MCL 8th Match Review: Jayawardene Steals the Show for Sagittarius Strikers

Mahela Jayawardene was the star of the show as Sagittarius Strikers pulled off their second win of the season by defeating the Libra Legends by 63 runs in the 8^th match of the season. The Sagittarius Strikers’ opener, Mahela Jayawardene, was at his best and set the stage on fire with the maiden ton of the season. Jayawardene’s blitz saw the Strikers post a gigantic 227/3, the second highest score of the tournament.

Chasing the huge total of 227, the Libra Legends didn’t have a fluent start. Shane Bond dismissed Michael Lumb (13 off 12) in the third over of the match, and in his very next over, Bond got the wicket of Taufeeq Umar that left Libra reeling at 31/2 at the end of 5 overs. Skipper Jacques Kallis departed soon for 25 after being run out by Carberry.

Sean Ervine was joined by Ryan ten Doeschate at the crease. The Dutch batsman couldn’t live up to the reputation of chasing and was stumped by Gilchrist off the bowling of Daniel Vettori. Tim Ambrose came to the middle but didn’t look comfortable either. While at the other end, Sean Ervine hit the ball at will. Ervine hit the fastest fifty of the tournament, in just 19 balls. But he was dismissed on the very next ball by Nathan Hauritz for 55 off 20 balls. Ervine’s quickfire fifty was embellished with 5 sixes and four boundaries.

Nicky Boje (13) and Graeme Swann (7) didn’t trouble the scorers much as the wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. The chase was well beyond the reach and it was just a matter of time that the match wrapped up. Tim Ambrose remained unbeaten on 24 off 21 balls at the end of 20 overs. The Legends could manage just 164/7 in their stipulated 20 overs, losing the game by 63 runs. Bond remained the pick of the bowlers with 2/11 while Vettori scalped 2/32 for the Strikers.

Earlier in the day, Sagittarius Strikers opted to bat first after winning the toss. The opening duo of Adam Gilchrist and Mahela Jayawardene gave a flying start to the Strikers by putting up 102 runs for the first wicket in just 59 balls. Gilchrist was the first to be dismissed for 38 off 28 balls by Nicky Boje, who caught him off his own bowling on the penultimate ball of the 10^th over. Jayawardene continued his onslaught and put up a splendid display of masterly batting. He was joined by Imran Farhat at the crease. Farhat’s (18 off 15) stay was short-lived and he was dismissed by Brad Hogg in the 15^th over, soon after the Strikers had crossed the 150 mark.

Jayawardene had his bit of luck running in the 16^th over. The first ball gave the Legends a chance to dismiss the former Sri Lankan, but the direct hit was missed. Later in the same over, Jayawardene was dropped on 92 by Sean Ervine. Jayawardene swung through the line, didn’t quite middle and Ervine at long-on looked settled under it but parried it over the rope for a six- to add more salt to the wound. Another run-out chance was missed in the next over, and Jayawardene capitalized the most out of the chances given to him. Batting on 98, he brought up his century with a boundary in the 17^th over in just 54 balls. He stepped on the gas to add another 22 to his score in next 6 balls before finally being dismissed by Ryan ten Doeschate and was ironically caught by Sean Ervine.

Jayawardene struck 124 off 60 balls with 10 boundaries and 9 towering maximums. Michael Carberry (23 off 14) and Yasir Hameed (12 off 4) provided the late blows to take Sagittarius Strikers to 227/3 at the end of 20 overs.

Mahela Jayawardene was rightly awarded the Man of the Match. The win now takes Sagittarius Strikers to the top of the table along with Gemini Arabians with two wins each while Libra Legends have slumped to the bottom of the table with 2 defeats.

Brief Scores:

Sagittarius Strikers: 227/3 in 20 overs (Jayawardene 124; Boje 1/21)

Libra Legends: 164/7 in 20 overs (Ervine 55; Bond 2/11)

Man of the Match:  Mahela Jayawardene (Sagittarius Strikers)