Staffords in Finals with Skipper Karunaratne’s 2nd Hat-trick
Second hat-trick by skipper Geeth Karunaratne in the ongoing 2nd Commercial Credit & Finance PLC sponsored,MCA ‘F’ Division 25-Over League Tournament 2017, propelled Stafford Motors (Pvt) Ltd., into the Final, beating Brandix Essentials ‘B’ by 64 runs in the bottom half Semifinal played last Saturday. In the top half Semifinal played on the same day, the revamped, Hirdaramani Group SC scored a well deserved 8-wickets win over Palliyaguruge Group.
Stafford Motors beat Brandix Essentials ‘B’ by 64 runs, in 2nd Semi Final at Army Grounds, Mattegoda  Karunaratne’s hat-trick was in 2 separate overs; in the penultimate delivery of his 1st over he got rid of Sampath Sri Kumara caught behind, and he got the wicket of K. Surendra caught by Rakitha Raj in the last delivery; in the first delivery of his 2nd over he got the wicket of Janaka Perera, also caught. Brandix from 13 for 3 briefly recovered via a 4-wicket stand of 45 runs, taking the score up to 58, when Karunaratne broke the partnership in his last over, finishing with (5-0-27-4). with the score at 58 for 4 in 10 overs, spinners, Amila Mendis (2/41) and D. Kumara (3/13) took over from where Karunaratne left and polished off the Brandix middle order and tail, as they folded up for 132 runs in 21.4 overs.
Earlier on, Stafford Motors put up a solid 196 for 4 in 25 overs (RPO 7.84), riding on 2 productive partnerships- an opening stand of 75 runs in 77 balls between Kalpa Radeesh (35) and Jayanga Peiris (40) and a 4th wicket stand of 70 runs in 25 balls between Asantha Singappuli (65) and Rakitha Raj (25 not out)
Stafford Motors 196/4 (25 overs) (A. Singappuli 65, Jayanga Peiris 40, Kalpa Radeesh 35, Rakitha Raj 25 not out, D. Sulakshana 21; Taraka Silva 3/35)
Brandix ‘B’ 132 (21.4 overs) (M. Ratnayake 45, I. Hussain 31; Geeth Karunaratne 4/27, Amila Mendis 2/41, D. Kumara 3/13)
Hirdaramani beat Palliyaguruge Group by 8 wickets in 1st Semifinal at MCA
Palliyaguruge batting first, put up a challenging 154 for 8 in 25 overs, with useful contributions from S. Wijemanne (35) and Sahan Amarasinghe (35).
Hirdaramani, shed little sweat on reaching their target, as their openers, Krishan Aruna (65 in 41 balls with 3 sixes and 8 fours) and H. Lakshitha (36 in 45 balls with 1 six and 1 four) laid a solid foundation with a 90-runs stand in 70 balls. D. Thiranjana (37 not out) put the finishing touches, reaching 158 for 2 in 22.3 overs.
Palliyaguruge 154/8 (25 overs) (S. Wijemanne 35, S. Amarasinghe 35, Harsha de Silva 20; K. Madushanka 2/35, V. Viraj 2/18)
Hirdaramani 158/2 (22.3 overs) (Krishantha Aruna 65, D. Thiranjana 37 not out H. Lakshitha 36)
Weather permitting, the final between Hirdaramani Group and Stafford Motors (2016 ‘G’ Division winner) will take place today at the MCA Grounds, commencing 10.00am. Â - LRÂ