The fourth week of the National Super League began as the unbeaten table toppers Galle locked horns against Colombo while Jaffna who are at the bottom of the table are facing Kandy.
Galle versus Colombo clash commenced at the Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota. Colombo skipper Avishka Fernando won the toss and elected to bat first in this encounter. Sri Lanka’s former red ball opening pair Fernando and Dimuth Karunaratne opened the batting for Colombo but the pair couldn’t add much to the scoreboard as Kavishka Anjula struck early to remove Karunaratne. Anjula also removed Heshan Fernando a few overs later and Mohommad Shiraz also joined the party by removing Sri Lanka test cap Roshen Silva.
Dushan Vimukthi the number 5 batter for Colombo then played the much-needed partner’s role for skipper Fernando as the pair put together 112 runs for the fourth wicket. The partnership ended when Asanka Manoj removed Vimukthi for 40. Galle skipper Ramesh Mendis then removed Manoj Sarathchandra before he made it to the double-digit mark.
Fernando who was watching from one end as Colombo batters fell one after another scored his third first-class century and continued in his aggressive way to reach the 150-run mark as well. Mendis then made an interesting bowling change by introducing part-timer Sangeeth Cooray who managed to remove the dangerous Fernando. Fernando’s 150 in 205 balls included 21 fours and 1 six.
Nisala Tharaka who aided skipper Fernando in a 62-run stand for the sixth wicket then scored 44 runs for the seventh wicket with Prabhath Jayasuriya. At Stumps on Day 1, Tharaka was unbeaten on 55 and Jayasuriya was on 13. Anjula was the most successful bowler of the day taking 2 wickets for 56 runs.
Toss : Colombo
Colombo 1st Inn – 287/6 (Avishka Fernando 150. Nisala Tharaka 55*, Kavishka Anjula 2/56)
Result
Match drawn
Team Galle
703/9 (201)
Team Colombo
405/10 (129.5)
Batsmen
R
B
4s
6s
SR
Avisha Fernando
lbw b Sangeeth Cooray
150
205
21
1
73.17
Dimuth Karunaratne
lbw b Kavishka Anjula
4
9
1
0
44.44
Heshan Fernando
b Kavishka Anjula
2
6
0
0
33.33
Roshane Silva
c Angelo Mathews b Mohammad Shiraz
4
16
0
0
25.00
Dushan Vimukthi
c Pathum Kumara b Asanka Manoj
40
112
6
0
35.71
Manoj Sarathchandra
c Pathum Kumara b Ramesh Mendis
9
42
0
0
21.43
Nisala Tharaka
lbw b Kavishka Anjula
82
166
7
0
49.40
Prabath Jayasuriya
c Dinesh Chandimal b Kavishka Anjula
15
47
1
0
31.91
Tharindu Ratnayaka
c Lakshan Edirisinghe b Ramesh Mendis
28
38
3
2
73.68
Kasun Rajitha
not out
34
70
4
0
48.57
Udith Madushan
lbw b Ramesh Mendis
18
70
3
0
25.71
Extras
19 (b 8 , lb 8 , nb 2, w 1, pen 0)
Total
405/10 (129.5 Overs, RR: 3.12)
Bowling
O
M
R
W
Econ
Kavishka Anjula
24
2
67
4
2.79
Mohammad Shiraz
25
6
76
1
3.04
Asanka Manoj
19
2
80
1
4.21
Nimesh Vimukthi
30
7
76
0
2.53
Ramesh Mendis
28.5
2
81
3
2.84
Sangeeth Cooray
3
0
9
1
3.00
Batsmen
R
B
4s
6s
SR
Hashan Dumindu
b Udith Madushan
9
17
1
0
52.94
Sangeeth Cooray
c Roshane Silva b Tharindu Ratnayaka
33
32
6
0
103.12
Lakshan Edirisinghe
lbw b Dushan Vimukthi
129
236
16
1
54.66
Angelo Mathews
lbw b Prabath Jayasuriya
105
202
11
0
51.98
Dinesh Chandimal
b Nisala Tharaka
63
99
4
2
63.64
Pathum Kumara
c Manoj Sarathchandra b Udith Madushan
151
262
12
0
57.63
Ramesh Mendis
b Tharindu Ratnayaka
149
256
13
1
58.20
Kavishka Anjula
lbw b Dushan Vimukthi
17
23
2
0
73.91
Nimesh Vimukthi
lbw b Dushan Vimukthi
5
39
0
0
12.82
Mohammad Shiraz
not out
12
33
2
0
36.36
Asanka Manoj
not out
1
9
0
0
11.11
Extras
29 (b 10 , lb 7 , nb 2, w 10, pen 0)
Total
703/9 (201 Overs, RR: 3.5)
Bowling
O
M
R
W
Econ
Kasun Rajitha
8
0
39
0
4.88
Udith Madushan
22.3
3
93
2
4.17
Tharindu Ratnayaka
43
2
201
1
4.67
Nisala Tharaka
24.3
2
82
1
3.37
Prabath Jayasuriya
53
8
142
1
2.68
Dushan Vimukthi
49
9
122
3
2.49
Heshan Fernando
1
0
7
0
7.00
In the second game of week 4 between Jaffna and Kandy at the SSC grounds, Jaffna captain Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and invited Kandy to bat first. Jaffna had a good start to the game when Binura Fernando removed Thanuka Dabare in the first over of the game for a duck. Dabare’s opening partner Kasun Vidura also departed a few overs later to give Fernando his 2nd wicket.
Oshadha Fernando and Sandun Weerakkody who have already scored centuries in this tournament looked good once again as their partnership reached 50 but both of them departed shortly after scoring 33 and 36 respectively. Kandy skipper Niroshan Dickwella could only make 21 before Shashika Dulshan removed him. The two youngsters Ahan Wickramasinghe and Wanuja Kumara were left with the burden of recovering the Kandy innings as they were 114 for 5.
The pair stitched a 58-run stand in quick time for the sixth wicket and were batting very well before Kumara became another victim of Dulshan for 22. After that Wickramasinghe didn’t get much support from the tailenders but he batted with confidence and intent to amass another century, his second of this tournament. But soon after reaching the milestone, Wickramasinghe got out for 101. His knock came in 108 deliveries consisting 13 fours and 1 six. Soon after Wickramasinghe’s dismissal, Kandy was bowled out for 265. The left-arm spinner Dulshan was the pick of the bowlers for Jaffna taking 4 for 70 while left-arm quick Fernando took 3 for 34.
Jaffna then began their 1st innings hoping to get a sizable lead but suffered an early setback as Lahiru Kumara and Amshi de Silva struck twice inside the first 6 overs. After being on 20 for 2, Navod Paranavitana and Janith Liyanage gave their innings some stability with a 63-run stand but Kumara struck once again with just a handful of overs remaining in the day to remove Paranavitana for 45.
After the 3rd dismissal, Liyanage and night watchman Dulshan managed to reach stumps without any more damage as the Jaffna scoreline read 93/3. Liyanage was unbeaten on 41. Jaffna will begin Day 2 with 172 runs behind Kandy’s 1st innings total.
Toss : Jaffna
Kandy 1st Inn – 265 (Ahan Wickramasinghe 101, Sandun Weerakkody 36, Oshadha Fernando 33, Shashika Dulshan 4/70, Binura Fernando 3/34)
