The Premier league inter-club cricket tournament got off to a shaky start with only three of the five first round matches being worked off. The opening day’s play on Thursday saw none of the matches being able to have a full day’s play. The only match which went the full distance was the encounter between Colts and Bloomfield at the Colts ground.
In the match at the P. Sara Stadium only 7.3 overs was possible while the game at Reid Avenue between Ragama CC and SSC was washed out. In the second day’s play at Colts ground only 19 overs was possible with the other two matches being washed out without a ball being bowled due to wet conditions of the ground.
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| Colts opener Kushal Janith in action at the Colts ground yesterday.- Pix by Ranjith Perera. |
Nevertheless the weather god was kind as the three matches got underway, with the match at Reid Avenue and P. Sara Stadium getting off to late starts. Colts opener and left handed batsman Kushal Janith had the honour of hitting the first ton of the season when he made a 154 ball knock of 114 which included 11 boundaries and three sixes.
He was well supported by right hand batsman Roshen Silva who made an unbeaten 94 with six boundaries and two sixes. The pair added a valuable 151 runs stand for the fourth wicket.
Earlier he was involved in another partnership for the third wicket with Jeewantha Kulatunga with whom he added 52. Colts were well placed on 217 for 4 when Kushal was dismissed.
They were in line of making a formidable score but failed to keep it up as they lost the remaining six wickets for the addition of just 50 runs being bowled out for 267.
This was in reply to Bloomfield’s 263 which saw them register a narrow first innings win. For Bloomfield spinner Suraj Randiv came out as the top bowler with figures of 5 for 77 while Tyronne Gamage and Shanuka Dissanayake shared the other five wickets.
At the P. Sara Stadium the match between Tamil Union and CCC ended in a draw. CCC resuming from their overnight score of 24 for 3 on day one went on to make 187 with opener Daminda Ranaweera making a top score of 55.
Tamil Union in their turn ended the day on 111 for 4.
In the match between Ragama CC and SSC at Reid Avenue after two days of play was lost the final day’s play yesterday saw the match getting underway one hour late only at 11.00 a.m.
Ragama CC being invited to take first lease of the wicket got off to an inauspicious start by losing their first wicket in the first ball of the day and was struggling on 95 for 6 at tea but recovered to make 171.
SSC facing just 15 overs made a bold reply of 114 for 1 with Tharanga Paranavithana who was associated in a 74 run opening stand with Dimuth Karunaratne making an unbeaten 56.
At Colts grounds: Colts vs Bloomfield
Bloomfield (234/8 overnight) 263 (Chinthaka Jayasinghe 62, Sanjaya Gangodawila 46, Nipun Karunanayake 34, Nadeera Nawela 30, Suraj Randiv 37 n.o.: Sajeewa Weerakoon 3 for 68, Ishan Jayaratne 2 for 45, Kanishka Elvitigala 2 for 90) and 120 for 8 (Saman Jayantha 40, Nipun Karunanayake 38, Nadeera Nawela 15: Sajeewa Weerakoon 5 for 59, Dilruwan Perera 2 for 18)
Colts (40/2 overnight) 267 (Kushal Janith 114, Jeewantha Kulatunga 29, Roshane Silva 94 n.o.: Suraj Randiv 5 for 77, Tyrone Gamage 3 for 43, Shanuka Dissanayake 2 for 59)
At P.Sara Stadium: Tamil Union vs CCC
CCC (24/3 overnight) 187 (Daminda Ranaweera 55, Jigar Naik 41, Nisal Randika 29, Charitha Buddika 25 n.o. Jeewan Mendis 4 for 45, Chanaka Welagedera 3 for 55)
Tamil Union 111 for 4 (Kanchana Gunawardena 27, Ashan Priyanjan 15, Jeewan Mendis 42 n.o., Sachitra Serasinghe 17 n.o.: Sujeewa de Silva 3 for 40)
At Reid Avenue: Ragama CC Vs SSC
Ragama CC 171 (Kaushalya Weeraratne 39, Sameera de Zoysa 17, Madura Lakmal 17, Upul Indrasiri 23 n.o.: Kaushal Lokuarachchi 3 for 20, Malinga Bandara 3 for 52, Charith Jayampathi 2 for 19, Sohan Boralessa 2 for 36)
SSC 114 for 1 (Dimuth Karunaratne 31, haranga Paranavithana 56 n.o., Kaushal Lokuarachchi 23 n.o.)
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