Dhananjaya De Silva and Ashan Priyanjan both made splendid half centuries on day 3 of the SLC Super T20 Provincial Tournament at the R Premadasa Stadium today. De Silva’s innings proved to be a match winning one, but Priyanjan ended up on the losing side.
Hambantota Troopers vs Kurunegala Warriors
Kusal Mendis’ cameo sealed what turned out to be a close encounter between the Hambantota Troopers and the Kurunegala Warriors. Chasing 145 for their 1st win of the tournament, the Warriors were in trouble early on when they lost 3 wickets within the first 6 overs. Asela Gunaratne made a fine 47 off 43 deliveries to steady the innings but when he was dismissed, the Warriors were left needing a further 41 runs off 26 deliveries, with just 4 wickets in hand. In the end they got there with an over to spare as Mendis smashed 4 sixes on his way to 35 off just 16 deliveries.
Binura Fernando and Sachith Pathirana captured 2 wickets a piece for the Troopers.
Early on in the day, the Troopers’ innings got off to a blistering start with Seekkuge Prasanna making 35 off 23 deliveries. Wickets tempered the flow of runs and it was once again Ashan Priyanjan who batted through to guide them to a defendable total. Priyanjan smashed 2 fours and 5 sixes on his way to a brilliant 64 off 41 deliveries.
For the Warriors, Janith Silva picked up 2 wickets while Janaka Sampath bowled a tight 4 over spell, and was rewarded with the prize wicket of Priyanjan. The Warriors ended up chasing down the total quite comfortably.
Hambantota Troopers – 144/7 (20) Ashan Priyanjan 64, Seekkuge Prasanna 35, Janith Silva 2/30, Janka Sampath 1/17
Kurunegala Warriors – 146/6 (19) Asela Gunaratne 47, Kusal Mendis 35, Binura Fernando 2/28, Sachith Pathirana 2/32
Kurunegala Warriors won by 4 wickets
Colombo Commandos vs Kandy Crusaders
In the 2nd encounter of the day, the Colombo Commandos took on the Kandy Crusaders. Batting first, the Commandos lost their in-form opener Niroshan Dickwella in the 1st over. However his partner, Dhananjaya De Silva batted brilliantly to make 80 off 59 deliveries to help his team reach a challenging total of 182 in their allotted 20 overs. De Silva’s innings included 9 fours and a six while Dasun Shanaka, coming in to bat at No. 6 smashed 4 sixes on his way to 31 off 12 deliveries.
It was the Sachithra Senanayake show in the bowling department, with the veteran off spinner finishing with figures of 3/15 in his four overs.
Chasing 183 for victory, the Crusaders ditched their experiment of sending Thisara Perera in the opening slot. Danushka Gunathilaka did not last long at the crease but Tillakaratne Sampath and Lahiru Thirimanne put on threatening partnership to keep the crusaders in the hunt.
They lost wickets at regular intervals however and when Perera was dismissed, the side still needed 42 off 16 deliveries and despite a mad dash in the end by Jeewan Mendis and Minod Bhanuka, the Crusaders fell short by 9 runs, handing the Commandos their 2nd win of the tournament.
Kasun Rajitha was the pick of the bowlers for the Commandos, picking up 3 wickets for 28 runs in his four overs.
Colombo Commandos – 182/5 (20) Dhananjaya De Silva 80, Dasun Shanaka 31, Sachithra Senanayake 3/15
Kandy Crusaders – 173/6 (20) Lahiru Thirimanne 37, Thisara Perera 32, Kasun Rajitha 3/28, Shehan Jayasuriya 1/27
Colombo Commandos won by 9 runs
