Of Dhanuka, a Twenty20 massacre and shape of things to come

(Dhanuka Pathirana, the smiling assasin)


For those who still cling on to the hope that bowlers might have a role other than being just the cannon-fodder in Twenty20, it’s time to come out of the illusion.

Sri Lankan all-rounder Dhanuka Pathirana, a veteran of 46 first class matches created a mayhem by smashing 277 off 72 balls, 29 sixes and 18 fours being the highlight of the bowlers’ bloodbath in a the Saddleworth League match. Reports claim he was playing with a borrowed bat.

His side Austerlands amassed 366-3 in 20 overs, re-writing Somerset's county record of 250, and won the match on a better run rate as Droylsden made 37-2 before rain stopped play.

Pathirana later said,

It was like a dream and I think I did some serious damage to some of the vehicles in the car park.

So when the Twenty20, the ICC attempt at an ethnic cleansing, kicks off in South Africa later this month, low-flying South African Airways planes and the hapless bunch of bowlers would have every reason to worry.

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