Ruhuna’s win keeps their CL hopes alive
Sri Lankan domestic Twenty-20 champions have kept their hopes alive of qualifying to the main draw by scripting a remarkable comeback to defeat Leicestershire Foxes by four runs. The English side was going great guns thanks to Pakistan all-rounder Abdur Razzaq’s magnificent 46-ball 68 but receded against Ruhuna spinners in the last six overs to fail in the final hurdle. With this defeat, Foxes are on their way back home while Ruhuna will be waiting for the result of Somerset versus Kolkata encounter later this innings and hope they overpower losing side of that game on net run rate front.
Chasing a victory target of 161, Razzaq, only Pakistan player to play in the tournament this year, did this reputation no harm hitting half a dozen fours and two sixes at the top order to put his team at a comfortable position with score reading 128 for 4 at the end of 14th over. But once Razzaq, in pursuit to finish the game quickly to have a better run rate, succumbed, Ruhuna upped their game with their spinners making life difficult for Foxes’ batsmen. Janaka Gunaratne and Asanka Silva not only kept batsmen under check but dismissed them regularly to fashion out an unlikely win.
Leic’s chase got off to a rapid start with Razzaq and Joshua Cobb putting 31 for the first wicket off first 15 balls but departure of latter pegged them back. Only Razzaq could hit big shots as others failed to get on the top of Ruhuna spinners on slow Hyderabad surface. Silva removed skipper Andrew McDonald and Will Jefferson to hit Foxes hard.
Milinda Siriwirdina then followed it with the wicket of James Taylor as Leic’s all hopes rested on Razzaq’s shoulders by then. His attacking style proved to be his undoing when tried to hit Gunaratne out of park only to top edge for wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal to take an easy catch. With the dismissal, Ruhuna found extra legs and intensity on the field to keep hanging in the tournament. Gunaratne and Silva took three wickets each with their eight overs costing only 56 runs.
It was Chandimal’s well paced unbeaten 62 and Shalika Kunaratanye’s 15-ball 28 in the end overs that helped Ruhuna to a comfortable total. Ruhuna were dented early with Sanath Jayasuriya and skipper Michael Uddawate falling to Harry Gurney’s slower ones before Chandimal did a rearguard combined with some aggression. Razzaq added to Ruhuna’s woes removing Janith Perera and Gunaratne in a quick succession to reduce the side 67 for 4 inside ten overs.
Chandimal, who cracked some copybook cricket strokes mixed with some innovation, had two back to back productive stand adding 44 with Siriwirdina before another quickfire 41 in Kunaratanye’s company. The young batsman hit six fours and two sixes while Kunaratanye’s cameo was laced with two fours and as many sixes.
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