Dimuth Karunaratne (on left) is congratulated by Dhananjaya de Silva during Sri Lanka’s first Test against Bangladesh last month at Pallekele. Despite the Lankans ended the series in a draw in their favour, they still remain on the eighth position in the latest ten-team world Test country rankings out On Thursday (13)* World Test Championship finalists New Zealand only one point behind* England overtake Australia to third place* Sri Lanka only above Bangladesh and ZimbabweThe International Cricket Council (ICC) World Test Championship finalists India and New Zealand remain the top two teams in ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings, sponsored by MRF Tyres, after the annual update carried out on yesterday (13). India have gained one rating point for an aggregate of 121 and New Zealand are only one point behind after gaining two points in Thursday’s update, which eliminates results from 2017-18. South Africa are in seventh position, equaling their lowest in Test ranking history, while Sri Lanka are next on the list. Bangladesh have lost five points but remain in ninth position while Zimbabwe have gained eight points but are still nine points behind Bangladesh.

The IOC said 70 per cent of quota places had been filled for the Games, due to open on 23 July, reported the Inside the Games on Wednesday (12). Dozens of events affectedTwenty per cent of the remaining places were in sports which use rankings to determine their Olympic places, while the other 10 per cent are set to be allocated through upcoming qualification events. Dozens of events where either direct or indirect Tokyo 2020 qualification is available have been cancelled, postponed or moved at short notice due to the global health crisis. Indian athletes are unable to leave the country because of the deadly surge of Covid-19 infections the country has experienced in recent weeks. Last week it emerged that Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold is challenging a decision from the IOC after being denied a place at Tokyo 2020 because of changes to the qualification process.

Compiled by Ranjika PereraCity Fans Celebrate their title win outside the Etihad StadiumPep Guardiola added yet another trophy to his cabinet as Manchester City secured the trophy after Manchester United’s defeat to Leicester City on Tuesday night. RemarkableIt was a remarkable season for City who suffered in the first half of the season. Pep speaking after the title confirmation, “This has been a season and a Premier League title like no other. With this league win, Guardiola has now won three league titles in every division he has managed. It would be a fitting end for one of the best players Manchester City, Sergio Aguero.

The Biden administration is not planning on imposing a vaccine mandate and will not track who has or hasn't had the shots, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a Friday briefing. we have no plans to change our approach from the federal government,' White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on FridayPresident Biden has never supported a federal vaccine mandate, a position first articulated by Psaki in April. The president also never suggested a federal mask mandate, although he did institute one for federal property upon inauguration. Republican governors have been especially adamant that requiring vaccination would be an overstep, and requiring proof of vaccination would be an invasion of privacy. Arizona, Alabama, Montana, Minnesota, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Florida have all passed laws prohibiting businesses from requiring proof of vaccination.

Dhawan looks the obvious choiceRoyal Challengers Bangalore’s Karnataka opener Devdutt Padikkal is likely to be one of the three openers India will travel with besides Dhawan and Shaw. Dhawan was deputy to Rohit Sharma during the 2018 Nidahas Trophy that India won despite the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) resting key players. Test team to leave for England soonSome of the youngsters who featured in the Nidahas Trophy T20 tournament are now an integral part of the Test side that is travelling to England. Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, KL (Lokesh) Rahul, and Shardul Thakur, who were part of the India T20 squad for Nidahas Trophy, are now part of the India Test side with Rohit. A 20-member India side under Virat Kohli will be travelling to England soon for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and a five-Test series against England.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) new central contracts to the national Test and limited-over squads are 35% less, one report noted. The new contracts are to be signed before the Lankan white-ball team, under Kusal Perera, tours Bangladesh shortly. DETAILS* Under the previous contract, a player in the top category earned $ 130,000 (Rs. * Despite a significant pay cut, national cricketers have in principle agreed to a new performance-based contract fee structure. * Sri Lanka is ranked 7th in Tests, 9th in ODIs, and 8th in T20Is, the lowest it has fallen to in the last two decades.

Here’s a look at the possible T20I XI for the Sri Lanka series, as was predicted by Aadya Sharma of Wisden India:Openers: Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi ShawSeparated by 14 years but united in their approach to pile on the big runs at the top, Dhawan and Shaw, the two openers at Delhi Capitals, are likely to be first-choice picks for Sri Lanka. The reliable and solid Dhawan, India’s third-highest run-getter in T20Is, perfectly complements Shaw’s fiery style in the powerplays. All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul TewatiaThe Pandya brothers have been integral cogs in the Mumbai Indians line-up, lighting up the death overs with their big-hitting (both have a strike rate of 135+). Bowlers: Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Varun ChakravarthyIn the spin section, Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy compensate for the lack of experience with a unique flair, combining an array of variations with their attacking lines. Both had an economy of less than eight in IPL 2021 and were the most successful spinners for their respective teams.

