced to his 47 in just 23 balls before he was dismissed mid-way the final over when the score was 151. Chamika Karunaratne, who was not out on 18 at the end, pushed the score to 160-8.

Dunith Wellalage was the best of the Jaffna Kings bowlers taking 2-7 while James Fuller took 2-28.

Jaffna Kings made a good go of the chase for 161 thanks in large part to the efforts of Avishka Fernando who made 33 from 20 balls before he was bowled by Allen and Sadeera Samarawickrama, whose steady 48 from 41 balls held the innings together.

He was eventually dismissed by Hasaranga de Silva (2-21), who also took the key wicket of Shoaib Malik for eight, which exposed Jaffna Kings’ lower middle order to Brathwaite, who scythed through the line up with the wickets of Thisara Perera (2), Dunith Wellalage (1) and Fuller for 16, to take swing the match heavily in favour of his side.

The giant Barbadian had earlier taken the wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva (0) to finish with figures of 4-18 as Jaffna Kings’ innings closed on 150-9.

Former West Indies T20I Captain Carlos Brathwaite’s 3-17 wasn’t enough as the Kandy Falcons suffered a 12-run loss to the Galle Gladiators in the Lankan Premier League on Monday.

Brathwaite bowled an excellent four over spell to help restrict the Gladiators to 153-6 off their 20 overs after they won the toss and batted first.

Thanuka Dabare (70) and Nuwanidu Fernando (56) were the main contributors as Isuru Udana provided good support fie Brathwaite with 2-19 from his four overs.

In reply, Brathwaite and Andre Fletcher, who hit an unbeaten century in their first game, managed only four and eight, respectively, as the Gladiators restricted the Falcons to 141-7 from their 20 overs handing them their first defeat of the tournament in their fourth game.

Ashen Bandara (41 not out), Chamika Karunaratne (32) and Pathum Nissanka (29) were the main run-getters while Nuwan Thushara and Lakshan Sandakan took figures of 2-26 and 2-22, respectively.

The Falcons lead the five-team table with six points from four games.

Andre Fletcher scored his third T20 hundred to help his Kandy Falcons get off to a winning start in the 2022 Lankan Premier League with a dominant 109-run triumph over the Colombo Stars in Hambantota on Tuesday.

Fletcher hit 11 fours and three sixes on his way to a brilliant 102 not out off just 67 balls to help the Falcons post 199-1 from their 20 overs after the Stars won the toss and chose to field first.

Sri Lankan Pathum Nissanka was also dominant with a 41-ball 71 including eight fours and two sixes while Carlos Brathwaite ended 20 not out.

The Falcons were then equally dominant with the ball, restricting the Stars to just 90 all out in 14.3 overs.

Wanindu Hasaranga was the star of the show with 4-14 from three overs while Fabian Allen needed just three balls to finish with figures of 2-1.

Sri Lanka have suspended batter Danushka Gunathilaka indefinitely after he was refused bail in a Sydney court after being charged over an alleged sexual assault.

Gunathilaka has been charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent while at the T20 World Cup in Australia.

The 31-year-old was taken into custody following his country's final World Cup game against England.

Gunathilaka was denied bail initially on Sunday, and was refused again on Monday in court.

A statement from Sri Lanka Cricket's governing board read: "The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket decided to suspend national player Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect.

"Furthermore, Sri Lanka Cricket will take the necessary steps to promptly carry out an inquiry into the alleged offense, and, upon conclusion of the aforementioned court case in Australia, steps will be taken to penalize the said player if found guilty.

"Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to emphasize that it adopts a "zero tolerance" policy for any such conduct by a player and will provide all the required support to the Australian law enforcement authorities to carry out an impartial inquiry into the incident."

Gunathilaka was ruled out of the T20 World Cup through injury last month after facing Namibia and had remained in camp with the rest of the squad.

He only returned to the Sri Lanka team after a year-long ban for breaking bio-secure bubble conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic was lifted prematurely in January.

Gunathilaka was a member of the squad that won the Asia Cup in September, and had been expected to feature regularly across the T20 World Cup until his injury.

Sri Lanka batsman Danushka Gunathilaka has been arrested in Sydney over allegations of sexual assault following his side's exit from the T20 World Cup.

The 31-year-old is due in court on November 7 after he was taken into custody by Australian authorities following his country's final Group 1 game against England.

Gunathilaka, who had been originally named in the squad but was ruled out through injury in October, had remained with the team during their campaign.

In a brief statement, Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed it had been informed of the player's charges, and would conduct its own investigation alongside that of the police.

"Sri Lanka Cricket confirms that it was notified by the ICC that player Danushka Gunathilaka has been arrested on the allegations of sexual assault of a woman in Sydney, and Mr. Gunathilaka is due to appear in court tomorrow (7 November ,2022)," it said.

