Sangakkara stars in Kandurata win

Kandurata 274 for 5 (Sangakkara 109, Jayasinghe 64*, Samaraweera 44) beat Basnahira South 271 for 7 (Silva 98*, Perera 64, Zoysa 48, Ganegama 3-66) by five wickets
Scorecard

Kumar Sangakkara's 117-ball 109 was instrumental in leading Kandurata to a well-fought five-wicket win over Basnahira South in the Inter-Provincial Limited-Over Tournament at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club.

Sangakkara strung together useful partnerships with Thilan Samaraweera (44) and Chinthaka Jayasinghe, who made an unbeaten 64 off 60, to enable his team chase the target of 272 with ten balls to spare.

Sangakkara, the Kandurata captain, had earlier opted to field, and the decision paid off right away, with Akalanka Ganegama removing Ian Daniel and Prasanna Jayawardene for ducks. Tillakaratne Dilshan, who recently earned a recall to the Sri Lankan Test side after impressive performances in the domestic circuit, sparkled with four fours and a six in his 25, before falling to Jayasinghe.

Chamara Silva, the Sri Lankan middle-order batsman, then led a revival, with his undefeated 127-ball 98 ensuring Banahira South reached a challenging total. Nuwan Zoysa's brisk 48 towards the end saw the team post 271.

However, that score was not enough, as Sangakkara anchored the chase. When he was out stumped by Jayawardene off Dilshan, Kandurata needed another 40 runs from 5.1 overs, which Jayasinghe, in the company of the remaining batsman, managed with ease.