Jaffna Stallions steamroll Galle Gladiators in anticlimactic final

The Jaffna Stallions celebrate their victory  

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Player of the Final – Shoaib Malik

Emerging Player of the Tournament – Dhananjaya Lakshan

Player of the Tournament – Wanindu Hasaranga

An excellent all-round team performance saw the Jaffna Stallions winning the inaugural My11Circle Lanka Premier League (LPL) by beating a gallant Galle Gladiators side by 53 runs in the final played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

For the first time in the tournament it wasn’t a one-man show that helped the Stallions win, as a concerted effort from the entire team contributed towards lifting the LPL trophy and a handsome cheque for US$100,000, presented by Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva respectively.

What was supposed to be a keenly contested final ultimately turned out to be an anti-climax, as the Gladiators kept stumbling in their effort to chase a target of 189, and were eventually restricted to a total of 135-9.

The Gladiators were never in the game after losing their first three wickets for just seven runs in two overs. Despite a courageous knock of 40 off 17 balls from the captain Bhanuka Rajapaksa, they were nowhere in the hunt as the Stallions with their strong bowling line-up, kept picking up wickets consistently, not allowing the Gladiators to settle down and build big partnerships to recover from their early losses.

Rajapaksa went down with all guns blazing; hammering four sixes in his flamboyant knock which he played under great discomfort, having hurt the right side of his rib cage while fielding. Thanks to his gutsy batting, the Gladiators managed to get themselves some breathing space from the early losses, as the score moved from 7-3 to 62-4 upon his dismissal.

Wicket-keeper batsman Azam Khan took over briefly, slamming four sixes in a cameo knock of 36 off 17 balls, but it was abundantly clear that the Gladiators needed massive partnerships instead of moments of individual brilliance.

The Gladiators looked to the tournament’s leading run scorer Danushka Gunathilaka to get them off to a good start, but it ended rather disappointingly for him, failing for the second time in the knockouts stage, being dismissed for 13 in the semi-final and for one yesterday – unfortunately and controversially runout after colliding with the bowler Suranga Lakmal.

The loss was the Gladiators’ third loss out of three in the tournament to the Stallions, who kept their stranglehold on them, having beaten them twice in the league stage; but credit to the Gladiators, a team that came back from a hopeless position to get to the final.

The Stallions choosing to bat first were off to a flying start from openers Avishka Fernando and Johnson Charles who posted 44 off 28 balls, before they were separated by a spectacular catch from Gunathilaka at long on to send Charles back for 26.

Fernando, Man of the Match in the first two encounters against the Gladiators, was looking good when he was dismissed for 27; unable to capitalise on a dropped chance when he was on 15 by Rajapaksa at mid-off that caused an injury to the Gladiators Skipper’s rib cage.

The Gladiators, inspired by Gunathilaka’s brilliance in the field, took three quick wickets for 32 runs in five overs, but the Stallions recovered through a stand of 69 off 43 balls between Shoaib Malik (46) and Dhananjaya de Silva (33), that enabled Thisara Perera to finish the innings in a flourish, hitting a rapid-fire 39* off 14 balls, inclusive of two sixes and five fours.

Malik took the Player of the Final award for his knock of 46 and two wickets that included the dismissal of Rajapaksa when he looked in threatening form. Stallions leg-spinning all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga won the Player of the Tournament award and Gladiators medium-fast bowling all-rounder Dhananjaya Lakshan took home the Emerging Player of the Tournament award. The Fair Play Award went to Dambulla Viiking.

Victorious captain Thisara Perera said that he was confident as long as they put a good score on the board as they had the bowling resources to put pressure on the opposition.

“That's why we won the toss and elected to bat first. We experimented in the last few matches, so losing was not a worry because we were back to full strength for the semi-finals and final,” said Perera. Losing captain Bhanuka Rajapaksa said: “It's sad to lose the final, but credit goes to the Stallions for the way they performed throughout the season. We had a bad day and Stallions played brilliant cricket to win the trophy. It was a big task to score 190 against a team like the Stallions.”

Scores:

Jaffna Stallions 188-6 (20) (Avishka Fernando 27, Johnson Charles 26, Shoaib Malik 46, Dhananjaya de Silva 33, Thisara Perera 39*, Dhananjaya Lakshan 3/36)

Galle Gladiators 135-9 (20) (Bhanuka Rajapaksa 40, Azam Khan 36, Shoaib Malik 2/13, Usman Shinwari 2/20)

Jaffna Stallions Captain Thisara Perera receiving the My11Circle Lanka Premier League trophy from Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa