Ravi Bopara scores a half-century as Kandy Warriors defeat Dambulla Giants by 6 wickets
17 December, 2021
The Kandy Warriors recorded their second victory in the Lanka Premier League after defeating Dambulla Giants by 6 wickets on Thursday. After restricting the Giants to 130/9 in their 20 overs, the Kandy Warriors chased down their target in 19.2 overs.
Ravi Bopara played a fantastic innings of 59* runs from 50 balls, laced with 3 boundaries and 2 sixes. Opening batter Kennar Lewis and Angelo Perera chipped in with scores of 27 and 29* respectively. The Giants dismissed Charith Asalanka, Minod Bhanuka and Kamindu Mendis for not too many runs on the board, however, the 60-run partnership between Bopara and Perera ensured that the Warriors walked off the field as winners.
Earlier, the Dambulla Giants couldn’t find a way to get going with the bat as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Ramesh Mendis was the only highlight of Giants’ batting card with an innings of 41 runs from 28 balls. He struck 2 boundaries and 1 six during his innings. Binura Fernando and Al-Amin Hossain were the pick of the bowlers for the Warriors with figures of 3/22 and 3/32 respectively.
Galle Gladiators beat Dambulla Giants by 9 runs in rain-curtailed match
Galle Gladiators bounced back to pick up a win over Dambulla Giants by 9 runs in the rain-curtailed Lanka Premier League 2021 match at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday. Veteran English spinner Samit Patel starred with the ball for Gladiators as they defended the target of 135.
The match got off to a late start due to rain, and was reduced to 14 overs before the toss. After Dambulla Giants skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to field, Gladiators were given a solid start by openers Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis, who both added 30 runs in 2.5 overs for the opening stand.
Gladiators’ innings was bolstered by Kusal Mendis who made 35 off 17 balls, hitting 4 fours and a six while Skipper Bhanuka Rajapaksa struck 33 off 20 powered by 3 sixes and a four in his innings. But Gladiators’ middle-order struggled as veteran Proteas spinner Imran Tahir picked up three wickets for 20 runs while Joshua Little picked up 2/29, as they restricted Galle Gladiators to 134/7 in 14 overs.
Chasing the total, Giants lost Niroshan Dickwella for a duck on the third ball, but the 90-run stand between Philip Salt and Janith Liyanage shifted the tides in their favour, and it looked like Gladiators may suffer their third loss in a row.
But Salt was dismissed for 41 by Isuru Udana in the 11th over, and shortly after, Samit Patel sent back both Liyanage for 51 and skipper Shanaka for 1 back to the hut, and the match shifted gears once again.
Despite late hitting from Najibullah Zadran, who hit two sixes to score 16 runs in 9 balls, the Giants fell short of the target by 9 runs, scoring just 125/5 in 14 overs, and the Gladiators won the match to earn crucial two points.
Seekkuge Prasanna’s heroics guides Colombo Stars to thrilling win over Kandy Warriors
Seekkuge Prasanna smashed unbeaten-32 off 6 balls, as he hammered 5 sixes to guide Colombo Stars to a nail-biting 5-wicket win over Kandy Warriors in the Lanka Premier League 2021 match at R. Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday. Chasing 147, the Stars found themselves in a spot of bother after Sachindu Colombage dismissed Dinesh Chandimal in the fifth ball of the 18th over.
Needing 37 to win from 13 balls, with five wickets in hands, Prasanna came to the crease to hammer his first six on the first ball he faced from Colombage.
In the next over from Binura Fernando, Prasanna once again struck a six on the penultimate ball, before running a double on the final ball of the over to put Sherfane Rutherford on strike at the start of the last over.
Lahiru Kumara was given the responsibility to bowl the last over for the Warriors, and Rutherford did well to run a single on the first ball to bring Prasanna back to strike. The right-handed batsman struck three consecutive sixes to help his team pick up the win with two balls to spare.
Earlier, Colombo Stars captain Angelo Mathews won the toss and elected to bowl. Kandy Warriors openers Kennar Lewis and Charith Asalanka stitched a solid 71-run stand for the first wicket. But after Asalanka was dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera in the first ball of the 9th over for 28, the Warriors lost the plot and went on to lose wickets in quick succession.
Chameera starred with the ball for Stars, picking up four wickets for 35 runs in his four overs, while the rest of the bowling unit chipped in with a wicket each. Apart from Lewis’ 62, no other Kandy batsman could get going, and they could only muster 146/9 in 20 overs.
Colombo Stars started the chase poorly as Pathum Nissanka was dismissed for a duck on the third ball. Stars kept losing wickets at key moments and found themselves reeling at 110/5 in 17.5 overs. But Prasanna’s heroics saved the day for Colombo Stars as they picked up two important points to go third in the table.
