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Hasaranga, who picked up a hamstring niggle during the second ODI against Pakistan, is not yet ruled out of the tri-series

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2025Legspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth has been added to Sri Lanka’s T20I squad for the T20I tri-series in Pakistan as cover for allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga, who has a hamstring injury.Hasaranga has not been ruled out of the series yet. He picked up the hamstring niggle during the second game of the ODI series against Pakistan and subsequently missed the third ODI as Sri Lanka suffered a 3-0 defeat.Related

• Injured Muzarabani out of Pakistan tri-series, Nyamhuri named replacement

• Rawalpindi takes centre stage as Pakistan, SL and Zimbabwe scramble for World Cup spark

Viyaskanth will join the team directly from Qatar, where he was playing for Sri Lanka A in the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament. He has represented Sri Lanka just once in senior cricket, making his debut in the Hangzhou Asian Games in October 2023.Viyaskanth first rose to prominence in December 2020, when he became the youngest player at 18 years and 364 days to feature in the Lanka Premier League for Jaffna Stallions. In that tournament, he also became the first born-and-bred player from Jaffna to appear in an internationally televised game. Viyaskanth was also the second highest wicket-taker in the SLC T20 League in August 2025. Overall, in 59 T20 games, he has taken 67 wickets at 20.98 with an economy of 7.18.Sri Lanka are also missing their regular T20I captain Charith Asalanka for the tri-series. He flew home with an illness and Dasun Shanaka will fill in as captain. Sri Lanka play their first game of the tri-series on November 20 against Zimbabwe. The series starts on November 18 with each team playing the other twice before the final on November 29.

If the Dodgers want to repeat as World Series champions, they'll have to cobble together 54 more outs against a Blue Jays lineup that has become the toast of Canada a year after hitting .241 collectively.

That starts Friday in Game 6, with both bullpens still feeling the distant aftershocks of Los Angeles's 18-inning Game 3 win. It'll be all hands on deck for a Dodgers team on the brink of extinction, but one notable arm will be absent.

Designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani is not available to throw for the Dodgers Friday if needed, manager Dave Roberts said via Fox shortly before Game 6 Friday. Ohtani, the losing pitcher in Game 4 (his first loss since August), be available Saturday in the event of a Game 7.

One pitcher that is available Friday for Los Angeles: Tyler Glasnow, who started and took no decision in Game 3.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has gone the distance each of his last two starts, will toe the rubber for the Dodgers Friday. Toronto will start two-time All-Star Kevin Gausman.

Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies has made an emotional return to competitive action after a torturous nine-month injury nightmare. After coming off the bench during the Champions League victory over Sporting CP to rapturous applause from the Allianz Arena faithful, his team-mates lined up to praise the Canadian's mental resilience during his 261-day rehabilitation.

• Fonzie is back!

  The 3-1 victory over the Portuguese champions will be remembered for Lennart Karl's record-breaking goal, but for the squad and the supporters, one of the night's biggest cheers was reserved for the 88th minute. Standing on the touchline, ready to replace Serge Gnabry, was Alphonso Davies – a sight many feared might not happen until 2026 given the severity of his knee injury.

  The 25-year-old had not featured for the Bavarians since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament while on international duty with Canada in March 2025, and his senior team-mates were quick to highlight the extraordinary attitude the full-back maintained during his darkest days.

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• Kimmich: 'I wouldn't have managed it'

  Speaking to reporters in the catacombs of the Allianz Arena after the final whistle, captain Joshua Kimmich offered a candid insight into the mental toll such an injury takes on a player. The midfielder admitted that he was unsure if he would have possessed the same fortitude as his team-mate to remain positive throughout the ordeal.

  "The way I experienced him, how he went through rehab, that is exemplary. I wouldn't have managed it like that with this energy," Kimmich enthused, clearly moved by the return.

  The German international went on to reveal details of how the Canadian kept himself integrated with the squad despite being unable to train, highlighting a specific role he played alongside fellow injury-hit star Jamal Musiala.

  "He also always tried to be close to the team," Kimmich continued. "He has been with us in the dressing room for months, comes to the games, comes into the dressing room together with Jamal, turns on the music, tries to create a good mood. That is not something to be taken for granted."

• It was 'a hard time for everyone' – Neuer

  Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who knows all too well the pain of long-term injuries having battled back from a serious leg break himself in the past, was equally effusive in his praise. The veteran shot-stopper emphasised that the defender's absence was felt not just tactically, but emotionally within the dressing room, and offered some sage advice for the next steps of his recovery.

