Colombo crowned Super T20 Champions

by Madushka Balasuriya

A blistering unbeaten 62 by Shehan Jayasuriya brought back memories of his legendary namesake as the Colombo Commandos were crowned champions of the inaugural Super T20 Provincial Tournament last night, beating the Galle Guardians by 8 wickets.

It was a fitting finish to an engrossing series of domestic tussles, as the two sides which played on the opening day of the tournament faced each other in the final. And like that game on the opening day the Commando’s won the toss and put the Guardians in to bat. However the reasoning behind the decision was far clearer this time around - all but 3 of the 13 games played in the tournament have been won by the side batting second.

Shaminda Eranga however put paid to any hopes the Guardians may have had of putting up a competitive total with his figures of 4 for 27 ensuring that only a fifty by Guardians captain Dinesh Chandimal managed to stave off complete humiliation. Chandimal, who came to the crease in the third over with the score on 20, put on 51 for fourth wicket partnership with Udara Jayasundera.

However when Jayasundera was run out with the score on 84, the flood gates opened. Eranga (4-0-27-4) took control of proceedings and only a 53-ball 60 from Chandimal’s managed to get Guardians to a somewhat respectable 143/7.

In their chase the Commando’s only stumble was the dismissal of Niroshan Dickwella (11) with the score on 14. This brought Jayasuriya to the crease who, along with Dhananjaya de Silva (41) put on 94 for the second wicket, effectively taking the game away from the Guardians. A quickfire 24 from Milinda Siriwardene brought the chase to an end in just 16.4 overs, and with it the title for the Commandos.

The Man of the Match went to Shaminda Eranga for his four-wicket haul, while the Man of the Series award went to Dhananjaya de Silva, who scored 234 runs in the tournament.