Three vie for National Super League Limited Over finals

Top run-getter Jaffna captain Dhananjaya de Silva with 382 runs

 Top wicket-taker Pulina Tharanga of Kandy with 15 wickets

• Jaffna, Galle and Colombo battle for last spot to join Kandy

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

With Kandy having ensured their place in the final well ahead of the completion of round robin league, focus will be on the next three teams Jaffna, Galle and Colombo who are vying for the other final spot when the last round of matches takes place today. 

Kandy will be at home to Galle at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, while Jaffna battles it out with Colombo at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. In the first round of the round-robin matches Kandy beat Galle by 96 runs and Jaffna beat Colombo by six wickets.

Jaffna with 18 points and currently in second place is the team strongly placed to join Kandy in the final if they can beat Colombo who are lying fourth with 14 points.

Galle’s chances of making it to the final will depend on Jaffna losing to Colombo and them (Galle) beating high riding Kandy.

Colombo’s prospects are rather slim. They will not only have to beat Jaffna, but hope that Kandy will win against Galle. If that happens Colombo with four points from the win will join Jaffna on 18 points and the second place will be decided on net run rate. At present there is only a small difference in the net run rates between Jaffna (0.514) and Colombo (0.482). Teams one and two in the league standings qualify for the final to be played at Pallekele on Saturday (19 February).

Jaffna suffered a jolt when they went down to Galle on Sunday under the Duckworth/Lewis rain rule despite running up a score of 272-5. National cap Dhananjaya de Silva, the Jaffna skipper is in prime form having struck two centuries and two 50s in seven innings to be the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 382 runs (avg. 63.66). 

The match will turn out to be a battle between De Silva and young Colombo batter Nuwanidu Fernando who is the second highest run-getter with 328 runs (avg. 54.66) and comes into the match with back to back hundreds against Dambulla and Kandy.

De Silva is also Jaffna’s main wicket-taker with nine wickets (avg. 20.11) and an economy rate of 4.84. Colombo will look to make early inroads into the Jaffna batting through their right and left-arm fast bowling combination of Lahiru Madushanka (12 wickets) and Kalana Perera (10 wickets).

Kandy although through to the final with 26 points will not take things lightly against Galle and will want to finish the league round on a high. They will be hoping that their two leading scorers will continue their form. National cap Oshada Fernando has accumulated 308 runs (avg. 61.60) with one century and two 50s and Sahan Arachchige averages 61.75 for his 247 runs. 

Where Galle has to be wary of is the threat that Kandy’s leg-spinner Pulina Tharanga poses along with two other trundlers. Tharanga is the top wicket-taker in the tournament with 15 wickets (avg. 15.26) and has an impressive economy rate of 4.82. He has the support of Lasith Embuldeniya (7 wickets, economy rate 4.01) and Ashian Daniel (6 wickets, economy rate 4.04).

Galle will be heavily dependent on opener Pabasara Waduge (206 runs) and all-rounder Dhananjaya Lakshan (183 runs) to get them to a competitive total. The two played a key role in the win over Jaffna sharing a match-winning partnership of 165 off 98 balls.