  "It is naturally a hard time," Neuer reflected. "I know that because I have also had severe injuries and I believe for him it is now very important that he stays cool and appreciates this joy of playing football and that he is with us in the team."

  Neuer added: "We obviously also hope that he will remain healthy, but he did it superbly, even during that time."

  Defender Jonathan Tah, who marshalled the backline effectively against Sporting, pointed to the unseen hours of work that made the comeback possible. Speaking in the mixed zone, he summarised the collective relief felt by the squad.

  "I am very happy for him that he is back," Tah stated. "I believe it was a hard path of suffering that he had to walk and we are all happy that he is there again."

• AFP
  

  'Good to be back', says Davies

  For the man of the moment, the reaction was simple and heartfelt. Taking to social media after the game, Davies posted a message on Instagram, capturing the relief of finally doing his job again.

  "Good to be back! Doing what I love the most," he wrote.

  With the 2026 World Cup on the horizon – a tournament his nation is co-hosting – his return to fitness is a massive boost not just for Bayern, but for Canadian football as a whole. For now, however, he will simply enjoy the feeling of grass under his boots and the applause of the Allianz Arena. The "injury hell" is over; the comeback has begun.

Since her arrival, there are few Sri Lanka ODI victories to which their inspirational captain is not central

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Sep-2025″From the beginning, I knew she was special.”There’s never quite been a player like Chamari Athapaththu for Sri Lanka. Shashikala Siriwardene, who captained Sri Lanka, and played international cricket for 16 years, would know.Siriwardene was already a senior in the Sri Lanka team when Athapaththu broke through. The team had been away at an Asia Cup when Athapaththu first came to their attention. Sri Lanka had played the final of that Asia Cup in Kurunegala, which as it happens is the closest city to Athapaththu’s hometown of Gokarella. But it was in Colombo, at a domestic tournament, that Athapaththu had impressed the selectors.”What I remember about Chamari at the time was how determined she was,” Siriwardene says. “She’d come very early to train. Although she lost her father during that period, she somehow found a way to make sure she could keep playing cricket, and just kept coming. Though she was young [Athapaththu was in her late teens at the time] she had that desire.Related

• India and Sri Lanka kick off a Women's World Cup with a difference

• Women's T20 World Cup: India and Australia in Group 1, England and NZ in Group 2

