The semifinals of the Sri Lanka Cricket(SLC) Major League Limited Over Tournament concluded today(23), with SSC and NCC recording comprehensive wins to book their respective places for the final scheduled for the 25th of March at the SSC and you can catch all the live action on www.ThePapare.com, Dialog TV channel no:1 and MyTV.
NCC vs Saracens
NCC continued their dominant run in white ball cricket when they put up another brilliant all-round performance to secure their spot in the final.
Niroshan Dickwella came into the game with a horror run of of low scores behind him but he rose to the occasion for NCC making a telling century. It was a much different Dickwella that we saw today as he took his time initially and built the innings while batting deep into it. His knock of 110 came off 132 balls and included only 9 fours as he put in the hard yards at a crucial juncture of the game.
NCC got much needed momentum towards the latter part of their innings with both Mahela Udawatte and Chathuranga De Silva smashing quick fire half centuries to put NCC well in control at 327/5 during the half way stage. Upul Tharanga also made a half century at the top of the order to set a brilliant foundation for the middle and lower order.
Most of the Saracens batsmen got starts but none of them kicked on as the run rate continued to rise before they were eventually bowled out for 238 with more than six overs to spare. Youngster Ashen Bandara top scored with a fighting half century but none of the other batsmen managed to capitalize on their starts as Saracens succumbed to a 89 run loss at the hands of a much fancied NCC unit. Fast bowlers Farveez Maharoof, Dushmantha Chameera and Lasith Malinga all picked up two wickets apiece for the winners.
Nondescripts Cricket Club 327/5 (50) : Niroshan Dickwella 110, Chaturanga de Silva 58, Upul Tharanga 56, Mahela Udawatte 50, Angelo Perera 41 (retired hurt), Chathura Randunu 2/65, Andy Solomons 2/71
vs
Saracens Sports Club 238 (43.3) : Ashen Bandara 51, Ravindu Gunasekara 31, Navindu Vithanage 30, Saliya Saman 25, Andy Solomons 22, Roshan Jayatissa 22, Gamindu Kanishka 21, Farveez Maharoof 2/36, Dushmantha Chameera 2/41, Lasith Malinga 2/51
SSC vs Chilaw Marians
Chilaw Marians were no match to a strong SSC outfit as they were thrashed by 8 wickets at the Colts grounds in Colombo.
A collective bowling effort from SSC initially restricted Chilaw Marians to just 138 all-out with Dhammika Prasad, Dasun Shanaka, Sachithra Senanayake and Jeffrey Vandersay all capturing two wickets apiece. Sri Lanka cap Dimuth Karunaratne more known for his batting also rolled his arm over and captured the key scalp of the in-form Shehan Jayasuriya for 25.
SSC got home in no time during their run chase as Danushka Gunathilaka lit up the Colts ground with a few lusty hits to remain unbeaten on 78* in 70 balls. His knock included 4 sixes and 6 fours as SSC cruised home by 8 wicket with Dasun Shanaka also unbeaten on 26*.
Chilaw Marians Cricket Club138 (41) : Oshada Fernando 43, Shehan Jayasuriya 25, Sachithra Serasinghe 24, Sachithra Senanayake 2/16, Dhammika Prasad 2/23, Dasun Shanaka 2/28, Jeffrey Vandersay 2/37,
vs
Sinhalese Sports Club 140/2 (23) : Danushka Gunathilaka 78*, Dasun Shanaka 26*
