Pavan power paralyses Police SC

SLC Major Club 50-Over Final

Thursday, 31 July 2025 02:50 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Pavan Rathnayake rejoices on reaching his century

CCC Captain Sonal Dinusha celebrates his half-century

Kamindu Mendis congratulates Nishan Madushka on his 50

Youngster Inuka Karannagoda was the pick of the CCC bowlers with 4/32

Jason Fernando and Priyamal Perera produced the highest stand for Police SC with 68

Takes CCC to victory with career-best knock of 158* off 94 balls

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

After being so close and yet so far last year when they lost the final to Ace Capital CC by four wickets in the final over, CCC ensured they left no stone unturned on this occasion when they won the Major Club 50-Over final, beating Police SC by a thumping margin of 187 runs on their home turf at the CCC Grounds under lights yesterday.

Pavan Rathnayake, the right-handed top order batsman formerly of Mahanama College, Colombo, played a devastating innings of 158* off 94 balls for CCC to knock the wind out of the Police SC sails. He took the Police SC bowling to the cleaners as he smote 13 fours and 9 sixes in an incredible display of hitting, racing to his first 50 off 54 balls (6 fours), his second 50 off 21 balls (1 four, 5 sixes), and his third off 17 balls (5 fours, 4 sixes).

It was Rathnayake’s fourth score of over 50 in his last four innings across formats following 56* and 122 against Australia ‘A’ and 63 against Tamil Union in the semi-finals.

The hapless Police SC bowlers had no answer to Rathnayake’s astonishing hitting and wilted under pressure as CCC, winning the toss and batting first, piled up the highest total of the tournament – 387-5, with 143 coming off the final 10 overs.

Off-spinner Nalin Priyadarshana suffered the most from Rathnayake’s broad blade, as he took 26 runs off him in the 43rd over that included 4 sixes. Seamer Charuka Pramod, who got the early breakthrough for Police with two early wickets in the innings, was hit for 10 fours and 4 sixes as he conceded 92 runs off his 10 overs.

CCC recovered from losing Lasith Croospulle (0) and Dhananjaya de Silva (2) cheaply through a third wicket stand of 131 off 111 balls between Nishan Madushka (88 off 85 balls, 13 fours, 1 six) and Kamindu Mendis (59 off 52 balls, 10 fours). What followed afterwards was total carnage as Rathnayake and skipper Sonal Dinusha (53 off 51 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes) waded into the Police SC bowling, raising a partnership of 190 off 126 balls for the fifth wicket that simply knocked the wind out of the opposition’s sails.

Faced with the enormous task of overhauling CCC’s massive score, Police SC came nowhere close to doing so as they were dismissed for 200 in 40.2 overs. They could not get any noteworthy partnerships going – the highest coming from Priyamal Perera and Jason Fernando (26), who added 68 for the sixth after Police SC had lost half the side for 86.

Another former Mahanama College, Colombo, product, left-arm spinner Inuka Karannagoda coming to bowl in the 14th over, got the prize wicket of Police SC Captain Ashen Bandara for 7 and went onto capture three further wickets – that of Charuka Jayathilake (1), top-scorer Priyamal Perera (57 off 56 balls, 5 fours, 1 six), and Dilum Sudeera (7) – to end with the best figures for CCC – 4/32. Overall, it was CCC’s experience of the number of international players in their line-up that proved to be the difference between the two sides.

Scores:

CCC 387-5 (50) (Nishan Madushka 88, Kamindu Mendis 59, Pavan Rathnayake 158*, Sonal Dinusha 53, Charuka Pramod 2/92, Charuka Jayathilake 2/65)

Police SC 200 (40.2) (Kusal Perera 31, Vishad Randika 22, Priyamal Perera 57, Jason Fernando 26, Inuka Karannagoda 4/32)

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