Galle, Jaffna emerge victorious on opening day of NSL Limited Overs

Jaffna skipper Dhananjaya de Silva in full flight during his knock of 69 against Dambulla at the P. Sara Oval

The opening day of the National Super League (NSL) Limited Over tournament yesterday saw Galle and Jaffna come out victorious against Colombo and Dambulla respectively.

Galle pulled off a three-wicket win over Colombo at the SSC grounds, while Jaffna proved too much of an opposition for Dambulla, who succumbed to a massive 176 runs defeat.

Priyamal Perera played a match-winning innings of 98* off 112 balls (11 fours, one six) to steer Galle to a three-wicket win over Colombo. Chasing a target of 214, Galle were in dire straits at 93/5 in the 21st over, but Perera, joined by national cricketer Ramesh Mendis, rescued the side with a stand of 110 for the sixth wicket. Despite losing Mendis for 37 and Jehan Daniel cheaply, Galle were not to be denied the win as Perera played a crucial anchor role to see Galle home with 44 balls to spare.

Earlier, Colombo, winning the toss and batting first, looked to be heading for a big score at 165/3 in 35 overs with useful contributions at the top from Kusal Mendis (37), Krishan Sanjula (46), Nuwanidu Fernando (30), acting skipper Sammu Ashan (21) and Ashen Bandara (34). But from there on, Colombo lost their way and suffered a collapse losing 7/48 runs to be bowled out inside their quota of 50 overs for 213, largely to the spin of Maheesh Theekshana and Ramesh Mendis, who between them took five wickets.

Sri Lanka’s white-ball Vice Captain/skipper of the Dambulla team Dhananjaya de Silva played a stellar role in his team’s comprehensive 176-run win over Dambulla.

De Silva struck 10 boundaries in his 64-ball knock of 69 to help Jaffna total 255 after being invited to bat first, and then with the help of his co-spinners Jeffrey Vandersay and Dilum Sudeera, helped spin out Dambulla for a paltry 79. De Silva followed his fine half-century with figures of 3/5, while leg-spinner Vandersay continued his fine form with the ball, capturing two wickets with left-armer Sudeera also chipping in with two. – (ST)

RESULTS:

nAt SSC: Colombo 213 (47.3) (Kusal Mendis 37, Krishan Sanjula 46, Nuwanidu Fernando 30, Sammu Ashan 21, Ashen Bandara 34, Dhananjaya Lakshan 2/25, Maheesh Theekshana 3/42, Ramesh Mendis 2/31) lost to Galle 215/7 (42.4) (Dhananjaya Lakshan 29, Priyamal Perera 98*, Ramesh Mendis 37, Prabath Jayasuriya 2/40, Kavindu Nadeeshan 2/43) by three wickets.

nAt P. Sara Oval: Jaffna 255 (47.1) (Sadeera Samarawickrama 40, Lahiru Thirimanne 28, Dhananjaya de Silva 69, Santhush Gunathilaka 33, Ishan Jayaratne 44, Vishwa Fernando 3/41, Lakshan Sandakan 3/44) beat Dambulla 79 (25.5) (Ashan Priyanjan 32, Ishan Jayaratne 2/22, Dhananjaya de Silva 3/5, Jeffrey Vandersay 2/12, Dilum Sudeera 2/10) by 176 runs.