Galle Gladiators secured their first points in Season 3 of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) after beating Colombo Stars by 25 runs at Pallekele yesterday (11).
Gladiators’ Skipper Kusal Mendis won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening pair of Mendis and Thanuka Dabare provided a blistering start for the Gladiators, who scored 75 runs in the first eight overs. However, both openers lost their wickets in quick succession to shift the momentum over to the Colombo Stars.
The Colombo Stars managed to peg back the game by taking four wickets in quick succession to have the Gladiators at 111 for four in the 14th over. Young batters Lahiru Udara and Nuwanidu Fernando were at the crease for the Gladiators and the pair added 50 runs in five overs to shift the momentum back to the boys from Galle.
Udara remained unbeaten on 45 to help the Gladiators post 174 for six. Jeffrey Vandersay was the pick of the bowlers with two for 31 for the Colombo Stars.
The Stars needed a strong start but instead, they found themselves in deep trouble at four for 47. Opening batter Niroshan Dickwella and Ravi Bopara managed to consolidate, but Dickwella had to retire hurt after reaching his half-century.
Bopara fought on and found some support from Dinesh Chandimal. However, the latter lost his wicket in the 18th over when the Stars needed 48 runs off the last two overs.
Wahab Riaz bowled a splendid penultimate over, which went for only.eight runs. Needing 40 runs in the last over, Bopara hit a couple of boundaries, but fell short by 25 runs.
Brief scores
Galle Gladiators 174 for 6 in 20 overs
(Lahiru Udara 45*, Kusal Mendis 39; Jeffrey Vandersay 2/31)
Colombo Stars 149 for 7 in 20 overs
(Niroshan Dickwella 58*, Ravi Bopara 46; Ifthikar Ahmed 2/12, Wahab Riaz 2/21)
Bandara and Chamika keep Falcons on top
The sixth game of the Lanka Premier League’s third season kicked off the tournament’s second leg at Pallekele with a last-over thriller, where the Kandy Falcons beat the Jaffna Kings by three wickets.
Kandy Falcons Skipper Wanindu Hasaranga won the toss and decided to field first. After a good opening partnership, the Jaffna Kings lost regular wickets but Shoaib Malik and Dunith Wellalage managed a 45-run stand in 33 balls. Ultimately, the Kings could only make a total of 147 for seven wickets in their 20 overs. Fabian Allen, Hasaranga, and Isuru Udana shared two wickets each for the Falcons.
The Falcons started off by adding 54 runs in the powerplay. However, Wellalage and Vijaykanth Viyaskanth took three wickets for just 36 runs in eight overs between them and the Falcons were reduced to 96/6 in the 15th over.
However, Ashen Bandara and Chamika Karunaratne came to the rescue. The Falcons needed 31 off two overs. After scoring 15 runs in the 19th over, Bandara, unfortunately, had to retire. Karunaratne, who was on strike, hit two back-to-back sixes and managed to take the Falcons home in the last ball of the game.
Brief scores
Jaffna Kings – 147/7 (20)
(Avishka Fernando 31, Shoaib Malik 28, Dunith Wellalage 20; Fabian Allen 2/23, Wanindu Hasaranga 2/26, Isuru Udana 2/32)
Kandy Falcons 148/7 (20)
(Ashen Bandara 44 r.o., Pathum Nissanka 29, Chamika Karunaratne 26*;
Dunith Wellalage 2/17, Vijaykanth Viyaskanth 1/19, Maheesh Theekshana 1/29)