Uva Next led by Thilina Kandamby lifted the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League after defeating Nagenahira Nagas in a rain-affected final at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo late night.

By BV Swagath

Uva Next led by Thilina Kandamby lifted the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League after defeating Nagenahira Nagas in a rain-affected final at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo late night.

Batting first after winning the toss, the Nagas led by Skipper Angelo Mathews posted 134 for 4 in an innings that was cut short to 15 overs due to rain. Mathews led from the front scoring a sizzling 73* from just 27 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes. The Nagas were otherwise going nowhere at 65 for 4 in 11^th over before the carnage from their Skipper.

Uva Next then had their innings cut down to just 5.1 overs because of the rain and in that they raced away to 63 for 1! Uva were declared winners by 19 runs according to the D/L Method thanks to Man of the Match - Dilshan Munaweera’s 44* (from 23 balls with 2 fours and 5 sixes). The Player of the Tournament was given to pacer Shaminda Eranga of the Nagenahira Nagas.