Galle Gladiators secured a place in the Qualifier 1 of the Lanka Premier League 2021, when they defeated Jaffna Kings by 20 runs in the penultimate match of the league stage on Friday at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium
Photos – Lanka Premier League 2021 | Galle Gladiators v Jaffna Kings | Match 19
The Qualifier 1 will be played between the table-toppers Jaffna Kings and second-placed Galle Gladiators on 19th December in Hambantota. Having only made 129 runs, Galle managed to bowl out Jaffna to just 109 runs and recorded their 4th win in the competition.
Galle Gladiators, after opting to bat first, struggled their way to 129 runs from their 20 overs. Skipper Bhanuka Rajapaksa top-scored for the Gladiators with a hard-fought 23 off 25 balls. On a pitch which offered plenty of assistance to the slow-bowlers, run-making was quite difficult. Danushka Gunathilaka scored at a poor strike-rate of nearly 60 for his 32-ball 19.
Young leg-spinner Vijaykanth Viyaskanth once again put up a stellar performance with the ball, picking up 2 wickets for 21 runs, while left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama, playing his first game in the tournament, took 2 wickets for 13 runs off his 4 overs.
Chasing 130 runs to win, the Jaffna top order failed to fire as the Galle spinners spun a web around with some tight bowling. None of the batters were able to make an impactful knock during the chase. The foreign spin duo, Samit Patel and Noor Ahmed, picked up two wickets each to derail the Jaffna chase. Mohammad Hafeez’s diving catch brought an end to the Shoaib Malik’s cameo of 23.
Jaffna’s last hope Ashen Bandara, who made 18 off 9 balls, was dismissed courtesy a run-out as Galle recorded their second consecutive win over the high-riding Jaffna outfit, having won their fixture (first match of the LPL 2021) by 54 runs. Earlier, Jaffna Kings made six changes to their team from their previous game against Colombo Stars.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danushka Gunathilaka | c Suranga Lakmal b Shoaib Malik | 19 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 59.38 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Tom Kohler-Cadmore b Wahab Riaz | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 128.57 |
| Mohammad Hafeez | b Praveen Jayawickrama | 15 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 115.38 |
| Bhanuka Rajapakse | b Wahab Riaz | 23 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 92.00 |
| Samit Patel | c Ashen Bandara b Vijayakanth Viyaskanth | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Sahan Arachchige | lbw b Vijayakanth Viyaskanth | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Isuru Udana | c & b Vijayakanth Viyaskanth | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 61.54 |
| Pulina Tharanga | run out () | 14 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 155.56 |
| Mohammad Amir | not out | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 160.00 |
| Noor Ahmad | not out | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Extras | 17 (b 1 , lb 0 , nb 2, w 14, pen 0) |
| Total | 129/8 (20 Overs, RR: 6.45) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-11 (2.1) Kusal Mendis, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thisara Perera | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9.00 | |
| Suranga Lakmal | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 9.67 | |
| Wahab Riaz | 4 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 7.75 | |
| Praveen Jayawickrama | 3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 4.33 | |
| Shoaib Malik | 4 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 4.00 | |
| Vijayakanth Viyaskanth | 4 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 5.25 | |
| Chathuranga de Sliva | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | c Bhanuka Rajapakse b Samit Patel | 21 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 140.00 |
| Avishka Fernando | c Noor Ahmad b Mohammad Hafeez | 7 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 63.64 |
| Tom Kohler-Cadmore | c Bhanuka Rajapakse b Samit Patel | 7 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 36.84 |
| Shoaib Malik | c Mohammad Hafeez b Noor Ahmad | 23 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 85.19 |
| Chathuranga de Sliva | b Sahan Arachchige | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 61.54 |
| Thisara Perera | b Noor Ahmad | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Ashen Bandara | run out () | 18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 200.00 |
| Wahab Riaz | run out () | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Suranga Lakmal | c Noor Ahmad b Mohammad Amir | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 166.67 |
| Vijayakanth Viyaskanth | run out () | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Praveen Jayawickrama | not out | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 10 (b 1 , lb 2 , nb 0, w 7, pen 0) |
| Total | 109/10 (18.3 Overs, RR: 5.89) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammad Amir | 2.3 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 10.87 | |
| Samit Patel | 4 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 3.75 | |
| Pulina Tharanga | 4 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 5.50 | |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 3 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 7.67 | |
| Noor Ahmad | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 3.00 | |
| Ashain Daniel | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 9.00 | |
