SLC Super Fours Tournament 2014 commenced on Friday at SSC grounds with easy wins for Western Troopers and Udarata Rulers as Sri Lanka’s premier T20 competition kicked off in style.
SLC decided to grant a leave to the Sri Lanka’s victorious Test team off yesterday’s play as they arrived to the Island only on Thursday.
Yaal Blazers vs Western Troopers
Western Troopers led by dashing batsman Kithruwan Vithanage got off to a comfortable start as they outclassed Yaal Blazers by 44 runs in the opening fixture of SLC Super Fours Tournament.
Yaal Blazers captain Thisara Perera won the toss and elected to field first on a traditional SSC surface. Western Troopers got off to an expansive start with Kithruwan Vithanage smashing 44 runs in 31 balls with four boundaries and two sixes. Troopers were 101 for 5 wickets at 15 overs when the hard hitting middle-order batsman Kosala Kulasekara walked into the crease and the right hander thumped Blazers bowling to all parts of the ground in his brilliant knock of 54 runs in 23 balls which included four massive sixes and three fours as his team reached a healthy 165 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. Right arm off-spinner Alankara Asanka took 3 wickets for a mere 22 runs for the Yaal Blazers bowling lineup. Skipper Thisara Perera bagged 2 wickets but gave away 39 runs in his quota of 4 overs.
Chasing a stiff target of 166 runs to victory, Yaal Blazers never got their chasing act together as they failed miserably with the bat losing 3 quick wickets for 30 runs when the power-play restrictions were lifted. Blazers found some momentum with a steady partnership of 63 runs for the 4th wicket between Chamara Kapugedara and Sahan Wijerathne before 22-year-old off break bowler Maduka Liyanapathirange cast a magical spell of 3 wickets for 4 runs in 2 overs as Yaal Blazers were bowled out for 121 runs with 16 balls remaining. Yaal Blazers middle order gave away their wickets trying to go for glory despite Chamara Kapugedara’s fighting knock of 45 runs in 23 balls. Chathuranga De Silva and Suranga Lakmal shared 4 wickets for Troopers.
Chief Scores:
Western Troopers – 165/8 in 20 overs : Kithruwan Vithanage 44, Kosala Kulasekara 54, Alankara Asanka 3/22, Thisara Perera 2/39.
Yaal Blazers – 121 all out in 17.2 overs : Chamara Kapugedara 45, Sahan Wijerathne 24, Maduka Liyanapathirange 3/4, Suranga Lakmal 2/13, Chathuranga De Silva 2/22.
Man of the Match – Kosala Kulasekara
Southern Express vs Udarata Rulers
Udarata Rulers cruised to an easy 7 wicket win over Southern Express in the 2nd game of day 1 in the SLC Super Fours Tournament 2014.
Southern Express captain Lasith Malinga won the toss and elected to bat first with the intention of putting up a decent first innings score. Southern Express batsmen did not justify their captain’s decision as they gathered only 141 runs losing all their 10 wickets in 19.5 overs. Left handed striker Danushka Gunathilake was the only batsman to make an impact for Southern Express as he made an elegant 54 runs in 46 balls with his wide array of shots while opening batsman Kusal Janith Perera made 24 runs in 22 deliveries. Right arm off-spinner Asela Gunarathne produced breakthroughs regularly to halt Southern Express getting off to a big score as Asela’s bowling performance ended with 4 wickets for 38 runs under his name while all-rounder Dilhara Lokuhettige scalped 3 wickets.
Chasing 142 in 20 overs, the experienced Udarata Rulers opening batsman and Sri Lanka ‘A’ skipper Upul Tharanga anchored his team to victory with a well-calculated 59 runs in 34 balls with 10 boundaries and a six. Youngster Shehan Jayasooriya scored an unbeaten 37 runs to take his team over the line. Tharanga and his opening partner Dhananjaya De Silva scored 63 runs for the 1st wicket in 39 balls which was the decisive partnership in their chase. Leg spinner Seekuge Prasanna bowled an economical spell to take 2 wickets as Udarata Rulers chased down their target in the 18th over.
Chief Scores:
Southern Express – 141 all out in 19.5 overs : Dhanushka Gunathilake 54, Kusal Janith Perera 24, Asela Gunarathne 4/38, Dilhara Lokuhettige 3/38.
Udarata Rulers – 144 for 3 in 17.2 overs : Upul Tharanga 59, Shehan Jayasuriya 37*, Seekuge Prasanna 2/21.
Man of the Match – Asela Gunarathne
