Rain was the ultimate winner in the Inter-Provincial Limited-Overs Tournament final between Kandurata and Wayamba which ended in a no result with only 35.3 overs being bowled in the entire match. The teams were declared joint champions and picked up prize money worth Rs 1.7 million (US$15,700) each.
The weather has not been at its best for the past fortnight and Sri Lanka Cricket, who organised the tournament, were keeping their fingers crossed that it would clear away on Sunday and allow a full day's play at the SSC. However it was not to be. Heavy rain on the previous night left the pitch and the outfield with a great deal of moisture which pushed back the start by one-and-a-half hours.
The match was reduced to a 43 overs-a-side and Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene had no hesitation in inviting Kandurata to bat. It proved a good move as Wayamba captured two wickets including the prize one of Kandurata captain Kumar Sangakkara in the opening ten overs.
Sajith Fernando and tailender Suraj Mohamed, surprisingly promoted in the order, mended the innings with a partnership of 67 off 62 balls. Fernando scored 44 off 58 deliveries and Mohamed 42 off 69. Fernando's dismissal at 98 sparked off another mini-collapse as Kandurata lost a further two wickets for the addition of seven runs before the rain arrived with Kandurata 131 for 5 off 29.3 overs. The innings ended on that total and when play recommenced at 4pm Wayamba were set the task of chasing 143 runs from 25 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis method.
Michael Vandort and Mahela Udawatte gave them a flying start posting 37 runs off six overs before the rains returned to bring an end to the game.
Sangakkara with 264 runs at 66 and the scorer of the only century in the tournament (109 v Basnahira South) won the Man-of-the-Tournament award of Rs 100,000 (US$923).
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content on
cricket, you may use these buttons. When you add them to any of these sites, you "social bookmark" them for others to find and rate. More on del.icio.us>> More on digg>> More on stumbleupon>>
