COLOMBO: Dhananjaya de Silva’s bowling masterclass propelled leaders Dambulla Aura to a dominant 20-run victory in the top-of-the-table Lanka Premier League (LPL) clash on Monday.
In an enthralling clash between the top two sides of the ongoing edition of the LPL, Dambulla Aura emerged victorious to solidify their position as the table-toppers.
Put into bat first, Dambulla Aura piled up a massive total of 162/7 on the board, courtesy of a combined effort by Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Ben McDermott.
Aura openers Fernando and Samarawickrama gave their side a flying start to their innings as they raised 61 runs before Wanindu Hasaranga dismissed the latter in the eighth over.
The wicketkeeper batter scored a cautious 26-ball 31, laced up with six boundaries.
Fernando was then joined by Lakshan Edirisinghe and the pair could put on a brief 19-run partnership before both perished in the 10th over.
Avishka Fernando remained the top-scorer for the Aura with 41 from just 27 deliveries, hitting three boundaries and as many sixes.
McDermott took the reigns of Aura’s batting charge after Fernando’s dismissal and knitted brief partnerships with Dhananjaya de Silva (10) and Alex Ross (0) before finally perishing in the 18th over.
He scored 37 in 23 deliveries with the help of three boundaries and two sixes.
Before his dismissal, McDermott was involved in a vital 38-run partnership with Hayden Kerr, who scored a brisk 16-ball 26 which featured three boundaries and a six.
Set to chase 163, B-Love Kandy came up 20 runs as they could gather 142 before being bundled out in the final over despite Dinesh Chandimal’s half-century.
Experienced batter Chandimal waged a lone battle for B-Love Kandy with a 46-ball 50, hitting six boundaries.
However, his efforts were not enough to steer B-Love Kandy over the line.
Besides him, Wanindu Hasaranga (19), Angelo Mathews (26) and Isuru Udana (23) made notable contributions while the rest looked hapless against the Dhananjaya-led Aura bowling attack.
Dhananjaya de Silva returned astonishing figures of 4/6 in his two overs, followed by Pramod Madushan’s two while Sachitha Jayatilake, Hayden Kerr and Shahnawaz Dahani made one scalp each.
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