Unstoppable Wayamba retain title

Wayamba 208 for 8 (Jayawardene 91, Senanayake 3-25, Jayasuriya 3-44) beat Ruhuna 113 (Chandimal 64, Mendis 4-9) by 95 runs
Scorecard

Wayamba retained the Inter-provincial Twenty20 title for the third time after a clinical performance in the final, outplaying Ruhuna in all three departments of the game at Moratuwa. Two Sri Lankan stars, Mahela Jayawardene and Ajantha Mendis, were the heroes for Wayamba.

Former captain Jayawardene continued his brilliant form in the tournament with 91 off 49 balls, which included six sixes and 10 fours. After Ruhuna had asked Wayamba to bat, Jayawardene and his in-form opening partner Jeevantha Kulatunga got the team off to a flying start with a stand of 89 in 7.4 overs. Despite the loss of Kulatunga for 26, Jayawardene kept Wayamba in top gear during short partnerships with captain Jehan Mubarak (21) and Janith Perera (34) which set them up for a 200-plus score.

Facing a tall target, Ruhuna lost captain Upul Tharanga for a duck off the second ball of the chase. They fumbled in their attempt to maintain the required run-rate of ten runs an over, with Sanath Jayasuriya's exit for 9 pegging them back further. After opening bowlers Chanaka Welegedara and Isuru Udana had limited Ruhuna's run-rate by grabbing the first three wickets, Sri Lanka spinner Mendis ran through the middle order, taking 4 for 9 off 3.2 overs. Ruhuna folded for 113.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal provided the only resistance, hitting 64 off 33 balls before being seventh out at 105, unable to keep pace with the asking-rate, which had by then risen to almost 15 an over. It was small compensation for him when he won the Batsman-of-the-Tournament award.

Wayamba, led by Jehan Mubarak, finished unbeaten, winning all seven matches including the final and looked the most complete side throughout the tournament. Kulatunga, who scored the only century of the tournament, was named Player of the Series.