Hambantota Bangla Tigers have last laugh

Inaugural Lanka T10 Super League champions Hambantota Bangla Tigers

• Win inaugural Lanka T10 League beating Jaffna Titans in the final
• Former captain Dasun Shanaka on the comeback trail

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Former white ball captain Dasun Shanaka made a statement in his bid to regain his place in the national team by leading Hambantota Bangla Tigers to an emphatic 26-run win over formidable Jaffna Titans in the inaugural Lanka T10 Super League played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Beaten twice rather comprehensively by 8 wickets and by 39 runs in the lead-up matches to the final, Hambantota picked themselves up magnificently after two humiliating defeats to turn the tide in their favour when it mattered most.

Hambantota pulled no punches in the final, defending their total of 133-7 by restricting the powerful Jaffna batting to 107-6. For the first time in the tournament after a roller coaster run to the final, Jaffna found themselves under pressure, and they came second best.

England seamer Richard Gleeson broke the backbone of the opposition by dismissing two of Jaffna’s most explosive batters Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Kusal Mendis, the leading run getter in the tournament in his first over.

From there onwards Jaffna failed to gain the momentum in their batting and were pushed further back when Shanaka stepped in with the wickets of Pavan Ratnayake (10) and the captain David Wiese for a golden duck to make them 54-5.

Tom Abell tried to make a match of it but the task proved too enormous for him despite scoring his second fifty of the tournament – 54* off 27 balls (4 fours, 3 sixes).

Consistent contributions down the line enabled Hambantota to come up with a competitive total. At one stage they threatened the opposition to score over 150, but Jaffna managed to pull back and keep them down to 133, which was still the highest score made by any opposition against Jaffna.

Off-spinner Traveen Mathew was again amongst the wickets finishing with 2/18 to take his tally to 14 in the tournament, thus making him the leading wicket-taker.

Shanaka with a contribution of 21 off 10 balls with the bat, 2 wickets and a catch plus his captaincy in guiding Hambantota to the title took the Player of the Final award. He rounded off an excellent tournament by picking up the Player of the Tournament award as well with his contribution of 175 runs, 4 wickets and 5 catches in addition to his leadership.

“I wanted to show who I am. I had a bad patch in the recent past. Really happy about the way I have performed in this tournament. Hopefully good things will come back,” said Shanaka basking in the glory of his team’s victory.

“This performance is very important for me to go forward in my career. My fitness is always there, it was the concern about my batting. In this tournament I batted a bit high in the order which I never did at international cricket. This performance will boost my confidence and gain the trust of the selectors, hopefully.”

Switching his focus on his team’s performance Shanaka said, “Despite a few problems we had at the beginning we managed to come back well in the final and prove what a good team we are. Two old horses, Isuru Udana and Richard Gleeson (and Dasun Shanaka) were the key to the win.”

As champions, Hambantota took a cheque for $ 75,000 and Jaffna received $ 40,000 as runner-up.

Scores: Hambantota Bangla Tigers 133-7 (10) (Mohammad Shahzad 26, Dasan Shanaka 21, Shevon Daniel 26, Traveen Mathews 2/18)

Jaffna Titans 107-6 (10) (Tom Abell 54*, Richard Gleeson 3/21, Dasun Shanaka 2/4)

Awards:

Emerging Player of the Tournament – Traveen Mathew (Jaffna Titans)

Bowler of the Tournament – Traveen Mathew (Jaffna Titans)

Batsman of the Tournament – Kusal Mendis (Jaffna Titans)

Player of the Tournament – Dasun Shanaka (Hambantota Bangla Tigers)