Tamil Union defeat SSC to become the victors of the Premier League

Tamil Union became the Premier League limited-overs champions when they defeated a powerful SSC side by 24 runs in an exciting and tense encounter at NCC grounds in Colombo today. In a tournament that has been dominated by the bowlers and littered with low scores, the spectators and supporters will have been relieved that today it was the turn of the batsmen to star.

Tamil Union who had lost the toss and had been put into bat on greenish looking pitch posted a highly competitive 246 in their 50 overs thanks to a 108 ball century by Ruvin Peiris, their left handed number three. In reply SSC always looked capable of overhauling the total whilst their inform batsmen, Marvan Attapattu, was at the crease. He continued his fine run of form from Pakistan and compiled a quite magnificent 112 off 133 deliveries. However SSC's fate was sealed in the 47th over when Muthiah Muralitharan finally won a fascinating personal duel with Attapattu, having him stumped by the impressive Galagoda.

Contrary to the pre match gossip, which focused on the strength of the SSC batsmen and the threat of the Tamil Union spinners, it was the Tamil Union top order that laid the foundations for victory. Put into bat in helpful bowling conditions they could have easily lost early wickets. In both the semi-finals the side batting first went on to lose the match.

However Indika Galagoda (29) and Ruvin Peiris (104) batted with patience after the early loss of Nuwan Shiroman (1) and gave their side the start they needed, taking the score to 52 in the 12th over, before Galagoda was stumped off Upeka Fernando. The loss of the second wicket brought a determined Indika De Saram (25) to the crease. Perhaps keen to impress the Chairman of Selectors, Sidath Wettimuny, who was the Chief Guest at the game, he was in an unusually defensive mood and was content to pick-up singles and leave the bulk of the run scoring to Ruvin Peiris. In fact his first 18 runs all came from singles.

Luckily for Tamil Union the loss of his partner, Galagoda, brought the left handed Peiris out of his shell and he began to dominate the SSC bowling. Very strong square of the wicket he was fortunate to be given frequent width on the off side by both spin bowlers and medium pacers alike. He made use of the opportunity and scored a large percentage of his runs through point and third man.

The SSC spinners lacked the control that they displayed in the semifinals and appeared to struggle with the right/left hand combination. It was the introduction of the part-time off spin of Mahela Jawardena that finally broke the partnership. Indeed Jayawardene also picked up the crucial wicket of Upul Chandana (13) who came at number five. The day will surely come when he will be used on a regular basis by the Sri lankan side.

A combination of Jayawardena?s bowling and the run out of Peiris, immediately after reaching his century, stalled the Tamil Union innings and they slumped from 189-3 to 204-7 in the space of fours overs. However just when SSC appeared to be gaining the initiative, Gayon Wijekoon (32*) and S. Jayaratne (16) put on a crucial 36 for the seventh wicket. By doing so the ensured that SSC would have to score more runs than they had so far in the whole tournament to win.

When play resumed after lunch the weather closed in and the clouds gathered around the ground. With a rain interruption appearing inevitable, the Tamil Union opening bowlers exploited the overcast conditions well and extracted more movement and bounce than their counterparts had earlier in the day.

Mario Villavarayan was the first to strike when he had the dangerous Gunawardena (1) caught behind for just one run in the second over. When Jayaratne dismissed the in-form Sanjeeva Ranatunga (1) in a similar manner, SSC were in desperate trouble and well behind the Duckworth Lewis targets.

Whilst less experienced players may have let their concentration slip by thinking about the weather, Marvan Attapattu (112) and Mahela Jayawardena (42), quickly began to repair the early damage. Content with singles to begin with, they soon spread the field and kept up with the run rate with ease putting on 106 for the third wicket.

The partnership was broken by the ever-eager Muralitharan in the 27th over. Entrusted with the responsibility of claiming the wickets of SSC's premier batsmen, he bowled Jayawardena off his pads and then finished the match in his second spell by removing Marvan Attapattu.