The bombshell news broke earlier this week that Premier League sensation, Antoine Semenyo, is likely to be on the move next month. Unfortunately for those at Manchester United, however, the Ghanaian looks to be heading to the Etihad.

Yes, despite suggestions that United had been one of the frontrunners for the 25-year-old’s signature, it would appear that ex-Bristol City man has been swayed by the pull of Pep Guardiola and co, with a £65m deal now set to be struck.

Such developments come at a time when the Red Devils have been left looking desperately short on attacking options, a fact that was no more apparent than in Friday’s narrow win over Newcastle United.

With Ruben Amorim chopping and changing his side in the dying embers, the hosts were left with a forward line that contained Patrick Dorgu on one flank, and Diogo Dalot as the highest point on the opposite side, with the absence of Amad and Bryan Mbeumo keenly felt in that hard-fought encounter.

That being said, last season’s losing Europa League finalists still managed to get the job done against the Magpies, with there certainly reason for positivity among the Old Trafford faithful.

Man Utd's best performers vs Newcastle

It would be remiss to begin this section without mentioning that man Dorgu, with the 21-year-old Dane looking much improved in his new role down the right flank in that promising first-half.

Having scored three of his five Lecce goals while operating off the right, as per Transfermarkt, the youngster showcased why that perhaps should be his permanent home in a United shirt, rifling in his first goal for the club in stunning fashion against Eddie Howe’s side.

The January arrival also saw another effort denied by the sprawling Aaron Ramsdale, while also picking out Benjamin Sesko with a delightful reverse pass early on, only for the Slovenian striker to squander the opening.

Dorgu was then the star attraction on a night all about Amorim’s young guns, with fellow 2025 signing, Ayden Heaven, also putting in a commanding display at the heart of the backline, even amid so much change around him.

Signed for just £1m, the 19-year-old continues to make that deal look such a coup, having won 100% of his duels on the night, as per Sofascore, while boasting a 94% pass accuracy rate.

Like the returning Lisandro Martinez alongside him, Heaven was central to United earning all three points, with the Englishman more than seizing his chance in the absence of Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt.

At the other end of the pitch, too, the loss of Mbeumo, Amad and captain Bruno Fernandes has allowed another leading light to emerge, with Amorim having a new attacking figurehead to hang his hat on.

Man Utd already have a bigger talent than Semenyo

With United’s absentee list worsening following Mason Mount’s withdrawal at half-time, it appeared almost inevitable that the home side would drift toward yet another defeat, having been forced to cling on amid a frantic second-half at the Theatre of Dreams.

There was encouragingly, however, a real grit and fight shown by those in red, with that will to win perhaps epitomised best by summer signing, Matheus Cunha, in his number ten berth.

Operating both centrally and off the left, the 26-year-old was so often the driving force for United in an attacking sense, having drawn a save himself from Ramsdale with an effort from the angle, while flashing a handful of attempts wide.

Yes, there is an erratic quality to his game, but time and again, the Brazilian is at the heart of the action, showcasing why journalist Samuel Luckhurst has previously described him as a “maverick” and a “workhorse” following his promising start to life in Manchester.

While club-led comparisons to Eric Cantona may be unhelpful and somewhat hyperbolic, a closer similarity may well be to fellow South American ‘maverick’, Carlos Tevez, with the Argentine having also been such a relentless presence in Sir Alex Ferguson’s feared forward line.

Operating alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, the ex-West Ham United man wasn’t always the star attraction in his two-year stay at the club, although he was just as crucial to that glittering period of success, racking up 48 goals and assists in 99 games in total in all competitions.

Subscribe for deeper transfer and tactical analysis Dig into transfer context and tactical breakdowns — subscribe to the newsletter for expert perspectives on Semenyo’s move, Cunha’s emergence and what it means for United’s attacking setup. Stay informed with focused coverage and insightful analysis. Subscribe Subscribe for deeper transfer and tactical analysis Dig into transfer context and tactical breakdowns — subscribe to the newsletter for expert perspectives on Semenyo’s move, Cunha’s emergence and what it means for United’s attacking setup. Stay informed with focused coverage and insightful analysis.

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Cunha, in the modern day, has been somewhat overshadowed himself by the goalscoring form of both Mbeumo and Fernandes, but as was evident on Friday evening, he can be equally as instrumental, registering one key pass and successfully completing four of his six attempted dribbles.

