In the 16th game of LPL Season 3, the Colombo Stars faced table toppers Kandy Falcons in a one-sided match, which Falcons walked out of with an impressive 9-wicket win.
Stars Captain Angelo Mathews decided to bat first at the R. Premadasa Stadium in a bid to set up a challenging total. However, Isuru Udana struck in the second delivery of the game to send Niroshan Dickwella back to the pavilion for a duck.
The Falcons, who continued to chip away with quick wickets, restricted the Stars to 46 for 7 in the 7th over. Then Mathews and Suranga Lakmal managed to put 39 runs for the 8th wicket to take the Stars closer to the triple figure mark.
Mathews, who was the only batter to score more than 25 for the Stars, made a fighting 41 from 38 balls to take his team over the 100-run mark as they were bowled out for 106 in the last over.
Chamika Karunaratne, who registered his best bowling figures in T20 Cricket, took 4 for 11 in 3.1 overs as he took 2 wickets upfront and then 2 in the end, including the prized scalp of Mathews. Oshane Thomas, who finally made his LPL debut, was the chief destroyer of the Stars in the powerplay as he took 3 for 20 in his 4 overs, announcing his arrival.
Falcons Captain Wanindu Hasaranga, despite going wicketless, bowled a brilliant spell of none for 12 in 4 overs, without conceding a single boundary and bowling 13 dot balls.
Chasing 107, Minod Bhanuka fell early for the Falcons, but Andre Fletcher and Kamindu Mendis quickly washed away any hopes the Stars had with an unbroken stand of 101 for the 2nd wicket to take them home in 16 overs. Mendis top-scored in the chase, making 51 off 48, while Fletcher made 44 from 41.
With this comprehensive win, the Falcons confirm a top 2 finish in the league stage, while the Stars are not yet out of the woods with Dambulla Aura registering a win in the earlier game of the day
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niroshan Dickwella | b Isuru Udana | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Najibullah Zadran b Chamika Karunaratne | 20 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 117.65 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Kamindu Mendis b Fabian Allen | 12 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 109.09 |
| Nawod Paranavithana | c Najibullah Zadran b Chamika Karunaratne | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Ravi Bopara | c Minod Bhanuka b Oshane Thomas | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Wanidu Hasaranga b Chamika Karunaratne | 41 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 107.89 |
| Benny Howell | c Chamindu Wijesinghe b Oshane Thomas | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Karim Janat | c Andre Fletcher b Oshane Thomas | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Suranga Lakmal | c Minod Bhanuka b Isuru Udana | 15 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 51.72 |
| Jeffrey Vandersay | b Chamika Karunaratne | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Kasun Rajitha | not out | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Extras | 9 (b 0 , lb 6 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 106/10 (19.1 Overs, RR: 5.53) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isuru Udana | 4 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 9.25 | |
| Chamika Karunaratne | 3.1 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 3.55 | |
| Oshane Thomas | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 5.00 | |
| Fabian Allen | 4 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 5.00 | |
| Wanidu Hasaranga | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 3.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minod Bhanuka | c Kasun Rajitha b Suranga Lakmal | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 85.71 |
| Andre Fletcher | not out | 44 | 41 | 4 | 2 | 107.32 |
| Kamindu Mendis | not out | 51 | 48 | 5 | 0 | 106.25 |
| Extras | 7 (b 0 , lb 5 , nb 0, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 108/1 (16 Overs, RR: 6.75) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasun Rajitha | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 6.33 | |
| Suranga Lakmal | 2 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 9.50 | |
| Jeffrey Vandersay | 4 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 5.50 | |
| Benny Howell | 3 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 5.33 | |
| Nawod Paranavithana | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 | |
| Karim Janat | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 6.50 | |
| Ravi Bopara | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 | |
