Colombo Stars faulter to 102-run defeat

 By Shehan Daniel at the R. Premadasa Stadium   

Toothless with the ball and wasteful with the bat, the Colombo Stars were far from what their moniker claims they are, losing by 102 runs to the Jaffna Stars in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) yesterday.   

To put the defeat in context, the Stars as a collective accounted for less than what Kings’ opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore contributed individually, unfortunate to miss out on the first century of the tournament when he was dismissed for 92 earlier in the match.   

The odds of surmounting the 197-run target quickly stacked against the Stars when they found themselves on 36 for 3 at the end of the Powerplay, from where it was a slow amble to defeat.   

Tom Banton was the only source of resistance for the Stars with 30 off 33, and with only three other batters scoring in double digits, each no more than 11, the Colombo team were far from competitive, guilty of throwing their wickets away with no measure of the chase.   

Jayden Seales took his wickets tally at this year’s LPL to 11 in just 5 games with figures of 4 for 13, with Maheesh Theekshana equaling Samit Patel’s 13 at the top of the list after taking the wickets of Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal yesterday.   

There was also an opportunity for Jaffna-born leg-spinner Viyaskanth Vijayakanth, undoubtedly the feel-good story from the first edition of the LPL, who didn’t waste his first chance at this LPL, taking 3 for 32 in four overs.   
He removed Kusal Janith Perera with a wrong ‘un before cleverly adjusting his line to dismiss Keemo Paul, a ball after the West Indian had carted him for a six.   

The Stars’ batting efforts matched what they produced with the ball, flattened by the 110-run first wicket partnership between Kohler-Cadmore and Upul Tharanga.   

Tharanga was the second highest scorer for the Kings, albeit by some distance, with 37.   

For a brief point in their partnership, Tharanga was scoring at a better rate than the Englishman, but that swiftly changed when Kohler-Cadmore, then 8 off 11, hammered Ravi Rampaul for back to back sixes in the fourth over.   
From there his innings turned into a sprint, crossing the fifty-run mark in 34 balls, haring past the milestone with three sixes off Jefferey Vandersay.   

Despite the end of the partnership with Tharanga, the highest for any wicket in this tournament, and fatigue seemingly setting in, Kohler-Cadmore continued to motor along, although relying more on fours and running between the wicket rather than sixes, before his dismissal for 92.