Good contest at MCA D Division

Opening batsman Hashan Perera from Commercial Credit and opening bowler Thishan Fernando from Pan Asia Bank hogged the limelight at the ongoing Elephant Lemonade Trophy, MCA D division 50-overs League Tournament, which continued over the last weekend.

Hashan Perera hit a belligerent 167 not out in 126 balls, inclusive of 6 sixes and 20 fours to propel Commercial Credit to score 279/9 in 40 overs, the highest team total for the weekend, against the team from Airport & Aviation Services.

Probably demoralised by Perera’s thrashing, Airport & Aviation Services crashed, scoring 130 in 29.1 overs as Malith Fernando came through with the impressive figures of 06/35/05, giving Commercial Credit an overwhelming 149-run win.

Colombo Dockyard faced some difficulties in the form of pace man Thishan Fernando (7 for 15 in 9.4 overs) and were all out for 44 in 20.4 overs, leaving Pan Asia Bank with an 81-run win.

A dogged 70-run partnership at the fifth wicket between J. Sriyapala (41 not out in 82 balls) and P.K. Abeygunasekera (25 in 65 balls) pulled John Keells ‘B’  to a close three-wicket win over Mobitel.

A boundary hit in the last ball for the day by Asanka Roshan carried MAS Silueta to a heart-stopping one-wicket win over the Hayleys Group.

John Keells ‘B’ engaged in a double header and suffered their first defeat in the hand of MAS Linea Aqua by five wickets. MAS Linea raised their winning target of 192 runs in 37.1 overs, helped by some fine stroke play by S. Rangajeewa (45) and D. Ariyasinghe (77 in 83 balls, inclusive of 7 fours and 3 sixes).

Weekend’s match results

At MCA: John Keells ‘B’ beat Mobitel by 3 wickets.

Mobitel (won the toss) – 201 in 48.5 overs (R. Wickramanayake 25, S. Ranatunga 31, N. Vimukthi 52, T. Heshan 30, D. Costa 3/48, C. Wimalaranga 3/41)

JK ‘B’ – 204 for 7 in 48.1 overs (P. Mendis 38, A. Peiris 22, C. Perera 26, J. Sriyapala 41 not out, P.K. Abeygunasekera 25, T. Nazir 2/25, P. Serasinghe 3/43, N. Sampath 2/27)

At Thurstan: Commercial Credit beat Sri Lanka Telecom ‘A’ by 36 runs on D&L method. (Match reduced to 43 overs a side, due to wet ground conditions).

Commercial Credit (won the toss) – 164 in 39.4 overs (K. Silva 29, A. Dias 33, R. Cooray 29, M. Fernando 27, C. Fernando 4/20, J. Siriwardena 2/51, S. Wijeratne 2/28, C. Sirimanne 2/12)

SLT ‘A’ – 108 for 6 in 26.1 overs when bad light halted play. (N. Careem 45 not out , C. Vidanapathirana 2/26, P. Indika 2/24, R. Cooray 2/22, I. Udayanga 2/20)

At MCA: Pan Asia Bank beat Colombo Dockyard PLC by 81 runs.

PABC (sent into bat) – 125 in 36.4 overs. (G. Pradeep 25, S. Rajaguru 34, D.S. Kasun 2/31, O. Illamperuma 3/24, M.J. W. Kumara 2/26, Y.D.P. dias 2/17)

CDL – 44 in 20.4 overs (A. Sirimanne 10, Thishan Fernando 7/15, S. Amaradasa 2/14)

At Thurstan: MAS Silueta beat Hayleys Group by 1 wicket (match reduced to 41 overs-a-side, due to wet ground conditions).

Hayleys (won the toss) – 217 in 41 overs (Ronil Cooray 61, T. Bathberiya 27, D. Ratnayake 45, S. Thabrew 23, Mihindu Ariyaratne 5/34, R. Silva 2/38).

MAS Silueta – 218 for 9 in 41 overs ( S. Saranga 44, K. Madushantha 70, A. Samith 36, M. Deepal 2/39, L. Prabath 2/31, M. Silva 2/23, A. Ariyaratne 2/51).

At Ananda Mawatha: MAS Linea Aqua beat J. Keells ‘B’ by 5 wickets (match reduced to 46-overs a side, due to wet ground conditions).

JK “B” (won the toss) – 191 in 44.1 overs (H. Singhawansa 31, D. Costa 29, L.P. T. Harsha 42, C. Perera 28, S. Rangajeewa 2/41, K. Samantha 2/51, M. Pradeep 3/23, J. Priyadarshana 2/31)

MAS Linea Aqua – 192 for 5 in 37.1 overs (S. Rangajeewa 45, D. Ariyasinghe 77, I. Athurugiriya 27 not out, D. Costa 2/39, L.P.T. Harsha 2/42)

At Kotahena: Commercial Credit beat Airport & Aviation Services by 149 runs (Match reduced to 40 overs a side, due to wet ground conditions).

Commercial Credit (sent into bat) – 279 for 9 in 40 overs (Hashan Perera 167 not out, A. Dias 44, M.Fernando 21, K.D.C. Karunartne 2/47, M.A. Kodagoda 2/27)

A&A – 130 in 29.1 overs (Y. Dissanayake 27, P. D. Jayasekera 35, Malith Fernando 5/35, A. Dias 2/31)

The tournament will continue over the weekend, 17 and 18 November with a card of 7 matches, which will see the completion of the league stage. The first four teams in the two groups will advance to the K-O stage.