Super T20: Troopers go top

by Madushka Balasuriya

The Hambantota Troopers eased to a comfortable 6 wicket victory over the Colombo Commandos in their Super T20 Provincial Tournament clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium (RPICS) in Colombo yesterday, while in the days second game the Galle Guardians recovered from their opening day defeat at the hands of the Commandos to trounce the Kurunegala Rangers by 8 wickets.

The Troopers and Commandos both went into their match full of confidence on the back of opening day wins, but it was the Troopers that gained the psychological advantage winning the toss and choosing to field. Niroshan Dickwella though did his part to make sure that advantage mattered little, bludgeoning a 25-ball 51 (Fours x 6, Sixes x 3), as he and Dhananjaya de Silva (14) put on 47 for the first wicket in just four overs. Dickwella eventually fell in the eighth over with the score on 77, but that barely affected the scoring rate with Sadeera Samarawickrama (23) and Shehan Jayasuriya (24) ensuring the 10 an over rate was kept. However with the dismal of the duo in the space of an over the Commandos’ innings lost all momentum. From 122/4 in 13 overs, they stumbled to the finish line ending on 162/8 - a competitive total but at least 25 runs short of where they would have liked to be.

And this proved to be the case as the Troopers’ were barely troubled in their chase, despite Captain Tillekeratne Dilshan falling for just 4 in the first over. Seekuge Prasanna’s 21-ball 40 set the tone and assured cameos from Sandun Weerakkody (36), Ashan Priyanjan (41*), Jehan Mubarak (23) and Andy Solomons (14*) saw the Troopers make it two from two as they reached their target in just 18.1 overs.

In the evening fixture, the Rangers bucked the trend and elected to bat first after winning the toss; with all three preceding matches ending badly for the side batting first, the choice was certainly a statement of intent. Sadly intent was all there was it seemed, as the Galle bowlers ran riot picking up wickets at regular intervals. The Rangers eventually crawled their way to a subpar 129/9 in 20 overs.

The Guardians in their chase were never troubled, with openers Lahiru Milantha (78) and Udara Jayasundera (39*) putting on 108. Milantha’s 78 came off just 43 balls and included 7 sixes. Jayasundera meanwhile, carried his bat through the innings as they reached their 130 target midway through the 17th over.

The day 2 results see the Hambantota Troopers remain the only undefeated side with 2 wins and 4 points. Colombo Commandos and Galle Guardians are in second with 2 points, while the Kandy Crusaders and Kurunegala Rangers are yet to register on the board.

Today will be the first of four rest days, with the action continuing again tomorrow when the Rangers take on the Troopers in the 10am game and the Crusaders square off against the Commandos in the 2pm start.