"SLC will closely monitor the proceedings in court and, in consultation with the ICC, will expeditiously initiate a thorough inquiry into the matter and take stern action against the player if found guilty."

Gunathilaka was suspended from international cricket for a year by Sri Lanka after breaking the team's bio-secure bubble during their tour of England amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

His ban was lifted early, In January, and he was included in the nation's Asia Cup-winning squad in September.

Sri Lanka fell short of the knockout stages at the tournament following their four-wicket loss to England, with the latter and New Zealand progressing to the semi-finals.

Jos Buttler believes Ben Stokes will "grow and grow" as England aim for T20 World Cup glory in Australia.

Stokes' unbeaten 42 helped guide England to a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Saturday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, ensuring they progressed from Group 1 alongside New Zealand, last year's runners up.

It means the reigning champions and hosts Australia failed to reach the last four, with England set to face the winner of Group 2 in Adelaide for a place in the final.

England appeared to be cruising towards victory when, having limited Sri Lanka to 141-8, Buttler and opening partner Alex Hales plundered their way to 75 without loss.

Yet the loss of five wickets for 36 runs in the space of seven overs resulted in a nervy finish for England, and Stokes had to step up late on to set the stage for Chris Woakes to strike the winning boundary with two balls to spare.

"Not a great watch, to be honest – didn't enjoy that much," Buttler said at the post-match presentation.

"We knew, coming here, we had to find a way to win the game, thankfully we did that."

Asked if Stokes was the ideal player for the scenario, Buttler replied: "Absolutely, it's the kind of situation he's made for, I'm delighted for him and when he's at the crease, that gives you a sense of calm.

"He can play a lot of roles, he effects the game in all facets, he's a proper competitor and it's getting to the stage of the competition where you'll just see him grow and grow."

Stokes missed last year's T20 World Cup, and only returned to action in the format in a warm-up series against Australia ahead of this edition of the tournament, with his score on Saturday his best since he managed 46 against India in March 2021.

Another key player for England against Sri Lanka was Adil Rashid, whose figures of 1-16 saw him named the Player of the Match.

When asked if he was worried by the fast start Sri Lanka made with the bat, Buttler said: "Yeah, a little bit, they got off to a really good start and having lost the toss we knew the wicket would probably slow up as we went along.

"I thought it was a fantastic over from Adil Rashid at the back end of the powerplay to change the momentum. He's been someone we've always turned to and I was really pleased with his performance.

"I think a lot of people always look at the end column, maybe he hasn't picked up the wickets he usually does. I don't think he's bowled with much luck, to be honest. He's had a few chances that were missed, I think he's still bowling well, and on surfaces like this he's a really tough bowler to face."

Rashid took the wicket of opener Pathum Nissanka, whose 67 had anchored Sri Lanka's innings. 

Pathum has now accumulated over 1,000 T20I runs, becoming the 10th player from his nation to reach the milestone.

Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes held their nerve to guide England to a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka and into the T20 World Cup semi-finals.

Boasting a better net run-rate than hosts Australia in Group 1, England knew victory would be enough at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday to see them progress alongside New Zealand at the expense of the reigning champions.

Matters looked bleak for Jos Buttler's team, however, when a sloppy opening seven overs bowlers allowed Sri Lanka to advance for 65-1, yet spearheaded by Mark Wood's 3-26 and Adil Rashid's 1-16 – his wicket being the dismissal of the excellent Pathum Nissanka (67) – England took seven wickets for just 76 runs for the remainder of the innings, limiting their opponents to 141-8.

England looked to be strolling to victory at 75-0 from the opening 43 deliveries, with Alex Hales and Buttler excelling in the power play before the latter succumbed to Wanindu Hasaranga.

Hales, whose 47 included eight boundaries, was caught and bowled by Hasaranga two overs later, with Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali falling in quick succession as England wobbled.

Sam Curran picked out Kasun Rajitha at fine leg to pile the pressure on, yet Stokes (42) – so many times a hero – provided the composure, chipping away to leave England needing five runs from the final over.

It was Woakes who provided the final flourish, whipping a cut away to the boundary to ensure victory with two balls to spare.

England's redemption shot

Under Eoin Morgan, England reached the semi-finals of last year's T20 World Cup, only to fall short against New Zealand, who themselves were beaten by Australia in the final.

England – who have now won each of their last eight men's T20Is against Sri Lanka – will now face the winner of Group 2 for a place in the showpiece match this time around.

