Uva Next v Wayamba United SLPL 2012 live and preview

After a two-day gap, the action resumes in the Sri Lankan Premier League as Uva Next get ready to face Wayamba United on Friday.

Both the sides won their respective first matches and the winner will draw level on points at the top of the table with Nagenahira Nagas.

Wayamba United, arguably the strongest team in the tournament, proved their strength with an imposing nine-wicket win in the opening match.

Set a daunting 180 to chase, they got home with four balls to spare as their batsmen looked at ease scoring runs at will. Tamim Iqbal and Kamran Akmal, the openers, featured in a 176-run opening stand only to break apart on the brink of victory.

Mahela Jayawardene, the national captain as well, will be looking for a similar power performance from his players though bowling is one area where he would feel more of a need for improvement.

Abdul Razzaq, Isuru Udana and Kaushalya Weeraratne - all boasting of international experience - were taken for plenty of runs. With the bat, Umar Akmal is an explosive batsmen to watch out for.

Their opponents, Uva Next, had a similar story in their first match when they chased down the target with 10 balls to spare and eight wickets in hand.

The bowlers did a much better job in comparison though, restricting Basnahira Cricket Dundee for 136 thanks to the five-wicket haul for Dilhara Fernando and three-wicket Jacob Oram.

Fernando’s pace will be a test for the opposing batsmen though Wayamba boast of a more experienced batting line up and hence should do better. Umar Gul, touted to be their biggest weapon, sprayed the ball all around.

With the ball, Upul Tharanga and Shoaib Malik hold the fort as they showed in their responsible batting display in the opening match as well.

The action has moved to Pallekele with the match scheduled to start at 4.00pm local time.