Colombo Stars pip Galle Gladiators in last ball thriller

Kusal Mendis and Asad Shafiq put on 93 for the third wicket for Galle Gladiators, each scoring a fifty

Dinesh Chandimal showed his capabilities with an audacious 63 off 33 balls for Colombo Kings

Charith Asalanka contributed with a valuable 46 off 38 balls for Colombo Kings

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

It all came down to the wire and Colombo Stars who narrowly missed out on a win against Jaffna Kings on Sunday, finally made it to beat Galle Gladiators by two wickets in a thrilling last ball finish to the second Lanka Premier League double-header played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Galle seemed to have the game within their grasp when Colombo required 40 off the last three overs, and subsequently 30 off the last two. But former England cricketer Ravi Bopara who has been in such circumstances on numerous occasions kept a cool head to see Colombo home with an unflappable knock of 32 off 13 balls that comprised five fours and a six to take the Player of the Match award.

The over that cost Galle the match was the penultimate one bowled by Wahab Riaz that went for 22 runs, so that it left Colombo with the task of scoring only eight off the final over. Seekkugge Prasanna made it two out of five when he thumped the first ball off Anwar Ali for six, but was out of the next when he tried to finish it off on a high and was held in the deep. 

Galle still stood with a chance of pulling it off when Muditha Lakshan perished without scoring off the fourth ball. Kasun Rajitha sneaked a single off the fifth to give Bopara the strike and he clobbered the final delivery over midwicket to seal the win.

Much of Colombo’s win should go to Dinesh Chandimal who blazed away after being promoted to open with a powerful and audacious innings of 63 off 33 balls (3 sixes, 6 fours). With Charith Asalanka (46 off 38 balls, 2 sixes, 3 fours) promoted to his usual position at number three, Chandimal laid the base for Colombo’s run chase with a partnership of 92 off 58 balls. Cameos from Benny Howell (22 off 9 balls), Prasanna (14 off 6) and Bopara down the order saw Colombo home.

Galle were left to rue where it all went wrong for them after rattling up a sizeable total of 193-5 with Thanuka Dabare (33 off 22 balls) and Kusal Mendis (72 off 49 balls, 4 sixes, 5 fours) taking full advantage of the power play to post 51 for the first wicket. Lahiru Udara (24 off 14 balls) continued the momentum with his captain, but the most significant innings came from Asad Shafiq who scored 58 off 33 balls (7 fours, 1 six) for a maiden fifty on his LPL debut.

Scores: 

Galle Gladiators 193-5 (20) (Thanuka Dabare 33, Kusal Mendis 72, Lahiru Udara 24, Asad Shafiq 58, Naveen-ul-Haq 2/33)

Colombo Kings 197-8 (20) (Dinesh Chandimal 63, Charith Asalanka 46, Benny Howell 22, Ravi Bopara 32*, Nuwan Tharanga 3/29, Anwar Ali 3/44)