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The stars of yesteryears took centerstage once again under the floodlights of the BCA Stadium in Vadodara, with the Sri Lanka Masters riding a crafty half century from Asela Gunaratne and disciplined death bowling to beat the West Indies Masters by 21 runs in a thrilling International Masters League (IML), 2025 encounter on Thursday, as per a release from IML.
Put in to bat on a sluggish wicket, Sri Lanka Masters skipper Kumar Sangakkara (47) steered his side from a shaky start with a calculative knock, before Asela Gunaratne (64) came up with a gritty half century to take charge of anchoring the side, despite the fall of wickets at regular intervals, and eventually propelled his side to 173/9 in their 20 overs. The West Indies Masters displayed excellent athleticism on the field, effecting a couple of run-outs even as star off-spinner Ashley Nurse used the conditions well to claim three top-order wickets, including the prized scalp of Sangakkara, after the seasoned southpaw set the tone for the Sri Lanka Masters with his 42-ball knock that contained six hits to the fence. After losing his opening partner Upul Tharanga off the third ball of the evening, Sangakkara joined forces with Lahiru Thirimanne to resurrect the Sri Lanka Masters innings with a 45-run stand before adding another 50 runs for the third wicket with Gunaratne. But with Nurse triggering a mini collapse with the wickets of Thirimanne, Sangakkara and Jeevan Mendis, and the run-out of Chinthaka Jayasinghe, the Sri Lanka Masters needed some solidity after losing half their side for 105 runs with more than six overs remaining. Gunaratne, however, held one end firmly, and ensured that the Sri Lanka Masters had enough in their bank to counter the opposition. He used all his experience to set up the game beautifully, and did not hesitate to use the long handle occasionally to bring up a 36-ball fifty. In reply, the West Indies Masters were off to a steady start, with Dwayne Smith (49) spearheading the chase, that saw the team comfortably get to 65/1 midway through the innings. With the dew kicking in, Smith and Narsingh Deonarine (14) took full advantage of the conditions, adding 59 runs for the second wicket to set the tone. By the time, the Caribbean duo threatened to take the game away, left-arm spinner Chaturanga de Silva pegged them back by ending Smith's 43-ball vigil before effecting a smart run-out of Deonarine, to reduce the opposition from a comfortable 71/1 to 74/3. Thereafter, Lendl Simmons (37 not out) and Jonathan Carter (17) put up a brief 30-run stand to restore parity before Jeevan Mendis trapped Carter to dent the chase. With Simmons and skipper Denesh Ramdin (15 not out) in the middle, the West Indies Masters needing 53 off the final 24 deliveries, still harboured some hopes, but the Sri Lanka Masters bowlers kept it tight, and eventually restricted them for 152/5. (ANI)
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