Culture

Henry leads Kiwi charge to dismiss Sri Lanka for 136

Saturday June 1, 2019 7:06 pm

AFP – Matt Henry led the New Zealand charge with three wickets to help dismiss Sri Lanka for just 136 in their opening match of the World Cup in Cardiff on Saturday.

Henry returned figures of 3-29 in his seven overs of pace and swing to justify skipper Kane Williamson’s decision to bowl first as New Zealand ran through the Sri Lanka line-up in 29.2 overs.

Lockie Ferguson also claimed three wickets in the absence of senior paceman Tim Southee, who missed the game due to a calf injury.

Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne was the lone batsman to impress amid the carnage with his unbeaten 52.

His 52-run stand with Thisara Perera, who made 27 off 23 balls, was all that stood between Sri Lanka and complete humiliation.

Henry’s early strikes, including two in succesive deliveries, pushed Sri Lanka on the back foot on 53 for four in just the 12th over.

He struck with the second delivery of the game to send Lahiru Thirimanne trudging back to the pavilion after the left-handed opener had hit a boundary from the first ball.

Thirimanne was initially ruled not out by the on-field umpire, but the Kiwis successfully reviewed the lbw call in their favour after replays suggested the ball pitched on line and would have hit the batsman’s leg stump.

The left-handed Karunaratne, who has returned to the one-day side after a gap of four years, then put on 42 runs for the second wicket with Kusal Perera.

But Williamson kept Henry on for the bowler’s fifth over and the decision paid off as he got Perera for 29 and Kusal Mendis without scoring.

Dhananjaya de Silva played the hat-trick ball with a glorious off drive, but soon fell to the pace of Ferguson after being trapped lbw.

The rest of the batting showed little promise with three scores of nought in the innings, including former captain Angelo Mathews.

Karunaratne fought on to register his third ODI fifty in 81 balls before he ran out of partners after Lasith Malinga was bowled by Ferguson for one.

Pacemen Colin de Grandhomme, James Neesham, Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner, the team’s only spinner, claimed a wicket each.

The Black Caps, who finished runners-up in the 2015 World Cup, require 137 runs to beat the 1996 champions.

Cancel reply

1 Sri Lanka's HNB, Commercial Bank, Sampath licensed by Colombo Port City

2 Sri Lanka official remittances up 40-pct in November as improved FX policy helps

3 Ahead of elections, Sri Lanka leader suggests 70% hike for plantation workers

4 Sri Lanka in blackout as power grid hit by cascading failure

5 Sri Lanka's Lotus Tower to open its revolving restaurant on Dec 09

Bonds & Forex

Sri Lanka rupee opens at 327.00/50 to the US dollar

Monday December 11, 2023 9:35 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee opened at 327.00/50 to the US dollar on Monday, from 327.00/30 Friday, dealers said.

On the Colombo Stock Exchange, both indices opened up: The All Share Price Index 0.28 percent at 10,823, and the S&P SL20 0.35 percent at 3,113.85.

Bond yields were up.

A bond maturing on 01.08.2026 was quoted at 14.05/20 percent from 14.05/15 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.01.2027 was quoted at 14.05/20 percent from 14.10/25 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.07.2028 was quoted at 14.20/50 percent from 14.20/35 percent.
(Colombo/Dec11/2023)

Business

Sri Lanka promoting Buddhist tourism from Vietnam, ASEAN

Apsara Rodrigo

Sunday December 10, 2023 2:32 pm

By Apsara Rodrigo

Sunday December 10, 2023 2:32 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka is planning to boost Buddhist tourism by linking temples in the country with those in East Asia, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said after to welcoming a delegation of monks from Vietnam.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Minister Sabry have initiated a temple-to-temple program where 100 Sri Lanka temples will be linked with counterparts in the Association of South East Asian Nations region.

“Tourism development will get a lot of growth with the temple-to-temple program,” Minister Ali Sabry said.

Along with the delegation of monks, five travel agents from Vietnam were also invited.

Under the first phase of the Temple-to-temple programs, several monks from Sri Lanka had received invitations from Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam the Foreign Ministry said.

The Temple-to-Temple diplomacy program will be extended to Singapore, Japan, Thailand and Cambodia during the second phrase of the program.

Sri Lanka is targeting 2.3 million tourists in 2023, after getting about 1.5 million this year. (Colombo/Dec10/2023)

Economic Crisis

ADB $200mn loan for Sri Lanka economic stabilization efforts

Saturday December 9, 2023 9:00 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US 200 million dollar concessional loan to Sri Lanka to help stabilize the country’s finance sector.

The Financial Sector Stability and Reforms Program comprises two subprograms of IS 200 million dollars each, according to a statement by the ADB.

“The program’s overarching development objective is fully aligned with the country’s strategy of maintaining finance sector stability, while ensuring that banks are well-positioned for eventual recovery,” ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka Takafumi Kadono was quoted as saying in the statement.

“The expected development outcome is a stable financial system providing access to affordable finance for businesses in various sectors of the economy.”

The ADB statement continues:

“Subprogram 1 targets short-term stabilization and crisis management measures that were implemented in 2023, while subprogram 2 is planned to be implemented in 2024 and focuses on structural reforms and long-term actions to restore growth in the banking sector.

The program will help strengthen the stability and governance of the country’s banking sector; improve the banking sector’s asset quality; and deepen sustainable and inclusive finance, particularly for women-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.

According to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest review, Sri Lanka’s economy is showing tentative signs of stabilization, although a full economic recovery is not yet assured.

The program is a follow-on assistance from ADB’s crisis response under the special policy-based loan that was approved for Sri Lanka in May 2023.

It is aligned with the fourth pillar of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility provided to Sri Lanka to help the country regain financial stability.

It is also in line with the government’s reform agenda, including strengthening the operational independence of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and its designation as the country’s macroprudential authority.

In designing this subprogram 1 loan, ADB has maintained close coordination and collaboration with the IMF to design targeted regulatory reforms for the banking sector—including the asset quality review—and with the World Bank on strengthening the deposit insurance scheme.

“The loan is accompanied by a $1 million grant from ADB’s Technical Assistance Special Fund to provide advisory, knowledge, and institutional capacity building for Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance and CBSL.”
(Colombo/Dec9/2023)