Scoring 171 in 2018 against Beauty Point, the dynamic Sri Lankan has now backed it up - scoring 169 off just 62 balls against Bracknell on Thursday.

The innings also saw his Chieftains crack the 300 mark, recording the highest TCL T20 score along the way with coach Liam Reynolds basking in his star's glory.

"I think that was some of the purest hitting I've seen for a long, long time - some of the shots were just ridiculous," he said.

ELSEWHERE IN SPORT

"There was one over point on the back foot but with a straight bat so not your typical cut shot, he just literally played a straight drive over point.

"I've never seen anything like that in my life and I've been playing cricket for a little while now.

"We had Dane Anderson who just went 'that's just freakish' and obviously he's in the same sort of mold as what Thanuka is."

While Dabare's big-hitting antics stole the show, Anderson (21 off 9), Beau Hills (30 off 14) and Reynolds himself (50 off 20) all chipped in and played their role, with the latter talking down his quick-fire half-century.

"To get 301 in a T20 is awesome but obviously I've come in with the damage being done and it was pretty much just a license to swing hard and it paid off for me which was good.

"It was good that other guys like Beau Hills chipped in with contributions to post that enormous total."

Bowling their opponents out for 81, the 220-run win marked Hadspen's third in a row as they advanced to Thursday night's T20 grand final against Longford at Trevallyn.