Prasanna blitz floors Kandy

By Amindha de Alwis

Seekkuge Prasanna pulled off a spectacular heist to stun Kandy Warriors at the last-minute and help Colombo Stars record a five-wicket win in their Lanka Premier League (LPL) encounter played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, yesterday.

The match was an important one with the two sides sitting on the bottom of the points table and desperately scrambling to avoid elimination. While the target did not appear the most daunting at first, the Colombo Stars batsmen struggled to deal with the turn on offer and were perhaps guilty of failing to be proactive in their batting effort.

Dinesh Chandimal was the only batsman from the Stars top six to score at a strike-rate above 100, as his 44 in 27 balls kept them in the hunt after the opposition spinners had stifled Colombo admirably.

The fall of Chandimal in the 18th over seemed to spell curtains for the Stars but Prasanna, who walked in with 37 needed off 13 balls, played like a man possessed as he smoked 32 from just 6 balls and grabbed the game from the Warriors.

Lahiru Kumara who had yet to bowl in the match was entrusted with defending 16 off the final over but after conceding just a leg-bye off the first ball, it all went wrong for the quick-bowler who was pummeled for three consecutive sixes over the leg-side by Prasanna who ran off in jubilant celebrations.

The Stars were slow off the blocks, making only three runs in the first three overs as Nimesh Vimukthi found appreciable turn which Pathum Nissanka fell victim to as he charged down the track only to be beaten. Thikshila De Silva, coming in at number three, then fell to an excellent catch running backwards by Kandy skipper Angelo Perera.

Angelo Mathews, batting on the other end showed very limited intent and was eventually dismissed for 29 off 34 balls despite two towering sixes down the ground. The required run-rate which was at just over seven runs an over when the chase commenced had ballooned to 11 by the time Mathews fell caught-and-bowled to Charith Asalanka in the 13th over, bringing Chandimal to the crease.

Kandy Warriors had begun the day strongly with openers Kennar Lewis and Charith Asalanka taking 77 runs off the first eight overs before being separated. Lewis was not always convincing but managed to thump five sixes over long-on and one over cover amidst several ungainly swings-and-misses on his way to 62.

Dushmantha Chameera, whom Mathews chose to utilise in the middle-overs, made three important breakthroughs to knock the wind out of the Kandy sails.

The departure of Lewis allowed Colombo to bring back their slower bowlers and the spinners scythed through the middle-order to leave the Warriors tottering at 110 for six.

With all their firepower back in the sheds Kandy could only eke their way to 146 for nine at the end of their 20 overs, a score which was not quite enough to pull them off the bottom of the table.

For the Colombo Stars, Chameera finished up with figures of four for 35 with every other bowler claiming a wicket apiece.