Posted by Gareth Parry Added on: August 11 2012
Basnahira Cricket Dundee 129 for 3 (Dilshan 66*, Tanvir 3-31) beat Kandurata Warriors 95 for 7 (Perera 35, Dilshan 2-26) by 34 runs
In the second match of the Sri Lanka Premier League the Basnahira Cricket Dundee face the Kandurata Warriors. Basnahira's squad includes the batting talents of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Brad Hodge with the bowling skills of Charl Langeveldt to back up their power packed batting. The Warriors, lead by Samaraweera, include the Pakistani captain Misbah-ul-Haq and his international team mate Saeed Ajmal.
The start of the match was delayed by first torrential rain and then a poor draining of the out field meaning the contest was reduced to only 13 overs per side. With the poor weather around it was little surprise that, having won the toss, Kandurata chose to field first.
Their decision looked like a good one as Tanvir picked up two wickets in the first three overs. Tanvir was the pick of the Kandurata attack as he found prodigious movement both in the air and off the seam. He was the only Warriors bowler to take any wickets and his figures of 3-0-31-3 were an excellent return in the shortened innings.
Despite a slow start and the loss of early wickets the Basnahira batting line-up showed its power as Cricket Dundee posted a formidable total of 129. It was the star power of their captain, Dilshan, and overseas star, Brad Hodge, that took their innings on. Their third wicket stand of 70 in just under eight overs was the platform Basnahira needed.
Cricket Dundee had seven wickets in hand when only 2 overs remained their score sat at 99. With Dilshan still at the crease the Kandurata Warriors bowling could do little to stop his onslaught. Of the 30 runs to come from the final two overs Dilshan contributed 20. This took him past the 50 mark as he became the first man to record a half century in the Sri Lanka Premier League. His 66 runs came from just 39 deliveries which included seven 4's and three 6's.
Kandurata do not boast the same attacking talent in their batting line up and so a target of 130 in 13 overs always looked beyond them. The Sri Lankan pair of first Samaraweera and then Perera made a strong attempt to reach the score but received little support from their team mates. Both men scored at a strike rate of over 160 runs per hundred balls with Perera top scoring with 35 from just 21 balls.
However no other Warriors batsman got out of single figures with Kandurata losing regular wickets. It was the part-time bowling of Dilshan that made the initial breakthrough as he picked up Samaraweera and Vithanage in the fifth over on the way to figures of 3-0-36-2. After that breakthrough five more wickets fell in the next eight overs.
When Perera fell in the 11th over with 46 runs still needed the match was over as a contest. The Kandurata could only add 11 in the final 2.4 overs as the Cricket Dundee bowlers shut them down. The margin of victory, 34 runs, was a fair reflection of the two sides performances and underscored the fact that Basnahira had handled the difficult conditions much better than their opponents.
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