• Athapaththu's goal? A maiden semi-final for SL

• Age is just a number – the women's World Cup XI of seniors

The early 2010s were not an especially rich era for Sri Lankan women’s cricket. Resources were scant, with the board forever in some kind of political turmoil, which in turn led to enormous debt and even greater financial strain. There had been little consistent coaching support; for some coaches, the women’s team was a stepping stone to more high-profile roles in the men’s game.And yet it took Athapaththu little time to gain a reputation as a batter of rare power. For a Sri Lanka cricketer, her rise was astonishing. No batter from the island had hit an ODI hundred in their first 85 ODIs. Athapaththu managed it in her seventh ODI innings, crashing 111 off 110 balls against Ireland, at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. By the time she turned 22, she had two further fifties to her name, and had drawn admiration for playing shots that no one else could play.”Even back then you couldn’t really compare her to anyone else,” Siriwardene says. “She was totally unique. At her young age, the strength with which she hit the ball, and the style that she had – you can’t coach that.”For all of us in the team, that cover drive she hits for six was the special shot. We’d had six-hitters before, but that was mostly using the slog. We loved watching her go over extra cover and over the bowler’s head.”Chamari Athapaththu launches one down the ground•ACCThrough the course of those earliest years, Siriwardene remembers the seniors wrapping their arms around Athapaththu. “Her father had been the main supporter of her cricket journey, and so she really felt that loss. We all grew quite close to her during that time”There was also the fact of her precocious batting. Siriwardene was among the leaders in the team by this time, and would soon formally take over the captaincy. The decision was made about Athapaththu that a player as talented as this deserved a free hand.”She was the kind of player who even if she hadn’t played for a month, would turn up to a match and do well. But when I was captain alongside coach Harsha de Silva, we gave her a lot of freedom, so she had the space to mature. We didn’t give her any targets. We didn’t tell her what to do. We wanted her to play in her own unique way. We knew the more she grew into herself, she would lift up the team.”So watered by teammates, Athapaththu would soon bloom. In her first World Cup game, she announced herself emphatically, top scoring with 62 against England, in a famous Sri Lanka chase. Eshani Lokusuriyage would go on to play perhaps the more important innings, as Sri Lanka claimed victory off the final ball. But almost everyone agrees that win was maybe the most vital staging post in the team’s history. And Athapaththu had laid the foundation.Shashikala Siriwardene on Chamari Athapaththu: “From the beginning, I knew she was special.”•SLCSince her arrival, there are few Sri Lanka ODI victories to which Athapaththu is not central, few Sri Lankan batting records pages she does not dominate, little argument over whom the greatest cricketer the island has ever produced could be.She is the most prolific ODI batter by such a distance that if she makes a total of 181 runs in this World Cup, she will have twice as many runs as the next-best batter – Siriwardene.Sri Lanka have 11 ODI hundreds in total – Athapaththu has hit nine of those, including each of the top-seven highest individual scores. In T20Is, no other Sri Lanka batter has made triple figures, but Athapaththu alone has three, which places her equal-second in the world. In terms of just 50-plus scores, Athapaththu has 28 in ODIs. Siriwardene, the next-best again, has seven.She is such a singular weapon that she is almost certainly one of the most-studied batters in world cricket, a data-backed view having formed among oppositions that dismissing Athapaththu cheaply usually means beating Sri Lanka.Sometimes even the greatest Athapaththu innings haven’t been enough. Her 178 not out off 143 against Australia in the 2017 World Cup was arguably the greatest Sri Lanka innings played until that point (the only competitors would be other Athapaththu innings). And yet the team’s next-best score was 24, and Athapaththu’s runs comprised 69% of the team’s total. Australia sped to the target with ease.Beyond the frustrations of frequently being on the losing team despite personal heroics, there have been other obstacles. Often the late 20s and early 30s are some of the richest years of a batter’s career – a time when growing experience tends to mesh with still-sharp reflexes. Athapaththu had just turned 30 when she played her last international before the Covid lockdowns.She was almost 32 when she played her next match, Sri Lanka Cricket having refused to schedule women’s bilateral cricket for almost two years, although the men had been playing for much of that time. That hiatus, plus Sri Lanka’s low rankings had meant that Sri Lanka did not even qualify for the last ODI World Cup. There were also snubs from the major franchise leagues, particularly the Women’s Premier League, for which she was not selected in 2023 and 2024.And yet since her post-Covid return, Athapaththu’s batting has been even more exemplary. In ODIs she averages 46.37 and strikes at 98 since 2022 – a substantial improvement on her pre-Covid numbers.Sri Lanka take a victory lap around the Asia Cup win•ACCJust beyond the boundary of the ground in Dambulla, Athapaththu was pacing like a nervous parent on exam day. In the middle, two young batters were attempting to do something Sri Lanka had never done before: win an Asia Cup. Athapaththu had provided the platform for this T20I chase of 166, as usual, hitting 61 off 43 balls from the top of the order, in addition to having claimed a wicket in India’s innings.But Sri Lanka still needed 75 off 48 balls when Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari were joined at the crease. There have been years when this would have seemed too much for the remainder of the batting order. Athapaththu would have been needed to stay until the end to see a victory through.”I never actually saw Atha (younger sister), and take it.'”Dilhari had never before in her T20 career struck a six, but with 51 required to win off 34 balls, she sent a Radha Yadav delivery sailing over the deep midwicket boundary. Several overs later, Dilhari clobbered the second six of her career – down the ground this time. This one won Sri Lanka the match, and their most-prized trophy to date. In the victorious team photo after the tournament, Athapaththu crouched at the edge of the group, letting her younger team-mates have their space near the centre.Athapaththu is still 35, and shows no real signs of waning. In fact, her bowling is arguably getting better. She had picked up offspin only after making it into the national team, Siriwardene says, but had with her usual tireless work ethic, improved her bowling so substantially that she is essentially regarded as an allrounder on the league circuit. Still, Athapaththu has hinted that she’s thinking about international retirement over the past 18 months. Sri Lanka’s younger batters have been lapping up as much of her wisdom as possible.”Atha is not someone who would ever hold anything back from you,” Dilhari says. “Whatever she has learned over the years, playing all around the world, and in the leagues, she doesn’t keep to herself – she’ll tell anyone. With me, she’s talked a lot about how to adjust to different situations in the game. But also I’ve learned a lot about life from her – how to manage our cricket with other things in life.”Chamari Athapaththu brings the Women’s World Cup in to the R Premadasa Stadium•Sri Lanka CricketAthapaththu’s words aren’t all sprinkled with sweetness, Dilhari laughs. “I’m one of the players who gets scolded the most. One time, I’d dropped a catch and when I was asking her a question about where I should field, something about being dangled from a lamp-post was said. But I do really think those things also made me a better player.”Although there is a fledgling group of batters, Sri Lanka would clearly benefit from having Athapaththu around for years to come. It is in the back of many minds that this could be her last ODI World Cup, however. It is in this format that she has carved the greatest arc.”I know she’s got hopes of winning a World Cup, so we’re determined to get ourselves there, and I’m wishing Atha a lot of runs in the tournament,” Dilhari says.Athapaththu herself appears relaxed before the tournament. She doesn’t have to do it all herself anymore, she feels.”More than in the other tournaments, I’m pretty relaxed in this one,” Athapaththu said just ahead of the tournament, in Colombo. “The youngsters have been performing – Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, and Kavisha Dilhari, are all batting well. So more than other times, I’m able to relax a bit.””I’m going to be playing the game I play in the powerplay. Then, after that, the challenge is to figure out how I can change gears and do more damage. My one aim is to get Sri Lanka into the semi finals before I retire. If we can get there, we can figure out the next steps. But even getting there is big.”Sri Lanka play five of their seven round robin games in Colombo, and internally, believe themselves capable of making a deep run in this tournament. While the younger players mature, Sri Lanka will likely need their greatest player to impose herself again, to make a mark on the tournament.

