Sri Lanka Premier League champions Uva Next raced to a six-wicket win against English T20 champs Hampshire here today. Upon surpassing Hampshire’s 135-run total in just 12.5 overs, the Sri Lankan franchise went on to bat for another 5.5 overs to give their batsmen much-needed match practice.

Earlier, Uva Next captain Thilina Kandamby won the toss and chose to field first. This decision paid off as none of the Hampshire batsmen, except Sean Ervine (37) and Glenn Maxwell (32) made any substantial impact on the scorecard.

Kiwi quick Jacob Oram caused the biggest dent in the Hampshire line-up as he ended up with bowling figures of 4-1-13-3. Even Dilhara Fernando picked up three crucial wickets to rock the County side on the back foot. Thanks to this disciplined bowling display, Hampshire could only manage 135 for eight in 20 overs.

Skipper Kandamby led Uva Next’s charge with the bat. He scored 56 off 39 balls, before he retired for the day. Even Andrew McDonald had a field day at the expense of the Hampshire bowlers; the Aussie all-rounder scored 70 off just 25 balls, which included eight fours and five sixes.

After reaching their target in 12.5 overs with six wickets to spare, Uva Next batted till 18.4 overs. Given that this was a warm-up game, the Sri Lankan side chose to give all their recognized batsmen some match practice.

For Hampshire, pacer Kabir Ali picked up two wickets for 25 runs in three overs. The remaining five bowlers deployed by captain Dimitri Mascarenhas picked up a wicket apiece, until play went on.