Photo: BAZA Production (Shutterstock) Photo: BAZA Production (Shutterstock)I’ve been thinking about my return-on-investment with sports, and I have to say—I think it’s a bad deal. If you get lucky and generate numbers 1-3, your team has won a championship in a given year. That means I’ll probably be dead before my team wins again. The team sucked and I was spending a lot of money to watch and write about a bad team, so I quit. I still watch the odd game, but I pay way less attention to what they’re doing overall.

But out of all of Eastern Europe’s proud athletic heritage, there isn’t a more famous gymnast than the one and only Nadia Comăneci from Romania. Encounter with Bela KárolyiWhen Nadia was little, she was doing cartwheels and all sorts of tricks with her friends. In the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, Nadia Comăneci made history. Milking Nadia for moneyIn 1981, the struggling communist government of Romania realised that Nadia could make them a lot of money. Because of that, they organized the Nadia tour, “Nadia ’81”, where she toured around the United States like a rock star.

* Swiss Embassy refuses visa for Indo archery teamThe Indian team’s trip to Switzerland for the Archery World Cup in Lausanne has been called off after the Swiss Embassy’s refusal to issue short-term visas due to Covid-19 restrictions, reported Mike Rowbottom of the Inside the Games last week. Lausanne is due to host the second World Cup of the season, following last month’s in Guatemala City, from 17-23 May. * Germany, Italy, Denmark progress after ICC scrap T20 WC 2022 qualifiersCoronavirus concerns have forced the International Cricket Council (ICC) to cancel three sub regional Europe qualifiers for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (WC) in 2022. Next year’s ICC T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in Australia. In the mean time, a visit to Japan by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach next week has been postponed and is being rearranged for June, Fuji News Network reported early this week.

Presently, the Sri Lanka Head Coach, Arthur said this in January last year during a Sri Lanka versus India short-format series. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1968, Arthur played domestic cricket during 1986 to 2001 for teams Northern Cape (formerly Griqualand West), Orange Free State, and South Africa ‘A’. Before surprisingly becoming South Africa’s Head Coach in place of Ray Jennings, Arthur had guided Eastern Cape to the finals of their domestic T20 league. Then, under Mickey, South Africa could go to the 2007 World Cup as the World’s No. That was Sri Lanka.

You can create your own hydroponic system, or purchase pre-made kits where all you need to do is tend to the plants. How to start your own DIY hydroponic gardenThere are several different ways to execute hydroponic gardening. This style is considered an intermediate’s hydroponic option, but once set up, it needs moderate attention. How to buy a pre-made hydroponic garden kitSourcing all of these components is easy enough, but assembling any type of system can be a delicate process. Rise Gardens offers a wide variety of hydroponic systems that are self-watering and app-controlled, priced at $279 for a personal size as a smaller option.

Why we dream is one of science's most perplexing mysteries, but a neuroscientist thinks he finally has the answer. Neural networks are a subset of machine learning and are at the heart of deep learning algorithms. Their name and structure are inspired by the human brain, mimicking the way that biological neurons signal to one another. 'There's obviously an incredible number of theories of why we dream,' said Professor Hoel. But a common problem when it comes to training neural networks is that they can become too familiar with the data they've been trained on.

The Government of Sri Lanka and the World Bank on Thursday (May 13) signed a USD 80.5 million additional financing to help Sri Lanka access and distribute COVID-19 vaccines and to strengthen the country’s vaccination system and pandemic response. Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Sajith Attygalle signed on behalf of the Government and Faris World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka Hadad-Zervos signed on behalf of the World Bank. “Solidarity and support of all stakeholders is key to fight this pandemic,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka. “The World Bank remains responsive to the health priorities of Sri Lanka as well as emergency needs. -World Bank

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka —Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) is empowering female entrepreneurs by proving them with the technical know-how to successfully navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. The leading non-banking financial institution recently held an interactive webinar to promote economic leadership and enterprise culture among women. SMEs make up a crucial part of the national economy and female entrepreneurs play an important role in generating employment both directly and indirectly. #CDBsmbFriday is a video series championed by CDB to support small businesses by increasing their exposure to the public. Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) is a public quoted corporate leader positioned among the Top Five Largest Non-Banking Financial Institutions in Sri Lanka with an island wide presence, driven by a state-of-the-art technological platform that has revolutionized the way financial transactions are performed.