Pallekele: After Chadwick Walton’s brilliant century and exceptional bowling, New York Superstar Strikers cruised to a commanding 143-run victory over Colombo Lions in the ongoing Legends Cricket Trophy 2024 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. This triumph represents the biggest margin of victory in the tournament to date.
With this remarkable win, the Superstar Strikers closed the league stage with five wins from six matches to secure the top spot in the team standings.
lecting to field first, Asghar Afghan-led Colombo Lions invited New York Superstar Strikers to bat, with acting skipper Daniel Christian leading the way in the absence of regular skipper Yuvraj Singh.
The decision to bowl first backfired for the Lions as the Strikers’ opening pair of Chadwick Walton and Alviro Petersen put on a formidable 129-run partnership for the first wicket. West Indies damaged Walton’s blistering century, which included 107 runs and 46 deliveries, including eight fours and nine sixes, caused considerable damage to the Lions’ bowling attack.
Petersen contributed 49 runs off 34 balls before Milinda Siriwardana dismissed him leg before wicket. A brief cameo from Chamar Kapugeder (17* off 7 balls) and a six from Asela Gunaratne, on the lone ball he faced, drove the Superstar Strikers to a formidable total of 214/3 in 15 overs.
Chasing a daunting target, the winless Lions faced an uphill task that resulted in a batting collapse of monumental proportions. Despite captain Asghar Afghan’s sustained effort of 25 runs off 19 balls, the Lions could only muster 71 runs in 11.4 overs. Ben Dunk (15) and Malinda Pushpakumara (10) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures in runs.
While in the first encounter of the day, Delhi Devils convincingly beat Kandy Samp Army by six wickets to secure their second win in the competition.
Led by a remarkable bowling performance from left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdullah, Delhi Devils restricted the Kandy Samp Army to a modest total of 111 for 8 in the allotted 90 balls.
In response, Delhi Devils comfortably chased down the target in 12.2 overs, losing just four wickets to seal a six-wicket victory.
Brief Scores:
Match 20:
Kandy Samp Army – 111/8 (90 balls) – Jesal Karia – 23 (21 balls); Iqbal Abdulla – 3/19.
Delhi Devils – 112/4 (74 balls) – Amitoze Singh – 37* (19 balls); Vikas Tokas – 2/14.
Match 21:
New York Superstar Strikers – 214/3 (90 balls) – Chadwick Walton – 107 (46 balls); Rana Muhammad Naeem – 2/48.
Colombo Lions – 71/10 (70 balls) – Asghar Afghan – 25 (19 balls); Dhammika Prasad – 3/15.
