Last leg to qualify for LPL play-offs commences today

LPL 2024 captains at yesterday’s media conference (from left): Charith Asalanka, Mohammad Nabi, Thisara Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, and Kamindu Mendis  

• All five teams still in contention for top four spots

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

The Lanka Premier League (LPL) Season 5 has seen 14 of the 20 qualifying matches completed, and to say that all five teams are still in contention to qualify for the play-offs goes to show how competitive the matches played so far have been.

Table toppers Jaffna Kings and Galle Marvels with eight points apiece have two more games in hand, while the next three teams – Colombo Strikers, Dambulla Sixers, and defending champions Kandy Falcons – are all locked on four points each. The remaining six games played over the next four days at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium will decide the fate of these teams.

The side that has a fight on its hands to qualify are Kandy, who have only two matches and will need to win both to be in with a chance to finish in the top four to make it to the next stage. Colombo and Dambulla have a cushion to fall back on, as each of them have an additional game.

Why Kandy are in such a desperate position is because its captain, Wanindu Hasaranga, has failed to fire with either bat or ball. It was his brilliant all-round skills – leading batsman and leading wicket-taker in the last edition of LPL – that saw Kandy lift the title. 

But in the ongoing tournament, Hasaranga has been far from his best. In four innings, he has crossed the 50 mark just once and been dismissed for a duck on two occasions. With the ball, he has captured six wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 8.50. 

Whether the pressure of captaincy is affecting his performance one cannot say – he has resigned from the Sri Lanka T20I captaincy. But it was as captain that he performed at his best last year. Whatever the reasons, Kandy will need him to fire at his best in their last two qualifying matches if they are to lift themselves from the bottom of the table.

“Although we have won only two matches, we have played well in the tournament,” said Kandy Falcons Vice-Captain Kamindu Mendis, substituting for Hasaranga who was unwell, at the media conference held at the R. Premadasa Stadium yesterday. “We lost one match by two runs and two others were close games. As a team, we are in good spirits. We know we have to win the last two games to come up in the table and we are determined to do that.”

A team that is on the rise is Dambulla Sixers, led by Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi. After losing their first three games, Dambulla seems to have got their act together and have won their last two matches back-to-back and posed a threat to the rest of the teams.

“We played good cricket but we made small mistakes in the first three games. The last two games were brilliant, the team performed really well. We are still in the tournament and we have three games in Colombo and hope to do well,” said Nabi.

One of the key players in the Dambulla side is young all-rounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe, who has really made a big impact in the matches played so far. 

“He is not looking like a Sri Lankan, he looks like a West Indian,” said Nabi of his potential cricketer. “This young guy is a great talent; twice in matches – one in Kandy and one in Dambulla – he showed character on the field, he was brilliant. He has good talent, hopefully he will be the next star of Sri Lanka.”

LPL-5 has not only been a platform for young players to perform and display their credentials, but it is also giving experienced players who are out of the national side to make a statement with the hope of making a comeback.

Jaffna Kings Captain Charith Asalanka said: “I see a lot of youngsters performing well. Those who have been left out of the team are also trying to make a comeback. That’s how it should be. The stronger the competition for places, the better the team will perform.”

The Power Blast which has been introduced for the first time, where the fielding side can have only four fielders outside the 30-yard circle for the 16th and 17th overs, has been reviewed with mixed feelings by the captains.

Galle Marvels Captain Niroshan Dickwella said: “We do not take the Power Blast Overs too seriously because, by trying to score quick runs in those two overs, you can lose wickets, but you can also pick up wickets. The captains have to think out of the box how they should go about the Power Blast Overs.”

Mohammad Nabi had a different view. “The Power Blast is good for fun and entertainment because more boundaries can be hit, but you can throw away your wicket as well when you have three more overs in the back.”

Asalanka said: “If we bat second, we have a chance with these Power Blast Overs because you can get a big momentum from these two overs while chasing.”

Thisara Perera is one of the few cricketers to play in all five LPLs and, when asked for his views on the tournament, said: “From the first edition, the LPL has been improving. As a captain and as one who has played in all five editions, I think it is good to play at three venues. Personally, I feel if we play right around the country it will be good because it will also help our tourism industry, as all the matches are being televised around the world live by a top sports channel. This year the LPL has improved tremendously.”

Today’s Match: Kandy Falcons v Jaffna Kings (7:30 p.m.)

Sunday’s Matches: Dambulla Sixers v Galle Marvels (3 p.m.); Colombo Strikers v Jaffna Kings (7:30 p.m.)