The fourth week of the National Super League began as the unbeaten table toppers Galle locked horns against Colombo while Jaffna who are at the bottom of the table are facing Kandy.
Galle versus Colombo clash commenced at the Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota. Colombo skipper Avishka Fernando won the toss and elected to bat first in this encounter. Sri Lanka’s former red ball opening pair Fernando and Dimuth Karunaratne opened the batting for Colombo but the pair couldn’t add much to the scoreboard as Kavishka Anjula struck early to remove Karunaratne. Anjula also removed Heshan Fernando a few overs later and Mohommad Shiraz also joined the party by removing Sri Lanka test cap Roshen Silva.
>> Photos – Kandy vs Jaffna – National Super League 2023 | 4-Day Tournament<<
Dushan Vimukthi the number 5 batter for Colombo then played the much-needed partner’s role for skipper Fernando as the pair put together 112 runs for the fourth wicket. The partnership ended when Asanka Manoj removed Vimukthi for 40. Galle skipper Ramesh Mendis then removed Manoj Sarathchandra before he made it to the double-digit mark.
Fernando who was watching from one end as Colombo batters fell one after another scored his third first-class century and continued in his aggressive way to reach the 150-run mark as well. Mendis then made an interesting bowling change by introducing part-timer Sangeeth Cooray who managed to remove the dangerous Fernando. Fernando’s 150 in 205 balls included 21 fours and 1 six.
Nisala Tharaka who aided skipper Fernando in a 62-run stand for the sixth wicket then scored 44 runs for the seventh wicket with Prabhath Jayasuriya. At Stumps on Day 1, Tharaka was unbeaten on 55 and Jayasuriya was on 13. Anjula was the most successful bowler of the day taking 2 wickets for 56 runs.
- Toss : Colombo
Colombo 1st Inn – 287/6 (Avishka Fernando 150. Nisala Tharaka 55*, Kavishka Anjula 2/56)
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avisha Fernando | lbw b Sangeeth Cooray | 150 | 205 | 21 | 1 | 73.17 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | lbw b Kavishka Anjula | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 44.44 |
| Heshan Fernando | b Kavishka Anjula | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Roshane Silva | c Angelo Mathews b Mohammad Shiraz | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Dushan Vimukthi | c Pathum Kumara b Asanka Manoj | 40 | 112 | 6 | 0 | 35.71 |
| Manoj Sarathchandra | c Pathum Kumara b Ramesh Mendis | 9 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 21.43 |
| Nisala Tharaka | lbw b Kavishka Anjula | 82 | 166 | 7 | 0 | 49.40 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | c Dinesh Chandimal b Kavishka Anjula | 15 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 31.91 |
| Tharindu Ratnayaka | c Lakshan Edirisinghe b Ramesh Mendis | 28 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 73.68 |
| Kasun Rajitha | not out | 34 | 70 | 4 | 0 | 48.57 |
| Udith Madushan | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 18 | 70 | 3 | 0 | 25.71 |
| Extras | 19 (b 8 , lb 8 , nb 2, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 405/10 (129.5 Overs, RR: 3.12) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kavishka Anjula | 24 | 2 | 67 | 4 | 2.79 | |
| Mohammad Shiraz | 25 | 6 | 76 | 1 | 3.04 | |
| Asanka Manoj | 19 | 2 | 80 | 1 | 4.21 | |
| Nimesh Vimukthi | 30 | 7 | 76 | 0 | 2.53 | |
| Ramesh Mendis | 28.5 | 2 | 81 | 3 | 2.84 | |
| Sangeeth Cooray | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 3.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hashan Dumindu | b Udith Madushan | 9 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 52.94 |
| Sangeeth Cooray | c Roshane Silva b Tharindu Ratnayaka | 33 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 103.12 |
| Lakshan Edirisinghe | lbw b Dushan Vimukthi | 129 | 236 | 16 | 1 | 54.66 |
| Angelo Mathews | lbw b Prabath Jayasuriya | 105 | 202 | 11 | 0 | 51.98 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | b Nisala Tharaka | 63 | 99 | 4 | 2 | 63.64 |
| Pathum Kumara | c Manoj Sarathchandra b Udith Madushan | 151 | 262 | 12 | 0 | 57.63 |
| Ramesh Mendis | b Tharindu Ratnayaka | 149 | 256 | 13 | 1 | 58.20 |
| Kavishka Anjula | lbw b Dushan Vimukthi | 17 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 73.91 |
| Nimesh Vimukthi | lbw b Dushan Vimukthi | 5 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 12.82 |
| Mohammad Shiraz | not out | 12 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 36.36 |
| Asanka Manoj | not out | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11.11 |
| Extras | 29 (b 10 , lb 7 , nb 2, w 10, pen 0) |
| Total | 703/9 (201 Overs, RR: 3.5) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasun Rajitha | 8 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 4.88 | |
| Udith Madushan | 22.3 | 3 | 93 | 2 | 4.17 | |
| Tharindu Ratnayaka | 43 | 2 | 201 | 1 | 4.67 | |
| Nisala Tharaka | 24.3 | 2 | 82 | 1 | 3.37 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 53 | 8 | 142 | 1 | 2.68 | |
| Dushan Vimukthi | 49 | 9 | 122 | 3 | 2.49 | |
| Heshan Fernando | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 | |
In the second game of week 4 between Jaffna and Kandy at the SSC grounds, Jaffna captain Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and invited Kandy to bat first. Jaffna had a good start to the game when Binura Fernando removed Thanuka Dabare in the first over of the game for a duck. Dabare’s opening partner Kasun Vidura also departed a few overs later to give Fernando his 2nd wicket.