Cunha vs Newcastle

Stat

Record

Minutes

90

Touches

52

Pass accuracy

81%

Shots

3

Key passes

1

Dribbles

4/6

Total duels won

5/15

Recoveries

3

Interceptions

3

Stats via Sofascore

While Semenyo might have been earmarked as another option off that left flank, with Cunha repurposed more centrally, the ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers hero showcased why he should be a nailed-on starter in his preferred role, having begun to pick up where he left off at Molineux.

Only three goals have come his way in a United shirt, although the £62.5m addition did record 15 league goals last term, after hitting 12 the year before that. For comparison, Semenyo scored just 11 and eight goals, respectively, across the last two top-flight campaigns.

The Bournemouth star’s stock is soaring, but it is Cunha’s ceiling that appears to be even higher.

At a time of such chaos again under Amorim, United’s new Tevez will have to shoulder much of the attacking burden. There’s no denying he’ll relish that.

Related Man Utd can bin Bruno by signing £100m star who's "a bit of Keane & Scholes"

The fear is creeping in – Manchester United may have to replace Bruno Fernandes before too long.

Posts 1 ByRobbie Walls

Jammu & Kashmir stormed into the knockout phase of the Ranji Trophywith a four wicket triumph over Himachal Pradesh in their final NorthZone league tie at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu. J&K finishedthird in the zonal standings with 24 points from their five games,behind Punjab (40) and Delhi (29).The win was enabled by a sporting declaration from Himachal skipperAnurag Thakur who set the hosts a fourth innings target of 251 in 77overs. An invaluable 138 from opener Ranjit Bali helped J&K across thefinishing line with more than 13 overs to spare. It was a spectacularrecovery by J&K who trailed by 140 in the first innings, narrowlyavoiding the follow-on.Resuming at 55/4, Himachal declared just over ten overs into themorning. In that period they exactly doubled their score, losing twowickets in the process. The closure was applied at the fall of onedrop Rahul Panta for a run-a-ball 66 (4 fours, 2 sixes).A 131 run third wicket stand between Bali and Ashwini Gupta (43) putJ&K firmly on the road to victory. After the latter’s departure at193, Bali carried on unperturbed until he was bowled by Nischal Gaurjust sixteen runs short of victory. His 138 arrived from 180 balls andfeatured 14 fours and 4 sixes. J&K lost two more wickets before thewinning runs came in the 64th over.

The honeymoon was beautiful, brief and spent in Cardiff. But it is over. Trevor Bayliss must now understand the extent of the challenge facing him in his new role as England coach.Seeing his batsmen dismissed for 103 on a surface on which Australia looked as if they could have batted into October, seeing his bowlers rendered impotent where Mitchell Johnson looked ferocious and watching his slip fielders catch as if they flippers rather than hands, he now knows why England have slumped to No. 6 in the Test rankings and what a task he has to drag them back towards the top.His initial reaction to defeat was to suggest the Lord’s pitch “played into the hands of Australia” and to hint that changes of selection are “on the mind”. Both of which are fairly natural responses. He will understand, too, that such fluctuations of performance are the hallmark of a young side in development. He knew there would be days like these.

Trevor Bayliss on…

Team changes: “It wouldn’t be a surprise to any player in the team that, when you play badly, positions are going to be looked at and discussed. All I’ll say is two Tests ago they were selected because they were considered the best players in the country. That doesn’t necessarily change after only four innings. But it’s a concern that we are three or four for 40 and they know that.”
Adil Rashid: “When Rash turned up, he had problems with a finger. He couldn’t spin it hard. But Moeen Ali was fine. I would think we would probably take two spinners to Edgbaston. I would like to play two spinners somewhere and he is currently thought of as one of the top two spinners in the country.”
Ben Stokes’ run-out: “Stokesy was filthy. He’s only got to look at the replay and I think he’ll realise all he had to do was slide the bat and he would have been home. That’s a lesson for a young player I suppose.”

