The Thisara Perera led Jaffna Stallions will meet Dasun Shanaka’s Dambulla Viiking on 14th December at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in the 2nd semi-final of the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League.
Read More : High-profile Commentary Panel for LPL
Jaffna Stallions started the tournament with a bang as they went on to win four consecutive matches. But in the next four matches, they failed to find a win, leaving a question mark about their form.
Stallions’s batting will be weigh heavily on the shoulders of Avishka Fernando and Thisara Perera who are the highest scorers of the franchise so far. With the assistance of players like Shoaib Malik, Tom Moores and Wanindu Hasaranga, Stallions look to be a strong batting unit but the constant changes to the team and injury concerns have made the batting unit unstable.
However, the bowling attack of the Jaffna Stallions has been one of the strongest of the tournament as Wanindu Hasaranga, Usman Shinwari, Suranga Lakmal have troubled opposition batsmen throughout the league stage. South African pace duo Duanne Olivier and Kyle Abbott have not delivered to their potential, but the other bowlers have managed to make up for it. The best of the lot has been Wanindu Hasaranga who has topped the wickets column of the LPL.
In the Viiking camp, most players have contributed to the team’s success on multiple occasions, even though the squad doesn’t boast many fancy names. However, their skipper Dasun Shanaka has been the star in terms of match winning contributions as he has done the job of a finisher in the batting line up perfectly while managing a few scalps with ball as well.
The specialty of this team has been their ability to adapt to the pitch and the conditions seamlessly. The team management hasn’t been afraid to make changes to the playing XI to suit the nature of the pitch even if it meant leaving an in-form player out of the team.
Their main weapon will be the spin from Ramesh Mendis, Samit Patel and Malinda Pushpakuamara who have been reaping rewards from the slow nature of the aging pitches in Sooriyawewa.
Read : Evans scores the first century of LPL
Previous meetings
In their last two meetings of the tournament, the Jaffna Stallions have come out on top, beating the Viikings convincingly courtesy of a destructive knock by Thisara Perera and dominating a washed out fixture.
Injury concerns
Jaffna Stallions’ middle order batsman Dhananjaya de Silva was in good nick but was ruled out of the league stage due to injury. It’s not confirmed whether he will be available for the knockout matches but he is an automatic pick if he is.
Probable XIs
Dambulla Viiking
Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Upul Tharanga, Angelo Perera, Samit Patel, Dasun Shanaka (c), Samiullah Shinwari, Ramesh Mendis, Malinda Pushpakumara, Anwar Ali, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara
Jaffna Stallions
Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka, Tom Moores (wk), Shoaib Malik, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chaturanga de Silva, Usman Shinwari, Duanne Olivier, Suranga Lakmal
>>Lanka Premier League 2020 – Coverage Powered by My Cola<<
