Well well well.... what surprises might there be in store tomorrow for the second semi-final? Come back to see whether Jaffna Stallions or Dambulla Viiking will join the Gladiators in the tournament final. Thanks for following along. I'm Peter Della Penna. Good night!
Man of the Match Dhananjaya Lakshan: "My plan was to bat to the end. I wanted to take it to the last over."
Galle Gladiators captain Bhanuka Rajapaksa: "It's a miracle that we got through from the stage that we were. We could have easily got through from 60 for 3 but then we lost wickets in the middle. But credit goes to Dhananjaya Lakshan. He showed a lot of maturity and eventually we came through. Our bowling set the tone for us. We had to take responsibility as seniors because it's a very young side."
Colombo Kings captain Angelo Mathews: "I thought we had a terrible day today. It doesn't give us a cushion for topping the table. The tournament is structured in a way where you lead the table, you have one off day and you're gone. But credit should go to the Galle Gladiators. They outplayed us. We had a terrible day in all three departments. We dropped about five or six catches today and that doesn't do any good when you're defending 150. I'm not even sure if we could've had 11 on the field if we made the final. Laurie, Andre, Isuru, Qais, myself."
10.50 pm Not the most cleanly played semi-final you'll ever see. Plenty of grit though and it sees the Gladiators into the final. Fielding was sloppy on both sides today but Kings paid for it most as Qais Ahmad shells two easy chances in the final overs that could have iced the game. Dhananjaya Lakshan an unlikely hero with the ball at the start and then with an unbeaten 31 off 23 to keep hopes alive until Sandakan clinched it with one shot.
Sandakan comes on strike for the first time. Udana comes around the wicket to him.
Colombo is on the verge of pulling off a major heist. They've been behind virtually the entire match. Galle need 15 off 8 now. Udana getting a lengthy stretch on the turf now for his right leg. They've stalled long enough for him to be eligible to bowl, though he's going to be hobbling after every ball.
END OF OVER:19 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | GG: 136/8 (15 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 7.15, RRR: 15.00)
- Dhananjaya Lakshan20 (19b)
- Thikshila de Silva1-0-2-1
- Dushmantha Chameera3.5-0-36-1
Mohammad Amir c Priyanjan b de Silva 8 (8b 0x4 1x6) SR: 100.00
Stalling by the Kings in the field. They're trying to get the clock to tick long enough to make Udana eligible to bowl the 20th considering all the time he was off the field. Umpires tell them to get moving.
Udana returns to the field and wants to bowl the 19th but the umpires say he's been off the field for too long. After an interminable delay, Thikshila de Silva charges in for the first time today.
END OF OVER:18 | 6 Runs | GG: 134/7 (17 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.44, RRR: 8.50)
- Dhananjaya Lakshan19 (18b)
- Mohammad Amir7 (3b)
- Dushmantha Chameera3.5-0-36-1
- Qais Ahmad4-0-27-1
Nerves starting to build on Lakshan.
Chameera for the 18th.
END OF OVER:17 | 12 Runs | GG: 128/7 (23 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.52, RRR: 7.66)
- Mohammad Amir7 (3b)
- Dhananjaya Lakshan13 (12b)
- Qais Ahmad4-0-27-1
- Isuru Udana3-0-11-0