Match Details
Earlier in the game, Colombo Strikers won the toss and chose to bowl first. Dambulla Aura's Avishka Fernando fell for 12, but skipper Kusal Mendis played exceptionally well, smashing 87 runs off 46 balls. Sadeera Samarawickrama supported him with a quick 59 off 35 balls. The partnership of Mendis and Sadeera, adding 120 runs for the second wicket, proved crucial in propelling Aura's innings.
Despite a tough day for Colombo Strikers' bowlers,
Naseem Shah shone with 2/21 in 4 overs, and Matheesha Pathirana impressed with
3/31 in 4 overs, performing well in the death overs. However, other bowlers
struggled, especially Chamika Karunaratne, who conceded 55 runs in his 4 overs.
The team's fielding was also below par, with dropped catches adding to their
challenges. Ultimately, Dambulla Aura set a formidable total due to Mendis and
Sadeera's brilliant contributions.
In their pursuit of a target of 193 runs, Colombo Strikers started the innings with skipper Niroshan Dickwella and Babar Azam and got a great start as Strikers posted 61 runs in the first 6 overs with the loss of one wicket. Skipper Niroshan Dickwella scored quickfire off 16 runs 8 balls. The duo of Babar Azam and Pathum Nissanka continued the momentum, adding 62 runs for the second wicket, with Babar Azam contributing 41 runs off 24 balls.
Nissanka and Nuwanidu Fernando added 29 runs for the third wicket, but Nissanka's struggle ended at 22 runs. Nuwanidu Fernando and Dhananjaya Lakshan then built a partnership of 50 runs. Lakshan departed for 18 runs. Fernando played an excellent innings, scoring an unbeaten half-century with 56 runs off 39 balls, and Chamika Karunaratne provided a quickfire unbeaten cameo of 20 runs off 7 balls. Colombo Strikers concluded their innings with 182/4 in 20 overs, falling short of the target by 10 runs.
Dambulla AURA bowlers were impressive throughout, limiting the run flow. Noor Ahmad stood out with 2 wickets for 34 runs in 4 overs, while Dhananjaya de Silva and Hayden Kerr took one wicket each. Their disciplined bowling proved pivotal in securing the 10-run victory for Dambulla AURA.
Stick around for the post-match presentation…