The National Super League will come to a head this week after the grand finale with Dambulla locking horns with Galle at SSC. These two heavyweights were the pick of the bunch during the group stages, with Dambulla chalking up two wins from their four outings.
Kandy and Colombo finished third and fourth respectively, but it was a case of blowing hot and cold for Colombo — they showed flashes of brilliance but ultimately lacked the staying power. The real damp squib, however, was Jaffna. Despite boasting some big guns, they misfired badly, losing three out of their four games and crashing out with barely a whimper.
Throughout the tournament, there were several nail-biters, and the highly competitive nature of the matches augurs well for the future of Sri Lankan cricket.
Kandy, for their part, were very much in the hunt for a spot in the final — right up until lunch on the final day of their last game. Having set Dambulla a mountain to climb — 392 runs in 68 overs — it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Kandy had booked their ticket to the big dance. But as the old saying goes, “cricket is a funny old game,” and it only takes one maverick to turn the tide.
Enter Dasun Shanaka, swinging from the hip at RPS a fortnight ago. Promoted to number three, he cut loose in spectacular fashion, bludgeoning a hundred off just 56 balls. Dambulla cantered home, and Kandy were left ruing their luck — another reminder that it’s never over until the fat lady sings.
Another man who found his mojo at the business end was Pathum Nissanka. Having endured a torrid time during the club season and the early stages of the NSL, Pathum roared back to form with a double-century in that very game. Alas, his heroics proved to be in vain.
Pathum wasn’t the only batsman to raise his bat for a double hundred in this tournament. The highest score of the competition belonged to Ravindu Rasantha, a former Sri Lanka Under-19 standout. Representing Jaffna, Ravindu was a one-man army, scoring a majestic double century and a near-miss 97 in the same match.
Ravindu’s tally of 563 runs in just seven innings — at a Bradmanesque average of 93 — is unlikely to be toppled in the tournament. The next best, veteran Dinesh Chandimal, is a distant second with 390 runs.
Amidst whispers and pointed fingers over his Test captaincy and barren run with the bat, Dhananjaya de Silva answered his critics in the best way possible — by letting his bat do the talking. Heading into the final, DDS has already notched up three centuries — a timely return to form for a senior pro under the pump.
Another heartening sight this season was Charith Asalanka finally rolling up his sleeves in First-Class cricket. In seasons gone by, his appearances were as rare as hen’s teeth. But with SSC in a relegation scrap, Asalanka put his hand up, then captained Colombo right through the NSL campaign, racking up over 300 runs.
Having previously been on the selectors’ blind side for the longer format, Asalanka has now built a solid case for himself. The whispers about him becoming Sri Lanka’s next all-format captain are growing louder — and who knows, that captain’s armband may not be too far away.
Dambulla’s secret weapon this season has been the renaissance of Akila Dananjaya. The wily off-spinner has bagged a staggering 37 wickets heading into the final and could very well end up breaching the 40-wicket mark, averaging in the early 20s. To put things into perspective, the second-highest wicket-taker has less than half his tally, with 15 scalps.
While Akila’s purple patch is hard to ignore, the selectors would be wise to tread carefully. His chequered history with suspect actions could come back to haunt both player and team if not handled prudently.
Young Dunith Wellalage was another who answered the wake-up call. Until this season, he had double the T20 appearances compared to red-ball matches, but this season, he went back to basics and sharpened his all-round game. Turning out for Galle, Wellalage produced match-winning performances with both bat and ball, proving he’s more than just a white-ball wonder.
Meanwhile, seam-bowling all-rounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe flew under the radar but left a strong impression while representing Kandy, earning a well-deserved call-up to the Sri Lanka ‘A’ side.
All in all, the NSL once again served Sri Lankan cricket admirably. It was a cracking season of high-quality, competitive cricket. Hats off to the authorities for pulling the right strings and ensuring the cream of the crop rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in.
