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| Sunday, 21 March 2004 |
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Morawaka pilots Royal to resounding 126 runs win over S. Thomas' by LAL GUNESEKERA Royal's Heshan Morawaka not only thumped the first century in the series but also went on to claim 3 for 21 in his allocated 10 overs to see his side beat arch rivals S. Thomas' by a massive margin of 126 runs to retain the 'Mustang Trophy' for the second successive year in the 29th tussle at the Premadasa Stadium last night. Royal made 252 for 6 in their 50 overs, while the Thomians were bundled out for a mere 126 in 44.2 overs. Winning the toss and deciding to take first lease of the wicket, Royal, were always in the hunt for quick runs. Opener, the left-handed Heshan Morawaka who was dropped at 19 by Warnakulasuriya at extra-cover off Kularatne, went on to make a superb 106 off 124 deliveries with eight boundaries. Dimitri Siriwardene at No. 3 too batted solidly for 44 in 78 balls with five fours. These two batsmen put on 104 runs for the second wicket in 165 balls. Morawaka made his century in 119 balls and 50 in 60 balls. The Thomian bowlers were never given the opportunity to get on top and their right-arm leg-spinner Vidyesh Balasubramaniam who fared well last week in the 125th 'Battle of the Blues' was brought in only after 25 overs were sent down. However, he was not successful at all and finished with none for 44 in six overs. It was surprising to see their hard hitting batsman Pramuditha Rodrigo being left out of yesterday's game. The Thomian batsmen were never allowed to settle down and wickets fell regularly before being bundled out for a merely 126. Only Sanjeev Mendis, son of former Sri Lanka Test cricketer Duleep who is now Chief Executive of Sri Lanka Cricket, batted with some authority. He top scored with 46 off 80 deliveries and stroked four fours. Morawaka then came into the reckoning with his left-arm spin. He took Godwin's wicket in his very first over and followed it up with the scalps of Colombage and Balasubramaniam in his third to finish with 3 for 21 in his 10 overs to be Royal's match winner. Naveen Dias who opened their attack in the absence of Somapala who was dropped after the three-day game too claimed three wickets for 28, but in six overs. It was sheer indisiciplined batting by the Thomians. ROYAL For 6 wickets in 50 - 252 FALL OF WICKETS: 43 (Gayan De Silva), 147 (Siriwardene), 179 (Dias), 212 (Morawaka), 212 (Kottehewa), 231 (Ratnayake). BOWLING: Sajith Kularatne 7-0-29-1, Nigel Adams 10-0-52-1, Ravinath Panduwawala 10-1-44-1, Sanjeev Mendis 7-0-37-1, Dhanushka Colombage 10-0-42-1, Vidyesh Balasubramaniam 6-0-44-0. RAN RATE: 10 overs 42 runs, 20 overs 77 runs, 30 overs 118 runs, 40 overs 181 runs. S. THOMAS' All out in 44.2 overs - 126 FALL OF WICKETS: 8 (Perera), 35 (Pieris), 42 (Silva), 43 (Warnakulasuriya), 64 (Panduwawala), 83 (Godwin), 95 (Colombage), 95 (Balasubramaniam), 110 (Mendis). BOWLING: Tharaka Kottahewa 5-1-23-1, Naveen Dias 6-0-28-3, Pheroze Ahamed 8-0-23-1, Nadun Punchihewa 10-1-18-0, Heshan Morawaka 10-3-21-3, Gnaganath Ratnayake 5-1-6-1, Dulanjaya Wijeratne 0.2-0-4-1. RUN RATE: 10 overs 43 runs, 20 overs 68 runs, 30 overs 95 runs, 40 overs 112 runs |
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