Battle of the two Angelos: Colombo Stars, Kandy Warriors vie for final playoffs spot

 Colombo Stars captain Angelo Mathews and Kandy Warriors skipper Angelo Perera

• Clash for top two places to enter Qualifier 1 

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

The Lanka Premier League Season 2 took its second break from a busy schedule and gave time to reflect on what has happened so far, and what is due to take place in the next few days.

With three of the four places in the playoffs already decided, interest will focus on the vital fourth place, where Colombo Stars led by Angelo Mathews and Kandy Warriors captained by Angelo Perera are in contention.

Colombo with three wins and six points from their six matches are currently in a favourable position to qualify, more so than Kandy who have only a solitary win from six matches and lie at the bottom of the table with two points. Colombo, who were struggling in the initial phases of the tournament have been boosted by the return of Mathews to lead them. Mathews’ experience as a past Sri Lanka captain has certainly helped Colombo on their way to back-to-back victories in their last two matches. 

It is a big ask from Kandy to qualify. If they are to do so, they need Colombo to lose their two remaining league fixtures – one to table leaders Jaffna Kings and the last to Kandy themselves. If that happens Kandy and Colombo will finish equal on points and net run rate will decide who will go through to the playoffs.

But to even entertain that scenario Kandy must first beat the Dambulla Giants today. A loss to Dambulla would mean that Kandy cannot qualify for the last four and the result of the game against Colombo tomorrow will essentially be a dead rubber.

Meanwhile, there is a keen tussle going on for the top two places in the table because the two teams that finish first and second will play in Qualifier 1. The winner of that contest will go straight into the final, while the loser still gets another chance to qualify by playing the winner of the Eliminator, which will be contested by the teams finishing third and fourth in the table. The losing team of the Eliminator goes out of the tournament, while the winner will meet the loser of Qualifier 1 for a place in the final.  

Jaffna Kings with a superior run rate are perched on top of the table and they look like finishing in that position when the league round ends. They have two more matches, against Colombo today and Dambulla tomorrow, and even if they lose both, they are virtually assured of the top spot because of their excellent net run rate.

Colombo is the only team that can catch up with Jaffna on points, provided they win their remaining two matches to draw level on 10 points. But with a negative net run rate they have a lot of catching up to do to displace Jaffna.

Jaffna have looked the team to beat in the tournament. Since losing their first match they have been in a league of their own, reeling off five consecutive wins and showing the consistency which the other four teams have lacked. They seem to have all their bases covered, whether they are chasing or having to put up a total on the board batting first. Even in rain curtailed matches they have had the players to deliver, however short the game, as they did against Colombo smashing a stunning 207-6 in 18 overs – the only team to top 200 in the tournament so far, and 95-3 off 8.4 overs in a ten-over contest against Kandy.

Englishman Phil Salt representing Dambulla continues to be the leading run-getter of the competition accumulating 244 runs from seven matches at a strike rate of 158.44, followed by Dinesh Chandimal of Colombo Stars with 225 runs from six matches and a strike rate of 156.25. Salt and Jaffna Kings captain Thisara Perera are the only batsmen to score two fifties, with Perera sporting the second-best strike rate of 217.39 after Kandy Warriors’ Rovman Powell (236.36) who unfortunately had to leave after playing three matches to join the West Indies white ball team. Perera, along with teammate Avishka Fernando, has struck the highest number of sixes – 12 each. The duo have also figured in the only century partnership of the tournament – 105 against Kandy Warriors for the third wicket. 

Another Englishman, Samit Patel of Galle Gladiators, is the leading wicket-taker with 13 wickets from seven matches at an economy rate of 5.14, which is the best amongst the bowlers. Spinners Maheesh Theekshana (Jaffna Kings) and Imran Tahir (Dambulla Giants) and fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera (Colombo Stars) have taken 11 wickets apiece.