But it is, perhaps, his ability to look beyond the immediate and suggest underlying issues that might prove most valuable to England. It is his ability to hint at long-term reform that will render him so valuable.Bayliss has only been in England a few weeks. He hasn’t had the opportunity to watch county cricket and work out which players can feature in England’s future. He cannot play much of a role in selection.But he has noticed that England has a problem with pitch preparation. He has noticed that the talk of aggression, an agenda that was largely led by Shane Warne’s repetition on the subject (truly, if they turned the volume up to max on Warne’s commentary and played it to prisoners of war, the UN would ban it), has led to a generation of batsmen who react to adversity by trying to thrash their way out of it. And he knows such an approach is entertaining but has the logic of driving home quickly in fog so as to spend less time in it.”Speaking to a few of the county coaches,” Bayliss said as he reflected on defeat in the second Investec Ashes Test, “are the pitches the county players are playing on away from Tests so different to what we’re actually playing on out there?””There are always a lot of low scores in first-class cricket here. Is that preparing our batters to actually bat for a long time? Possibly not.”It is not that county pitches are inherently bad – though some certainly are – it is that they increasingly bear no comparison with international surfaces. And not just international pitches around the world, but international pitches in England.While England will struggle to disprove the myth that they asked for such surfaces to negate the pace of Mitchell Johnson and co, the truth is that the groundsmen at Test grounds are generally instructed by their employers – the counties – to prepare surfaces that last for five days. Like just about every decision in modern cricket, it is predicated on the principle: what will earn most money in the short term?So while quite a few county surfaces encourage medium-pace bowlers who nibble the ball around in helpful conditions – it remains unhelpful that bowlers such as Darren Stevens and Jesse Ryder claim so many first-class wickets in England – batsmen learn that, sooner or later, they will receive an unplayable delivery and play positively to combat it. The solution to such problems – centrally contracted groundstaff – has long been discussed but has never been implemented.”Ordering a flat wicket is to our detriment,” Bayliss said. “I’d like to see a typical English seaming wicket against the Australians. That would suit our bowlers. I think the flatter and slower the wicket is actually plays in to the Australians’ hands. Their big, tall fast bowlers can get good bounce and variations out of the wicket because they hit the deck hard.”Meanwhile, rules have been changed to render it more difficult for experienced players to remain in the game – counties are given incentives for fielding young, England-qualified players – and it is ever more difficult to register overseas player or Kolpak-qualified cricketers. As a result, the quality of the domestic game has been diluted and gap between it and the international game has grown.The situation will only worsen. At the end of the season, the ECB will announce a new domestic structure – it will claim it is in a consultation period, but the decision has been made – which will see the number of Championship matches reduced from 16 to 12 per side and ever-more emphasis on white-ball cricket in peak season. It will do nothing to help produce wicket-taking spinners, fast bowlers or batsmen prepared to graft for a living. The emphasis, ever more, is on limited-overs skills.Bayliss picked up on this issue when he reflected on England’s shot-selection against Johnson. “Probably the one shot we didn’t employ against him today was the leave,” he said.It’s a comment that goes to the heart of much of the recent talk that suggests that anything defensive is bad and anything aggressive is good. For what England have missed most in recent months is a pair of opening batsmen who can see off the new ball and shield the attacking middle-order from the conditions at their most difficult.Yet when they meet to pick the side for the third Test on Tuesday, it seems most likely they will select another aggressive middle-order batsman in Jonny Bairstow. He is a fine player in supreme form. But that is like installing a new fire alarm to combat a flood. He is the answer to a different question.There are other options from within the current squad. Joe Root could move back to the top three – a move that weakens a strength but may be the less of several evils – while Moeen Ali could make the same journey. It is where he bats in county cricket and ODIs, after all. The way he was dismissed by a Johnson bouncer in the second innings at Lord’s did not instil a huge amount of confidence in him facing a newer ball and fresher bowlers, though.But those are short-term solutions to a longer-term issue. When Alastair Cook complains of batsmen not facing bowling of Test pace at county level and Bayliss complains of poor pitches, they are talking of longer-term fixes. If England want to enjoy more than fleeting success, it may pay to listen to them.

