New York Superstar Strikers are the only team with an all-time winning record as they recorded their third win of the season.
New Delhi: There were two one-sided encounters in the Legends Cricket Trophy (LCT) at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. New York Superstar Strikers locked horns with Punjab Royals in the first game, while Rajasthan Kings crossed swords with Colombo Lions in the second encounter.
New York Superstar Strikers have literally flown in the ongoing LCT 2024. They are the only team with a complete winning record as they recorded their third win of the season. They rightly sit comfortably on top of the points table.
Earlier, they defeated Dubai Giants in the tournament opener before defeating Delhi Devils in the second match. In their third match, they comfortably outwitted Punjab Royals by 54 runs.
Chadwick Walton was the batters’ choice for New York Superstar Strikers as he bowled a quick 73 off 33 balls. He built his innings with the help of 8 fours and 5 hits over the fence with a healthy strike rate of 221.21.
In the end, the table toppers managed to post a mammoth total of 175 for the loss of five wickets in 90 balls. On the contrary, Rahat Ali conceded 59 runs to Punjab Royals in his quota of 24 balls but managed to pick up three wickets.
Responding to the mammoth target, Punjab Royals missed the plot in the chase as they could muster only 121 for the loss of 8 wickets in 90 balls. Skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan led the batting attack by leading by example, but he got no help from other batters. The former Sri Lanka opener smashed 31 off 14 balls, including 4 fours and 2 sixes.
New York Superstar Strikers secured another clinical victory, thanks to the all-round performances of the players. Asela Gunaratne stuck to his subtle bowling variations of good line and length and reaped the rewards on match day when he registered 3/22 in 4 overs.
In the second match of the day, Rajasthan Kings picked up an easy win over Colombo Lions as they withstood the chase by scoring runs at a rate of knots. They won the match by 8 wickets and recorded their second win of the season.
With this win they are second on the points table. Batting first, the Colombo Lions managed only a mediocre total of 101/8 in 90 balls. Despite having big guns on their side like Chris Gayle and Jesse Ryder, they failed to add meat to the team’s scoreboard.
Gayle top-scored with 26 off 17 balls, including six fours, while opener Ben Dunk departed for a golden duck. The bowlers of Rajasthan Kings kept the opposition in check by bowling tight lines and all their best efforts paid off.
The likes of Ashley Nurse, Chathuranga de Silva and Jatin Saxena took two wickets each. At the other end, Rajasthan Kings chased the target without any fuss as they got the job done with 41 balls to spare.
Skipper Robin Uthappa made an exciting start to the match as he scored 55 off 22 balls. The right-handed batsman used all his experience for a better result by smashing a flurry of 10 fours and 2 sixes. Colombo Kings bowlers were clueless as they defended the total apart from their skipper Yasir Shah who took two wickets.