After the exciting curtain-raiser yesterday, the second fixture in the inaugural Lanka Premier League 2020 between Galle Gladiators and Jaffna Stallions lived up to the hype as Avishka Fernando guided the Stallions to victory in another high scoring match.
Galle Gladiators skipper Shahid Afridi was available for selection for Galle Gladiators and he won the toss and elected to bat first in hopes there would be no dew later in the game. (he was wrong)
Photos: Jaffna Stallions vs Galle Gladiators – Match 2 | LPL 2020
Opening the innings for the Gladiators, southpaw Danushka Gunathilaka set the leather on fire with a rapid knock of 38 runs from 30 balls. He hit seven boundaries before being dismissed trying to reverse-sweep one-off Wanindu Hasaranga’s bowling.
Hasaranga controlled the middle part of the innings of Gladiators with his wrist spin as he only conceded 12 runs while picking 2 scalps. Gladiators were struggling at this point going at a rate just higher than a run-a-ball. Enter AFRIDI.
The veteran reminded the Stallions’ bowling unit that there’s a reason why he is called “Boom-Boom Afridi” with a sensational half-century. His 58 off 23 balls included 6 maximums; all against two South African pace machines; Duanne Olivier and Kyle Abbott.
Despite going for 24 runs in his last over, Duanne Olivier produced 4 dismissals, halting the Galle Gladiators’ progress.
The captaincy of Thisara Perera was certainly on display as he changed the bowlers and set the fielders well throughout the innings. However, the fielding of Jaffna Stallions was well below-par as they dropped three regulation chances; one of which was Afridi’s when he was on 17.
Chasing a target of 176, Stallions opener Minod Bhanuka made his presence known with 2 sixes and a boundary but perished just after scooping Mohammad Amir for a six behind the wicketkeeper.
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The star of the chase was Sri Lanka opener, Avishka Fernando who manufactured a calculated inning, exhibiting a whole new phase of his game against Shahid Afridi, Mohammed Amir led bowling attack. Despite starting slowly, Fernando did not panic as he judged whom to defend and whom to attack. 22-year-old produced the ‘player of the match’ performance with an unbeaten 92 off just 63 balls including seven sixes.
Experienced Shoaib Malik had the best seat in the ground to watch Fernando’s brilliant innings as he contributed to the unbroken 110-run partnership with 27 runs. Stallions chased the target down in the last over with 8 wickets in hand and climbed to the top of the points table in the Lanka Premier League 2020.
The next fixture of the tournament will be held on tomorrow (28th November) between Kandy Tuskers vs Dambulla Viiking at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium. Keep Logged onto ThePapare.com for all the news, updates, videos, and photos of the Lanka Premier League 2020.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chadwick Walton | c Wanindu Hasaranga b Duanne Olivier | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Danushka Gunathilaka | b Wanindu Hasaranga | 38 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 126.67 |
| Azam Khan | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Wanindu Hasaranga | 20 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 111.11 |
| Bhanuka Rajapakse | c Binura Fernando b Duanne Olivier | 21 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 105.00 |
| Milinda Siriwardane | c Chathuranga de Sliva b Duanne Olivier | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Shahid Afridi | c Tom Moores b Duanne Olivier | 58 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 252.17 |
| Shehan Jayasuriya | run out (Tom Moores) | 17 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 154.55 |
| Mohammad Amir | c Tom Moores b Thisara Perera | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Akila Dananjaya | not out | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Extras | 10 (b 0 , lb 5 , nb 0, w 5, pen 0) |
| Total | 175/8 (20 Overs, RR: 8.75) |
| Did not bat | Asitha Fernando, Mohamed Shiraz, |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-24 (3.3) Chadwick Walton, 2-58 (7.5) Danushka Gunathilaka, 3-79 (11.2) Azam Khan, 4-92 (13.1) Bhanuka Rajapakse, 5-93 (13.3) Milinda Siriwardane, 6-155 (17.6) Shahid Afridi, 7-166 (18.6) Mohammad Amir, 8-175 (19.6) Shehan Jayasuriya, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binura Fernando | 3 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 9.00 | |
| Kyle Abbott | 4 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 11.50 | |
| Duanne Olivier | 4 | 0 | 44 | 4 | 11.00 | |
| Thisara Perera | 4 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 7.50 | |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 3.00 | |
| Shoaib Malik | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avishka Fernando | not out | 92 | 63 | 5 | 7 | 146.03 |
| Minod Bhanuka | c Azam Khan b Mohammad Amir | 18 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 180.00 |
| Tom Moores | c Shahid Afridi b Mohamed Shiraz | 18 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 128.57 |
| Shoaib Malik | not out | 27 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 87.10 |
| Extras | 21 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 1, w 18, pen 0) |
| Total | 176/2 (19.3 Overs, RR: 9.03) |
| Did not bat | Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chathuranga de Sliva, Kyle Abbott, Binura Fernando, Duanne Olivier, |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-35 (3.2) Minod Bhanuka, 2-66 (7.4) Tom Moores, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akila Dananjaya | 3.3 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 10.00 | |
| Mohammad Amir | 4 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 7.25 | |
| Asitha Fernando | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 9.33 | |
| Shahid Afridi | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 5.00 | |
| Mohamed Shiraz | 3 | 0 | 38 | 1 | 12.67 | |
| Milinda Siriwardane | 2 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 12.50 | |
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