Mathews returns from injury to lead Colombo Stars to victory

Colombo Stars Captain Angelo Mathews marked his return to cricket after injury with a stroke-filled 73

Kusal Mendis played a lone hand for Galle Gladiators with a polished half-century

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Angelo Mathews, returning to the team from a hamstring injury, led Colombo Stars from the front with a timely half-century – 73 off 57 balls – as they defeated Galle Gladiators by 41 runs in the second match in yesterday’s double-header of the Lanka Premier League at the R. Premadasa Stadium. 

It was a win that Colombo needed badly to lift themselves off of the bottom of the table.

Mathews’ knock, which comprised of three sixes and eight fours, was the highest individual score made by a batsman in the tournament so far. Colombo, winning the toss and batting first, posted a competitive 162/7 in a contest reduced to 18 overs because of rain. Mathews not only batted well, but utilised his resources wisely to dismiss Galle Gladiators for 121.

The Colombo innings was given the final push by another experienced Sri Lankan cricketer – Dinesh Chandimal – who carried on from where he left off on Saturday against Dambulla Giants. He played a gem of an innings, scoring 36 off 14 balls (four fours, two sixes) that included the biggest hit for six in the tournament clearing 105 metres off of the off-colour Isuru Udana. Chandimal won the Player of the Match award for his cameo.

Galle’s run chase was on as long as Kusal Mendis was at the wicket. Galle pinned their hopes heavily on Mendis, making a return to big time cricket after being banned by Sri Lanka Cricket. Mendis played a lone hand, scoring a polished 64 off 39 balls studded with seven fours and a six – his first half century in six months. But his dismissal at 110 in the 14th over sounded the death knell for Galle as the rest of batting simply crumbled with six wickets tumbling for 11 runs as Colombo tightened the screws through their seam-cum-spin combination. – (ST)

Result:

Colombo Stars 162/7 (18) (Angelo Mathews 73, Ashan Priyanjan 23, Dinesh Chandimal 36, Samit Patel 2/23, Dhananjaya Lakshan 2/22) beat Galle Gladiators 121 (16.5) (Kusal Mendis 64, Ravi Rampaul 2/36, Seekkuge Prasanna 2/23, Naveen-ul-Haq 3/27) by 41 runs.