Paceman Madura Lakmal stars in Merc ‘B’final BRIEF RESULTS:

MAS Intimates Unichela ‘B’, right-arm, opening fast bowler, Madura Lakmal with a dynamite burst of 6 wickets in the first 3 overs he bowled, ripped the heart of MAS Linea Aqua, as he spearheaded them to a comprehensive 60 –runs win in the Final of the 2nd ‘Emerald Ceylon Tea Cup’/MCA ‘B’ Division 50- Over League Tournament 2015, concluded at the MCA Grounds last Saturday.

16 Mercantile teams in two groups with eight teams in each group took part in this year’s tournament and 56 preliminary matches with seven matches in the knock- out round were played. Last year’s joint champions MAS Unichela ‘B’ and Textured Jersey were slotted in the same group in the preliminary rounds.

The highest team total was 345 for 4 in 50 overs posted by Textured Jersey against Raigam Marketing. Mobitel who were dismissed for 63 runs in 26.2 overs by MAS Linea Aqua was the lowest total.

A hurricane inning of 190 by Textured Jersey’s Lahiru Udara against Raigam Marketing was the highest individual score while a magnificent spell of bowling 10-1-27-7 by Shalaka Rangajeewa of MAS Linea Aqua against Mobitel was the best bowling performance of the tournament.

MAS Linea Aqua beat Hayleys Group by 11 runs; Textured Jersey beat Dimo by 2 wickets; MAS Unichela ‘B’ vs. L.B. Finance ‘A’ – No result (MAS Unichela went through occupying a higher position in the table); Kanrich Finance ‘A’ vs. Raigam – No result (Kanrich Finance went through occupying a higher position in the table).

MAS Linea beat Textured Jersey by 10 wickets; MAS Unichela ‘B’ beat Kanrich Finance ‘A’ by 5 wickets.

230 all out in 37.5 overs (Shehan Fernando 121, Malin Silva 35, Chathura Peiris 25, Mangala Pradeep 5/50, Nalin Priyadarshana 2/33)

178 all out in 36.1 overs (Pabasara Waduge 45, Shalaka Rangajeewa 30, Thikshala de Silva 31, Mangala Pradeep 26, Madura Lakmal 6/43)

Match referee, Mahesh Jayasekera adjudged Madura Lakmal from Unichela, as Man of the Match.

The other 3 special awards went to Prabath Jayasuriya, from Kanrich Finance ‘A’, Best Bowler (6 matches 48.5 overs, 200 runs, 22 wickets with 2, five wicket hauls); Lahiru Udara from Textured Jersey, Best Batsman (8 innings, 419 runs, 1 not out, 190 Vs. Raigam Marketing and 92 Vs. Union Bank) and Kavindu Kulasekera from Hayleys Group, Man of the tournament (211 runs and 19 wickets)

Sirosha Gunatillake, representing the sponsor, Emerald Ceylon Tea, Australia, was the Chief Guest and he along with Gamini Wickramasinghe, President, Rohana Dissanayake, General Secretary, Mahesh de Alwis, Chairman Tournament Committee and Sujeewa de Silva, Secretary T/C (all from MCA) gave away the awards at the post tournament presentation.