Oshadha Fernando and Sandun Weerakkody who have already scored centuries in this tournament looked good once again as their partnership reached 50 but both of them departed shortly after scoring 33 and 36 respectively. Kandy skipper Niroshan Dickwella could only make 21 before Shashika Dulshan removed him. The two youngsters Ahan Wickramasinghe and Wanuja Kumara were left with the burden of recovering the Kandy innings as they were 114 for 5.
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The pair stitched a 58-run stand in quick time for the sixth wicket and were batting very well before Kumara became another victim of Dulshan for 22. After that Wickramasinghe didn’t get much support from the tailenders but he batted with confidence and intent to amass another century, his second of this tournament. But soon after reaching the milestone, Wickramasinghe got out for 101. His knock came in 108 deliveries consisting 13 fours and 1 six. Soon after Wickramasinghe’s dismissal, Kandy was bowled out for 265. The left-arm spinner Dulshan was the pick of the bowlers for Jaffna taking 4 for 70 while left-arm quick Fernando took 3 for 34.
Jaffna then began their 1st innings hoping to get a sizable lead but suffered an early setback as Lahiru Kumara and Amshi de Silva struck twice inside the first 6 overs. After being on 20 for 2, Navod Paranavitana and Janith Liyanage gave their innings some stability with a 63-run stand but Kumara struck once again with just a handful of overs remaining in the day to remove Paranavitana for 45.
After the 3rd dismissal, Liyanage and night watchman Dulshan managed to reach stumps without any more damage as the Jaffna scoreline read 93/3. Liyanage was unbeaten on 41. Jaffna will begin Day 2 with 172 runs behind Kandy’s 1st innings total.
- Toss : Jaffna
Kandy 1st Inn – 265 (Ahan Wickramasinghe 101, Sandun Weerakkody 36, Oshadha Fernando 33, Shashika Dulshan 4/70, Binura Fernando 3/34)
Jaffna 1st Inn – 93/3 (Navod Paranavitana 45, Janith Liyanage 41*, Lahiru Kumara 2/17
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thanuka Dabare | c Sadeera Samarawickrama b Binura Fernando | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kasun Vidura Adikari | c Avishka Tharindu b Binura Fernando | 13 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 46.43 |
| Oshada Fernando | c Eshan Malinga b Lahiru Madushanka | 33 | 54 | 5 | 0 | 61.11 |
| Sandun Weerakkody | c Navod Paranavithana b Shashika Dulshan | 36 | 49 | 5 | 0 | 73.47 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Shashika Dulshan | 21 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 105.00 |
| Ahan Wickramasinghe | c Ron Chandraguptha b Ravindu Fernando | 101 | 108 | 13 | 1 | 93.52 |
| Wanuja Sahan | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Shashika Dulshan | 22 | 45 | 2 | 0 | 48.89 |
| Amshi De Silva | c Navod Paranavithana b Ravindu Fernando | 17 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 42.50 |
| Ashian Daniel | lbw b Binura Fernando | 11 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Lahiru Kumara | c Lahiru Madushanka b Shashika Dulshan | 3 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 13.64 |
| Nimsara Atharagalla | not out | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Extras | 6 (b 4 , lb 0 , nb 1, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 265/10 (66.1 Overs, RR: 4.01) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binura Fernando | 14 | 6 | 34 | 3 | 2.43 | |
| Kavindu Pathiratne | 8 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 4.50 | |
| Janith Liyanage | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 6.50 | |
| Lahiru Madushanka | 11 | 2 | 42 | 1 | 3.82 | |
| Ravindu Fernando | 11 | 0 | 55 | 2 | 5.00 | |
| Shashika Dulshan | 15.1 | 3 | 70 | 4 | 4.64 | |
| Navod Paranavithana | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8.00 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.75 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navod Paranavithana | c Niroshan Dickwella b Lahiru Gamage | 45 | 60 | 7 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Ron Chandraguptha | c Niroshan Dickwella b Lahiru Kumara | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12.50 |
| Sadeera Samarawickrama | b Amshi De Silva | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Janith Liyanage | c Thanuka Dabare b Wanuja Sahan | 129 | 150 | 16 | 1 | 86.00 |
