Tharanga Paranavithana scored a sensational century as Jaffna, Puttalam, Ampara, Colombo and Kandy managed big win on the second match day of the Inter District one day tournament.
Jaffna v Vavuniya
Winning the toss and electing to bowl first at Colts proved to be the wrong decision as Jaffna, guided by Tharanga Paranavithana’s guarded century took the North district team to a mammoth 318 for the loss of just 8 wickets in their allotted 50 overs.
The Vavuniya innings never gained momentum in their run chase as regular wickets meant they fell short by 162 runs, having been bowled out for 156 in 33.2 overs.
Jeewan Mendis was the chief destroyer with the ball, bagging 5 for 41. Fellow spinner Ramith Rambukwella chipped in with 2 for 32 while paceman Chamika Karunarathne managed 2 for 18.
Jaffna 318/8 (50) Tharanga Paranavithana 101, Harith Maduwantha 57, Sithara Gimhan 55, Jeevan Mendis 32, Mahesh Priyadarshana 5/54
Vavuniya 156 (33.2) Samith Dushantha 68, Tharindu Dilshan 31, Jeevan Menids 5/41, Chamika Karunarathne 2/18, Ramith Rambukwella 2/32
Puttalam v Kurunegala
Sachithra Serasinghe (91) and Sri Lankan representatives Thikshila De Silva (84) and Shehan Jayasuriya (83) guided Puttalam to a massive 335 in 50 overs after electing to bat first on a batting friendly surface at FTZ grounds in Katunayake.
The ‘batting friendly tracks demons’ arose in the second innings as left arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara ripped through the Kurunegala innings, finishing with figures of 4 for 68 while Arosha Janod (2/08) and Asitha Fernando (2/20) picked four wickets between each other to hand Puttalam a giant 179 run win.
Puttalam 335 (47.2) Sachithra Serasinghe 91, Thikshila De Silva 84, Shehan Jayasuriya 83, Isuru Udana 34, Darshana Mahawaththa 3/39, Anurudda Rajapaksha 2/48
Kurunegala 156 (33.2) Ruwantha Ekanayaka 64, Anurudda Rajapaksha 44, Malinda Pushpakumara 4/68, Arosha Janod 2/08, Asitha Fernando 2/20
Mannar vs Polonnaruwa
Left-handed duo, Udara Jayasundera and Lahiru Thirimanne smashed unbeaten centuries to help Mannar District trounce Polonnaruwa District convincingly by 9 wickets at Surrey Village Grounds.
Chasing 219 runs to win, Jayasundera made exactly 100 off 106 deliveries with 7 fours and 3 sixes while Sri Lanka discard Thirimanne made 103 runs off 108 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes. Earlier, after opting to bat first, former Thomian Nipuna Gamage made a half-century for Polonnaruwa District.
Polonnaruwa 218/9 (50) Tharindu Siriwardena 49, Nipuna Gamage 54, Sulan Jayawardena 25, Yohan De Silva 42, Nilanka Premarathne 2/49, Chathura Peiris 2/23, Janith Liyanage 2/28, Amila Aponso 2/33.
Mannar 219/1 (36.2) Udara Jayasundera 100*, Lahiru Thirimanne 103*.
Trincomalee v Ampara
The Amapara bowlers made the batsmen work for their runs after Trincomalee won the toss and elected to make first use of the pitch in the game played at BRC grounds.
Achira Hiranga 49, Dimuth Warapitiya 35, and Raju Gayashan 30 were the only batsmen to pass the thirty run mark as fellow batsmen failed as their team was bowled out for just 197 runs in 45.5 overs.
Ampara was made to work hard to get to their target but eventually got there with the loss of 6 wickets as Shehan Fernando top scored with 85 while fellow batsman Lakkana Jayasekara and Sahan Wijerathna chipped in with 35 and 30* respectively.
Trincomale 197 (45.5) Achira Hiranga 49, Dimuth Warapitiya 35, Lahiru C Lakmal 25, Raju Gayashan 30, Duvindu Thilakarathne 3/36, Alankara Asanka 3/33, Dilesh Gunaratne 2/42
Ampara 199/6 (36.5) Shehan Fernando 85, Lakkana Jayasekara 35, Sahan Wijerathna 30*, Shohan Rangika 4/28
Colombo v Gampaha
All-rounder Dilshan Munaweera guided Colombo to a comfortable 230 run win over Gampaha in the game played at CCC grounds.
Batting first Colombo scored 278 runs in 50 overs as Ashan Priyanjana top scored with 68 while fellow batsman Lahiru Madusanka ended with an unbeaten 51 and Wanidu Hasaranga scored 46. Dilshan Munaweera chipped in with 41 runs.
In reply, Gampaha was bowled out for just 48 runs as spinner Dilshan Munaweera bamboozled the batsmen finishing with figures of 6 for just 9 runs while Sachith Pathirana managed 3 wickets for 10 runs.
Colombo 278/6 (50) Ashan Priyanjan 68, Lahiru Madusanka 51*, Wanidu Hasaranga 46, Dilshan Munaweera 41, Madawa Warnapura 30, Nishan Peiris 2/57
Gampaha 48 (22.3) Shehan Anurudda 22, Dilshan Munaweera 6/09, Sachith Pathirana 3/10
Matale v Kandy
Minod Bhanuka and Sachithra Senanayake guided Kandy to a 9 wicket win over Matale in the game played at Navy Grounds Welisara.
The Kandy bowlers proved that the decision to bowl first was the right one as they ran through the Matale batting, restricting them to just 122 runs in 37.1 overs.
Jeffrey Vandersay was the pick of the bowlers as the leg spinner ended with 3/31 while Dasun Shanaka (2/15), Sachithra Senanayake (2/15) and the man who got selected to the Sri Lanka squad, Thisara Perera (2/18), all ended with 2 wickets each.
In reply, Minod Bhanuka and Sachithra Senanayake took Kandy home with 9 wickets to spare as the duo ended with unbeaten scores of 70 and 20 respectively.
Matale 122 (37.1) Buddika Hasaranga 53, Jeffry Vandersay 3/31, Thisara Perera 2/18, Sachithra Senanayake 2/15, Dasun Shanaka 2/15
Kandy 123/1 (21.1) Minod Bhanuka 70*, Sachithra Senanayake 20*