Flamboyant Tharanga takes Colombo to SLC T20 title glory

Dambulla won the toss and batted first on what looked like a sticky R. Premadasa surface under floodlights before Danushka Gunathilaka – one of their in form batsmen throughout the tournament – was dismissed for just 02 by Sammu Ashan.

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Pinch hitter Dilruwan Perera hit a six during his short two ball stay before he was run out by Priyamal Perera and when Sadeera Samarawickrama fell in the power-play Dambulla was soon 40/3 in the sixth over.

The dominating figure of Ramith Rambukwella went on his merry way at the other end as he continued to attack the Colombo spinners.  He in-fact hit 3 towering sixes and 7 fours during his 40 ball 57 but when he was dismissed by Akila Dananjaya and when Thisara Perera ran himself out, Dambulla were starting to lose momentum again.

At 100/6 after 13 overs, Dambulla were desperate to get over 150 to have something to bowl at, but youngsters Hasitha Boyagoda and Wanindu Hasaranga had other plans as they launched a brilliant counter attacking partnership of 59 off just 39 balls. While Hasaranga made 22 off 18, Boyagoda made an impressive 40 off 26 inclusive of 3 fours and 2 sixes as Dambulla got a fighting 163/8 in their allotted 20 overs.

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Akila Dananjaya and Jeevan Mendis bowled best for Colombo picking up two wickets apiece while Sammu Ashan bowled four consecutive overs after opening the bowling conceding just 24 runs and picking up the key scalp of Gunathilaka.

Colombo skipper Upul Tharanga came out all guns blazing as he hit the Dambulla bowlers to all parts of the R. Premadasa stadium. What was supposed to be a tight run chase soon turned out to be a walk in the park as Tharanga hit 6 fours and 9 sixes in a knock that entertained a very decent crowd at the venue.

Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Madushanka and Priyamal Perera didn’t hang around for too long while Tharanga continued to torment the bowlers, but he got much needed support from Shehan Jayasuriya who hit an unbeaten 35* off 22 balls.

Tharanga finished with a breathtaking unbeaten 104* off just 55 balls as Colombo got home with seven wickets and ten balls to spare. He also ended the tournament as the top run scorer with 414 runs with an average exceeding 100.