Maldives lose by big margin

The Maldivian national cricket team succumbed to their biggest loss on their tour of Sri Lanka , when they were convincingly beaten by Chillaw Marians SC by 121 runs in a one-day friendly encounter played at the De Soysa Stadium, Moratuwa on Friday.

Chasing a victory target of 197 runs, Maldives lost a wicket in their first when Ismail Perera was bowled by the second ball of the innings. Thereafter, they never looked comfortable facing the local bowling attack led by D Perera (2/16).

Skipper Moosa Salim (20) was once again the top scorer for Maldives. Number 10 bat Hassan Waheed was the only other person to reach double figures, making 11. P Jayasundera (4/12) destroyed the middle-order with a fiery spell. He was well supported by P Ranavira (2/3) who bowled an economical spell. The visitors could only accumulate 50 runs while the home side conceded 25 runs as extras which was a great contribution to their total of 75 in 26.3 overs.

Earlier, electing to bat first, Chilaw Marians made 196 runs helped by a quick 60 runs from A Gunawardena, who smashed six boundaries in his innings. He was supported by Sahnda Silva (24) who put up a valuable 71-run stand with Gunawardena for the third wicket. Their total too was boosted by 34 extras, which included 22 wides.

Moosa Kalim (4/35) became the pick of the bowlers while Ismail Nadeem (3/31) helped destroy the Marian's top order.

The Maldives play a Moratuwa XI tomorrow at the same venue.