PORT ELIZABETH (South Africa), Sept 22 Isuru Udana took a hat-trick as the Wayamba Elevens finished their Champions League Twenty20 campaign with a 74-run win over the Central Stags here on Wednesday.

Wayamba could only score 144 for six in their 20 overs but it proved enough as Udana and unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis sent the New Zealand team plunging to 16 for five. They were all out for 70 in 15.3 overs, the lowest total of the tournament.The win at St George's Park enabled Wayamba to climb off the bottom of the Group 'A' table. Both teams had lost their first three matches.

The first blow was struck by Mendis, who shared the new ball with Udana.

Mendis trapped Stags captain Jamie How, the team's leading run-scorer, leg before wicket. Left-armer Udana, 22, who played for Sri Lanka in the 2009 World Twenty20 in England, deceived Brad Patton with a slower fourth ball of the next over, with the batsman playing too early and popping the ball up in the air for wicket-keeper Kushal Perera to run around to take an easy catch.

Mathew Sinclair over-balanced and was stumped off a leg- side wide and George Worker played down the wrong line to be bowled by a delivery which slanted in to complete the hat-trick.

Udana finished with three for 22 and Mendis with three for 14, while left-arm spinner Rangana Herath had the most economical figures of the tournament, two for seven off four overs.

Meanwhile, the skill and experience of Anil Kumble and the precocious talent of Virat Kohli took the Royal Challengers Bangalore to the semi-finals with a six-wicket win over the Highveld Lions.

Bangalore restricted the Lions to 159 for six in their 20 overs and reached the winning target with six balls to spare in a match which was effectively a quarter-final, with the winners assured of joining Group 'B' winners, South Australian Redbacks, in the last four.

Bangalore captain Kumble, 39, produced a superb spell of one for 13 in four overs, putting a brake on what had been a fast Lions scoring rate and dismissing Lions danger man Alviro Petersen.

Kohli, 21, made an audacious 49 not out off 29 balls to see the Indian Premier League team home on net run rate after they finished tied on points with the Lions and Mumbai Indians.

The Lions dominated the early part of the match. They raced to 57 for two in the first six overs, with captain Petersen and Vaughn van Jaarsveld both in superb form before Kumble came on to bowl.

On a good batting pitch, the Lions were probably 20 runs short of a total that could be defended by an inexperienced bowling line-up.

Results

Played on Wednesday

At St George's Park, Port Elizabeth Wayamba Elevens beat Central Stags by 74 runs.

WAYAMBA ELEVENS 144-6 in 20 overs (J. Mubarak 30, M.L. Udawatte 23, D.P.M.D. Jayawardene 20; M.J. Mason 2-16); CENTRAL STAGS 70 in 15.3 overs (B.A.W. Mendis 3-14, I. Udana 3-22, H.M.R.K.B. Herath 2-7).

Played on Tuesday

At Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Highveld Lions by six wickets.

HIGHVELD LIONS 159-6 in 20 overs (A.N. Petersen 45, N.D. McKenzie 39, V.B. van Jaarsveld 24, R. Frylinck 22 not out; V. Kumar 2-23); ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE 160-4 in 19 overs (V. Kohli 49 not out, M.K. Pandey 44, R. Dravid 33).—AFP