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.

19.5
4
Udana to Sandakan, FOUR, one ball is all it takes for the tailender to KO the best team in the regular season! Half-volley on off stump, Sandakan backs away from leg to create room and carves this on the up to clear mid-off on the ring. Gladiators win by two wickets with a ball to spare! They poach 15 off 5 balls to stun the Kings!

Sandakan comes on strike for the first time. Udana comes around the wicket to him.

19.4
1
Udana to Lakshan, 1 run, yorker on off driven to long-on for one.
19.3
6
Udana to Lakshan, SIX, tried to go yorker but didn't get it full enough! Lakshan goes deep in his crease and drives this high over long-off. The pendulum swings the other way!
19.2
2
Udana to Lakshan, 2 runs, slower ball lands on a good length on the stumps, pulled off a top edge behind square for another hasty two.
19.1
2
Udana to Lakshan, 2 runs, dropped! Low full toss on off stump, sliced this high over mid-off and Qais drops another easy chance jogging back over his shoulder. They take two.

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
18.6
W
de Silva to Mohammad Amir, OUT, what an over from de Silva and it ends in a wicket! Full and wide again, Amir tries to counter it with a shuffle way across and flicks aiming to clear short fine leg but instead he gets under it too much and sends a catch to Priyanjan at square leg on the ring.

Mohammad Amir c Priyanjan b de Silva 8 (8b 0x4 1x6) SR: 100.00

18.5
0
de Silva to Mohammad Amir, no run, wide yorker on fifth stump, de Silva is on the money. Amir swings over the top.

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.

18.4
1
de Silva to Lakshan, 1 run, full and driven down the ground, they hustle a long single but can't come back for the second.
18.3
1
de Silva to Mohammad Amir, 1 run, dropped! And a missed runout afterward! Full and wide, drilled straight to Qais at extra cover. Moved three feet to his left and came to him at waist height. 5/10 on difficulty and he shells it. He still has another chance to make amends with the batsman nowhere close to making his ground on a suicide single but the throw to the striker's end misses badly with the batsman six yards short of his ground.
18.2
0
de Silva to Mohammad Amir, no run, another full and wide delivery, Amir flails recklessly again and misses. He's imploring the umpire for a wide call but it was clearly inside. De Silva is coming very wide of the crease and creating a sharp angle.
18.1
0
de Silva to Mohammad Amir, no run, full length wide on sixth stump, Amir flails at this with his head bobbing around and misses.

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
17.6
0
Chameera to Lakshan, no run, full and wide yorker, plays over the top.
17.5
4
Chameera to Lakshan, FOUR, shuffles across his stumps and guesses right on the length to pick a fullish length ball on fourth stump to ramp scoop over the keeper and fine leg. Huge boundary for Galle.

Nerves starting to build on Lakshan.

17.4
0
Chameera to Lakshan, no run, back of a length again, Lakshan backs away trying to heave this over mid-off, beaten.
17.3
0
Chameera to Lakshan, no run, back of a length on middle, defended to Chameera.
17.2
0
Chameera to Lakshan, no run, good length ball on off, guided to cover and can't pick the gap.
17.1
2
Chameera to Lakshan, 2 runs, back of a length on off, guided with an open face wide of deep third man for an easy two.

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
16.6
0
Qais Ahmad to Mohammad Amir, no run, stays in his crease this time trying to pulverize a fuller ball darted in quick on fifth stump, beaten.
16.5
6
Qais Ahmad to Mohammad Amir, SIX, flighted full on middle, backs away from leg to clear the front leg and slog sweeps this high over long-on. Amir what guts, what gusto! 5 yards beyond the LCD ad boards.
16.4
1
Qais Ahmad to Lakshan, 1 run, short on off, goes back and pulls this into the ground to long-on.
16.3
4
Qais Ahmad to Lakshan, FOUR, flighted full on the legs, sweeps this behind square and beats deep backward square to the rope.

Galle 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st13MD GunathilakaAhsan Ali
2nd4PBB RajapaksaAhsan Ali
3rd40PBB RajapaksaAzam Khan
4th19PBB RajapaksaSSD Arachchige
5th1GSNFG JayasuriyaSSD Arachchige
6th21LAC RuwansiriGSNFG Jayasuriya
7th18GSNFG JayasuriyaD Lakshan
8th20Mohammad AmirD Lakshan
9th15PADLR SandakanD Lakshan