The Galle Titans have sealed their play-offs place after registering a massive win today (14th August) over the Colombo Strikers in Match No. 20 of the Lanka Premier League 2023, played at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.
The Galle Titans Captain Dasun Shanaka decided to bowl first after winning the toss as they made three changes, adding Lasith Croospulle, Litton Das and Najibullah Zadran for Sonal Dinusha, Tim Seifert and Chad Bowes. The Strikers made one change as well to bring Shoriful Islam in place of Naseem Shah, who is having a shoulder injury.
<<< De Silva leads Dambulla Aura to top of the table >>>
Right-arm speedster Lahiru Kumara struck in back-to-back overs to remove both the openers. Pathum Nissanka was castled before Babar Azam dragged one onto his stumps when trying to play the cut, which reduced them to 19/2 in 4 overs.
The Strikers’ troubles continued as left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi spun a web to destroy their middle order. Nipun Dhananjaya, Lahiru Udara, Nuwanidu Fernando and Mohammad Nawaz became his victims as Colombo lost 6 for 68 inside 13 overs.
Afterwards, Seekkuge Prasanna joined the party to grab the next three wickets, which he achieved in one over. In the next over, Shakib Al Hasan cleaned up Iftikhar Ahmad to wrap it up as the Colombo Strikers were blown away for 74, recording the 2nd lowest total in LPL history.
Shamsi was the leader on the bowling front, finishing with terrific figures of 4/20. Prasanna also captured 3/14 in 3 overs.
<<< Colombo Strikers clinch thriller to keep Playoff chances alive >>>
While chasing an easy target, the Titans lost two early wickets in Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Litton Das. Iftikar Ahmad got the first one while Jeffrey Vandersay picked up the next wicket courtesy of a spectacular grab by Nuwanidu Fernando.
However, Lasith Croospulle and Shakib Al Hasan joined in the middle and took their side, not only to a win, but also to the play-offs with an unbroken 56-run partnership. Croospulle played really well on attacking mode, scoring 42* off 25 balls.
While racing to the target in 8.3 overs, the Galle Titans overtook B – Love Kandy’s No. 2 position on the points table, and will take on Dambulla Aura on 17th of August in Qualifier 1, which will be played from 3.00 pm onwards. B – Love Kandy will be up against the Jaffna Kings in the Eliminator on the night of the 17th.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | b Lahiru Kumara | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Babar Azam | b Lahiru Kumara | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Lahiru Udara | b Tabraiz Shamsi | 14 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 87.50 |
| Nipun Dhananjaya | lbw b Tabraiz Shamsi | 13 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 144.44 |
| Nuwanidu Fernando | b Tabraiz Shamsi | 14 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 127.27 |
| Mohammad Nawaz | c Liton Das b Tabraiz Shamsi | 11 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 73.33 |
| Iftikhar Ahmed | b Shakib Al Hasan | 5 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 31.25 |
| Chamika Karunaratne | b Seekkuge Prasanna | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Shoriful Islam | b Seekkuge Prasanna | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jeffrey Vandersay | lbw b Seekkuge Prasanna | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Matheesha Pathirana | not out | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 7 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 0, w 5, pen 0) |
| Total | 74/10 (15.4 Overs, RR: 4.72) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasun Rajitha | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 5.00 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 2 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 4.50 | |
| Lahiru Samarakoon | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11.00 | |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 3.4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 2.35 | |
| Tabraiz Shamsi | 4 | 0 | 20 | 4 | 5.00 | |
| Seekkuge Prasanna | 3 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 4.67 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhanuka Rajapaksa | st Lahiru Udara b Iftikhar Ahmed | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 85.71 |
| Lasith Croospulle | not out | 42 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 168.00 |
| Liton Das | c Nuwanidu Fernando b Jeffrey Vandersay | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | not out | 17 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 113.33 |
| Extras | 9 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 9, pen 0) |
| Total | 75/2 (8.3 Overs, RR: 8.82) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shoriful Islam | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 | |
| Iftikhar Ahmed | 3 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 8.67 | |
| Mohammad Nawaz | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 | |
| Jeffrey Vandersay | 3 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 6.00 | |
| Matheesha Pathirana | 0.3 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 60.00 | |
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 over the Colombo Strikers in Match No. 20 of the Lanka Premier League 2023, played at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.){kind=link}