Sri Lanka won the World Masters Cricket Championship that concluded yesterday in Raipur. The strong England team had qualified for the final match along with Sri Lanka. In that match, Sri Lanka defeated England by 9 wickets with 8 overs remaining. The Sri Lanka Masters team included many veteran cricketers including Romesh Kaluwitharana, Jeevan Mendis, Asela Gunawardena.
The Sri Lanka captain, who won the toss, invited England to bat first. In that match, England, which launched an unexpected batting attack, scored 146 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in 20 overs, giving Sri Lanka a sharp target. Opener Phil Mustard scored 50 runs for England.
Isuru Udana, Dil Ruwan Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Chathuranga de Silva and Jeevan Mendis took one wicket each in the bowling.
In reply, Sri Lanka Masters scored 150 runs for the loss of 1 wicket in 12.5 overs and defeated a strong England team. Opener Kumar Sangakkara scored 106 runs not out in just 46 balls. He hit 19 fours and one six.
Sangakkara and Kaluwitharana built a 106-run partnership for the first wicket, which made it easy for Sri Lanka to win. Asela Gunawardena, who entered the field after Kaluwitharana was dismissed for 16, scored 22 not out in 12 balls with 4 fours to lead Sri Lanka to a remarkable victory. Dimitri Mascarenhas managed to take the only Sri Lankan wicket that fell.
Man of the Match Kumar Sangakkara.