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Matthew Forde nearly took Dambulla Aura to the play-offs with a splendid all-round display (4/11 and 52)
Jordan Cox and Matthew Forde made a valiant attempt to help Dambulla Aura qualify with a third wicket stand of 79
Nuwanidu Fernando scored 63 off 42 balls under pressure to rescue Galle Gladiators from a precarious position
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Dambulla Aura ended a disappointing Lanka Premier League 3 campaign with a four-wicket win over Galle Gladiators in the final match of the league phase at the R. Premadasa Stadium yesterday, but it came a shade too late for them to make it to the play-offs.
After restricting Galle to a total of 129-8, Dambulla needed to win in 11.1 overs to make it to the qualifiers, but despite a valiant effort by Barbadian all-rounder 20-year-old Matthew Forde, they fell desperately short, reaching only 113-5 in that required number of overs.
Forde played a major role in trying to get Dambulla over the line bowling with a lot of hostility to take four wickets for 11 runs with his swing and bounce and then showing his skills with the bat with a powerful knock of 52 off 30 balls (2 sixes, 6 fours).
With Jordan Cox (34 off 21 balls), Forde who took the Player of the Match award put on 79 off 41 balls, but Galle ensured that Dambulla fell way behind the required rate of qualifying through some wily bowling by their seam and spin bowlers.
Although Dambulla eventually won the contest it was more or less a consolation win for them, as Galle with a superior net run rate will join the other top three teams Kandy Falcons, Jaffna Kings and Colombo Stars in the play-offs commencing tomorrow.
At one point, Dambulla looked to have done everything right in keeping the chase down to a gettable total. But some loose bowling in the last two overs, especially the final one, shifted the momentum completely towards Galle.
Galle were in dire straits at 69/6 in the 15th over, but young Nuwanidu Fernando played a calm and composed innings under pressure to finish on 63* off 42 balls (5 sixes, 3 fours). He hung around patiently while wickets fell at the other end and when it mattered, he exploded.
Galle in fact plundered 40 runs in the final two overs, 25 of which came off Fernando’s bat in the final over bowled by Sikander Raza who led Dambulla in the absence of injured skipper Dasun Shanaka.
Scores:
