Dambulla Sixers bow out of LPL-5 on high

Binura Fernando struck some early blows for Colombo Strikers with three wickets 

Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Mohammad Nabi resurrected Dambulla Sixers innings with stand of 62

 Dambulla Sixers went out of LPL-5 on high with win against 

Colombo Strikers

• Beat Colombo Strikers by 28 runs in final league game

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Dambulla Sixers led by Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan bowed out of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) but not without a fight beating Colombo Strikers by 28 runs in the final league game played at the R Premadasa Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Dambulla came to the match needing to beat Colombo by 76 runs to knock Kandy Falcons out, but when they were dismissed for 123, it was always going to be an uphill task as they had to restrict Colombo to less than 47 to qualify for the playoffs.

They gave it a good try especially with their exceptional fielding and bowling to dismiss Colombo for 95 in reply to their score of 123. Mark Chapman set the tone with an outstanding catch as both openers were dismissed for ducks. There were no significant contributions coming from the Colombo batting until the arrival of their Captain Thisara Perera. In a 33-run partnership with Isitha Wijesundara (12) Perera kept Colombo’s hopes alive. But Dushan Hemantha struck with his first ball to get Wijesundara and the equation was always going to be against Perera who eventually perished for 30 off 31 balls (1 four, 3 sixes).

With this defeat Colombo let slip the chance to finish in the top two and now they will play the Eliminator instead of Qualifier 1. Dambulla, invited to bat first, managed 123 in what was a must-win game for them. They did not start well as they slipped to 25-4 in 6 overs – the lowest power play in this year’s tournament. It got worse when Chapman was run-out at 38. Nabi and Chamindu Wickramasinghe resurrected the innings with a stand of 62 off 52 balls. Just when it looked like Nabi was all set for the final assault, he fell to Binura Fernando for 40 off 33 balls (4 fours, 2 sixes) which set Dambulla back again. Wickramasinghe continued to impress scoring 26 off 29 balls and later going onto take 2/13. Fernando and Matheesha Pathirana took five wickets between them and Dunith Wellalage came on late and picked a couple more.

The tournament resumes after a rest day today with a double header on Thursday. The top two teams in the league Galle Marvels and Jaffna Kings meet in Qualifier 1 commencing at 3 p.m. It will be followed at 7.30 p.m. with third placed Colombo Strikers taking on fourth placed Kandy Falcons.

Scores: Dambulla Sixers 123 (20) (Mohammad Nabi 40, Chamindu Wickramasinghe 26, Binura Fernando 3/15, Matheesha Pathirana 2/25, Dunith Wellalage 2/18)

Colombo Strikers 95 (18.1) (Thisara Perera 30, Chamindu Wickramasinghe 2/13, Nuwan Pradeep 3/20)