Colombo hold off Dambulla by nine runs

The Colombo Stars notched up their first win of this year’s Lanka Premier League with a nine-run victory over Dambulla Aura in a game which ebbed and flowed throughout the forty overs.   

The Dambulla franchise were in the game right until the final four overs of their chase, but their middle order batters failed to give their captain Dasun Shanaka much of the strike as the Stars’ quick bowlers got their death bowling plans spot on, forcing the batters to hit against the strong wind.  

The bulk of the Dambulla Aura top-order made starts in their chase of 166 but the lack of any individual score above 33 was telling in the final result.   

Openers Shevon Daniel and Jordan Cox provided a breezy start but were both dismissed in the twenties. Tom Abell at number four looked good and struck five boundaries but he too failed to carry on; top edging a Suranga Lakmal bouncer to fine-leg  

Shanaka who came into bat in the 11th over, finished not out on 30 but faced just the 20 deliveries (six of them in the final over once the game was more or less decided), as his teammates struggled to rotate the strike.  

Lakmal and Karim Janat picked up two wickets apiece while Naveen Ul-Haq was miserly with the ball and kept a leash on Dambulla’s scoring.  

Earlier, the Colombo Stars made 165 for nine, largely on the back of Niroshan Dickwella’s 62 which came off 41 balls. The opener, together with hands from Ravi Bopara and Dinesh Chandimal, ensured that the Stars did not see a repeat of their batting debacle from game one, as he took the side to safety after a Lahiru Kumara burst had left them tottering at 26 for three.  

Kumara finished off with figures of four wickets for 36, his second-best ever figures in T20 cricket. The rest of the Dambulla attack were steady, but non-threatening, which allowed Man of the Match Dickwella to keep the scoreboard ticking despite the early wobble.  

All five teams will now move to Pallekele with today (9) being a rest day.  

Scores 
Colombo Stars: 165 for 9 in 20 overs (Niroshan Dickwella 62, Dinesh Chandimal 29 no, Ravi Bopara 26, Lahiru Kumara 4/36)  
Dambulla Aura: 156 for 7 in 20 overs (Tom Abell 33, Dasun Shanaka 31 no, Jordan Cox 29, Shevon Daniel 28, Suranga Lakmal 2/29, Karim Janat 2/30, Dominic Drakes 2/35)