West Indies opener Andre Fletcher, who last played a T20I match for his national team in 2021 against Pakistan, showed his prowess in Kandy Falcons' opening rout of the Colombo Stars in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) on Tuesday, December 8. In what was the opening day of the tournament, Fletcher carried the bat with a 67-ball 102 as the Falcons posted a total of 199/1 after Stars skipper Angelo Matthews won the toss and opted to field first.
Then, skipper Wanindu Hasaranga also became the first hat-trick taker of the tournament, bundling their opponents for just 109 runs.
Fletcher's innings included 11 boundaries and three sixes as he was assisted by opener Pathum Nissanka's 71 off 41 balls. The duo stitched together a partnership of 156 runs before Nissanka lost his wicket to Seekkuge Prasanna. Then came on Carlos Brathwaite, who scored 20 runs from 13 balls.
The second innings was a complete collapse of the Stars' batting line-up, facilitated by Hasaranga's hat-trick. Coming in the first over, he first took the wicket of Dinesh Chandimal (9 off 9). Then followed Ben Howell and Prasanna, as the Colombo-based team faced a mighty collapse of their batting lineup.
The leg-spinner took the wickets in the seventh over of the innings, first going through the defences of Chandimal in the third delivery. Hasaranga then trapped Howell and Prasanna LBW to complete his hat-trick. The Colombo Stars were reduced to 39 for 6 after Hasaranga’s hat-trick as the skipper of the Falcons finished with 4/14 in his three overs.
Speaking after the game in the post-match conference, Hasaranga said, “Credit to our batters. My second T20 hat trick. I am really happy. That's what experience does. First two wickets I tried to bowl at the sticks and decided to bowl the googly. I am trying to take more responsibility as a captain. I always try to do my best whether I am a captain or not.”
Earlier, in the first match of the competition between Jaffna Kings and Galle Gladiators, the Gladiators faced a defeat by 24 runs after being unable to chase down 137. In a low-scoring game, only Kusal Mendis had 51 runs in 43 balls as all his teammates faltered.
