15 TH STAFFORD MOTORS – MCA G DIVISION T20 LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

Fairfirst Insurance, Mobitel, Star Garments and Stafford Motors registered wins in their league stage

matches of the 15th Stafford Motors – MCA G division T20 tournament played on Saturday.

Fairfirst Insurance, playing in Group B, won their tournament opener by defeating group leaders Emar

Pharma by nine wickets at the Sri Lanka Cricket grounds at Bandaragama on Saturday morning. The

Fairfirst bowlers restricted Emar Pharma to 77 runs in 14.4 overs and for Fairfirst Insurance, Dulip Silva

smashed an unbeaten 63 off 42 balls with nine hits to the ropes and three over to seal the win.

In the afternoon game played at Bandaragama Mobitel powered by a half ton by Krishan Santhusha [54]

and a useful 44from Sandeepa Halangoda posted 188/8 in their 20 overs and were able to defend it as

Sneh Ekanayaka [4/12] and 3/36 Budhdhika Hewa were able to successfully defend it.

Nadira Rajakaruna smashed an unbeaten 75 off 39 balls [11 x 4 and 3 x 6] to give his team a eight wicket

win over LSEG at Dharmapala College grounds in Pannipitiya.

In the afternoon game, Stafford Motors overcame Sitecore by four wickets with 50 balls to spare.

At SLC ground Bandaragama:

Fairfirst Insurance

beat Emar Pharma by nine wickets

EMAR PHARMA

77/10 in 14.4 overs [Amitha Dabare 34, Devinda Ayesh 22*; Dulip Silva 1-03, Lahiru

Madushanka 2-22,Prashein Fernando 2-02, Kasun Liyanage 2-19, Sajitha Samarasinghe 2-06]

FAIRFIRST INSURANCE

80/1 in 10.3 overs [Dulip Silva 63*, Prashein Fernando 09*; Amitha Dabare 1-32]

Mobitel by 40 runs

MOBITEL

188/8 IN 20 OVERS [Krishan Santhusha 54, Sachin Indrarathne 23, Sandeepa Halangoda 44,Dinidu Samodana 31; Dhammika Perusinghe 1-32, Champika Ranaweera 1-22, Vishmitha Silva 1-40, Lakshitha Peiris 2-31, Srihan Anuruddika 2-24, Mahesh Devapriya 1-12]

ALARIS LANKA

148/10 IN 19.5 OVERS [Srihan Anuruddika 52, Lakshitha Peiris 25, DhammikaPerusinghe

17, Champika Ranaweera 23; Sachin Indrarathne 2-22, Rangana Rajapaksha 1-19, Budhdhika Hewa 3-36, Senesh Ekanayake 4-12]

At Dharmapala College grounds:

Star Garments by

eight wickets

LSEG

96/10 IN 19.5 OVERS [Rishane Liyanage 30, Nuwan Amarasinghe 22, Hishara Mudalige 11; Randu Fernando 1-23, DunikPerera 3-19, Suwahas Yapa 3-21, Dhanuka Dulanjana 1-05]

STAR GARMENTS

98/2 IN 9.1 OVERS [Nadeesha Rajakaruna 75, Sanjaya Mihiran 14; Kalpa Gamage 1- 19, Isira Deerasooriya 1-15]

Stafford Motors won by

four wickets

SITECORE 103

/10 IN 20 OVERS [Pamodith Maduwantha 10, Lilan Mihiranga 11, Dineth Sathkumara 23, Sakee Faleel 24; Shanaka Sampath 2-19, Sajeewa Vishan 1-21, Dammika Kumara 3-07, Sanjaya Fernando

1-29, Vihanga Malith 2-05]

STAFFORD MOTORS

104/6 IN 11.4 OVERS [Gajindu Yasas 38, Vihanga Malith 18, Sanjaya Fernando 21, Vishwa Rajapaksha 11*; Thanuja Senevirathne 3-37, Dineth Sathkumara 3-08]

The ICC Board and committee meetings scheduled for later this month in Doha have been called off due to the ongoing military conflict in West Asia. ESPNcricinfo understands that specific meetings, particularly those pertaining to the finance committee will take place virtually over the next few weeks. The possibility of in-person meetings in April remains open but much will depend on whether airspace has sufficiently re-opened for the board and committee members to fly safely.

The meetings were originally scheduled for March 25 to 27 and were due to include ICC Board Directors, Chief Executives, Committee members and ICC senior leadership. Three of the key issues up for discussion were global broadcasting rights ,with the deal between the ICC and *JioStar set to end in 2027, initial discussions over the next FTP and Olympic qualification for LA 2028. The second of those have already begun informally with several members approaching others as they make plans for cricket’s next four-year calendar.

India produced a ruthless, near-flawless performance to retain the T20 World Cup title they won in the Caribbean two years ago, steamrolling New Zealand by 96 runs in Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad.

The Kiwis, who had marched into the final after ending South Africa’s unbeaten run in the Calcutta semi-final, ran into a blue wall. India piled up a daunting 255 for five after being asked to bat and then bundled New Zealand out for 159 with an over to spare, sealing one of the most emphatic wins in a World Cup final.

India had been given a wake-up call earlier in the tournament when South Africa handed them a heavy defeat in the Super Eight stage, leaving them needing four straight wins to lift the trophy. From that point on, Surya Kumar Yadav’s men put their foot on the accelerator and never looked back, playing like a side on a mission and delivering the knockout punch when it mattered most.

It was a triumph built not just on star power but on depth and system. India’s conveyor belt of talent keeps churning out match-winners, and their bench strength is the envy of the cricketing world. You may grumble about their strong-arm tactics in the corridors of power, but there is no denying the machine they have built. The result is domination across formats – men’s, women’s and Under-19 – echoing the era of Australian supremacy. At the moment, India are the team everyone else is chasing.

The victory was India’s biggest in T20 World Cup history and made them the first team to win the title three times. Former captains Rohit Sharma, who led the side to the 2024 crown and M.S. Dhoni, the architect of the inaugural triumph in 2007, were present at the venue to witness another chapter of Indian cricketing glory.

New Zealand, however, got their sums wrong. Their seamers stuck to predictable pace and failed to mix things up, allowing India’s openers to cash in during the powerplay.

Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson came out all guns blazing, racing to 98 for the first wicket in just 7.1 overs and putting the Kiwis immediately on the back foot. Abhishek set the tone with a blistering 52 off 22 balls, while Samson anchored the charge with a sparkling 89 off 46 deliveries, peppered with five fours and eight towering sixes.

Samson had been India’s banker throughout the tournament, striking three consecutive half-centuries during the campaign and walking away with the Player of the Series award.

The fireworks did not stop there. Ishan Kishan chipped in with a breezy 54 off 25 balls at number three as India threatened to push past the 270 mark. New Zealand managed to drag things back slightly at the death, but chasing 256 in a World Cup final was always going to be a bridge too far.

India’s bowlers then applied the squeeze. Jasprit Bumrah led the charge with a masterclass in fast bowling, finishing with figures of four for 15 and walking away with the Man of the Match award as New Zealand’s chase fizzled out quickly.

Rex Clementine in Ahmedabad