Startling cricket and stunning defeats as Major Clubs T20 resumes

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

The resumption of the SLC Major Clubs T20 yesterday after a short recess for bad weather produced some startling cricket and results with Ace Capital CC scraping through by one wicket, Panadura SC by 4 runs, NCC, the defending champions regaining top position in Group A with a win over Moors SC and shock defeats suffered by Bloomfield and Tamil Union.

The key game for the day was the NCC-Moors SC contest which took place at the P. Sara Oval. Table leader Moors SC’s batting was destroyed by former Mahanama College left-arm seamer Sampath Nishshanka who bowled a brilliant spell for career best figures of 5/19 to put out Moors SC for 114. Sithara Gimhan (42 off 32) and skipper Ramesh Mendis (24 off 33) were the only batsmen to put up some kind of resistance. NCC in their turn didn’t fare well either, losing half the side for 56 of which Niroshan Dickwella contributed a breezy 40 off 21 balls (7 fours, 1 six). But Sri Lanka all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne (49* off 30 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) and Kavin Bandara (10) added 50 for the sixth wicket to take NCC home. 

Ace Capital CC pulled off a nerve-tingling one-wicket win against Kurunegala YCC at the CCC grounds to register their first win. Chasing a moderate target of 82, Ace Capital CC collapsed to 69-9 in the 13th over. At this point Kurunegala YCC had the game firmly within their grasp. But last pair Danal Hemananda (19* off 22) and Chamod Battage (2* off 20 balls) survived nearly five overs to take Ace Capital CC over the line. Hemananda ended the contest by hitting left-arm spinner Dinuka Tennekoon for a six. Former Sri Lanka U19 all-rounder Wanuja Sahan starred with the ball for Ace Capital CC taking a career best 4/9 with his left-arm spin.

Panadura SC also had a close call against Badureliya SC edging through by 4 runs at the Colts grounds. Invited to bat first, Panadura SC posted a decent total of 149-8 with Vishen Halambage contributing a stroke-filled 51 off 33 balls (9 fours). Badureliya SC was on course at 124-4 in the 17th over when a hat-trick of run outs saw them rather unnecessarily throw away the advantage they held. The tight spell bowled by left-arm spinner Vishwa Lahiru who accounted for two wickets in the 17th over led to panic in the Badureliya SC camp which resulted in the run outs. Eventually their last pair were left struggling to score 13 runs from the final three overs. A lot depended on former Sri Lanka all-rounder Seekkuge Prasanna but on this occasion he failed to deliver and holed out to Nimesh Vimukthi at long-on attempting a six with five needed for victory. Vimukthi played an important role in changing the fortunes for Panadura being responsible for two of the three runs outs and finally the catch that sealed the match.

The afternoon produced some stunning results. Last year’s runner-up Bloomfield were beaten by 2 wickets by BRC at CCC grounds. In a low scoring game Bloomfield choosing to bat first were shot out for 96 with Lahiru Madushanka making a run-a-ball top score of 41. Murvin Abinash, the former Jaffna St. John’s College all-rounder was BRC’s match-winner capturing 3/12 with his off-breaks and scoring an invaluable 19* to see his team home with four balls to spare after they had lost five wickets for 37. Kaveesha Piyumal, the former Kandy Antonian left-arm spinner made a memorable T20 debut for Bloomfield taking 4/19.

Nugegoda SWC put themselves in line for a quarter-final place when they thumped Tamil Union by 7 wickets at Colts grounds. After restricting Tamil Union to 139-9 (Bhanuka Rajapaksa 42 off 26 balls, 5 sixes), Nugegoda SWC buoyed by unbeaten fifties from Tillakaratne Sampath (56* off 49 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) and Kevin Perera (58* off 40 balls, 5 fours, 4 sixes) who put on 87* for the fourth wicket, romped home with 10 balls to spare.

Chilaw Marians CC won their first match with a convincing 40-run defeat of Police SC at P. Sara Oval. Yashodha Lanka’s 62 off 44 balls (3 fours, 5 sixes) and Kasun Vidura’s 45 off 37 (4 fours, 2 sixes) gave Chilaw Marians CC a competitive score of 178-8. Police SC were never in the game despite an audacious 50 off 41 balls (2 fours, 2 sixes) from Chaturanga Jayathilake and finished on 138-9.

Today’s matches

•  At Colts grounds: Police SC v Bloomfield 9:45 a.m., Badureliya CC v Ace Capital CC 2 p.m.
• At SSC grounds: Chilaw Marians CC v Tamil Union 9:45 a.m., CCC v Kurunegala YCC 2 p.m.
• At CCC grounds: Nugegoda SWC v Colts 9:45 a.m., Panadura SC v NCC 2 p.m.