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Chamika Karunaratne(Colombo Strikers Captain):-"The wicket was very good and the way boys played was excellent. I backed Pathum and felt he can deliver. Bowlers were also excellent. Iftikhar was bowling well and one side was shorter for the left handers, so I tried to bowl him a bit more. I said y boys there is nothing 100%, there's always something more than that. We would come back better tomorrow."
Wanindu Hasaranga (B-Love Kandy Captain):"No, we are going with the best XI tomorrow. We rested 3 players and came close to winning the target. They batted and bowled better than us. Dinesh was rested today and gave Sahan a chance. We were not good in the powerplay and we lost there. After losing first two games, I asked Angelo can he bowl. He practised a lot and he is the best all rounder in Sri Lanka. Happy he is contributing to the team and happy with the team's make up so far."
Pathum Nissanka(Player of the match):- "When Babar Azam departed early, we just tried to stick the basics and play some good cricket.After the end of the first innings, I felt it was still 15 runs short. However we played good cricket and that's a good win for us."
Player of the match- Pathum Nissanka
11:14 PM IST and Local Time: What a terrific game we have had here in Colombo and it is the Colombo Strikers who hold their nerves to win by 9 runs and keep their hopes alive in the competition. B-Love Kandy were always there in and there about but failed to get over the line in the end.
Chasing 170 for the win, B-Love Kandy lost Mohammad Haris early. Fakhar Zaman struggled here for his 11 off 14 balls. Sahan Arachchige also struggled for his 13 off 21 balls. Wanindu Hasaranga shone again with the bat and energised the innings with his 40 off 21 balls. Angelo Mathews scored 11 off 10 balls. Chaturanga chipped in with 16 runs. Asif Ali kept the hopes alive and scored 33 off 15 balls. Ashen Bandara scored 22 off 18 balls. But it was a bridge too far in the end as B-Love Kandy finished with 160/8 in 20 overs.
Matheesha Pathirana held his nerves for the Colombo Strikers picking up 2 wickets for 32 runs for them. A couple of wickets for Jeffrey Vandersay. A wicket for Naseem Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed and the stand-in skipper for the day Chamika Karunaratne. All of them did their job just enough and got the Strikers the win.
Earlier in the game. Colombo Strikers won the toss and decided to bat first. They rode on Pathum Nissanka's 51 off 38 balls and Nipun Dhananjaya's 40 off 29 balls to press forward in the innings. Babar Azam and Lahiru Udara fell cheaply. Mohammad Nawaz scored 21 off 19 balls. Cameos from skipper Chamika Karunaratne who scored 17 off 9 balls and Nuwanidu Fernando who scored 15 off 9 balls helped as Colombo Strikers ended with 169/9 in 20 overs with 9 extras given by the fielding side.
The bowlers of B-Love Kandy bowled decently. Skipper Wanindu Hasaranga was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/21 in 4 overs. A couple of wickets with the new ball to Angelo Mathews who had figures of 2/23 in 4 overs. A couple of wickets for Isuru Udana while Chaturanga de Silva and Nuwan Pradeep picked a wicket each. Hasnain went wicketless in his 3 overs. All in all, a good performance from both teams and a good game of cricket.
So, Colombo Strikers win this game by 9 runs to keep their hopes alive in the competition. Stick around for the presentations.
OVER 20
B-LOVE KANDY
160/8
Mohammad Hasnain
0(1)
Isuru Udana
5(5)
Matheesha Pathirana
2-32(4.0)
19.6 M Pathirana to M Hasnain
0 No run. Job done from Pathirana to seal the deal. Dot ball off the last delivery and Colombo stay alive in the tournament.