Two games down for decision in SLPL:

Jayawardene leads a strong Wayamba United team

by Elmo RODRIGOPULLE

CRICKET: The Sri Lanka Premier League Twenty20 will continue today with two matches at the R.Premadasa International Cricket Stadium. The first game at 4 p.m. will be between Uthuara Rudras v Wayamba United and Uva Next v Basnahira Cricket Dundee at 6 p.m under lights.

Uthuara Rudras will be led by Muttiah Muralitharan and Wayamba United by Mahela Jayawardene. With Chrys Gayle and Marlon Samuels skipping the tourney, Fidel Edwards who was expected to play for Muralitharan’s team will also be missing. He will have Imran Farhat, Kevon Cooper, Dilon du Preez, Farveez Maharoof, David Miller, Shakib Al Hasan and Brendon Taylor to pick from.

Jayawardene leads a strong combination and he has a galaxy of stars. Those who will need watching are Pakistanis Abdul Razaaq, Azhar Mahmood, Bangladeshi Tamim Iqbal.

Of the locals it will be nice to see Chaminda Vaas back in action. One of the finest left arm medium pace bowlers produced by Sri Lanka, Vaas has a lot more to offer the game and will be determined to prove it to his critics. West Indian pace ace Kemar Roach who rocked the New Zealanders in the recent Test series in the Caribbean with his thunderbolts will also be missing although named in the Wayamba squad.

Uva Next v Basnahira Dundee

In the absence of Chrys Gayle, Uva will have the services of Shiv Chanderpaul who is now nearing the end of an illustrious career for the West Indies. Callum Ferguson, Andrew McDonald, Sohaib Malik, Umar Gul and Abdur Rehman are the foreign players to watch. Of the local players, Dilhara Fernando, Dinesh Daminda, Chintaksa Jayasinghe, Sachitra Senanayke, Thilina Kandamby and Seekkuge Prasanna will be looking to impress.

The drawcard in the Basnahira squad is Tillekeratne Dilshan with Indika de Saram, Sanjay Gangodawila, Nuwan Pradeep, Danushka Gunatilleke, Rangana Herath, Jeevan Mendis, Dhamika Prasad and Nadeera Nawala for support.

The game down for decision on Monday is – Kandurata Warriors v Nagenahira Nagas at 8 p.m. at the R. Premadasa Stadium.