MCA ‘F’ Division 25 Over League quarter finals this weekend

Fairfirst Insurance, Associated Motorways, McLarens Group, HNB ‘B’, Siam City Cement, MAS Kreeda, Brandix Essentials ‘B’ and Allianz Insurance advanced to the quarter finals in the 2nd Fairfirst Insurance Trophy as the MCA ‘F’ Division 25 Over League Tournament 2019 continued last weekend (29 and 30 June).

The first pre-quarter final between Fairfirst Insurance and Janashakthi Life was a high-scoring affair, with both teams scoring over 200 runs each with two centurions emerging in the process. 

Batting first, Janashakthi put up a challenging 205/8 in 25 overs, riding on Dimitri Perera’s hurricane century (101 in 60 balls, inclusive of seven sixes and seven fours) and Chandimal Welagedera’s unbeaten half-century (53 not out).

Fairfirst Insurance, chasing 206 in 25 overs  (RPO 8.24), reached their target with 17 balls to spare (206/5 in 22.1) with opener Lakshan Perera carrying his bat out after scoring a belligerent 110 not out in 67 balls, inclusive of seven towering sixes and seven sizzling fours. 

The other high-scoring game was between HNB ‘B’ vs. Mast Industries; MAST scored 200 for seven in 25 overs thanks to a hard hit 90 by Bimal de Silva. HNB ‘B’ overhauled the total 201/5 in 23.4 overs through three solid batting performances by Malinda Perera (68), T. Dilshan (45 not out) and K. Vithanagamage (41).

The pre-quarter that went to wire was between McLarens and Courtaulds Clothing. Courtaulds, chasing a total of 170 runs to win in 25 overs (RPO 6.8) fell desperately short by four runs (165 /7 in 25). 

Match results – all pre-quarter finals:

MCA (morning): Fairfirst Insurance beat Janashakthi Life by five wickets

Janashakthi – 205/8 (24) (Dimitri Perera 101, Chandimal Welagedera 53 not out, P. Liyanage 2/13, Mahesh de Alwis 2/36)

Fairfirst – 206/5 (22.1) (Lakshan Perera  110 not out,  Thilina Massmulla 40, Asel Sigera 20, B. Arunathanthri 2/54)

MCA (afternoon): Associated Motorways beat Cargills Bank by 35 runs

AMW – 130/8 (25) (S. Eranga 44, S. de Silva 25, Udara Pitiwala 4/17)

Cargills Bank – 95 (22.2) (R. Mannah 33 not out, S. Kumara 20, T. Kumarasinghe 4/19, S. Eranga 2/15)

Veyangoda (morning): McLarens Group beat Courtaulds Clothing by four runs.

McLarens – 169/8 (25) (C. Fernando 32, T. Rukshan 26, M. Jerome 25, D. Fernando 20, P. Adikari 3/22, R. Withana 2/22, P. Madushan 2/26)

Courtaulds - 165/7 (25) (C. Rajapaksa 53, S. Adikari 49, P. Madushan 31, M. Jerome 2/40)

Veyangoda (afternoon): HNB B beat Mast Industries by five wkts 

Mast Ind. – 200/7 (25) (B. de Silva 90, A. Rajapaksa 46, R. Wickramaratne 22, M. Williams 2/34, D. Panditharatne 2/42) 

HNB B – 201/5 (23.4) (Malindu Perera 68, T. Dilshan 45 not out, K. Vithanagamage 41)

MCA (morning): Siam City Cement beat Avery Dennison by 91 runs

Siam City – 201/8 (25) (S. Premaratne 73, S. Kariyawasam 35, T. Perera 31, D. Perera 22, C. Wijeratne 2/30, S. Jayampathi 2/34, A. Nilushan 2/34)

Avery Dennison – 110 (20.5) (A. Madusanka 28, N. Kumara 21, Dinesh Perera 4/17, S. Kariyawasam 2/09, D. Ekanayake 2/20) 

MCA (afternoon): MAS Kreeda beat Cash Wagon by five wkts. 

Cash Wagon – 163 (24) (S. Fariz 50, M. Rodrigo 38, R. Perera 20, S. Madushanka 4/39, R. Hirumal 3/26, S. Hapugaspitiya 2/28) 

MAS Kreeda – 164/5 (24) (S. Madushanka 35, Lakmal Rajitha 71 not out)

Veyangoda (morning): Brandix Essentials B beat SAGT by eight wkts

SAGT – 81 (15.2) (D. Kadawarachchi 30, K. Ratnajeewa 25, S. Kumara 3/07, T. Silva 2/05, S. Fernando 2/07)

Brandix B – 85/2 (12.4) (H. Kumara 25 not out, S. Fernando 25, M. Abeysinghe 2/18)

Veyangoda (afternoon): Allianz Insurance beat John Keells C by three wkts.

JK C – 143/8 (25) (S. Iqbal 31, R. Subasinghe 21, M. Peiris 3/30, M. Ranasinghe 2/27)

Allianz Insurance – 144/7 (25) (D. de Buyzer 48, D. Kumara 37, N. Akalanka 2/12, P. K. Abeygunasekera 2/27)   

The quarter finals line up:

Saturday, 6 July

Mattegoda (morning): Fairfirst Insurance vs. AMW (QF 1)

Mattegoda (afternoon): Siam City Cement vs. MAS Kreeda (QF 3) 

MCA (morning): McLarens Group vs. HNB B (QF 2)

MCA (afternoon): Brandix Essentials B vs. Allianz Insurance (QF 4)