Key Highlights :
Movin Subasinghe put on a masterclass performance as Air Force SC pulled off a comfortable four-wicket win over Police SC in their Major Club T20 cricket encounter played at Panagoda. The all-rounder smashed a 25-ball knock of 55, inclusive of six boundaries and three sixes, to help the Airmen chase down the required 126 runs for victory in the 17th over.
The match began with Police SC winning the toss and electing to bat first. Opener Dhanuja Induwara got the innings off to a brisk start with 22 runs off 17 balls. He was followed by Danal Hemananda who scored 21 runs off 16 balls. Supun Ragama and Randunu Ganganath also chipped in with 19 and 15 runs respectively to help the Police SC reach 115 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Dhanosh de Silva was the pick of the bowlers for Air Force SC as he finished with impressive figures of 4/19.
In reply, Air Force SC got off to a steady start with the openers putting on a steady partnership of 38 runs. However, the innings lost momentum with the dismissal of the top order batsmen. At 57/3, Movin Subasinghe joined Adithya Siriwardena at the crease and the duo put on a valuable 69-run stand for the fourth wicket. Movin was the star of the show as he smashed a 25-ball knock of 55, inclusive of six boundaries and three sixes, to help the Airmen race to the target in the 17th over.
In two other matches played in the morning session, Bloomfield C&AC and Sebastianites CC chalked up wins against Ragama CC and Nugegoda S&WC in the matches played at SSC and P Sara Stadium. The evening session matches played in the same venues saw BRC, Tamil Union C&AC and SSC coming out victorious against Negombo CC, Badureliya CC and Kurunegala YCC.
Bloomfield C&AC got off to a good start with the bat, with Ranmith Jayasena scoring 38 runs off 27 balls. He was ably supported by Avishka Tharindu (27 off 23 balls) and Saminda Fernando (18 off 17 balls). Santhush Gunatileke then scored 17 not out off 11 balls to help the Bloomfield C&AC reach 139/8 in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, Bloomfield C&AC were able to chase down the target in the 19.4 overs, courtesy of a 33-run knock from Sandun Weerakkody and a 36-run knock from Nipun Karunanayake.
Sebastianites CC also had a successful outing as they chased down the target of 109 runs set by Nugegoda S&WC in 16 overs. Shashrika Pussegolla (30 off 28 balls) and Abishek Liyanaarachchi (50 not out off 32 balls) were the stars of the show as they put on a match-winning partnership of 70 runs for the third wicket.
BRC, Tamil Union C&AC and SSC also emerged victorious in their respective matches against Negombo CC, Badureliya CC and Kurunegala YCC. Lakshan Gamage scored 53 runs off 33 balls to help BRC reach 144/7 in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, Negombo CC were bowled out for 91 runs in 17.1 overs.
Tamil Union C&AC posted a total of 147/7 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of a 44-run knock from Sammu Ashan and a 35-run knock from Kamesh Nirmal. In reply, BadurelIya CC were restricted to 123/6 in their allotted 20 overs.
SSC also posted a total of 94 runs in 14.5 overs, with Avishka Fernando top-scoring with 39 runs. In reply, Kurunegala YCC were bowled out for 85 runs in 17.4 overs.
Movin Subasinghe's heroics with the bat was the standout performance of the day as he single-handedly guided Air Force SC to a comfortable victory. The other matches of the day also saw some exciting cricket with all the teams putting on a good show.