Shehan Jayasuriya’s enthralling knock of 62 shepherded Colombo Commandoes to the SLC Super T20 Provincial Championship as they beat Galle Guardians convincingly by 8 wickets on Friday night at R. Premadasa International Stadium.
Earlier in the match, Colombo Commandoes led by Milinda Siriwardana won the toss and elected to bowl first on a dry surface. Most of the players have not played cricket under artificial lights and without much crowd attendence, the Galle openers, Dilshan Munaweera and Lahiru Milantha started off aggressively but both fell while maximizing the fielding restrictions. Skipper Chandimal and Udara Jayasundera added 51 for the 3rd wicket before Milinda Siriwardena’s direct-hit ended Jayasundara’s stay at the crease.
Experienced Chandimal rotated the strike excellently and anchored the innings with maturity while rest of the others fell at regular intervals. Chandimal whipped it off his hips to reach a well-deserved half-ton in the 43rd ball he faced.
Fast-bowler Shaminda Eranga dismissed the dangerous Chandimal for 60 when the latter was clean bowled while attempting a paddle-sweep. Eranga, completely having recovered from his injury was the pick of the bowlers claiming 4 for 27 to restrict the Guardians to 143 for 7.
Chasing 144 runs to win, the in-form Niroshan Dickwella was sent back to the dugout by an excellent diving catch by Suraj Randiv at point. Dhananjaya and Shehan pummeled the Galle spinners as they collected 35 runs off the 9th and 10th overs bowled by Ajantha Mendis and Jeffrey Vandersay to completely take control of the chase.
Shehan who was overlooked for the Indian tour, made a strong statement to the national selectors by reaching a power-packed half-century off 36 balls. Shehan and Dhananjaya constructed a match-winning 94-run stand for the 2nd wicket which sealed the game for the Commandoes.
Dhananjaya fell while looking for a quick-single but his dismissal did not halt the Commandoes charge as their skipper Milinda Siriwardana came to the crease and finished off the game in style scoring 2 consecutive victories to secure the title.
Galle Guardians – 143/7 in 20 overs: Dinesh Chandimal 60, Udara Jayasundara 21, Shaminda Eranga 4/27.
Colombo Commandoes – 147/2 in 16.4 overs: Dhananjaya De Silva 41, Shehan Jayasuriya 62*, Milinda Siriwardana 24*.
Individual Awards
Player of the Final – Shaminda Eranga (Colombo Commandoes)
Player of the Tournament – Dhananjaya De Silva (Colombo Commandoes)
Best Batsman of the Tournament – Niroshan Dickwella (Colombo Commandoes)
Best Bowler of the Tournament – Kasun Rajitha (Colombo Commandoes)
