Dambulla regain NSL 4-Day League title

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Colombo found the pressure of playing in a National Super League (NSL) 4-Day final for the first time too much to cope with and succumbed tamely to a 119-run defeat to Dambulla at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Beginning the fourth and final day promisingly at 154-4 chasing a winning target of 299, Colombo’s batting simply crumbled to be all out for 179, losing the last six wickets for 25 to hand Dambulla their second title in this tournament since 2022-23. In last year’s final, Dambulla lost to Galle and this win makes amends for that loss.

The key to Colombo’s run chase was their captain Charith Asalanka, but when he was removed in the fifth over of the morning by right-arm pacie Mohamed Shiraz for 35, the rest of the batting simply buckled under pressure and it was only a matter of time before the entire side were back in the pavilion.

Buoyed by the dismissal of the Colombo skipper, Shiraz scythed through the remaining batting that offered hardly any resistance to end with figures of 4/38 off 16.2 overs. Shiraz also had a hand in the run out dismissal of Kavija Gamage.

The finish provided an anti-climax to the cricket that was played over the first three days when Colombo rubbed shoulders with Dambulla providing hopes of an exciting end.

The victory was a morale booster for Dambulla captain Dhananjaya de Silva before he leads the Sri Lanka team to the Caribbean next month for the 2-Test series, which is part of the World Test Championship.

Champions Dambulla received Rs. 5 million, while runner-up Colombo collected Rs. 3 million.

Kavindu Pathiratne of Dambulla took away two awards of Rs. 1.5 million as Most Valuable Player and Rs. 750,000 as Player of the Final. The Best Batsman’s award of Rs. 1 million was won by Sadeera Samarawickrama of Galle, and the Best Bowler’s award of Rs. 1 million went to Chamod Battage of Colombo. 

The awards at the end of the final was presented by Chairman of cricket selectors Pramodya Wickramasinghe.

Source: Daily FT