Celtic’s interim head coach Martin O’Neill has confirmed that Wednesday night’s clash with Dundee at Parkhead will be his final match in the dugout for the Scottish giants.

The experienced manager stepped in after Brendan Rodgers resigned at the end of October and has won six of his seven matches in all competitions, per Transfermarkt, to date.

Columbus Crew boss Wilfried Nancy will then take over as the permanent successor to Brendan Rodgers and will face a baptism of fire at the weekend against league leaders Hearts in the Scottish Premiership.

The French boss will be watching on from afar for the clash this evening and will have one last chance to assess the players who will soon be at his disposal before being tasked with organising them in training.

O’Neill will also be keen for his last game to be a memorable one, leaving Nancy with the team in the best possible position, by claiming all three points against Dundee.

The experienced boss may look to make some changes to his starting line-up from the side that beat Hibernian 2-1 at Easter Road on Sunday in order to secure the win this evening.

The Celtic players who could be dropped against Dundee

Football FanCast have already suggested that right-sided winger Luke McCowan should be dropped from the team after he failed to impress against Hibs at the weekend, with no shots on target or ‘big chances’ created, per Sofascore.

The former Dundee man has been tasked with filling in out wide in recent games, due to the lack of natural options in that position, but he was ineffective last time out, which could provide Benjamin Nygren with a chance to play in that role.

On the other side of the pitch, Marcelo Saracchi could make way for Kieran Tierney at left-back, as the two defenders have shared the workload so far this season in the Premiership.

As you can see in the statistics above, they have both started six league games this term, and it could be Tierney’s time to start this evening after coming off the bench against Hibs.

Another player who could be dropped from the starting line-up, alongside Saracchi and McCowan, is left-sided attacker Hyun-jun Yang, who played a part in Arne Engels’ goal with a deflected cross for the Belgian on Sunday.

Aside from that deflected cross, the South Korean forward offered little to the side in or out of possession on the left flank. Per Sofascore, he played 86 minutes without registering a key pass, a ‘big chance’ created, or a shot on target, as his part in Engels’ goal did not count as an assist.

The 23-year-old star, who scored against Feyenoord last week in the Europa League, also lost 75% (3/4) of his duels throughout the game, per Sofascore, which shows that he was not strong enough in his physical battles.

With this in mind, and the fact that they have Hearts to play on Sunday, O’Neill should ruthlessly ditch Yang from the starting line-up to provide another player with an opportunity to impress.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Dropping the South Korea international could allow the experienced boss to finally unleash rarely-seen winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha on the left flank against Dundee tonight.

Why Celtic should unleash Michel-Ange Balikwisha

The Belgian forward played 59 minutes across three substitute appearances in O’Neill’s first three games in charge, but has been an unused substitute for the last four matches in all competitions.

We are not privy to what goes on behind the scenes, in training and in tactical meetings, and the experienced boss will have his reasons for not giving Balikwisha much game time in recent weeks.

However, in a three-game week, this clash with Dundee ahead of the meeting with Hearts on Sunday provides the manager with a chance to give the summer signing from Royal Antwerp a start for the first time.

In fact, Balikwisha has not started a game for Celtic since the 2-1 win over Kilmarnock away from home in September under Rodgers, per Sofascore, which means that the winger has not had many opportunities to showcase his quality.

