Clinical bowling paired with a half century by Angelo Jayasinghe helped Kegalle to victory over Kurunegala in the SLC Inter-District one-day tournament.
Winning the toss and sending in Kurunegala to bat first the Kegalle District bowlers made it count with the new ball picking early wickets.
Kurunegala was reduced to 4 for 79 within 14 overs as opening bowlers Ishan Jayaratne and Nisal Tharaka wrecked the top order.
Hashan Prabath and Ruwantha Ekanayake managed to notch up 26 runs for the 5th wicket partnership and an 8th wicket partnership of 30 helped in getting the Kurunegala innings back on track but regular wickets meant the bowlers kept a lid on the scoring.
Dhanushka Dharmasiri was the pick of the batsmen in a rather dismal score card with 34 runs to his name. Malith Premethilake (28), Tharaka Waduge (24) and Hashan Prabath (21) were the only other batsmen to surpass the twenty run barrier as fellow batsmen failed to impact the score.
Prabath Jayasuriya (3/19) and Ali Khan (3/38) were the pick of the bowlers as both finished with 3 wickets each.
Kegalle District had a shaky start with both openers finding their way back to the dressing room in as early as the 8th over with just 35 runs on board.
Angelo Jayasinghe stepped up to the task as he along with fellow middle order batsmen took Kegalle to a convincing 5 wicket win in 37.3 overs.
Hashan Dumidu and Nisal Tharaka ended with 25 each while Vishad Randika scored a valuable 23 runs in aiding the run chase.
Angelo Jayasinghe finished with an unbeaten 53 while Priyamal Perera ended with an unbeaten 25 for Kegalle.
Ruwantha Ekanayake bagged 2 for 34 in 10 overs while Charith Bandara (1/20), Anurudda Rajapakse (1/31) and Mithun Jayawickrama (1/51) all pitched in with a wicket each.
Kurunegala 178 (40.4) Danushka Dharmasiri 34, Malith Premathilaka 28, Gayan Tharaka 24, Hashan Prabath 21, Prabath Jaysuriya 3/19, Ali Khan 3/38, Ishan Jayarathne 2/31
Kegalle 179/5 (37.3 ) Angelo Jayasinghe 53*, Priyamal Perera 25*, Nisala Tharaka 25, Hashan Dumindu 25, Vishad Randika 23, Ruwantha Ekanayake 2/34
Result: Kegalle won by 5 wickets
