Women’s Division I Cricket; Forces claim semifinal berths

Navy SC (A), Air Force SC (A) and both Army SC A and B teams clinched their spots in the Women’s Division 1 tournament with wins in their final group stage games played yesterday.

Navy and Air Force were almost certain of their spots in the final 4 with 2 out of two wins coming into their games yesterday while Army A and B needed wins in order to finish  ahead of Colts SC and Air Force B.

Army SC (B) vs Navy SC (B)

The Navy B skipper won the toss and decided to send in the home team. The bowlers did well for Navy, restricting Army to just 124 in their 50 overs. Medium pacer Kanchana Sandamali was the pick of the bowlers, picking up 3/20.

Women’s Division I Cricket; Colts and Army in thrilling tie

Army B, who had only managed a tie against Colts CC on Thursday, needed a win if they had any hopes of going through to the semis. Their bowlers stood up to the challenge, as Gayani Bandara and Ayesha Prabodhanie wrecked the visitors batting line-up to have them bundled out for 63.

Army SC (B) 124/8 (50) – Dinusha Hindagoda 38, Kanchana Sandamali 3/20

Navy SC (B) 63 (38.2) – Priyani Adhikari 14, Gayani Bandara 4/11, Ayesha Prabodhanie 3/15

Result – Army SC (B) won by 61 runs

Colts SC vs Air Force SC (A)

Air Force SC came into the game as favouries to win this one after dominating both their previous group stage matches and they did not disappoint. Things didn’t start too well for them however as Colts SC, batting 1st after winning the toss, put up a reasonably good total on the board, courtesy a brilliant innings by former Sri Lanka all-rounder Deepika Rasangika who made 82.

Chasing a total of 182 to make it 3 out of 3 wins in the 1st round, the Air Force ladies had no trouble at all as Sri Lanka opener Chamari Atapattu smashed a ton, continuing her rich vein of form. The visitors ended up reaching their target with almost 10 overs remaining and 7 wickets in hand, knocking the Colts ladies out of the tournament.

Colts SC 181/7 (50) – Deepika Rasangika 82, Sharmin Shaila 34, Chamari Atapattu 4/24, Inoshi Fernando 2/24

Air Force SC (A) 182/3 (40.1) – Chamari Atapattu 105, Yasoda Mendis 34

Result – Air Force SC (A) won by 7 wickets

Navy SC (A) vs Matara SC

It was a slaughter of the innocents in Welisara yesterday as defending champs Navy SC smashed the visitors to all parts before bundling them out cheaply to claim a resounding 228 run victory.

Batting first, last week’s hero Lasanthi Madushani was at it again, belting a splendid ton as she led her team to 286/5 in their allotted overs. Matara SC could only manage 58 in 25 overs as the experienced Navy bowling line-up ensured that the home team remained unbeaten.

Navy SC (A) 286/5 (50) – Lasanthi Madushsani 105, Hasini Perera 59, Sayani Deneshika 2/40

Matara SC 58 (25.1) – Inoka Ranaweera 3/31

Result – Navy SC (A) won by 228 runs

Air Force SC (B) vs Army SC (A)

It was a do or die matchup in Rifle Green yesterday as both Air Force and Army met in their final games of the Group stage. A win would have clinched a semi-final spot for either team but it was the Army ladies who fished on top yesterday.

The hosts, last year’s division II champions, chose to bat 1st after winning the toss but could only manage 129 in 48.1 overs. The Army women exerted their authority right from the word go and cantered home to a 9 wicket win thanks to a half century from Rebecca Vandort.

Air Force SC (B) 129 (48.1) – Ruchi Samarasinghe 29, Mihiri Madhushani 31, Achini Kulasuriya 3/14, Lakmali Mettananda 2/04, Sugandhika Kumari 2/31

Army SC (A) 132/1 (28.5) – Rebecca Vandot 64*, Imalka Mendis 47*

Result – Army SC (A) won by 9 wickets

The semifinals of the tournament are scheduled to be held on the 27th of this month where Navy SC will take on Army B at the FTZ Grounds while Air Force will take on Army A at the Colts Cricket Grounds. Last year’s finalists Air Force and Navy will be looking for a repeat of the same this year while the Army teams will be out to cause an upset.