Pathum reaches Sri Lanka milestone

His knock might ultimately have proved fruitless, but it saw Pathum become the 10th Sri Lanka batter to accumulate 1,000 T20I runs, while he is the second-fastest to achieve the feat in terms of innings (after Kusal Perera).

Hasaranga also had a fine match with the ball, finishing with 2-23. It means he ends the tournament with 15 wickets, one short of his tally from the 2021 edition (16), which is the highest on record in the competition's history.

Australia's narrow win over Afghanistan on Friday sent New Zealand through to the T20 World Cup semi-finals and set England a straightforward target to join them.

England need only a victory against Sri Lanka in Saturday's final Group 1 match to be sure of a place in the last four.

Hosts and defending champions Australia had been facing an uphill battle to improve their run rate ever since an 89-run thrashing at the hands of the Black Caps in their opener.

With their meeting with England rained off, the margin of victory in other matches was going to prove pivotal.

Although Australia survived a scare in beating Afghanistan by four runs, that tight affair left their net run rate at -0.173, below England's mark of +0.547, which will improve further with victory over Sri Lanka.

The home nation therefore need Sri Lanka to defeat England and keep them in the top two on seven points.

Stand-in Australia captain Matthew Wade said: "We'll stay the extra night here and watch that game. We'll be hoping for a little bit of an upset there, obviously.

"That's tournament play – we put ourselves in this situation straight from the get-go this time. Although we've been trying to chase a little bit of run rate, it just hasn't really gone our way.

"We've been a little bit slow getting out of the blocks in this tournament. Hopefully it doesn't cost us."

Glenn Maxwell struck a similar tone, saying: "We'll certainly be following it. We've obviously put ourselves in this situation, but hopefully Sri Lanka can do the job for us."

Although Maxwell scored an unbeaten 54 off 32 against Afghanistan, he added: "It was quite hard to press the issue.

"We probably got to about the 12-over mark, where we just had to put a total on the board to make sure we gave ourselves a chance of winning the game.

"Even though we were trying to go hard at the back end, they bowled extremely well."

If Sri Lanka can do Australia a huge favour, Wade is "very hopeful" skipper Aaron Finch and all-rounder Tim David will return for the semi-finals.

David was "really, really close" but failed a late fitness test on Friday, Wade added.

Wanindu Hasaranga dazzled with the ball and Dhananjaya de Silva shone with the bat as Sri Lanka crushed Afghanistan by six wickets at the T20 World Cup to bolster their semi-final hopes.

After defeats to Australia and New Zealand, Sri Lanka could not afford another slip-up and produced a commanding performance at the Gabba.

Afghanistan were limited to 144-8, in which six batters reached double figures, but nobody went further than Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 28 at the top of the order.

That was in a large part down to man of the match Hasaranga's wily leg spin that brought him brilliant figures of 3-13, including the wickets of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the final over.

Sri Lanka were 46-2 after 7.5 overs of their reply, but Dhananjaya was in no mood to let this one slip away, and his sublime unbeaten 66 from 42 balls saw the team home.

He cracked two sixes and six fours, including the boundary through cover that saw Sri Lanka over the winning line with nine balls to spare, reaching 148-4, nicely teeing up their final Group 1 game against England at the SCG on Saturday.

Hail Hasaranga

Already the leading performer with the ball in this year's tournament, Hasaranga's haul improved his tally to 13 wickets, and trimmed his average to 13.53.

This time around he delivered 12 dot balls and avoided being struck for a boundary as Afghanistan struggled to read him, defeat ending their hopes of going any further.

Mujeeb edges nearer landmark

Mujeeb Ur Rahman took 2-24 for Afghanistan, removing Pathum Nissanka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, to reach 48 wickets in T20Is. After washouts against Ireland and New Zealand, he and his team-mates would have been glad to play some part in a contest on Tuesday.

Now off-spinner Mujeeb has one more chance while at this tournament to become the third Afghanistan bowler to reach 50 T20I wickets, with Afghanistan rounding off their campaign against hosts Australia on Friday in Adelaide.

Glenn Phillips made a scintillating century and Trent Boult ripped through Sri Lanka as New Zealand took a big stride towards the T20 World Cup semi-finals with a 65-run win.

The Black Caps were in big trouble on 15-3 after losing Finn Allen, Devon Conway and Kane Williamson in the first four overs, but Phillips (104 off 64 balls) came to the rescue with his second T20I hundred.

Phillips took advantage of being dropped on 12 and 45, putting on a show at the SCG on Saturday to get the Group 1 leaders up to 167-7, the fit-again Daryl Mitchell (22) providing support in a fourth-wicket stand of 84. 

Sri Lanka were sloppy in the field and never looked like being successful with a run chase that ended when they were bowled out for only 102 in the final over.

