Galle Marvels storm back in style to tie first place with Jaffna

Alex Hales carried Galle Marvels to victory with 86* off 55 balls

Andre Fletcher top scored for Kandy Falcons with 69 

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Galle Marvels recovered from a crushing 25-run loss to Dambulla Sixers on Tuesday to storm back in style with a comprehensive run chase against Kandy Falcons that saw them win by eight wickets and tie on 8 points at the top of the table with Jaffna Kings in the second double header played at the Rangiri Dambulla Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Not once was Galle put under pressure during the run-chase. A 76-run opening stand off seven overs between Niroshan Dickwella (25) and Alex Hales followed by an 81-run unbeaten stand off 55 balls for the third wicket by Hales and Bhanuka Rajapaksa took Galle home comfortably with four balls to spare. Hales was at his destructive best hitting 7 fours and 4 sixes in his 55-ball 86* and Rajapaksa’s knock of 46* off 26 balls (5 fours, 2 sixes) should give him plenty of confidence for the rest of the tournament.

However, the main contributor to Galle’s win was Test left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya whose 3/30 helped restrict Kandy to 187-9. Jayasuriya was named Player of the Match.

The Kandy innings unfolded in a similar manner to what was seen in the first double header from Colombo Strikers. At the end of 13 overs, Colombo and Kandy’s scores were identical at 138, and they both seemed set for a score well over 200. But like Colombo earlier, Kandy also lost their way dramatically. Andre Fletcher (69 off 43 balls, 6 fours, 4 sixes) and Angelo Mathews (29 off 15 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes) were going along superbly but they fell in quick succession and Kandy lost four wickets in the space of 10 balls with Jayasuriya doing the main damage. If not for Ramesh Mendis’ late blows, Kandy would have not even reached 187.

The tournament moves to the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo for the third and final leg with the matches commencing on Saturday.

Scores: Kandy Falcons 187-9 (20) (Andre Fletcher 69, Dinesh Chandimal 32, Angelo Mathews 29, Ramesh Mendis 28, Dwaine Pretorious 2/37, Prabath Jayasuriya 3/30)

Galle Marvels 188-2 (19.2) (Niroshan Dickwella 25, Alex Hales 86*, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 46*)