Seylan and Unichela win their openers
MAS Unichela and Seylan Bank won the curtain raiser games of the 20th edition of MCA-Singer Premier League cricket competition which kicked off yesterday in Colombo.
After overnight rain in Colombo both matches got off to late starts with wet outfields delaying the proceedings.
At the Bloomfield ground in Reid Avenue MAS Unichela thrashed ETI by 6 wickets, in a match which was reduced to 28 overs per side. ETI who were invited bat first were restricted to 132 for 7 and MAS Unichela raced to reach 136 for 4 with 77 deliveries to spare.
Opener Mahela Udawatte steered MAS Unichela to a swift win by clobbering 45 runs off 16 balls which also helped form an electric partnership of 59 runs in just four overs with TM Dilshan. Udawatte guided two hits towards the rope and cleared the boundary line five times while Dilshan made 23. Danushka Gunatilleke remained unbeaten on 32. For ETI top order batsman Gayan de Silva emerged as the top scorer with a fighting 43 while others failed to come out with striking contributions. Harsha Cooray made 23 runs but came in very late for ETI who struggled to gather momentum.
In the other game played at the Moors ground in Braybrooke Place, Seylan Bank beat Sampath Bank by 10 runs on Duckworth/Lewis method.
The match which started at around 2.00pm was reduced as a 25 overs per-side encounter as Sampath bank elected to bat first. With a slow moving outfield they were down at 58 for the loss of four wickets in 15 overs but Thilina Kandamby hit a resilient 64 not out to help his side post 158-6 at the end of their innings. Kandamby faced 47 balls for his fighting knock which had two boundaries and three sixes. He helped Sampath Bank recover by forming two worthy partnerships – a quick fire 49 runs for the fifth wicket with Dilhara Lokuhettige (12) and an unbeaten 34 for the sixth wicket with Sameen Kandanarachchi who remained unbeaten on 19.
Seylan Bank was given a solid start by their openers Shehan Jayasuriya and Lasith Fernando who paired up to make 118 runs for the first wicket. Jayasuriya hit 70 off 66 balls with eight fours and a six and Fernando clobbered 53 from 46 deliveries with seven boundaries and a six, as Seylan reached 134 runs for the loss of three wickets when play was stopped due to bad light after 20 overs of their innings.
At Reid Avenue: MAS Unichela beat ETI by 6 wickets
ETI 132 for 7 wickets (28) (Gayan de Silva 43, Harsha Cooray 23, Dilruwan Perera 2/29)
MAS Unichela 136 for 4 wickets (15.1) (Mahela Udawatte 45, TM Dilshan 23, Danushka Gunathilleke 32n.o.)
At Braybrooke Place: Seylan Bank beat Sampath Bank by 10 runs on D/L
Sampath Bank 158 for 6 wickets (25) (Hasantha Fernando 25, Dasun Shanaka 26, Thilina Kandamby 64n.o, Sameen Kandanarachchi 19n.o, Umesh Wijesiriwardena 3/50)
Seylan Bank 134 for 3 wickets (20) (Shehan Jayasuriya 70, Lasith Fernando 53)
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