Uncapped Punjab allrounder Gurkeerat Singh has been included in India’s ODI squad for the first three matches against South Africa in October, while uncapped Karnataka seamer S Aravind was picked for the T20 internationals.The players left out from the full-strength ODI squad that had toured Bangladesh were allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and seamer Dhawal Kulkarni. Gurkeerat, who bowls offspin took Jadeja’s spot in the squad while legspinner Amit Mishra came in for Kulkarni.Gurkeerat, 25, had two impressive outings for India A recently. He had taken 2 for 42 and scored an unbeaten 87 in the tri-series final victory against Australia A in August, and then he made 65 and took 5 for 29 against a Bangladesh A team comprising several international players in the first one-day game in Bangalore.”Gurkeerat was picked looking at his all-round capabilities,” Sandeep Patil, the chairman of selectors, said. “The demands of the game are such that we need more allrounders.”The selectors, who met in Bangalore on Sunday afternoon, said they had not contemplated any change in the captaincy, with MS Dhoni returning to lead the ODI and T20I squads after Virat Kohli had captained India to a Test series win in Sri Lanka. Dhoni had retired from Test cricket during the tour of Australia last year.”We have not discussed anything regarding the ODI captaincy,” Patil said. “We are very happy the way Dhoni has led. We have total backing for Dhoni during this series.”Fast bowler Mohammed Shami was not included in either squad because he is still undergoing rehabilitation for the knee injury he suffered during the tour of Australia in 2014-15. Shami last played for India during the 2015 World Cup and been sidelined from all competitive cricket since.India did not pick any of their fastest bowlers – Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron or Ishant Sharma – for the T20 internationals, preferring the medium pace offered by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Aravind, and Stuart Binny.”We have picked this side looking at the wickets,” Patil said. “We have not lost faith in our [fast] bowlers. There is still a lot of time to go to World Twenty20. We did discuss Ishant Sharma also. Not like we have earmarked him only for Tests.”South Africa arrive in India in the last week of September and play three T20Is, five ODIs and four Tests during a tour that ends on December 7.ODI squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Amit MishraT20I squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, S Aravind, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra

After a gap of more than two years, the third edition of the Bangladesh Premier League will begin on November 24. It will be a six-team competition with three new franchise owners set to take part.The Dhaka, Chittagong and Barisal teams will now be run by Beximco Group, DBL Group and Axiom Technologies respectively. There will not be a franchise for Rajshahi and Khulna this year.The BCB have retained only three of the old franchise owners. The board had said they would only accept bids from those who had paid their dues from the 2013 edition, as well as the Tk 5.5 crore (approx USD 750,000) bank guarantee that had to be paid for the third edition. Only Alif Group, Royal Sports Limited and I Sports were able to do so.Alif Group were previous owners of the Barisal franchise but this time they will own the Sylhet team and I Sports take control of Rangpur.Royal Sports Limited picked Comilla, which is not a division yet, but BPL governing council’s member secretary Haider Mallick reasoned that, “The government has made Mymensingh as a division recently and possibly Comilla is in line too. As a result, this year we have decided to go with City Corporations, and not divisions. It will be a 10-team competition in the future although there are 20 City Corporations. We are giving the team for four years and the contract can be renewed through discussions at the end of the term.”Mallick and BCB president Nazum Hasan are employees of Beximco, but Mallick said they will not be involved with the Dhaka franchise in any capacity. The BPL governing council has decided that none among them can own or advice a franchise but anyone outside the governing council can participate in a franchise.”Nobody from the BPL governing council can be involved with the teams. They can’t be an owner or even stay as an adviser. But board directors or anyone who is not in the governing council, they can participate with the team.”I work in Beximco Pharma. The team was bought by Beximco Group. I am employed by Beximco, I am not an owner. I will not be involved with the team. The board president is also not an owner, he is an employee. He will also not be involved with this team. There will be no conflict of interest in this matter,” Mallick said.

Kolkata Knight Riders have signed Jacques Kallis as their new head coach for the upcoming season. Kallis will succeed Trevor Bayliss, who took over as head coach of England in June. Kallis, who has been with the franchise since 2011, was the team’s batting consultant in IPL 2015.”KKR is my family in India and the association since 2011 has been one of the most enjoyable experiences for me,” Kallis said. “I look forward to the new challenge and feel honoured to be part of the KKR family.”Venky Mysore, Knight Riders’ chief executive, said the Kallis signing ensured a smooth transition for the team. “We couldn’t be happier that Jacques agreed to take on the role as head coach of KKR,” Mysore said. “The respect and regard he commands in the dressing room as well as his fondness for KKR made him our ideal choice.”

