Colombo Commandoes and Galle Guardians secured their place in the finals of the SLC Super T20 Provincial Tournament 2016 after they won their respective semi-finals on Wednesday at R. Premadasa International Stadium.
Colombo Commandoes vs Hambanthota Troopers
Niroshan Dickwella’s exceptional 38-ball 72 helped Colombo Commandoes beat Hambanthota Troopers by 6 wickets in the first semi-final.
Openers, Seekkuge Prasanna and TM Dilshan set the tone for the Troopers scoring 52 and 44 respectively to help their team post 164 runs on the board. Seamers Kasun Rajitha and Shaminda Eranga picked up 3 wickets apiece.
The former Trinity College skipper, Dickwella smashed 10 fours and 2 sixes to completely destroy the Troopers bowling attack. Useful cameos from Shehan Jayasuriya and Ramith Rambukwella finished off the game with 4 overs to spare.
Hambanthota Troopers – 164 all out in 20 overs: Seekkuge Prasanna 52, TM Dilshan 44, Priyamal Perera 16, Kasun Rajitha 3/25, Shaminda Eranga 3/36.
Colombo Commandoes – 169/4 in 16 overs: Niroshan Dickwella 72, Shehan Jayasuriya 21, Dhananjaya De Silva 22, Ramith Rambukwella 22*.
Galle Guardians vs Kurunegala Warriors
A collective bowling and batting effort by the Galle Guardians ensured that the Kurunegala Warriors suffer a 6-wicket defeat in the second semi-final.
Suraj Randiv excelled with the ball for the team from Galle as he picked up 3 scalps for just 12 runs to restrict the Warriors to only 121. Skipper Mahela Udawatte top-scored with 33 for the lads from Kurunegala.
Left-handed Udara Jayasundara anchored the chase with a patient and unbeaten 35 which ensured the Guardians would enter the final without any major batting hiccups.
Kurunegala Warriors – 121 all out in 20 overs: Mahela Udawatte 33, Kusal Mendis 23, Chathuranga De Silva 21*, Suraj Randiv 3/12, Dushmantha Chameera 2/20.
Galle Guardians – 125/4 in 17.2 overs: Lahiru Milantha 23, Udara Jayasundara 35*, Dinesh Chandimal 28.
The grand final will be played between Colombo Commandoes and Galle Guardians on 5th February at R. Premadasa Stadium from 7.00pm onwards.
