Home team Business Managment School (BMS) stormed into their third consecutive Red Bull Campus Cricket championship final, defeating Karachi University by eight wickets in the World Final playoff, at the SSC in Colombo. BMS had been defeated by Karachi at the round robin stage, but had several key players absent for that game, due to Mercantile cricketing commitments. Back to full strength in this knockout match, BMS’ bowlers first kept Karachi to 142 for 8, as seamers Janith Liyanage and Chamika Karunaratne took two wickets apiece. That Karachi even got themselves to a respectable total was largely down to their in-form No. 3 batsman Arsalan Farzand, who hit 53 off 43 balls, in an innings that featured one six and six fours.
Although BMS lost opener Madushan Ravichandrakumar in the first ball of their innings, Hashan Dumindu - who has been in excellent touch throughout the tournament - and Pasindu Lakshanka quickly set about putting the chase on track, as they produced an 80-run second-wicket stand in the space of 65 deliveries.
Lakshanka then went on to post a further 63-run stand with Liyanage, which propelled BMS to victory in 18th over. Lakshanka stayed not out on 75 off 60 balls, having struck four sixes and six fours.
BMS will now play the unbeaten Marathwada Mitra Mandal College of Commerce (MMMC College), of Pune, in the final on Saturday. BMS were the runners up in the 2017 Campus Cricket World Final, and champions the previous year. This will be MMMC College’s first appearance in the tournament final.
Karachi University 142/8 (Arsalan Farzand 53, Khurram Shazad 34, Chamika Karunaratne 2/26, Janith Liyanage 2/33)
Business Management School 143 for 2 in 17.3 overs (Pasindu Lakshanka 75 not out, Hashan Dumindu 35, Muhammad Asad 1/20, Hamza Qadir 1/17)
Add new comment