Every Action Has A Reaction

By Harsha Amarasinghe

When Newton came across the third law of motion, even he wouldn’t have expected it to have such a huge philosophical impact in so many different fields.

For instance, Mahinda Kahandagama – one of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s known henchman – who appeared to have led a group of thugs to Colombo on Monday attempting an assault on innocent protesters in Gotagogama, finished the day on the pavements of Colombo with his underpants hanging by a thread.

While the brave citizens of Sri Lanka are kicking the backside of the Rajapaksas, one man who has been shutting down the trash talkers on the pitch is none other than Sri Lanka’s spin wizard Wanindu Hasaranga.
When you land one of the biggest IPL contracts, you are supposed to come under the scrutiny, but Hasaranga had to face some unfair criticism throughout the season until last Sunday (8), when the leggie put an end to all the trash talkers in grand style.

Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja, prior to the Royal Challengers Bangalore game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, had said, “It’s been ten matches and Hasaranga hasn’t impressed with the ball. He was purchased with much fanfare, but in some of the games, he has bowled only two to three overs. I don’t think he has delivered to expectations. There are Indian spinners in the squad. If they want, they can change the entire calculation and bring in a pure bowler. Hasaranga bats as well but by the time he comes in, the match is over. Instead of Hasaranga, RCB can for go for a proper bowler who can support Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Josh Hazlewood.”
While certain high-paid leading Indian batsmen such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were failing miserably, so many people had taken the opportunity to point fingers at Hasaranga, despite being his team’s top wicket-taker for the majority of the tournament.

However, Hasaranga basically embarrassed all the critics on Sunday with a mind-blowing performance bagging a five-wicket haul against Muralitharan’s SRH.

While Hasaranga has been one of the world’s best spinners for the last couple of years, none of Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara or Muttiah Muralitharan cared to place a bid for him or any other Sri Lankan players in the IPL auction 2022.

Comeback Kings of Europe

One of the greatest football managers in the history of the game Pep Guardiola was given the shock of his life by the comeback kings of European football – Real Madrid.

Manchester City looked set to book their place in what could been their second consecutive Champions League final when winger Riyad Mahrez hammered a stunning goal, giving the English club a brilliant 5-3 aggregate lead going into the final quarter of the semi-final second leg. 

But their dreams were shattered within added time courtesy of a stunning double from Rodrygo.
Real Madrid will now play Liverpool in the final, but this is not the first time the Spanish team came from behind to turn tables in huge European nights.

In 2014, when their hometown rivals Atletico Madrid were heading to victory in the Champions League final with a 1-0 lead that had been held nearly until the end, Real Madrid produced yet another dramatic comeback to eventually win 4-1.

Karim Benzema’s Madrid, despite being the most successful team in the history of the Champions League, was one of the clear underdogs this season, but they have already eliminated certain giants in Europe such as PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City on their way to final. 

In the final they are up against the red hot Liverpool FC.

Football fanatics on May 29, would be able to witness if Real Madrid’s love story with Champions League has another chapter.