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A collective strong performance by the Serendib bowling unit laid the platform for a 3 wicket victory against the Indian Tigers in the first semifinal of the J.G.C T20 Cup 2009 played on the 8th of November 2009. This victory broke Serendib's semifinal hoodoo which had them lose two previous semifinals this season.
Serendib were put to field first, on a slightly wet outfield due to the heavy morning dew, after losing the toss. Serendib's captain Buddhika Samarakoon placed his trust in Amilendra Kodithuwakku to open the attack, and Amilendra repaid his captain's faith by producing a spell of perfect line and length, and in the process also claimed the first wicket to fall in the Indian Tiger's lineup. Buddhika's tactic in using Amesh Weerasinghe's cutters at the start of the game also paid off with Amesh getting 2 valuable wickets. Asanka Pallegedara Iroshan Goshan too chipped in with 2 wickets each and Shiron Ratnasekara took one wicket. Poor running between the wickets cost the Indian Engineers the rest of the wickets to fall, and they were all out for a mere 70 runs in just 14 overs. That Serendib didn't even have to call on their main strike bowler Dhanuka Samaranayake speaks volumes about how strongly the rest of the bowling unit performed.
Knowing that it was their game to lose, Serendib's openers Tharaka Pathberiya and Sachintha Gurudeniya batted positively, but Sachintha was given out L.B.W rather unfortunately in the second over when the score was on 7. Tharaka was then joined by Serendib's in-form batsman Dhanuka Samaranayake, and the pair took apart the Indian Tigers bowling attack in ruthless fashion. Dhanuka especially was in his usual flamboyant self, striking 2 back to back boundaries. Seeing that his fast bowlers were not troubling any of the batsmen, the Indian Tiger's captain decided to give his slow bowlers a chance and tossed the ball to Pramod. Pramod obliged by clean bowling Dhanuka for 21 when the score was on 43. N.P. Chandrasiri was the next batsmen, and he was clearly under orders from his captain to hold up one end, while the other batsmen finished the job from the other end. However Pramod produced a fine display of slow bowling, relying on line and length rather than pace, to pick up the wickets of Tharaka for 11 and star batsman Shiron Ratnasekara for nought. Captain Buddhika made a quickfire 12 before he too was bowled by Pramod. Chandrasiri who made a sedate 1 out of 18 balls, was bowled by Udaya, and the new batsman Iroshana Goshan holed out to deep mid wicket to bring Serendib's score down to 63 for 7 and gave Pramod his 5th wicket of the match. With only 3 wickets more to go, the new pair on the crease, Asankha Pallegedara and Amilendra Kodithuwakku may have been under some pressure, but it didn't show as they reduced the deficit by taking well judged singles. Amilendra continuing his streak of not outs, took a risky double to reduce the deficit to 1 and Asankha took a single to tie the scores in the next over. Amilendra hit the winning boundary over long on to give Serendib a well deserved place in the final, and they will play the winners of the 2nd semifinal against Lalazar and Edogawa Falcons, which is scheduled for the 15th of November 2009.
Serendib were put to field first, on a slightly wet outfield due to the heavy morning dew, after losing the toss. Serendib's captain Buddhika Samarakoon placed his trust in Amilendra Kodithuwakku to open the attack, and Amilendra repaid his captain's faith by producing a spell of perfect line and length, and in the process also claimed the first wicket to fall in the Indian Tiger's lineup. Buddhika's tactic in using Amesh Weerasinghe's cutters at the start of the game also paid off with Amesh getting 2 valuable wickets. Asanka Pallegedara Iroshan Goshan too chipped in with 2 wickets each and Shiron Ratnasekara took one wicket. Poor running between the wickets cost the Indian Engineers the rest of the wickets to fall, and they were all out for a mere 70 runs in just 14 overs. That Serendib didn't even have to call on their main strike bowler Dhanuka Samaranayake speaks volumes about how strongly the rest of the bowling unit performed.
Knowing that it was their game to lose, Serendib's openers Tharaka Pathberiya and Sachintha Gurudeniya batted positively, but Sachintha was given out L.B.W rather unfortunately in the second over when the score was on 7. Tharaka was then joined by Serendib's in-form batsman Dhanuka Samaranayake, and the pair took apart the Indian Tigers bowling attack in ruthless fashion. Dhanuka especially was in his usual flamboyant self, striking 2 back to back boundaries. Seeing that his fast bowlers were not troubling any of the batsmen, the Indian Tiger's captain decided to give his slow bowlers a chance and tossed the ball to Pramod. Pramod obliged by clean bowling Dhanuka for 21 when the score was on 43. N.P. Chandrasiri was the next batsmen, and he was clearly under orders from his captain to hold up one end, while the other batsmen finished the job from the other end. However Pramod produced a fine display of slow bowling, relying on line and length rather than pace, to pick up the wickets of Tharaka for 11 and star batsman Shiron Ratnasekara for nought. Captain Buddhika made a quickfire 12 before he too was bowled by Pramod. Chandrasiri who made a sedate 1 out of 18 balls, was bowled by Udaya, and the new batsman Iroshana Goshan holed out to deep mid wicket to bring Serendib's score down to 63 for 7 and gave Pramod his 5th wicket of the match. With only 3 wickets more to go, the new pair on the crease, Asankha Pallegedara and Amilendra Kodithuwakku may have been under some pressure, but it didn't show as they reduced the deficit by taking well judged singles. Amilendra continuing his streak of not outs, took a risky double to reduce the deficit to 1 and Asankha took a single to tie the scores in the next over. Amilendra hit the winning boundary over long on to give Serendib a well deserved place in the final, and they will play the winners of the 2nd semifinal against Lalazar and Edogawa Falcons, which is scheduled for the 15th of November 2009.
nice work