JK vs GG

Dunith Wellalage, Player of the Match-  I tried to play my natural game. I was really backed by my team mates and coaching stuff. I thought that the wicket was turning and I tried to stick to my plans. It worked really well for me and I am really happy with my performance.

Kusal Mendis Galle Gladiators captain- We had a great opening stand but lost our way from there on. Once the ball got older, we struggled due to the slowness of the surface and failed to accelerate. Our bowlers did really well, especially the fast bowlers, but it was the batters who led us down.

Galle Gladiators 113 all out in 20 overs
Kusal Mendis 51(43) | Binura Fernando 3/22
Imad Wasim 17(22) | Vijayakanth Vyaskanth 2/20

This has been an unbelievable victory for the Jaffna Kings! They've proved it once again, why they are the defending champions. They looked down and out at the half-way stage when they had managed to get only 137 on the board, but their bowlers bowled incredibly well to bring them back into the game. They skittled out the Gladiators for just 113 runs. Ironically, the Gladiators started the innings of in a completely different fashion. The opening partnership was worth 58 for them  and they seemed to be cruising at that stage. However, once the spinners came on, they lost their way and kept loosing wickets at regular intervals. Captain Kusal Mendis was the only one to put up some resistance with a 50 as the rest of the batting capitulated under pressure.

For the Kings, It was the spinners Wellalage, Vyaskanth and Theekshana, who turned the game around. They gave almost nothing away and picked up 4 wickets between themselves. Once they had removed the main batters, the seamers came in and cleaned up the tail. Binura Fernando, in particular was really impressive as he picked up 3 for 22 in his three overs.

Overall, it has been a victory to savor for the Jaffna Kings and they will be incredibly proud of their bowling effort. The Galle Gladiators will be disappointed though. They had the game under control at one stage, but lost it in the second half of their batting innings as their batters failed to make any impact. They will be looking to get back to the drawing board and regroup quickly once again.

19.6 Binura Fernando to Nuwan Thushara, EDGED AND GONE! Jaffna Kings win by 24 runs. That's the lowest total defended in this ground in LPL history. Back of a length on leg, Pradeep gets a thick edge on that occasion as the ball carries to the keeper.

Nuwan Thushara c (sub) Samarawickrama b Binura Fernando 0 (1b, 0x4s, 0x6s) 

19.5 Binura Fernando to Nuwan Pradeep, HOLES OUT! Back of a length on leg, Pradeep finally gets his bat to that one but finds Shoaib Malik at long on.

Nuwan Pradeep c Shoaib Malik b Binura Fernando 1 (7b, 0x4s, 0x6s) 

19.4 Binura Fernando to Nuwan Pradeep, back of a length and over middle stump line, Pradeep tries to turn it but misses. Deja vu four times in a row! 

This has been an unbelievable collapse for the Gladiators! They were 58/0 at one stage and are down to 113/8 for now. The Kings have plucked this game away from the jaws of defeat. 25 runs needed of the last over now and it's only a formality for the Kings.

18.1 James Fuller to Wahab Riaz, a slower length delivery on middle, nudged towards the leg side. The bowler comes to gather the ball and throws it towards the keeper's end. Riaz is an inch short while completing his second.

Wahab Riaz run out James Fuller 4 (3b, 0x4s, 0x6s) 

It's getting from bad to worse now for the Gladiators! Imad Wasim was their last hope and even he perished in the pursuit of some quick runs. The Kings are closing on a  famous win here.