Indian bowlers stage late recovery as SLC XI reach 363/8 in warm-up c…

The Indian bowling attack endured a tough opening spell against Sri Lanka's emerging batting talent before a spin-led fightback, spearheaded by Kuldeep Yadav, restricted SLC XI to 363 for 8 on the opening day of their three-day warm-up match in Colombo on Friday.

As it is a friendly game, both teams will bat 90 overs on the first two days and split 45 overs each on the final day. Nonetheless, head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill, who sat out the day after suffering an impact injury in training, will have plenty to think about.

Playing red-ball cricket for the first time in five weeks, the pacers struggled for rhythm, while off-spinner Saransh Jain (0/54 in 11 overs) found it difficult to make an impact. Ravindra Jadeja picked up two wickets (2/64 in 15 overs) despite looking rusty, leaving Kuldeep (2/76 in 18 overs) and Manav Suthar (1/30 in 11 overs) as the standout slow bowlers. sportbet.rodeo

Sri Lanka's emerging batters test India's attack

The day largely belonged to the young home batters on a flat Nondescripts Cricket Club surface that only began offering assistance to Kuldeep late in the evening.

Opener Nishan Fernando set the tone with a brisk 66 off 65 balls, comfortably taking on senior Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj (0/44) and Prasidh Krishna (0/32). Gurnoor Brar (1/49) proved to be the most threatening seam option. Fernando shared a 110-run opening stand with Ravindu Rasantha (71) before a mix-up ended his innings.

Later, left-handed batter Sonal Dinusha scored 52 off 72 balls, showing excellent technique to pick Kuldeep's variations and launching a straight six. Dinusha combined with Ramesh Mendis (32) for a swift 64-run seventh-wicket partnership, relying heavily on the slog-sweep.

India found success late as Kuldeep bowled well, dismissing Ahan Wickramasinghe via a top-edge sweep and trapping Anjala Bandara with a brilliant delivery. Suthar maintained disciplined control, deceiving Rasantha in flight before later bowling Dinusha with the second new ball.

India will face Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series starting on August 15 with a WTC final place on the line.

(With inputs from PTI)

Paris [France], August 8 (ANI): Indian chess will enjoy its strongest-ever representation at the Esports World Cup (EWC), with four Grandmasters set to compete in the Chess tournament at EWC 2026, scheduled to take place in Paris from August 11 to 15, according to a press release.

Grandmasters Nihal Sarin, Aravindh Chithambaram, and Pranesh M, representing esports and gaming content powerhouse S8UL Esports, will be joined by Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, who will compete under the banner of Gen.G Esports. Together, they will take on the world’s best players for a share of the USD 1.5 million (Rs INR 14.2 crore) prize pool.

Nihal, Pranesh and Arjun secured direct qualification to the Group Stage through their performances in the Champions Chess Tour (CCT) 2025-2026, while Aravindh earned his place through DreamHack Atlanta earlier this year and will begin his campaign in the Play-In stage.

This marks a significant milestone for Indian chess at the EWC. Last year, Nihal and Arjun were the only Indians to compete in the tournament. Nihal, who qualified through the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ), reached the quarterfinals, while Arjun, who qualified through the Champions Chess Tour (CCT), finished fourth. This year, the number of Indian participants has doubled, making it the country’s largest-ever contingent at the event.

Returning after its debut last year, the Chess competition at EWC 2026 will feature a revised two-phase format. The first phase, new to the tournament, is the Play-In stage, featuring nine players who qualified through the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) and DreamHack Atlanta. These players will compete in a double-elimination bracket, with each match consisting of two games.

The top performers from the Play-In stage will advance to the Group Stage, where they will join players who qualified directly through the CCT and other qualifying events. The 16-player Group Stage will be divided into two groups of eight, with each group following a double-elimination format featuring two-game matches. The top four players from each group will advance to the Playoffs.

The Playoffs will follow a single-elimination format, with four-game matches in the quarterfinals and six-game matches in the semifinals. The winner of this year’s tournament will be decided after a grueling Grand Final contested over three sets.

The competition features one of the strongest fields assembled in Chess, led by defending champion Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid). He will be joined by Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja (Team Falcons), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Natus Vincere), Hans Moke Niemann (GodLike Esports), alongside several other Grandmasters from around the world.

With four Indian Grandmasters in contention, the country will look to build on last year’s breakthrough and challenge for its first-ever EWC Chess title. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Vaibhav Tripathi, Colombo

Team India’s bowlers had their task cut out on the opening day of the three-day practice game against SLC XI at the NCC in Colombo. On a pitch that offered little assistance to either the pacers or spinners, the home team managed to post 363 for the loss of eight wickets. Of the eight wickets, six were picked up by the spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Manav Suthar. All three bowled more than 10 overs during the day.

Among the pacers, Mohammed Siraj bowled 13 overs but went without a wicket. Much like it was during India’s two practice sessions before the match, Gurnoor Brar looked the most threatening bowler. Since it was a practice match, Siraj did not bowl at full tilt. Prasidh Krishna bowled five overs in his first spell, leaked runs and then bowled only three more overs for the rest of the day.

The conditions were demanding. The sun was beating down heavily on the players, and for fast bowlers operating on an unresponsive pitch, the task of taking wickets was even more difficult.

Once again, Gurnoor looked very penetrative. He was brought into the attack as the second-change bowler and struggled to find the ideal length in his first spell. After 55 overs, he was recalled by stand-in captain KL Rahul for his second spell.

A recharged and fully refreshed Gurnoor came up with a different plan. Earlier in the day, he had looked to hit the good-length area in order to find some movement off the surface. Taking the learnings from his first spell, Gurnoor opted to go short against the SLC XI batters.

The switch from a good-length approach to a bodyline attack worked for him. In the third over of his second spell, Gurnoor bounced out Pavan Rathnayake. It was a quick and sharp short delivery, so well directed that Rathnayake was forced to play at it and ended up giving a simple catch on the boundary while attempting a hook shot. On that occasion, the extra pace and his ability to extract more bounce from the pitch helped Gurnoor.

SLC XI captain Sonal Dinusha, who batted really well for his 52, was troubled a lot by Gurnoor’s bodyline attack. In fact, Gurnoor hit Sonal on the hand. Ask Dhruv Jurel, whose life became difficult whenever Gurnoor bowled after lunch.

At the nets, when no other pacer was able to trouble Shubman Gill, Gurnoor bowled a rising delivery to the Indian captain that struck him on his right hand. As a precautionary measure, Gill could not take the field on day one.

The most likeable thing about Gurnoor is that he always looks to create an impact. Even though it was only the first day of the match, the pace at which he was operating suggested that his mindset does not change, irrespective of where he turns up. Bowlers like him can be difference-makers, especially when nothing is happening for the other bowlers.

Heading into the first Test, the team management will have the tough task of choosing Siraj’s bowling partner if they go with only two pacers in Galle. Gurnoor has shown what he can do on a lifeless wicket. Given the way he has been bowling, Gurnoor should start alongside Siraj.
Also, when he last turned up in Galle, he wreaked havoc against the Sri Lanka A team, taking a 10-wicket haul in the unofficial Test.

There are more reasons to pick him than to make him sit on the sidelines.

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