NCC - Baduraliya the key game today

Chris Dhambarage

NCC will be out to avenge their last week’s defeat when they take on the giant killers Baduraliya CC in the Premier knock out Tier A limited overs tournament match at Maitland Place today.

NCC suffered an innings defeat in the curtain raiser match of the Premier League three day tournament fixture at this same venue on Sunday and will be looking to produce an improved all round performance.

NCC’s batting looked awful during the league match where they even failed to get pass the 175 run mark in both innings. In contrast Baduraliya CC will be hoping to continue with the good work and further boost their image in the domestic scene.

Meanwhile the defending champions SSC will launch their defence for the title with a match against Chilaw Marians SC on their home grounds at Maitland Place.

SSC will start as the favourites after having dominated the proceedings in the league match against the same opposition last week. SSC have a very good batting line up spearheaded by opener Tharanga Paranavithana and also includes Kaushal Silva, Thilan Samaraweera and all rounder Kaushal Lokuarachchi.

Chilaw Marians SC will be up against it no doubt and will need to lift their game to a great extent if they are to cause any challenge to their opponents. They have with them a couple of potential match winners but they will need to strike form from the first ball to upset the defending champions.

The contest between Colts CC and Moors SC too should turn out to an exciting one at Braybrooke Place. Colts CC of course had the better of the exchanges by outright in the league match last week and will be out for a repeat performance.

The key player in the Colts CC line up will be Sajeewa Weerakoon who had an outstanding league match during the weekend while claiming a matchbag of ten wickets. In contrast Moors SC will be hoping to retaliate and avenge their defeat with an improved performance.

Meanwhile Bloomfield will have the edge when they take on CCC in their Premier knock out limited overs encounter at Reid Avenue today. Bloomfield will take the field with a psychological advantage after having trounced CCC outright in their three day fixture during the weekend at the same venue.

In addition Ragama CC will be up against Tamil Union in their Premier knock out limited overs match at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium today. Ragama CC will take the field with a great amount of confidence after having narrowly missed out on an outright victory in their league fixture.

The Card: NCC v Baduraliya CC at Maitland Place, Bloomfield v CCC at Reid Avenue, Colts CC v Moors SC at Braybrooke Place, Ragama CC v Tamil Union at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, SSC v Chilaw Marians SC at Maitland Place.