Hatton National Bank and Seylan Bank qualified to play the final of the Mercantile Cricket Association tournament when they beat John Keels and Access Group respectively.
Defending champions HNB, with several national cricketers in their ranks, cruised to a 176 run victory against John Keels at the Colts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo. Winning the toss HNB skipper, Russell Arnold, elected to bat first and his side piled up a mammoth 309 for 7 in their allotted 50 overs. Hard hitting Avishka Gunawardena, opening the innings, set the tune with a quick fire 59 off just 54 deliveries. During his innings he hit 11 fours and a six.
After the fine start Lanka de Silva and Malintha Warnapura put their heads down and played sensibly to help their side go past the 300 run mark. Warnapura made 68 while his senior partner Lanka de Silva made an unbeaten 96. The pair put on 113 runs for the third wicket.
In reply, John Keels were shot out for a paltry 133 with Malintha Warnapura picking up 4 wickets for 25 runs. Michael Vandort top scored with 54.
Seylan Bank meanwhile beat Access group by 14 runs after a close contest at Moors Sports Club Ground. Seylan batting first made 260 for the loss of 7 wickets in their 50 overs. Mahela Jayawardene was the top scorer for Seylan with a brilliant 110 with seven fours and five sixes. During his innings Jayawardene was involved in a 125 run partnership with Sampath Perera for the fifth wicket. Perera made 45.
Replying, Access lost most of their frontline batsman early and it was left to the lower middle order to restore some pride. At one stage Access were five down for 63 with Aravinda de Silva, Ruwan Kalpage, Anil Rideegammanagedera and Jeevantha Kulathunga all back in the pavilion. A determined effort, however, from A.C. Perera took them close to the Seylan total. They ended up making 246 in 47.5 overs. Asela Pathirana batting at number seven made a stubborn 83. In the bowling department Kaushalya Weereratne picked up three wickets while Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan Shiroman picked up two wickets each.
Seylan Bank will now meet the defending champions HNB in the final at NCC Grounds next weekend.
© Cricinfo
| Teams | Sri Lanka. |
| Players/Umpires | Malinda Warnapura, Michael Vandort, Russel Arnold, Mahela Jayawardene, Sampath Perera, Dilhara Fernando. |
| Tournaments | Mercantile Cricket Association Challenge Trophy |
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