Legends Cricket Trophy: Hat-trick of wins for New York Superstar Strikers; Rajasthan Kings defeat Colombo Lions

Pallekele: New York Superstar Strikers locked horns with Punjab Royals in the first game whereas Rajasthan Kings crossed swords with Colombo Lions in two one-sided matches were witnessed in the Legends Cricket Trophy (LCT) at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Tuesday.

New York Superstar Strikers have maintained an all-win record as they registered their third victory of the season and are comfortably sitting on top of the points table.

Earlier, they got the better of Dubai Giants in the tournament opener before they defeated Delhi Devils in the second game. In their third game, they comfortably outwitted Punjab Royals by 54 runs.

Chadwick Walton was the pick of the batters for New York Superstar Strikers as he pitched in with a quickfire 73 off 33 balls. He constructed his innings with the help of eight fours and five hits over the fence at a healthy strike rate of 221.21. In the end, the table-toppers managed to post a big total of 175 for the loss of five wickets in 90 balls. On the contrary, Rahat Ali conceded 59 runs for Punjab Royals in his quota of 24 balls but managed to pick up three wickets to his name.

In response to the humongous target, Punjab Royals missed the plot in the run-chase as they were able to muster only 121 for the loss of 8 wickets in 90 balls. Skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan led the batting attack by example but he didn’t get any assistance from other batters. The former Sri Lanka opener pitched in with 31 off 14 balls including four boundaries and two sixes.

New York Superstar Strikers pitched in with yet another clinical win, courtesy of all-round performances from the players. Asela Gunaratne stuck to his subtle bowling variations of good line and length and reaped the rewards on the matchday as he registered 3/22 in 4 overs.

Coming to the second match of the day, Rajasthan Kings picked up an easy win over Colombo Lions as they aced the run-chase by scoring runs at a rate of knots. They won the game by 8 wickets and notched up their second win of this season. With this win, they climbed to second on the points table. Batting first, the Colombo Lions were able to garner just a mediocre total of 101/8 in 90 balls. Despite having big guns on their side like Chris Gayle and Jesse Ryder, they failed to add flesh to the team’s scoreboard.

Gayle top-scored with 26 off 17 balls including six fours whereas opener Ben Dunk departed for a golden duck. Rajasthan Kings’ bowlers contained the opposition by bowling tight lines and bore fruit for all their best efforts. The likes of Ashley Nurse, Chathuranga de Silva, and Jatin Saxena took two wickets apiece. On the other hand, Rajasthan Kings chased down the target without any fuss as they got the job done with 41 balls to spare.

Skipper Robin Uthappa provided an electrifying start to the game as he scored 55 off 22 balls. The right-handed batter used all his experience to better effect by smashing a flurry of 10 fours and 2 sixes. Colombo Kings’ bowlers were clueless while defending the total apart from their skipper Yasir Shah who took two wickets.

Brief Scores

New York Superstar Strikers 175/5 in 90 balls (Chadwick Walton 73; Asela Gunaratne 3-22) beat Punjab Royals – 121/8 in 90 balls (Tillakaratne Dilshan 31; Rahat Ali 3-59) by 54 runs.

Colombo Lions 101/8 in 90 balls (Chris Gayle 26; Yasir Shah 2-26) lost to Rajasthan Kings 105/2 in 49 balls (Robin Uthappa 55; Saxena 2-19) by 8 wickets.

–IANS