Following a trend from the Abu Dhabi T10, where he batted consistently well while his team developed a habit of losing, Rovman Powell scored a magnificent half-century for Kandy Warriors Wednesday only for them to lose by 14 runs (D/L) to the Jaffna Kings in the Lankan Premier League.
In the match that was reduced to 14 overs because of rain and a wet outfield, Jaffna Kings scored 181-6 on the back of 53 from Avishka Fernando, whose 23-ball innings included seven sixes and Thisara Perera, who hit six sixes and two fours in his 21-ball knock of 53.
Shiraz Ahmed was the best of the Warriors’ bowlers taking 3-23 that included the wickets of both Fernando and Perera.
However, Chaturanga de Silva’s 21 from just 10 balls helped the lower order push Kings to their winning total.
Needing to score at near 13 runs an over for victory, Warriors got good starts from Kennar Lewis and Charith Asalanka, who put on an opening partnership of 64 in six overs. Asalanka scored 42 from just 19 balls before he was dismissed by de Silva.
In his last match before joining the West Indies for international duties in Pakistan, Powell came to the wicket in the seventh over and together with an out of sorts Lewis, who was mainly a spectator in the second wicket partnership of 81 runs. Powell scored 61 of those smashing two fours and seven sixes. His 50 came up in 15 balls, the second-fastest in the LPL.
Warriors got to 145-1 and were in with a good shot at winning needing 36 from 16 balls when Suranga Lakmal got Powell with a Yorker that crashed into his leg stump sending it flying.
The Warriors innings stalled after that as Jayden Seales, who had been taken to the woodshed in his second over that went for 22, returned to take the wickets of Kamindu Mendis for nine and Lewis for 41 to effectively end the contest.
Seales ended with figures of 2-40 from his three overs.
The only consolation for Powell was the pats on the shoulder from the Kings’ players and his teammates as he walked dejectedly into the dressing room.
The loss means that Warriors sit at the bottom of the table winless after three games. The Kings, which were getting their second win are on four points, the same as leaders Galle Gladiators and third-placed Dambulla Giants.
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Somerset stay perfect in T20 Blast while Sue Redfern makes history at Bristol
Somerset maintained their 100 per cent Vitality Blast record with victory over Essex, while Sue Redfern became the first female umpire to officiate on-field in the competition in Gloucestershire’s win over Middlesex.
Matt Henry and Ben Green took three wickets each as Somerset defended a seemingly under-par score to triumph by 11 runs at Taunton.
The hosts could muster only 150 all out in their sixth contest under cloudless skies on a pitch that looked full of runs. Sean Dickson top-scored with 42 on his T20 debut for the club, while Daniel Sams claimed four wickets for 20.
In reply, Essex slumped from 130 for six to 139 all out after Michael Pepper’s 63 off 43 balls, Henry finishing with three for 17 and Green taking his wicket tally in the competition to 14 with three for 24.
Redfern wrote her name into the history books as she stood along with Alex Wharf at Bristol, where all-rounder Ollie Price led the way for Gloucestershire.
The 21-year-old top-scored with 46 and shared in crucial partnerships of 60 with Miles Hammond and 52 with Zafar Gohar as the hosts chased down a target of 140 with 10 balls to spare to register their second triumph in three days.
Surrey beat Kent by five wickets after a nerve-shredding run chase at Canterbury that went all the way to the final ball.
The visitors seemed to be cruising to their target of 174 after Laurie Evans hit 52, but a cluster of wickets kept the Spitfires in contention until Jamie Smith and Sean Abbott took charge.
Michael Hogan was left to defend nine off the final over but Surrey tied the scores with one ball remaining and Jack Leaning just failed to cling on to a thunderous hit from Smith off the last delivery.
It was a disappointing afternoon for Worcestershire, whose unbeaten start was brought to an end by Northamptonshire, who triumphed by six wickets at New Road.
