Saturday Dec 21, 2024
Saturday Dec 21, 2024
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
CCC spinner Malinda Pushpakumara (right) is congratulated by team mates as he picks up another Ragama CC wicket on his way to a four-wicket haul
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
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| SSC spinner Prabath Jayasuriya who took four wickets in action against Colts |
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| Army SC’s Heshan Hettiarachchi on his way to career best figures of 5 for 38 against Negombo CC |
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| Kurunegala YCC spinner Naveen Gunawardene gets a hug from a team mate after scalping another NCC batsman on his way to figures of 3 for 14
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Kurunegala Youth CC came up with a stunning display to oust NCC from the SLC Twenty20 inter-club tournament when they won their quarter-final match in pretty convincing fashion by 63 runs at the P Sara Oval yesterday.
Army SC were given a fright by Negombo CC before squeezing home by 6 runs, while defending champions CCC and SSC posted facile victories over Ragama CC and Colts respectively.
The semi-final line up for tomorrow is CCC v SSC and Kurunegala Youth CC v Army SC. Both matches will be played at the NCC grounds.
It was a fine all-round performance by the Kurunegala YCC side that saw them crush the opposition by dismissing them for 92 in reply to their total of 155-5. Opener Gayan Maneeshan (56 off 48 balls) and skipper Sameera Sandamal (48 off 30 balls) figured in a 74-run stand that contributed largely towards their total.
Then Ruvin Peiris began the NCC slide by dismissing both openers for 11 and when Chamika Karunaratne was run out it became 13-3. Captain Angelo Perera (27) and Hasitha Boyagoda (21) tried to affect a recovery but the spinners Randeera Ranasinghe and Naveen Gunawardene got to work picking up five wickets between them as the rest of the batting simply folded up.
Army SC were given the jitters by Negombo CC before pulling off a six-run win. Chasing a target of 165, Negombo CC powered by half-centuries from skipper Dilshan Munaweera (59 off 44 balls) and Madawa Warnapura (55 off 42 balls) were on course for a win at 140-3 in the 18th over.
But Heshan Hettiarachchi, the former Mahanama College fast bowler, produced a career best performance taking 5 for 38 to deny Negombo CC the win. Negombo CC requiring 14 off the final over with five wickets in hand made a mess of the run chase losing four wickets for seven runs to finish on 158-9.
Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara ran through the Ragama CC batting taking four wickets for 20 after opener Lasith Abeyratne had completed his third fifty of the tournament for CCC in their 57-run win. The defending champions were kept down to a score of 150-5, but Ragama CC’s batting collapsed for 93 on the face of Pushpakumara’s accurate bowling that was supported by skipper Ashan Priyanjan’s off-breaks and Nuwan Thushara’s seam.
Another Sri Lanka left-arm orthodox spinner Prabath Jayasuriya was the bane of Colts as SSC coasted to an easy six wickets win. Jayasuriya took 4 for 16 with his probing deliveries as Colts collapsed to 117. SSC reached the target with 16 balls to spare riding on Nawanidu Fernando’s 41 off 43 balls. The match saw Sri Lanka one-day opener Avishka Fernando returning to competitive cricket from injury that kept him out of the West Indies tour. He made 17 off 11 balls before being dismissed.
Results
At P. Sara Oval
CCC beat Ragama CC by 57 runs
Kurunegala Youth CC beat NCC by 63 runs
At CCC
SSC beat Colts by 6 wickets
Army SC beat Negombo CC by 6 runs
