SSC, Colts, NCC & Bloomfield book semi-final berths

SSC, Colts, NCC & Bloomfield advanced to the semi-finals of the AIA Premier Limited Overs Tournament 2015/16 conducted by SLC after a rather disappointing couple of weeks due to rain as the group stage matches came to an end on 16th December.

Colts CC, the defending champions topped group A while last year’s runners-up SSC won group B convincingly.
On the final match day on Wednesday, four matches were abandoned without a ball being bowled due to heavy rain over night while in the other games, Sri Lanka Army Sports Club and Galle Cricket Club won pretty easily.

SL Army vs Chilaw Marians

The Soldiers recorded a convincing 10-wicket win over Chilaw Marians CC with over 260 balls remaining at FTZ grounds in Katunayake.

SL Army bundled out Chilaw Marians cheaply for only 53 runs in 20 overs. Right arm seamer Janith Silva picked up five for 14 while off-spinner Dushan Vimukthi grabbed four for 16.

Chilaw Marians – 53 all out in 20 overs: Kasun Vidura 17*, Janith Silva 5/14, Dushan Vimukthi 4/16.

SL Army – 54 for no loss in 6.4 overs: Shalika Karunanayake 30*, Adeesha Thilanchana 14*.

Galle vs Moors

An unbroken 123-run stand for the 5th wicket helped Galle CC register a 48-run (D/L method) win over Moors SC at Galle International Stadium.

After being sent in to bat first, Moors posted 220 runs in their allotted 47 overs. Right-handed Sachithra Serasinghe clamped 78 off 78 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes. Left-arm spinner Chalana De Silva grabbed 3 wickets. When bad light intervened play, Galle CC were 204 for 4 in 38 overs with experienced Chamara Silva and young Dulash Udayanga not out on 64 and 55 respectively.
According to the D/L calculations, the hosts’ were 48 runs ahead of the target.

Moors – 220 all out in 47 overs: Sachithra Serasinghe 78, Irosh Samarasooriya 29, Oshadha Fernando 38, TN Sampath 2/38, Chalana De Silva 3/33, Suraj Randiv 2/40.

Galle – 204/4 in 38 overs: TN Sampath 42, Chamara Silva 64*, Dulash Udayanga 55*, Wimukthi Perera 4/40.

Saracens vs NCC at Surrey Village grounds– Match abandoned without a ball bowled
Ragama vs Tamil Union at Moors grounds– Match abandoned without a ball bowled
SSC vs Bloomfield at SSC grounds– Match abandoned without a ball bowled
CCC vs Colts at CCC grounds – Match abandoned without a ball bowled

The poor scheduling of the matches in spite of heavy rain resulted in some of the top teams from being knocked out well before the group stage games ended. Teams like Saracens Sports Club were the highly affected clubs as 5 matches out of their 6 ended as no result and the other game they won convincingly. Galle CC were the least affected as only one game ended as no result for the newly-promoted club. Some of the matches were abandoned due to poor drainage systems in grounds like Moors grounds, Bloomfield grounds and CCC grounds.

Semi-Final lineup

Colts vs Bloomfield – Venue (TBC) on 23rd December
SSC vs NCC – Venue (TBC) on 24th December

POINTS TABLE

GROUP A

GROUP B