Worcestershire had been bidding to win their opening five games in the tournament for the first time, but Steelbacks spinner Freddie Heldreich bowled an inspired spell which brought him the wickets of Adam Hose, Brett D’Oliveira and Kashif Ali in the space of three overs.
Then Saif Zaib (70 not out from 35 balls) produced the fireworks with the bat for the visitors, smashing successive sixes in the final over from Pat Brown to see his side home with two balls to spare.
Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen nearly achieved a global milestone but fell six runs short of becoming the first man in T20 history to score six successive fifties as his side were comfortably beaten by seven wickets by a revitalised Yorkshire at Headingley.
Madsen’s 44 off 26 in the Falcons’ 166 for eight batting first meant he remains one of just seven players worldwide to have scored five fifties in a row in this format.
England batter Dawid Malan then starred in the chase with a superb 81 not out off 57 balls, with Yorkshire winning with 10 deliveries to spare.
Leicestershire ended a five-game losing run to secure their first win of the campaign, beating Durham by seven wickets at Seat Unique Riverside.
Josh Hull was the star with the ball in just his second game for the Foxes, claiming three wickets for 35 to help limit the home side to 168 for nine from their 20 overs.
Nottinghamshire put themselves back on course for the quarter-finals with a second win inside 24 hours as Matt Carter’s three wickets set up a five-wicket win over Lancashire.
The off-spinner bounced back from conceding 57 in four wicketless overs in the victory over Birmingham Bears on Saturday evening with figures of three for 26 as the home side won with seven balls to spare at Trent Bridge.
Glamorgan made it four wins out of five as they beat Sussex by 32 runs at the 1st Central County Ground.
The Sharks, chasing a huge victory target of 220, never looked in the contest despite a plucky innings from Tom Alsop, who scored 58 from 41 deliveries, and slumped to a third straight defeat.
Player of the Match Brandon King scores maiden ODI century as Windies cruise to seven-wicket win over UAE
Brandon King scored his maiden ODI century to lead the West Indies cruised to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates with 88 balls to spare in the opening match of their three-match series at Sharjah on Sunday.
Captain Shai Hope showered praised on his bowlers for the clinical execution in the lop-sided victory.
“There was no hurry. They all bowled well, I can't single out too many, and I was happy with the execution,” he said. “Nice to see Hodge play in West Indies colours now and hopefully we can continue. I don't think there were devils in the surface but credit needs to be given to the bowlers.”
He reserved special praise for the Player of the Match.
“King is an exceptional player and someone who I thought would've scored a lot more runs early in his career. But happy for him. He saw the opportunity to take the game forward and happy to see him get his first hundred today,” said Hope who collected the award for King, who was suffering from cramps.
Set a target of 203, King scored a run-a-ball 112 to guide the West Indies to 206-3 from 35.2 overs in the day/night encounter. He was the last man out with the West Indies 10 runs shy of their target.
King shared in an opening stand of 48 with Johnson Charles that ended when Charles bowled for 24 while going for a big shot off Zahoor Khan delivery that cut back to hit his off stump for 24.
A 91-run second wicket partnership followed between King and Shamarh Brooks, who rode his luck before he was eventually trapped lbw by Aayan Azfal Khan for 44. King, who was dropped on 52, then took the match away from the hosts with a 54-run partnership with Keacy Carty before being last man out, caught behind off the bowling of Rohan Mustafa.
King’s knock included 12 fours and four sixes, three of which came in the 34th over bowled by Karthik Meiyappan. The second of those sixes took King from 96 to his first ODI century.
Captain Shai Hope replaced him and quickly ended proceedings with consecutive sixes off Karthik Meiyappan to end on 13 not out from just four balls. Carty was on seven from 19 balls when the match ended in the 36th over.
UAE won the toss and chose to bat and were restricted to 202 all out in 47.1 overs. Ali Naseer scored a useful 58 from 52 balls and Vriitya Aravind, a contrasting 40 from 77 balls. Asif Khan also contributed 27 against the West Indies attack led by Keemo Paul, who took 3-34.