Left-arm seamer Boult claimed his best T20I figures of 4-13 after the excellent Tim Southee (1-12) trapped Pathum Nissanka leg before in the first over.

Sri Lanka were reduced to 8-4 and did not look like reaching three figures at 65-8 before Bhanuka Rajapaksa (34) and captain Dasun Shanaka (35) showed some resistance.

Spinners Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi both claimed figures of 2-21 as New Zealand moved two points clear at the top of the group with two games to play, with Sri Lanka down in fifth place.

Phillips punishes sloppy Sri Lanka

Phillips struck four sixes and found the rope 10 times in a magnificent innings, but it could have been a very different story.

Nissanka spilled a simple chance to reduce the Black Caps to 29-4 when he put Phillips down early in his knock at long-off.

A diving Shanaka spurned a more tricky opportunity to remove Phillips before he reached his half-century and he made Sri Lanka pay, bringing up his stunning hundred off only 61 balls.

Lightning Boult strikes again

Boult has proven time and again he is one of the best bowlers in the world and he gave another demonstration in Sydney.

He had Kusal Mendis caught behind, then bowled Dhananjaya de Silva and got rid of Charith Asalanka in a devastating opening burst before returning to get Shanaka caught at deep square leg by Mitchell.

There were 18 dot balls from Boult and he conceded just the one boundary.

Aaron Finch was left with mixed emotions after Australia beat Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup but he "couldn't hit the ball" in a "poor" innings.

Australia started the defence of their title by suffering an 89-run defeat to New Zealand in a repeat of last year's final, but the hosts responded with a seven-wicket victory at Perth Stadium on Tuesday.

Marcus Stoinis was the star of the show, blasting a record-breaking unbeaten 59 from only 18 balls to get the holders home with 21 balls to spare and move them into fourth place in Group 1.

The powerful all-rounder cleared the rope six times and struck another four boundaries to register Australia's fastest T20I half-century and the joint-second quickest in a T20 World Cup, passing 50 from only 17 deliveries.

Finch finished on 31 not out from 42 balls after watching Stoinis cut loose at the other end, and the captain gave a frank assessment of his scratchy knock.

He said in the post-match presentation: "I'm very happy [with the win]. Obviously my innings was unusual. It was poor. I just couldn't hit the ball. But I thought the way that we approached it with the bat was fine.

"It would've been nice if I could've kicked on earlier and made the chase a bit easier but all in all, pretty clinical, I think with the ball as well.

"They bowled a hard length. It was tough. It's such a big ground that you feel as though it's hard to just stand and deliver. Especially with a bit of extra bounce and when the ball is seaming slightly, you feel it's just not quite as easy to hit the middle of the bat. That's no excuse for the way I played, but it's nice to get two points."

The opener praised Stoinis following his sensational exhibition of clean striking.

"It was a pretty special innings," skipper Finch said. "To come out with that intent is the main thing. When you walk out to bat and you have that presence at the crease, that's half the battle in T20 cricket. When you have the skill and the strength that he's got, that's a pretty good combo."

Australia's next assignment will a mouthwatering clash with England at the MCG on Friday.

Marcus Stoinis hit a half-century in record time to propel Australia to a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Tuesday and get his side back on track in the T20 World Cup.

The tournament hosts were heavily beaten by New Zealand in their opener and were then set a competitive target by Sri Lanka, who reached 157-6 from their 20 overs.

Pathum Nissanka (40) top-scored for Sri Lanka, albeit using 45 balls, and Charith Asalanka (38) also contributed in an up-and-down innings that saw the Lions hit just two sixes.

Australia still had work to do with the pressure on, and they struggled early on, with David Warner (11) and Mitchell Marsh (17) falling to leave their side 60-2 in the ninth over.

However, Stoinis turned on the style by reaching his half-century in just 17 deliveries – the fastest fifty by an Australian in T20I history – en route to an unbeaten 59 from 18 balls.

Australia reached their target with 21 balls to spare in Perth for what turned out to be a run-rate-boosting win, despite Aaron Finch (31 from 42) failing to impress.

Australia back on track

This victory was Australia's third in a row against Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup and sets up an intriguing contest against England at the MCG on Friday.

Sri Lanka had won eight of their past nine T20Is, including their Group 1 opener against Ireland, and must now dust themselves down ahead of facing New Zealand.

Stoinis stars as Finch falters

Finch scored no fours and only one six, though it did not matter thanks to the brilliant batting of Stoinis, who by comparison hit four fours and six sixes.

Stoinis overtook team-mate Warner's 18 off 50 against West Indies in 2010 as the fastest Australian to reach his half-century in the format, while only Yuvraj Singh (12 balls against England in 2007) has done so faster in the T20 World Cup.