Colts CC emerged as the champions of the SLC Premier Limited Overs Tournament 2014/15 when they comprehensively beat the defending champions, SSC by 56 runs in the final played at R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.
SSC stand-in skipper Thilina Kandamby won the toss of coin and elected to field first on a bright and sunny morning. Young left-arm pacie Binura Fernando struck twice early to restrict Colts to 32 for 2 in 9 overs when left-handed pair of Kusal Janith Perera and Bhanuka Rajapaksa combined to lay a solid foundation. Both batsmen batted aggressively to counter-attack the SSC bowlers as they added 95 runs for the 3rd wicket before Perera was dismissed for a well-made 55 by leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersey.
Bhanuka struck 7 fours and 4 sixes before he perished for 80 which triggered a minor collapse as experienced seamer Thisara Perera rattled the Colts middle order with brilliant aggressive fast-bowling to scalp 5 wickets and ended up giving away only 34 runs in his quota of 10 overs. Roshane Silva was the only player to hold the Colts innings together with the latter batsmen as he made 40 to help Colts reach 251 for 9 at the end of 50 overs.
Chasing a formidable score of 252, Colts bowlers captured 3 wickets in the mandatory power play including the prized scalp of Mahela Jayawardene cheaply. Nuwan Kulasekara showed impressive signs of returning back to form as he picked up four crucial wickets with accurate seam bowling. All-rounder Shehan Jayasuriya did his part with the ball taking 4 wickets bowling off-spinners as SSC was bundled out for 195 with little more than 8 overs remaining. Opener Danushka Gunathilake returned to competitive cricket after being down with dengue fever and struck the highest score of 40 for the losing team while Thisara Perera smashed a 30-ball 37.
Chief Scores:
Colts – 251/9 (50 overs) : Banuka Rajapakshe 80, Kusal Perera 55, Roshen Silva 40 Thisara Perera 5/34, Binura Fernando 3/40.
SSC – 195 all out (41.3 overs) : Dhanushka Gunathilake 40, Thisara Perera 37, Thilina Kandamby 34, Nuwan Kulasekara 4/30, Shehan Jayasuriya 3/33.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa was named man of the match while according to the tournament statistics, 20-year old left-hander from Ragama CC, Lahiru Milantha ended as the highest run-scorer with 304 runs in 7 games while left-arm seamer from same club, Nilanka Premarathne ended as the top wickets-taker with 15 scalps in same number of matches.
