Jaffna Stallions gallop to final with clinical win

Jaffna Stallions Opener Johnson Charles took the Man of the Match award with a compact knock of 76

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Jaffna Stallions galloped into the final of the My11Circle Lanka Premier League final with a clinical display on the field to beat Dambulla Viiking by 37 runs in the second semi-final played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Jaffna successfully defended a total of 165-9, dismissing the Viiking for a rather disappointing 128 in 19.1 over to meet the Galle Gladiators in the final on Wednesday.

The Viiking had to confront not only the wily leg-spin of the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Wanindu Hasaranga, but the deadly arm of Usman Shinwari, who was responsible for two direct hits that resulted in runouts from short third man, which included the Viiking Captain Dasun Shanaka, the third highest run scorer of the tournament, which turned out to be a turning point in the game.

If at all anyone could have carried the Viiking over the line, it was the big-hitting Shanaka who has a penchant for scoring runs quickly. Since his dismissal however, it became an uphill task for the Viiking, with not many batting options left.

The Viiking lost two early wickets in their run chase to be 18-2 but recovered partially through a stand of 44 between Niroshan Dickwella (29) and Upul Tharanga (33). Once Dickwella, the team’s main run-getter fell LBW to part-time spinner Charith Asalanka, they lost their way in the middle period, losing five wickets for 34 and eventually eight wickets for 54 when they were bowled out.

Hasaranga, against whom Shanaka said prior to the match they should avoid giving wickets to, proved unplayable once again. He was not brought onto bowl until the 11th over with the score at 68 for 3 and his four overs determined the result of the game. He caused mayhem in the Viiking’s batting to finish with excellent figures of 3 for 15.

A feature of the match was the number of runouts, an overall number of six, and the spinners who dominated over the batsmen, picking up nine wickets.

The Stallions, who were invited to bat first, got off to their best start when openers Avishka Fernando and Johnson Charles posted 68 off 51 deliveries, also helped by some appalling fielding.

Fernando was dismissed for 39, when he looked threatening to take Jaffna towards a huge total, but Charles carried on to make his highest score in the tournament. He played superbly for his 76 off 56 balls that comprised of one six and ten fours and took the Man of the Match award.

At 111-2 in the 13th over, the Stallions were still on course for a big score, but the Viiking recovered from their early fielding lapses by affecting four run outs in the innings, and an Anwar Ali fielding masterclass in the deep.

The Stallions lost six wickets for 36 and their finish was poor as the last five overs yielded only 35 runs, as the Viiking got their act together to keep them down to a reasonable total that was well within their reach. However, a poor display of batting and the variety of bowling the Stallions possessed proved beyond them.

Viiking skipper Dasun Shanaka said that the two runouts cost the game for them. 

“If they did not occur, the game would have been different because 165 was gettable on this wicket,” said Shanaka.

The winning captain Thisara Perera put the win down to a good effort by his bowling unit. 

“In this kind of weather and conditions it is tough to grip the ball, but Wanindu Hasaranga did a great job for us,” said Perera. 

Scores:

Jaffna Stallions 165-9 (20) (Avishka Fernando 39, Johnson Charles 76, Malinda Pushpakumara 2/24)

Dambulla Viiking 128 (19.1) (Niroshan Dickwella 29, Upul Tharanga 33, Ramesh Mendis 26, Wanindu Hasaranga 3/15)

The turning point of the match – Dambulla Viiking Captain Dasun Shanaka’s runout