Dominic Drakes took 2-29, Yanic Cariah weighed in with 2-26 and Odean Smith 2-40.
Matt Henry and Ben Green help Somerset keep perfect record
Matt Henry and Ben Green took three wickets each as Somerset maintained their 100 per cent Vitality Blast South Group record with an 11-run win over Essex at Taunton.
The hosts could muster only 150 all out in their sixth contest under cloudless skies on a pitch that looked full of runs.
Sean Dickson top-scored with 42 on his T20 debut for the club, while Daniel Sams claimed four wickets for 20.
In reply, Essex were bowled out for 139, despite a bristling 63 off 43 balls from Michael Pepper, Henry finishing with three for 17 and Green taking his wicket tally in the competition to 14 with three for 24.
Sue Redfern wrote her name into the history books when she became the first female umpire to officiate on-field in a Blast fixture for Gloucestershire’s emphatic seven-wicket victory over Middlesex.
Redfern stood along with Alex Wharf at Bristol’s Seat Unique Stadium, where all-rounder Ollie Price led the way for the home side.
The 21-year-old top scored with 46 and shared in crucial partnerships of 60 with Miles Hammond and 52 with Zafar Gohar as Gloucestershire chased down a target of 140 with 10 balls to spare to register their second win in three days.
Surrey beat Kent by five wickets after a nerve-shredding run chase at Canterbury that went all the way to the final ball.
The visitors seemed to be cruising to their target of 174 after Laurie Evans hit 52, but a cluster of wickets kept the Spitfires in contention until Jamie Smith and Sean Abbott took charge.
Michael Hogan was left to defend nine off the final over but Surrey tied the scores with one ball remaining and Jack Leaning just failed to cling on to a thunderous hit from Smith off the last delivery.
It was a disappointing afternoon for Worcestershire Rapids, whose unbeaten start was brought to an end by Northamptonshire Steelbacks who triumphed by six wickets at New Road.
Worcestershire had been bidding to win their opening five games in the tournament for the first time, but Steelbacks spinner Freddie Heldreich bowled an inspired spell which brought him the wickets of Adam Hose, Brett D’Oliveira and Kashif Ali in the space of three overs.
Then Saif Zaib (70 not out from 35 balls) produced the fireworks with the bat for the visitors, smashing successive sixes in the final over from Pat Brown to see his side home with two balls to spare.
Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen nearly achieved a global milestone but fell six runs short of becoming the first man in T20 history to score six successive fifties as his side were comfortably beaten by seven wickets by a revitalised Yorkshire at Headingley.
Madsen’s 44 off 26 in the Falcons’ 166 for eight batting first meant he remains one of just seven players worldwide to have scored five fifties in a row in this format.
England batter Dawid Malan then starred in the chase with a superb 81 not out off 57 balls, with Yorkshire winning with 10 deliveries to spare.
Leicestershire Foxes ended a five-game losing run to secure their first win of the campaign, beating Durham by seven wickets at Seat Unique Riverside.
Josh Hull was the star with the ball in just his second game for the Foxes, claiming three wickets for 35 to help limit the home side to 168 for nine from their 20 overs.
Notts Outlaws put themselves back on course for the quarter-finals with a second win inside 24 hours as Matt Carter’s three wickets set up a five-wicket win over Lancashire Lightning.
The off-spinner bounced back from conceding 57 in four wicketless overs in the victory over Birmingham Bears on Saturday evening with figures of three for 26 as the home side won with seven balls to spare at Trent Bridge.
Glamorgan made it four wins out of five as they beat Sussex by 32 runs at the 1st Central County Ground.
The Sharks, chasing a huge victory target of 220, never looked in the contest despite a plucky innings from Tom Alsop, who scored 58 from 41 deliveries.
Instead, the eighth-placed South Group Sussex slumped to a third straight defeat, and a fourth in five games.
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