After a dominant performance with the bat, the Sri Lankan visually impaired team showed some exceptional fielding skills to secure a comfortable 78 run victory over the England visually impaired team.
Batting first, Sri Lanka got off to a shaky start losing two crucial wickets within the power play overs. The 3rd wicket partnership had to break the shackles as Sri Lanka seemed in a spot of bother at 19 for the loss of 2 wickets. Former skipper Chandana Deshapriya and Suranga Sampath played some flashy shots to ease the pressure with an important 102 run partnership. Deshapriya was the more aggressive of the two as he bought up a quick fire 25 ball fifty. At this stage Sri Lanka were cruising but an unwanted mix up between the pair cost the important wicket of Suranga Sampath.
Deshapriya continued to bat responsibly, clearing the boundary with ease. Deshapriya was dismissed one short of his century when he was stumped having smashed 15 fours on his way to 99. Priyantha Kumara and Sahan Kumara’s valiant efforts helped Sri Lanka reach a mammoth 260 in their allocated 20 overs.
Chasing a target of 261 the English had a daunting task ahead of them, but got off to an incredible start going at ten runs an over early on. An excellent throw by Thushara broke the opening stand as England lost their first wicket at a very crucial point of the match. The running between the wickets did not get any better even though England was going at a good run rate. Chaminda Bandara, Ruwan Wasantha and Suranga Sampath’s spirited fielding skills helped Sri Lanka come back into the game as the English batsmen had a horrid day running between wickets.
The England visually impaired team could only add 182 to their total as Sri Lanka once again continued their dominance in the tri-series.
Sri Lanka will take on India once again on the 10th of October after beating them a couple of days back.
Brief scores
Sri Lanka 260/7 in (20 overs): Chandana Deshapriya 99, Suranga Sampath 37, Priyantha Kumara 29, M. Dean 2/22.
England 182/7 in (20 overs): M Dean 48, S Murray 30, L Sugg 20, Dinesh Mathugama 2/31.
