Two more encounters of the National Super League 50 over tournament ended today giving victories to Galle and Dambulla teams. Galle earned their win over Colombo at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium while Dambulla defeated Kandy at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
In the Colombo Vs Galle clash, Colombo skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and decided to bat first. At first, the decision to bat first seemed to be a bad call for Colombo as their openers Nuwanidu Fernando and Avishka Fernando both departed without troubling the scorers. Kusal Perera also departed before the 10th over mark as Colombo were struggling at 28 for 3.
Then Charith Asalanka and Ashen Bandara stitched a partnership of 64 together to bring some stability before Asalanka got out for 42. Then skipper Shanaka and Bandara continued the momentum with an 82-run partnership for the 5th wicket. The stand ended when Shanaka fell victim to his opposite number Dunith Wellalage just 2 runs short of a half-century.
After the skipper’s dismissal, the big power hitter Sachitha Jayatilake completely dismantled the Galle bowlers, wreaking havoc with a 67 from 37 balls. His destructive knock included 5 fours and 4 sixes.
When Asalanka, Shanaka and Jayatilake made those 40s and 60s, the anchor of the Colombo team Ashen Bandara made a stunning century scoring 101 off 114 deliveries. It was a knock which he had to toil hard as it included only 6 fours and the rest coming in singles, twos and threes, showing how well he rotated the strike.
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Thanks to all these contributions Colombo managed to make 281 in their 50 overs recovering from 3 for 28 at one point.
With a target of 282 to defend, the Colombo team might have been very confident about their chances but what transpired next was completely different. Galle’s top order made this target seem quite easy as 4 out of their top 5 crossed the 50-run mark as they reached the target with 7 wickets and 18 balls in hand.
Mohommad Shamaaz top scored for them with 65 while Dhananjaya Lakshan made 61. Pasindu Sooriyabandara continued his fine form making an unbeaten 53 along with Pathum Kumara who has been in stunning touch throughout the last 6 months, making another good half-century scoring 57 off 47 balls.
In the other game of Matchday 3, Kandy and Dambulla locked horns as Dambulla walked out with a comfortable 7-wicket win. Dambulla captain Minod Bhanuka who won the toss, decided to field first which became a very good decision.
Batting first, Kandy never really got going as only Sandun Weerakkody and skipper Sahan Arachchige made helpful contributions scoring 67 and 53. Lahiru Samarakoon who is having a great time with the ball in hand took a 4-wicket haul for just 39 runs while Sri Lanka’s ace spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and Nuwan Thushara took 2 wickets each. In 47.5 overs, Kandy was bowled out for a well below-par total of 215.
Kandy’s target of 216 never really bothered Dambulla as the opening pair of skipper Bhanuka and Abishek Liyanarachchu made 94 runs for the first wicket. Even after that, the runs continued to flow for Dambulla as skipper Bhanuka made a phenomenal century before getting out for 104. Hasaranga provided the finishing touches in a hurry for them making 21 off 9 as they reached the target in just 37.4 overs with 7 wickets in hand.
Galle Vs Colombo
- Toss : Galle
Colombo : 281/9 (50) (Ashen Bandara 101, Sachitha Jayatilake 67, Dasun Shanaka 48, Dilshan Madushanka 2/58, Kavishka Anjula 1/36, Suminda Lakshan 1/36)
Galle : 282/3 (47) (Mohommed Shamaaz 65, Dhananjaya Lakshan 61, Pathum Kumara 57, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 53*, Dasun Shanaka 3/32)
Kandy Vs Dambulla
- Toss : Dambulla
Kandy : 215 (47.5) (Sandun Weerakkody 67, Sahan Arachchihe 53, Lahiru Samarakoon 4/39, Nuwan Thushara 2/27)
Dambulla : 219/3 (37.4) ( Minod Bhanuka 104, Abishek Liyanarachchi 21*, Lasith Croospulle 1/23, Lasith Embuldeniya 1/27)