ScorecardFile photo: Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary stroked 97 to help his side take the first innings honours in an ill-tempered clash against Delhi•PTI

Vidarbha registered their first outright win of the season by beating Assam by three wickets in Nagpur. Half-centuries from Wasim Jaffer (71) and Faiz Fazal (63), and their 124-run opening stand reduced their chase of 213 into one-way traffic for large parts. But the loss of Ganesh Satish, Shalabh Srivastava and S Badrinath with the target within touching distance – they slipped from 200 for 2 to 200 for 5 – lent the game some excitement as the spin duo of Swarupam Purkayastha and Amit Verma took three wickets apiece.The win meant Vidarbha, who were placed eighth in the nine-team pool, jumped to the third spot, while Assam moved one spot down to No. 2.Jayant Yadav’s six-wicket haul threatened to stop Karnataka’s 33-match unbeaten streak that has spanned three seasons, but Manish Pandey, who came in at No. 9, batted for 26 deliveries with a broken finger as Karnataka salvaged one point, with Haryana having to settle for first-innings honours.Batting out 90 overs was the easier option for Karnataka as they began the day needing 364 with all 10 wickets intact. KL Rahul fell early, but Robin Uthappa (66) and R Samarth (32) appeared to have steadied things for the hosts, before Jayant Yadav turned the match on its head with his offspin as Karnataka slipped from 146 for 2 to 198 for 7.It boiled down to Pandey, who didn’t bat in the first innings because of his injury, to save the game for Karnataka, and he did it with help from debutant David Mathias, who batted 32 deliveries for his nine not out as the defending champions squeezed out a point to extend their search for their first outright win of the season into the fifth round.
ScorecardManoj Tiwary’s 97 held the Bengal innings together as their ill-tempered game against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla ended in a draw. Bengal, who walked away with three points courtesy a first-innings lead, declared on 217 for 5 to set Delhi an improbable target of 325 in a little over two sessions. Delhi lost to early wickets, but recovered courtesy Rishabh Pant (57) and Nitish Rana (49) to be placed at 161 for 4 when the game was called off at the start of the mandatory overs.With seven points from three matches, Bengal, who have a game in hand, were breathing down Karnataka’s neck in the points table, while Delhi continued their run at the top of the standings courtesy two outright wins in four matches.
ScorecardAshok Menaria, Rajat Bhatia and Dishant Yagnik thwarted Maharashtra’s hopes of securing an outright win after taking a 91-run lead in Jaipur. Rajasthan, who began the day precariously placed on 115 for 3, were driven by a 127-run fourth-wicket stand between Menaria and Bhatia. Menaria, who made 84 in the first innings, completed his first century of the season, and finished unbeaten on 150 with Rajasthan declaring at 334 for 5.Bhatia, making his Rajasthan debut after securing a late NOC, finished with scores of 59 and 64 in two innings. With the game all but secured, Menaria found support from Yagnik, who made 58, as the two shared an unbroken 149-run stand to puncture Maharashtra’s hopes. The visitors’ chase was merely a formality. They placed at 17 without loss when the captains shook hands.The lead that was largely achieved on the back of Rahul Tripathi’s century, and took Maharashtra to the fourth spot. Rajasthan were placed eighth.

After, finally, a full day’s play, Hampshire managed to force a draw without undue difficulty against the touring Zimbabwean team, the match finishing 20 minutes early in bright sunshine.Zimbabwe began the day 150 runs ahead of the county side, with four first-innings wickets in hand. Alistair Campbell, on 108 overnight, found it difficult to find his fluency, and his partner Tatenda Taibu made most of the early runs, but the inexperienced Taibu (17 next month) played some of the most impressive strokes – cover drives (off front and back foot) a flick to long leg and a square cut all reaching the boundary.Hampshire were not impressive, with some loose bowling and one or two half chances and three possible run-outs were missed. Taibu (36) was finally adjudged lbw to Francis and now has a first-class average of 47, after scoring 11 not out in his debut match in the West Indies.Campbell drove Charlie van der Gucht for a straight six, and then took a single to reach an unbeaten 150, whereupon he declared with a lead of 233. Hampshire made a steady start to their second innings, reaching 17 without loss at lunch (Jason Laney 8, Giles White 9).The tourists never seriously looked likely to force a victory, due mainly to erratic bowling. Henry Olonga and Neil Johnson were the most disappointing, but altogether there were too many short and wide balls. Laney and White enjoyed the freedom of the extra width and rattled up some quick runs before the bowlers began to get their act together again. They scored 86 together before White unaccountably shouldered arms to `Pommie’ Mbangwa, only to have his off stump sent cartwheeling out of the ground.At the other end Laney sliced a catch off Guy Whittall to Trevor Gripper in the covers, and Hampshire had to dig in again. Will Kendall and Robin Smith played with great care, although the latter got of the mark with a snick of Whittall just too high and wide for second slip to grasp. Both looked tentative and it was a different ball game for a while until Smith suddenly crashed Mbangwa to the extra cover boundary and the tension lifted somewhat. At tea the match was looking safe for them with the score at 111 for 2 (Kendall 9, Smith 12).Smith continued to bat with care in the final session, but still commanded attention with the occasional boundary of unparalleled power. He scored 60 off 114 balls before pushing forward to Johnson, more disciplined in his second spell, and giving a regulation catch to Campbell at second slip. Derek Kendall scored only 2 before driving half-heartedly at Whittall and being caught at the wicket, making Hampshire 214 for 4.Kendall had been batting unspectacularly without getting bogged down, reaching his fifty; eventually he snicked Johnson through the slips for four, taking Hampshire to 234 for 4, which avoided the innings defeat and the teams agreed to call it a day.

