Galle register first win; Kandy succumb in another thriller.  

Team Galle recorded their first win in the SLC T20 League beating Kandy by a mere 7-run margin at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium. 

Stand-in Skipper for Galle, Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and opted to bat first in which was the first game of the SLC T20 League at Dambulla. Fast bowling all-rounder Kasun Madushanka replaced Captain Suranga Lakmal while U19 batsman Nishan Madushka and off-spinner Nishan Peiris replaced fast bowling all-rounder Jehan Daniel and left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya.

Read : Gunathilaka stars with the ball in Dambulla win

Team Kandy too made two changes by replacing wicket-keeper batsman Sadun Weerakkody and pacer Lahiru Gamage with batsman Janith Silva and leg-spinner Janaka Sampath. With the omission of Weerakkody, Banuka Rajapaksha had to do the Wicket-keeping job for Kandy.

Champion T20 bowler, Lasith Malinga started proceedings for Team Kandy as he resumed his quest for his 350^th T20 wicket. Only Dwayne Bravo of West Indies has taken more T20 wickets than him. Unfortunately for him today was not the day for his milestone.

Young speedster Nipun Ransika, in the 2^nd over of the inning, was the man to get the first breakthrough for Kandy as he dismissed Niroshan Dickwella, who opened the inning alongside Kusal Mendis, in the very next ball after Dickwella hit Ransika for a six.

Dimuth Karunaratne, Sri Lanka’s highest rated Test batsman at the moment then stepped in to showcase his T20 batting skills. He put on a 67-run stand with Kusal Mendis in just 41 deliveries. All-rounder Charith Asalanka’s off-spin then handed Kandy the much needed wicket as Kusal Mendis perished for a 28-ball 40.

Also Read : Colombo register second consecutive win in a thrilling contest

Dimuth Karunaratne on the other end kept playing his shots as he stroked 12 boundaries for his 49-ball 80. After Malinda Pushpakumara’s double strike during the late-middle overs Janaka Sampath got rid of the dangerous Karunaratne when Kandy’s score was on 161 in the 17^th over. Asela Gunaratne then together with teenager Nishan Madushka added 32 runs in 20 deliveries to lift Kandy’s total to a strong 193. Asela scored his individual score of 20 in just 14 balls that included only 1 six and no boundaries.

In bowling for Kandy Charith Asalanka was the most economical as he gave away only 31 runs in his 4 overs and also picked up a wicket. Malinda Pushpakumara also did a decent job with the ball picking up 2 wickets for 39 runs in 4 overs.

 Photo Album: Galle vs Kandy | SLC T20 League – 2018

In reply to Galle’s 193, left-handers Thikshila de Silva and Lahiru Thirimanne opened the inning for Kandy.  Just like Dickwella in the first inning Thikshila was bowled by Kasun Rajitha in the very next ball after hitting a six in the 2^nd over of the inning.

Thirimanne then hit 20 runs in just 11 deliveries with 3 boundaries and a six to add momentum to the Kandy run-chase, but was stumped in the 5^th over off a Nishan Peiris delivery. Nishan Peiris struck once again in the same over with Janith Silva’s wicket to dent the Kandy run-chase.

Skipper Dasun Shanaka then supported big-hitting Banuka Rajapaksha to accelerate the scoring as the duo pushed the score from 50/3 to 100/3 in just 33 balls. Following Shanaka’s dismissal to Jeffrey Vandersay for a 17-ball 24 in the 11^th over Banuka Rajapaksha also perished to Kasun Madushanka. He hit 6 fours and 3 sixes during his entertaining knock of 63 in just 33 balls.

Soon after that Kandy were reduced to 141 for 7 in the 16^th over with all recognized batsmen back in the dressing room. Charith Asalanka chipped in with a 13-ball 17 while Chamika Karunaratne took 8 balls to score 2 runs.

Over number 17 brought back hope to Kandy as Malinda Pushpakumara along with Lasith Malinga scored 22 runs off Kasun Madushanka.

With 20 runs needed in the last 2 overs Kasun Rajitha dismissed Malinda Pushpakumara who was on 26 facing just 10 deliveries. It also ended a valuable 33-run 8^th wicket partnership.

Janaka Sampath who then came into bat at No.10 smashed a six in his second delivery to make the game more thrilling. He along with Malinga managed to take the game to the last over with 10 runs needed in it.

The experienced Asela Gunaratne who was given the responsibility of bowling the final over gave away just 2 runs as he handed Galle a much important 7-run victory after being defeated in the previous 2 games. Team Kandy will now have to wait for tomorrow to try and register their first win in this tournament.

Nishan Peiris was the pick of the bowlers for Galle as he picked up 2 wickets for just 24 runs in his 4 overs. Asela Gunaratne was also economical though he finished wicket-less. Jeffrey Vandersay, Kasun Madushanka and Kasun Rajitha also helped the cause with 2 wickets each.

Galle will now meet Colombo while Kandy will play Dambulla tomorrow at the same venue.