ISURU Udana bagged a hat-trick to help Wayamba end their Champions League Twenty20 campaign with an emphatic 74-run victory over the Central Districts in Port Elizabeth.
The young left-armer removed middle-order trio Brad Patton, Mathew Sinclair and George Worker in a damaging show of medium pace as the New Zealand team, chasing an ordinary 145 for victory, were bundled out for 70 in 15.3 overs.
Udana finished with three for 22 and received good support from Ajantha Mendis (three for 14) and Rangana Herath (two for seven) in restricting their opponents after Wayamba set a modest total, in which captain Jehan Mubarak (30) top-scored.
In response, the Stags took 11 from their first over, but suffered a blow when their in-form captain Jamie How (10) was trapped lbw by Mendis.
Udana turned the game on its head in the third over, before a second for Mendis stunned their opponents even further when he dismissed Peter Ingram (two) to leave the New Zealanders on 16 for five.
Kieran Noema-Barnett (10) managed to put on 20 with Brendon Diamanti for the sixth wicket, but their stand soon ended thanks to Herath.
Bevan Griggs ended top scorer with 19, but was dismissed by a stunning Mubarak catch at extra cover to sum up the Stags’ day.
Earlier, Wayamba, who struggled to get going in all of their previous games, again looked short of ideas despite another promising start from their top order. They lost Jeevantha Kulatunga (six) in the third over, the impressive Michael Mason (two for 16) enticing a square drive straight to Diamanti.
But Mahela Udawatte (23) shared 25 and 43-run partnerships with Mahela Jayawardene (20) and Mubarak respectively to leave the Sri Lankans in a decent position with more than six overs to go.
The loss of the skipper, though, attempting to go for a shot too many against Noema-Barnett, dampened the possibility of a flourish towards the end. Kaushal Lokuarachchi (12) and Kushal Perera (one) then fell in quick succession and it was only Shalika Karunanayake’s 15 not out at the death which helped them reach 144 for six.