My11Circle LPL reaches climax

Leading run scorer Danushka Gunathilaka 

of Galle Gladiators

 Leading wicket-taker Wanindu Hasaranga 

of Jaffna Stallions

• Clash of the giants: Gunathilaka vs Hasaranga 

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

After 14 days and 22 matches of intense competition, the most important day in the My11Circle Lanka Premier League (LPL) has arrived with the best two teams in the competition vying for the coveted trophy and prize money worth $ 100,000 to the winner when Jaffna Stallions take on Galle Gladiators in the final at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium today at 7 p.m.

Moreover, one could safely say that it is a contest between the two giants of the tournament – the leading batsman Danushka Gunathilaka from Galle Gladiators and the most successful wicket-taker Wanindu Hasaranga of Jaffna Stallions.

Gunathilaka is head and shoulders above the rest of the batsmen having accumulated 475 runs from nine matches inclusive of four 50s, which is 186 more than the second-best run-scorer Laurie Evans of Colombo Kings (289).

Hasaranga has been the match-winner for Jaffna with his rich assortment of leg-spin and googlies that has baffled virtually all the batsmen in the competition and brought him a rich haul of 16 wickets from nine matches at a stunning economy rate of 5.27 runs per over.

The success of the two teams winning the final hinges on their individual contributions.

“Both of them are in great form and they are highly talented. What we have to do is to try and deprive Danushka runs and with the bowling unit we have I am confident we can do that,” said Jaffna Stallions skipper Thisara Perera.

“Wanindu is the best T20 bowler I have ever seen. His economy rate is always less than 6 and that’s what you expect in T20 cricket. When the batsmen fail to read his mixture of googly and leg spin they get out. Wanindu is a great find for the country likewise Danushka is also a fine batsman who has scored runs. I wish both players all the success in the final,” he said.

Jaffna hopes to put behind their mistakes in the semi-final against Dambulla Viiking and come up with near 100% performance. Jaffna suffered four run outs in the middle order that saw them throw away a good start, but thanks to their bowling unit they managed to pull off a win.

“There was a shortcoming from our batting side so that wickets fell in a cluster the way we began I thought we should have got around 180-190. I am a little bit disappointed that we finished on 165, but we managed to compensate for it through our bowling to enter the final. We are looking to show an improvement in our batting. We have batting up to number 8 and we expect the batsmen to click like Johnson Charles yesterday,” said Perera. 

“As a team we are confident after winning the semi-final. Playing the ball delivered during the day is how we plan; you cannot make any big plans to be successful. We have to plan over by over so we look forward to give every bowler a challenge,” he said.

Jaffna with their wide variety of bowling options look the favourite to lift the trophy, but they are up against a confident Galle Gladiators team that had stuttered at the beginning of the competition but of late have started to play as a winning unit.

Galle Gladiators captain Bhanuka Rajapaksa described their success to a variety of factors, one of them being in getting their fast-bowling combination sorted out.

“Although Mohammad Amir bowled well in the first few matches, he lacked new ball support. But once Nuwan Thusara came into the side he brought some balance to the team. One of the reasons for our victories is that Amir, Thushara, Dhananjaya Lakshan and Lakshan Sandakan came in the middle overs and took wickets,” said Rajapaksa.

“Strategically we are playing a bowler short but we have three part time bowlers who are all-rounders. It is easy to work with them, take two of them are senior bowlers and with the inclusion of Thushara and Lakshan the side has got balance and has contributed to our wins,” he said.

Talking of the role played by Amir in the team’s success, Rajapaksa said: “Initially he didn’t have the confidence because he didn’t have good support with the new ball but his experience was vital for our youngsters to gain. We have a good seam attack better than other teams. One of the reasons for Thushara and Lakshan taking early wickets is the important tips they have learnt from Amir.”

The other factor for Galle’s sudden rise after being at the bottom of the league table according to Rajapaksa is the cohesion in the team.

“We are the youngest side in the tournament and most of them are players who have played club cricket for 5-6 years. We are closely knit we eat together, practice together and help each other. We are more like a family. I think because the unity in the team is so good that we were able to come back and lift ourselves even after five defeats,” Rajapaksa said.

Rajapaksa took over the captaincy when Shahid Afridi had to make a sudden departure home due to an urgent family commitment. He said that Afridi and Sri Lanka’s bowling legend Lasith Malinga have been speaking to them giving encouragement to perform the way they have done so far. 

“Not only Afridi, but Lasith Malinga has been talking to us day and night and helping us. He gives us a lot of advice. Malinga’s advice has brought us to where we are at the moment,” said Rajapaksa.

The Galle skipper who is short of runs for his team said that they depended on Gunathilaka a lot because he was the inform batsman in the tournament.

“Danushka is a hard-working player. He has a personal routine at practice and we respect that and expect him to score runs for us. He has single-handedly scored runs in the tournament for us. Semi-finals and final are pressure matches and I hope that he will continue to show the same form in the final,” said Rajapaksa.

“As for me I accept that my performances are below average. It is not an excuse but we didn’t play cricket for quite some time. If you look at my last three innings, I have got back some of my touch I hope to make some runs tomorrow. It is a final and people remember you when you perform in a final and I hope it will be my day tomorrow.”

The runner-up will receive $ 50,000 and individual awards include $ 2,500 for ‘Player of the Final’ and $ 8,000 for ‘Player of the Tournament’.