Colombo Strikers has bounced back to register their first win, beating B – Love Kandy in the match No.3 of the Lanka Premier League 2023 which was played today (31st July) at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.
After having won the toss, Colombo Strikers Skipper Niroshan Dickwella has decided to bat first.
The Skipper Niroshan Dickwella and Babar Azam opened the innings for the Strikers. Isuru Udana has provided a good start for the Kandy in the very first over, dismissing Dickwella after hitting him for a boundary early in the over.
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Pathum Nissanka was run out for 15, courtesy of Thanuka Dabare’s brilliant effort in the field, reducing Colombo Strikers to 33/2 in 4 overs. However, Babar Azam and Nuwanidu Fernando looked to rebuild the innings as they added 60 runs for the third wicket. Mohammad Hasnain has made the breakthrough for the Kandy, getting the wicket of Fernando who struggled to get going with a 31-ball 28.
Dhananjaya Lakshan’s brief stay at the crease was ended by Udana for 12. The Pakistani star batter, Azam reached his maiden LPL half-century, facing 48 deliveries. Soon after, he became Udana’s third victim as he was dismissed for 59. His knock came off 52 deliveries within 4 fours and 1 six.
After their 20 overs, Colombo Strikers managed to get 157/6 with little contributions from Mohammad Nawaz (10), Chamika Karunaratne (9*) and Ramesh Mendis (6*). On the bowling front, Udana has picked 3/39 while Hasnain also bagged two wickets for 27 runs. Their leading spinners in Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the Skipper Wanindu Hasaranga bowled so economically, but none of them picked up any wickets.
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Thanuka Dabare and Dinesh Chandimal were the openers for B – Love Kandy. Naseem Shah drew the first blood for the Strikers when he was trapped in a Dabare leg before in the very first over for 4. Naseem Shah has struck again to get rid of Kamindu Mendis for 15. Chandimal’s brief stay was ended by Matheesha Pathirana for 10, reducing them to 34/3.
Angelo Mathews joined with Ashen Bandara to bring back the momentum. However, after adding 32 runs, Vandersay got the better of Mathews (25), before castling Bandara in the same over for 12 after hitting a six in the previous ball. It has got from bad to worse for the Kandy as they have lost their captain, Hasaranga after getting a feather of an outside edge through to the keeper off Pathirana.
The remaining batters too were unable to help the course to get over the line for the Kandy as they only managed to get 130/8 in their 20 overs. Matheesha Pathirana and Naseem Shah were superb with the ball, finishing with 3/24 and 2/19, respectively. Apart from them, Jefrrey Vandersay scalped two while Mohammad Nawaz took the other wicket.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niroshan Dickwella | lbw b Isuru Udana | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Babar Azam | c Kamindu Mendis b Isuru Udana | 59 | 52 | 4 | 1 | 113.46 |
| Pathum Nissanka | run out (Sarfaraz Ahmed) | 15 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 125.00 |
| Nuwanidu Fernando | c Ashen Bandara b Mohammad Hasnain | 28 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 90.32 |
| Dhananjaya Lakshan | c Ashen Bandara b Isuru Udana | 12 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 109.09 |
| Mohammad Nawaz | b Mohammad Hasnain | 10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 166.67 |
| Chamika Karunaratne | not out | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 225.00 |
| Ramesh Mendis | not out | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 200.00 |
| Extras | 14 (b 1 , lb 0 , nb 3, w 10, pen 0) |
| Total | 157/6 (20 Overs, RR: 7.85) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isuru Udana | 4 | 0 | 39 | 3 | 9.75 | |
| Mohammad Hasnain | 4 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 6.75 | |
| Mujeeb ur Rahman | 4 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 7.00 | |
| Aamer Jamal | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 15.00 | |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 4 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 5.50 | |
| Thanuka Dabare | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7.00 | |
| Kamindu Mendis | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thanuka Dabare | lbw b Naseem Shah | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | b Matheesha Pathirana | 10 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 90.91 |
| Kamindu Mendis | b Naseem Shah | 15 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 150.00 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Nuwanidu Fernando b Jeffrey Vandersay | 25 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 113.64 |
| Ashen Bandara | b Jeffrey Vandersay | 12 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 85.71 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | c Niroshan Dickwella b Matheesha Pathirana | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 225.00 |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed | not out | 16 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 76.19 |
| Aamer Jamal | b Mohammad Nawaz | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 77.78 |
| Isuru Udana | c Mohammad Nawaz b Matheesha Pathirana | 7 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 63.64 |
| Mohammad Hasnain | not out | 7 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 58.33 |
| Extras | 18 (b 4 , lb 5 , nb 0, w 9, pen 0) |
| Total | 130/8 (20 Overs, RR: 6.5) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naseem Shah | 4 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 4.75 | |
| Chamika Karunaratne | 4 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 7.00 | |
| Matheesha Pathirana | 4 | 0 | 24 | 3 | 6.00 | |
| Jeffrey Vandersay | 4 | 0 | 32 | 2 | 8.00 | |
| Mohammad Nawaz | 4 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 4.50 | |
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 at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.){kind=link}