THE defending champions University Dynamites got off to a winning start in the 2013 Jamaica Premier League (JPL) Twenty20 competition after defeating Mandeville Thunder by 28 runs at Melbourne CC yesterday.

Scores: University Dynamites 195-4 (20 overs); Mandeville Thunder 167-8 (20 overs).

Batting first, the Dynamites amassed 195-4 from their allotted 20 overs thanks to a whirlwind knock of 98 not out from national batsman Nkrumah Bonner. He struck 11 sixes and a lone four off a mere 45 deliveries.

Earlier in the innings, openers Shacoya Thomas (40) and Jon-Ross Campbell (28) laid the platform in adding 57 runs in exactly five overs for the first wicket.

Part-time spinner Donavan Sinclair took 1-27 for the Thunder team.

In reply, Mandeville Thunder fought bravely but were restricted to 167-8 with Kemar Marshall and David Powell leading the way with 54 and 34, respectively.

National pacer Andrew Richardson took 2-20, while wrist spinner Cassius Burton and Derval Green each chipped in with two further wickets.

In the curtain-raiser at the venue, Spanish Town Titans held on for a two-run win over Kingston Hurricanes in a game reduced to 13 overs-a-side due to morning rain.

Scores: Spanish Town Titans 156-5 (13 overs); Kingston Hurricanes 154-4 (13 overs).

Openers Tamar Lambert (42) and left-hander Simon Jackson (38) led a blistering onslaught as the Titans reached 72 runs inside the opening seven overs.

Further impetus was added late on as hard-hitting all-rounder Andre Russell belted 34 off 10 balls, and the powerfully-built Jowayne Robinson hammered 20 not out off seven balls.

Kenar Bryan grabbed 3-19.

The Hurricanes stuttered to 11-2, but opener Tareque White, who flourished after a lean start, cracked an unbeaten 68 off 31 balls, and number four batsman Carlton Baugh (43) unleashed a fearsome counter-attack to make the improbable look quite possible.

Needing 28 runs off the final over to win the match, White and Damion Jacobs, who made 19 not out, put part-time spinner Tamar Lambert under some pressure with massive hits out of the ground, but the Hurricanes fell short.

In the lone match at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium, MoBay Sixers beat Ocho Rios Chargers by four wickets.

Scores: Ocho Rios Chargers 109-6 (20 overs); MoBay Sixers 110-6 (17 overs).

The JPL T20 continues today with the Sixers battling the Hurricanes and Ocho Rios Chargers facing the Dynamites at the Trelawny venue at 9:30 am and 1:30 pm, respectively.

At Chedwin Park, the Titans host Mandeville Thunder at 1:30 pm.