Gavin Hamilton turned in a tremendous all round performance to bring Yorkshire Phoenix a sensational 49-run victory over Sussex Sharks at Scarborough yesterday which took them six points clear at the top of Division One of the Norwich Union National League.It was Yorkshire’s fifth consecutive win in the competition and the only side who can rob them of the title if they beat Kent Spitfires at Canterbury on Tuesday are Gloucestershire Gladiators who play the two matches they have in hand over the next two days.Hamilton blasted a career-best 57 not out off 58 balls with six fours and two sixes as Yorkshire reached 192 for eight off their 45 overs, the biggest contribution coming from Darren Lehmann who held the first half of the batting together while hammering 80 from only 99 deliveries with seven boundaries.But it was an incredible second spell with the ball by Hamilton which dramatically turned the tables on Sussex who seemed to be cruising it until their last eight wickets crashed for a mere 28 runs in seven overs.Hamilton began the rout by bowling Michael Bevan for a faultless 67 off 69 balls with seven fours and a six and he compiled his runs during a superb third wicket stand of 113 in 26 overs with Chris Adams. Adams was run out going for a second when he could not beat substitute fielder Vic Craven’s throw to the wicketkeeper and Hamilton rapidly mopped up to end with splendid figures of five for 34.There were five ducks in the Sussex innings and Yorkshire openers David Byas and Simon Widdup also failed to get off the mark but Lehmann and then Hamilton came to the rescue.

Charinda Fernado bowled Moors SC back into the game to beat Sinhalese SportsClub by 24 runs in the first match of the Premier League One-Day Tournament, which was played at Maitland Place. Fernando claimed six wickets in his 10 over spell and conceded just 29 runs.SSC were heading comfortably towards their 211 run victory target when they were on 107 for two in the 29th over. Fernando the entered the fray to dismiss Tilan Samaraweera for 43 runs and end a 79 partnership with Sajeeva Ranatunga.Suresh Perera was bowled next ball and Ranatunga was dismissed in Fernando’s following over.With the exception of SSC captain, Hemantha Wickramaratne, who made 36, none of the other batsmen were able to establish themselves at the crease. Fernando took three more wickets and SSC were left reeling on 178 for 8 with four overs remaining. The 23 runs needed off the final overs proved too much for the star studded SSC side and Ragana Herath mopped up the tail.”They bowled tightly and our batsmen failed to accumulate enough singles early on, to keep the run-rate under control. The pressure began to add up on the batsmen,” said a disappointed Wickramaratne after the defeat.Earlier, Moors SC elected to bat first and got of to a steady start, with the openers adding 48 runs in the first 13 overs. However, the two openers, Heshan Tillakeratne(23) and Dilshan Witharana(19), were back in pavilion at the 16th over with the total on 65.Thereafter, skipper, Rasika Priyadarshana (29), took charge of the innings and put up 41 runs with Bathiya Perera (19) for the third wicket.Nilantha Cooray who had a good start to the season, making 173 runs in four innings in the Under 23 tournament, showed his form again to score 49 runs in 54 balls. He dispatched five balls to the boundary and hit one six.Dilhara Fernando proved to be a handful for the visitors. He wrapped up the Moors innings for what appeared to be a modest score of 210. Fernando finished with figures of five for 32. Samaraweera chipped in with two for 28.