The Colombo Stars fell short of their target, after Dinesh Chandimal only managed a boundary on the last delivery with 6 runs needed.
Follow Us
Dambulla Giants defeated Colombo Stars by 1 run in the Lanka Premier League on Saturday. Batting first, Dambulla Giants posted a total of 138 for 9 in their 20 overs. Opening batsman Niroshan Dickwella top scored for Dambulla Giants with 30. Other contributors were Shoaib Maqsood with an innings of 24 runs from 22 balls and Phil Salt with an innings of 21 runs from 18 balls. Jeffrey Vandersay and Ravi Rampaul were the pick of the bowlers for Colombo Stars with figures of 3/25 and 3/27.
The Colombo Stars couldn’t find a way to get their chase going as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Dinesh Chandimal kept the Stars’ hopes alive with a brilliant innings of 65* runs from 40 balls, but he kept losing partners at the other end. Chandimal, who struck 4 boundaries and 3 sixes, took the game deep single-handedly and the Stars needed 6 runs from the last delivery. However, Chandimal only managed a boundary on the last delivery as the Stars fell short of their target. Tharindu Ratnayake was the pick of the bowlers for the Dambulla Giants with figures of 3/18.
Kandy Warriors defeated the Galle Gladiators by 5 wickets in Saturday’s first match of the Lanka Premier League 2021 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday. Kandy, who have not had the best of time in the tournament, put the Galle Gladiators under pressure by restricting them to 127 for 7 in their 20 overs. Kamindu Mendis was the pick of the bowlers for the Kandy Warriors, who picked up figures of 3/25. Nimesh Vimukthi also made a vital contribution with figures of 2/17.
Kandy Warriors romped to 131 for 5 wickets with Ravi Bopara leading the way with an unbeaten 34 along with Tom Moores’ 28 and Charith Asalanka’s 21. Kusal Mendis and Samit Patel were the highlights of Galle Gladiators’ batting card. Mendis played an innings of 44 runs from 34 balls, while Patel scored 36* off 32 balls.
South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who has taken 4 wickets in 4 matches for the Dambulla Giants in the ongoing season of the Lanka Premier League, expressed that he has enjoyed sharing his knowledge with the youngsters in the competition.
“I get a lot of joy from sharing my knowledge with youngsters. If they come and ask me something, then I feel it’s my duty to share my knowledge with them and I want to make a difference. The Lanka Premier League has provided a great platform for the local talent to showcase their skills. Players like Wanindu Hasaranga has gone on to become one of the most sought-after players in franchise leagues around the world,” said the leg-spinner, who has taken 424 wickets in 338 T20 matches.
Tahir added that the youngsters need to learn how to be successful in T20 cricket.
“The youngsters need to know how one can bowl really well in the T20 format by using pace, variations and different grips. We’ve got some really talented off-spinners and they bowl really well and we’ve got leg-spinners in our team as well. I am trying to help them as much as I can.”
