Army Sports Club and Sinhalese Sports Club booked their place in the SLC U23 Twenty20 Cricket Tournament 2016 final when they won their respective semi-final clashes today at P. Sara Oval grounds.
SSC vs NCC
Ramesh Mendis’ individual brilliance with both bat and ball helped SSC defeat NCC by 5 wickets in the first semi-final.
After being put into bat first, NCC posted a healthy 175 for 7 from their allotted 20 overs. Right-handed Lahiru Udara made a blistering 26-ball 57 which included 4 sixes and 5 fours. Skipper Pawan Devinda contributed with a fine knock of 41 from 33 deliveries. Off-spinning Mendis gave away only 29 runs for his 4 wickets.
Chasing 176 runs to win, SSC lost their first 4 wickets for just 47 runs as the NCC spinners tightened the screws on the run-flow. Number 5 batsman, Ramesh Mendis hammered 5 gigantic sixes and 3 fours as he led his team over the victory line in the final over. Former Sri Lanka U19 cap, Ramesh Mendis made an unbeaten 74 off 45 balls. Thomian left-hander Yohan Mendis made 38 and was involved in a match-winning 93-run stand for the 5th wicket.
NCC – 175/7 in 20 overs: Lahiru UDara 57, Pawan Devinda 41, Niroshan Dickwella 19, Thimira Jayasinghe 18, Ramesh Mendis 4/29.
SSC – 179/5 in 19.1 overs: Ramesh Mendis 74*, Yohan Mendis 38, Minod Bhanuka 23, Nimesha Gunasinghe 2/8.
Army SC vs CCC
Ashan Randika picked up a hat-trick as Army defeated CCC by 13 runs in the second semi-final.
Army skipper Leo Fransisco won the toss and elected to bat first. Fransisco top-scored with a fine 22-ball 23 as the Soldiers accumulated 133 runs for the loss of 8 wickets from their 20 overs. Former Peterite fast-bowler Ranitha Liyanarachchi bowled superbly to take 3 wickets for just 14 runs.
Chasing 134 runs to win, CCC were cruising at 54 for 2 before being bowled out for just 120 runs. Randika picked up the last three scalps, Diluka Rajapaksha, Ranitha Liyanarachchi and Usman Ishak in successive balls to complete the hat-trick.
Army – 133/8 in 20 overs: Leo Fransisco 23, Himasha Liyanage 21, Ranitha Liyanarachchi 3/14, Shaluka Silva 2/21,
CCC – 120 all out in 18.4 overs: Malindu Maduranga 27, Ron Chandragupta 23, Raveen Sayer 24, Ashan Randika 3/1, Yohan De Silva 2/28.
