Tamil Union enjoyed a late revival to leave them in a strong position against the Sinhalese Sports Club at NCC Grounds in the first of the Premier League semi-finals, whilst Nondescripts struggled after a dream start against Colts CC at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium.
But Tamil Union's joy at having established an early advantage against a formidable SSC side will be checked by the disappointment of ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan not playing; he travels to India at the weekend to collect his CEAT Player of Year award.
Tamil Union had started brightly with Nuwan Shiroman (45 from 60 balls) adding 37 runs for the first wicket wicket with Sunendra Kumara and 50 for the second with Ruvin Pieris (94 from 186 balls) - one of the stars of this year's domestic season.
However, the middle order then struggled as Ruchira Perera, pressing for a place on the England tour, had Shiroman caught behind and Dilhara Fernando, making a welcome, and timely with England around the corner, return to competitive action after sustaining a stress fracture in his back six months ago, dismissed Peiris.
Tamil Union slipped from 87 for one to 268 for eight and SSC would have been eying a commanding grip on the game. But Ranga Dias (65 not out from 155 balls), a strongly built all-rounder, and Niroshan Bandaratillake (46 not out from 47 balls) then changed the course of the match adding an unbeaten 87 from the ninth wicket.
At the Sara Oval, NCC, the defending champions, enjoyed a fierce tussle with Colts CC, both sides boasting a number of international players.
NCC started brilliantly, with Pradeep Hewage (80 from 141 balls) and Naweed Nawaz (50 from 151 balls) compiling a 126-run opening stand.
But Dinuk Hettiarachchi - the quietly forgotten left-arm spinner who made his debut against England at SSC, bowling creditably, only to be discarded in the next series - then grabbed three wickets after Nawaz was run-out by Eric Upashantha.
Kumar Sangakkara continued his golden touch from Lahore, racing to 30 off 24 balls before perishing, whilst Aravinda de Silva wasted a prime opportunity to impress the selectors when he was bowled by Hettiarachchi for 19.
Fortunately for NCC, who had slipped to 204 for five, Hashan Tillakaratne was around to play a characteristic rearguard innings. Playing with greater freedom that in the Asian Test Championship, when he had crawled to 19, Tillakaratne scored 88 from 139 balls, hitting 12 boundaries.
© Cricinfo
| Teams | Sri Lanka. |
| Players/Umpires | Ruchira Perera, Dilhara Fernando, Pradeep Hewage, Naveed Nawaz, Dinuk Hettiarachchi, Kumar Sangakkara, Aravinda De Silva, Hashan Tillakaratne. |
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