| Shashika Dulshan | c Nimsara Atharagalla b Amshi De Silva | 15 | 47 | 2 | 0 | 31.91 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | lbw b Nimsara Atharagalla | 12 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 63.16 |
| Avishka Tharindu | c Ahan Wickramasinghe b Wanuja Sahan | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Lahiru Madushanka | lbw b Lahiru Kumara | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21.43 |
| Ravindu Fernando | c Sandun Weerakkody b Wanuja Sahan | 12 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 37.50 |
| Kavindu Pathiratne | not out | 8 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 22.86 |
| Binura Fernando | run out (Ashian Daniel) | 7 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 46.67 |
| Extras | 8 (b 5 , lb 0 , nb 2, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 245/10 (65.1 Overs, RR: 3.76) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Kumara | 17.1 | 3 | 52 | 3 | 3.04 | |
| Amshi De Silva | 10 | 0 | 60 | 2 | 6.00 | |
| Nimsara Atharagalla | 6 | 0 | 39 | 1 | 6.50 | |
| Ashian Daniel | 11 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 3.55 | |
| Wanuja Sahan | 21 | 6 | 50 | 3 | 2.38 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasun Vidura Adikari | lbw b Shashika Dulshan | 29 | 46 | 2 | 0 | 63.04 |
| Thanuka Dabare | c Ravindu Fernando b Shashika Dulshan | 21 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 72.41 |
| Oshada Fernando | st b Shashika Dulshan | 27 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 67.50 |
| Sandun Weerakkody | lbw b Shashika Dulshan | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | st b Dhananjaya de Silva | 25 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 104.17 |
| Ahan Wickramasinghe | st Sadeera Samarawickrama b Navod Paranavithana | 77 | 101 | 8 | 1 | 76.24 |
| Wanuja Sahan | c Sadeera Samarawickrama b Binura Fernando | 12 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Amshi De Silva | c Ravindu Fernando b Binura Fernando | 5 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 13.89 |
| Ashian Daniel | lbw b Navod Paranavithana | 12 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 29.27 |
| Lahiru Kumara | not out | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Nimsara Atharagalla | lbw b Navod Paranavithana | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 9 (b 0 , lb 6 , nb 3, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 222/10 (60.3 Overs, RR: 3.67) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binura Fernando | 11 | 3 | 20 | 2 | 1.82 | |
| Ravindu Fernando | 13 | 1 | 65 | 0 | 5.00 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 6 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 4.33 | |
| Shashika Dulshan | 23 | 2 | 73 | 4 | 3.17 | |
| Navod Paranavithana | 3.3 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 4.85 | |
| Lahiru Madushanka | 4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Chandraguptha | c Niroshan Dickwella b Wanuja Sahan | 20 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 68.97 |
| Navod Paranavithana | c Niroshan Dickwella b Ashian Daniel | 37 | 45 | 3 | 0 | 82.22 |
| Sadeera Samarawickrama | b Lahiru Kumara | 41 | 57 | 2 | 0 | 71.93 |
| Janith Liyanage | c Ahan Wickramasinghe b Sandun Weerakkody | 20 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | not out | 82 | 110 | 10 | 0 | 74.55 |
| Avishka Tharindu | b Amshi De Silva | 6 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 19.35 |
| Kavindu Pathiratne | c Niroshan Dickwella b Wanuja Sahan | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11.11 |
| Lahiru Madushanka | not out | 28 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 56.00 |
| Extras | 8 (b 2 , lb 4 , nb 0, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 243/6 (59.2 Overs, RR: 4.1) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Kumara | 11 | 3 | 32 | 1 | 2.91 | |
| Ashian Daniel | 12 | 0 | 58 | 1 | 4.83 | |
| Wanuja Sahan | 26 | 3 | 95 | 2 | 3.65 | |
| Sandun Weerakkody | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3.50 | |
| Amshi De Silva | 5 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 4.00 | |
| Nimsara Atharagalla | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 12.00 | |
| Thanuka Dabare | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Oshada Fernando | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.00 | |