As you can see in the table above, the Celtic winger started his first two games in the Premiership against Rangers and Kilmarnock, after signing from Royal Antwerp, but has not gotten a look-in since then.

There is more to come from Balikwisha in a Celtic shirt because his form for Royal Antwerp in Belgium suggests that he does have the potential to carry a threat at the top end of the pitch.

Per Transfermarkt, the 24-year-old wing wizard scored 30 goals and provided 17 assists in 145 matches for Antwerp, yet he has only managed two assists and no goals in 12 outings in all competitions for the Hoops.

The only way he will improve and adapt to Scottish football, though, is by playing matches and getting used to the intensity and physicality of the division, which he cannot do from the bench.

That is why O’Neill should give Balikwisha a rare opportunity to start against Dundee as a parting gift to Nancy, as it would provide the winger with another opportunity to develop as a Celtic player ahead of a fresh page under the next manager.

Therefore, the interim manager should ruthlessly drop and rest Yang from the starting line-up this evening, bringing the rarely-seen Belgian in to give him a chance to stake a claim for a place in the side moving forward.

Nancy could bin Celtic star who's been the biggest winner of O'Neill's reign

Incoming Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy could drop this star who has been the biggest winner of Martin O’Neill’s reign.

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By
Dan Emery

Dec 2, 2025

No men’s internationals have taken place in New Chandigarh, but most of the India players have been here during IPL 2025

Sidharth Monga10-Dec-20251:28

Why did it feel like Hardik batted on a different pitch?

Big picture – New Chandigarh makes men’s international debut

There is a feeling India are such strong favourites for the home World Cup in two months that the one way to deny them a successful title defence is to catch them on the wrong side of the toss on a damp pitch or a dewy night.South Africa discovered first-hand in Cuttack that India are formidable even on such a night. They will now scramble from eastern India to the north-west with no training day in New Chandigarh and go again on Thursday evening.Related

• Hardik shows what he can do when fit and firing

India will be aware that despite their 6-2 head-to-head record against South Africa in recent encounters, T20s can surprise any team on a given night. They want to have reacted to almost every kind of contingency in their nine remaining matches at home before the World Cup. New Chandigarh will be just one such stop.This, incidentally, is the first men’s international at the venue. India and Australia played two women’s ODIs there in September this year.

Form guide

India WWWLW
South Africa LLLWLThere is nothing wrong with South Africa’s combination, but India might just be a bit too strong for them in these conditions•Associated Press

In the spotlight – Arshdeep Singh and Quinton de Kock

The first over of the chase in Cuttack set the tone for the rest of the night. Arshdeep Singh sought to make the most of whatever movement was on offer, and he got the dangerous Quinton de Kock in the first over. It is a match-up that Arshdeep has had the better of in all T20 cricket: 41 balls, 38 runs, five wickets. Watch out for this contest again. Perhaps South Africa might let Aiden Markram take first strike because de Kock is a key batter for them.

Team news – Changes only if conditions ask for them

In Cuttack, India were close to their best XI if you leave aside the question of Rinku Singh. If the pitch is dry, they can stick in Kuldeep Yadav for Arshdeep; if they worry about batting depth, Harshit Rana can play in Arshdeep’s place. Other than that, they don’t need to fiddle.India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.South Africa might have lost big but the combination didn’t have much wrong. At a pinch, they might think of an allrounder in Lutho Sipamla’s place.South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Aiden Markram (capt), 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 David Miller, 6 Donovon Ferreira, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Lutho Sipamla/Corbin Bosch/George Linde, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Anrich Nortje.1:29

Jitesh on competition with Samson – ‘He’s like a big brother’

Pitch and conditions

With no tall stands around it, the playing surface of New Chandigarh tends to not get affected too much by the dew. Teams batting first in the IPL hold a 6-5 record in New Chandigarh. Scores of above 200 have been defended successfully, as has been a 111. Fast bowlers tend to hold sway there.

Stats and trivia

• Only three players have hit 100 sixes and taken 100 wickets in T20Is. Hardik Pandya is one wicket short of joining this list of Sikandar Raza, Mohammad Nabi and Malaysia’s Virandeep Singh.
• Arshdeep has taken the joint-highest powerplay wickets for India: 47. He is tied with Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
• Jasprit Bumrah is only the fifth player to have taken 100 wickets in each of the three international formats. Shakib Al Hasan, Lasith Malinga, Tim Southee and Shaheen Shah Afridi are the others.