Big hitting Andy Solomons struck an imposing 131 as Badureliya Sports Cub made 345 on the first day of their Premier League cricket match against Air Force at Welisara yesterday.
Taking up position with his team on 64 for 4, Solomons got into the act without any second thoughts to slam 12 fours and nine sixes as he reached his 131 in just 89 balls that left the Air Force bowlers in tota disarray.
Badureliya got off to a positive start with the openers putting on 52 runs but with the fall of the first wicket they lost four wickets for the addition of just 12 runs.
However Solomons did it his way not only to post a ton in quick time but also to lift the fortunes of his team with a sparkling array of shots.
Badureliya utilized 70.1 overs of the day’s quota of 90 overs to make 345.
In another Premier first class game Ports Authority reached 384 for 3 on the first day against Bloomfield at Reid Avenue after winning the toss and deciding to bat first.
Shantha Kalawitigoda was the star of the day when he struck a solid 132 with the help of 17 fours and one six after opener Yohan de Silva failed to make a century falling short by two runs.
None of the Bloomfield bowlers were able to check the flow of runs although Sri Lanka discard off spinner Suraj Randiv claimed two wickets by conceding 122 runs off 32 overs.
But in an evenly contested match at Havelock Park, CCC after being bowled out for 228 hit back in style to pluck six Colts Cricket Club wickets and leave the home team at 126 for 6.
CCC off spinner Maduka Liyanapathirage was the main plotter as he grabbed four of the Colts wickets to fall.
For CCC, opener Gihan Rupasinghe made 64 while Prasanna Jayawardena was unbeaten on 61 after their team won the toss and decided to bat first.
Elsewhere at the Premadasa Stadium Ragama Cricket Club’s Lahiru Thirimanne made an unbeaten 133 as his side reached 303 for 3 against Chilaw Marians.
Thirimanne faced 250 balls and struck 12 fours and one six to ensure his team kept the Chilaw Marians bowlers at bay after winning the toss and batting first.
PAS Jeewantha was the only successful bowler for Chilaw Marians picking up two scalps for 26 runs off 17 overs that he bowled.
Ragama opener Lahiru Milantha made 70.with five fours and three sixes.
At Maitland Place in Colombo, the fancied SSC team were kept in check and dismissed for 272 on the first day of their Premier match against Panadura who replied with 46 for no loss by the end of the day’s play.
Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Tharanga Paranavithana offered some resistance against the Panadura bowlers with knocks of 55 and 61 respectivey while AC Wettasinghe accounted for four of the wickets.
Sri Lanka discard Chamara Kapugedera tried his best but was dismissed for 44.
In yet another Premier match Army bowled out Moors SC for 295 but lost three wickets for 40 runs in reply at Panagoda.
WAS Niroshan top scored with 81 for Moors as they went for quick runs and lost wickets at regular intervals.
Niroshan clobbered 11 fours and a six and reached 81 runs in only 90 balls.
But IS Samarasooriya found himself stranded on 41 as he lost batting partners while Moors were dismissed inside 67 overs.
When Army batted they could not find their feet and lost three wickets for just 23 runs at one stage of their innings.
