Bowlers and Bopara keep Colombo dream alive

Angelo Mathews
Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana

 Ravi Bopara

By Amindha de Alwis

Colombo Stars beat Galle Gladiators by seven wickets in the Eliminator match of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) to set up a clash with Kandy Falcons in today’s (22) second qualifier.
In a match reduced to 18 overs per side, the Stars had a few tense moments in their chase of a below-par total of 108 but managed to steer their way through, with seasoned veteran Ravi Bopara (43 not out) playing a very calm and calculated innings.

The victory was set up by the Colombo bowlers earlier in the day who were all over the Gladiators.Opening bowlers Kasun Rajitha and Suranga Lakmal found conditions to their liking and had the Galle batters struggling to deal with the movement on offer which the two quicks exploited to great effect.

Asad Shafiq, who was promoted to open the innings, skied Kasun Rajitha to mid-on, and despite that being the only wicket in the shortened opening powerplay, the Gladiators could only make 13 runs in those first five overs.

The pressure had built up on Kusal Mendis and Lahiru Udara, but neither could reverse the momentum and fell to Mohammad Nabi’s and Dominic Drakes’ respective first overs.
At the completion of eight overs, Galle was deep in the mire at 26 for three, but found some breathing space when Sahan Arachchige cleared deep mid-wicket off Jeffrey Vandersay. 
The in-form Nuwanidu Fernando tried to do the same off Nabi from the opposite end but could only find the hands of Charith Asalanka near the boundary rope.
Arachchige on the other end, however, had come to terms with the conditions and fought a lone-hand, hammering 3 fours and 3 sixes on his way to an impressive half-century which he reached by thudding Benny Howell into the R. Premadasa Stadium scoreboard. 

His 31-ball 53 was the sole highlight of what was otherwise a dismal showing by the Galle batters, out of which Imad Wasim was the only other player to enter double figures.
Rajitha and Nabi ended up with two wickets apiece while Benny Howell collected three towards the back end with his assortment of slower deliveries.
In pursuit of 109, Dinesh Chandimal stepped out and hit Nuwan Pradeep for a six and a four early on but perished in the same over as Nuwanidu Fernando hung on to a swirling top-edge.
His opening partner Nishan Madushka had a torrid time, struggling to lay bat on ball, eventually being dismissed for 13 off 27 balls.

The slow start, followed by a string of tight overs by Imad Wasim, meant that the required run rate crossed eight and Colombo were suddenly left having to play catch-up with 50 runs needed from the last six overs

Stars Captain Angelo Mathews too was finding run-scoring difficult, but two boundaries by Bopara, followed by one by Mathews himself in the 15th over bowled by Nuwan Thushara, allowed them to bring the run rate back under control.

Bopara who ended up unbeaten on 43 off 28 balls, was the only batsman apart from Arachchige earlier who truly looked settled amidst a very disciplined bowling effort from both sides.
Scores:

Galle Gladiators: 108 for 9 in 18 overs (S Arachchige 53, I Wasim 17, B Howell 3/17, K Rajitha 2/9, M Nabi 2/20)
Colombo Stars: 109 for 3 in 16.5 overs (R Bopara 43 no, A Mathews 20 no, I Wasim 1/18, N Pradeep 1/21)