England cricketer Ravi Bopara smashed an unbeaten 59 off 50 balls, laced with three boundaries and two sixes, as Kandy Warriors recorded their second victory in the Lanka Premier League, defeating Dambulla Giants by six wickets here.
After restricting the Giants to 130 for 9 in their 20 overs, the Kandy Warriors chased down the target in 19.2 overs in a late Thursday match.
Opening batter Kennar Lewis and Angelo Perera chipped in with scores of 27 and 29 not out respectively. The Giants dismissed Charith Asalanka, Minod Bhanuka and Kamindu Mendis for not too many runs on the board. However, the 60-run partnership between Bopara and Perera ensured that the Warriors walked off the field winners.
Earlier, the Dambulla Giants couldn’t find a way to get going with the bat as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Ramesh Mendis was the only highlight of Giants’ batting card with an innings of 41 runs from 28 balls.
He struck two boundaries and a six during his innings. Binura Fernando and Al-Amin Hossain were the pick of the bowlers for the Warriors with figures of 3/22 and 3/32 respectively.
Brief scores: Dambulla Giants 130/9 in 20 overs (Ramesh Mendis 41; Binura Fernando 3/22) lost to Kandy Warriors 135/4 in 19.2 overs (Ravi Bopara 59 not out; Imran Tahir 2/17) by six wickets.
