Nalin helps eight-man Sri Lankans to victory

By Richard Boxall

Sri Lankan CC ‘s veteran all-rounder Nalin played a crucial part in his team’s narrow win over Kipro Tigers of Limassol in the BAOFinancial T20 Cup presented by HurryCurry.

Despite only having 8 players, Sri Lankans restricted the Tigers to 117-6, a total that was largely due to Towdihul’s 50 not out. Nalin’s four overs of off-spin brought him figures of 3-14.

Sri Lankans slipped to 40-3 in reply and, with only four wickets left, were in danger of losing until Nalin (21) joined Supan (53) and together they took their team to victory without further loss, and with just one ball to spare.

Another near-upset occurred in the match between Philips Warriors and Nicosia Tigers. The Warriors, like Kipro Tigers, have been struggling to gain their first victory, but made the Nicosia team work hard for their 3-wicket win.

Amandeep’s 49 helped the Warriors to a total of 96, with Aminul and Tahmidur both taking 4 wickets for the Tigers, who then chased their modest target with some difficulty, losing 7 wickets in the process, 3 of them to Harjeet.

In a much higher-scoring game between two previously unbeaten teams, Lankan Sports hit 199-6, thanks to two big partnerships of 74 for the first wicket and 89 for the fourth.

After Tharanga opened with 47, Roshan took over with 71 from 29 balls, supported by Sujith’s 30. Punjabi Kings fell short on 168-9, with Rajinder making 53 and Karan 33, while Lankans’ Saman took 3-27.

Limassol Qalandars scored 179-5, largely due to a second wicket partnership of 103 between Qasim (61) and Munir (48). In reply Akrotiri’s Gregory made 35 and Pirie 29 but the team was unable to maintain the required rate and fell short on 160-5.

Royal also set a challenging target, scoring 193-4 against Nicosia Fighters. Rahul (69) and Karan (41) put on 117 for the second wicket and Gippy added 31.

The Fighters slipped to 19-4 before Usman’s 30 helped them recover to reach 122 all out.

In the 40 Over league two of the fancied teams met on Saturday and it was Moufflons who proved too strong on the day for Black Caps.

Moufflons made 271, led by Waqas (65) and Huzaifa (54 not out), while Mangala and Sandhu each took four wickets for the Caps.

The Black Caps reply was a disappointing 141 all out, with Asif taking 3-29 and Shoaib a miserly 2-8 from 4 overs.

Next weekend could be crucial to Moufflons’ season as they take on unbeaten Everest in the 40 Over league and then their big rivals Sri Lanka Lions in the T20 competition.