Kings or Gladiators
The meeting is set between table toppers Colombo Kings and Galle Gladiators, who fought from the scratch to earn a slot in the qualifier to the final. Yes, the first semi-final of the inaugural Lanka Premier League (LPL) is all set to take place today from 7.00pm local time, at Sooriyawewa.Unlike how both teams fared against each other will be a topic non-relevant in today’s crucial clash.
The winner will secure a place in the all-important LPL final, to be played on Wednesday, be it Colombo Kings, who finished on top with six wins out of eight games with two losses, and a team that has all the strengths and balance required in a world class Twenty20 unit. Or it even could be the Galle Gladiators who lost all five games played from the start, before securing two important wins that would suffice their passage to the semi-final.
On paper, Kings are already bestowed as favourites, with their vast choice of batting, bowling and all-round players. Among the lot are Andre Russell, the only centurion of the tournament — Laurie Evans, newfound sensation Qais Ahmed, Dinesh Chandimal, Isuru Udana, Ashan Priyanjan and skipper Angelo Mathews to name a few. Their strong batting lineup has never been questionable throughout the tournament, as if one failed another always rose for the situation and made sure the team is the eventual winner.
“The team has done very well, and has taken off the pressure from me as the captain,” skipper Mathews stated during the pre-match press conference.
However, unlike others in his team’s top order in batting, Mathews has failed to impress. And he expects to fire up for the all-important game with Evans, the only batsman to score a century in LPL so far, doubtful to play in today’s game following a stomach injury.
“The physios will assess his progress, and decide if he will be able to play. As for me, I have been hitting well in the nets, but sometimes we must accept the fact that all don’t come our way all the time. I hope to score today, and see my team playing in the final,” added Mathews, who preferred a system that would be an advantage for the top team as in the Indian Premier League.
Kings won the super-over opener in a thrilling tie against Kandy Tusker, beat today’s opponent Galle Gladiators in a rain-affected game by 34 runs, lost to Dambulla Viiking by 28 runs, handed Jaffna Stallions their first defeat with a 6-wicket win and beat Kandy Tuskers by 7 wickets before suffering their second loss in the run against the Gladiators by 8 wickets. But they made sure to win the two remaining games against Stallions by 6 runs in a close game and against Viiking by 6 wickets, in an unlikely chase which put them on the top of the table.
In contrast Galle Gladiators have had a patchy start with five straight losses, but their only sign of respite was the consistency of opener Danushka Gunathilaka, who tops the batsman’s list. Their start to the tournament was chaotic with losses against Jaffna Stallions by 8 wickets, Colombo Kings by 34 runs, Kandy Tuskers by 25 runs, Stallions by 6 wickets and Dambulla Viiking by 9 runs. But a fine comeback against today’s opponent Colombo Kings helped them earn a 8-wicket win before losing against Viiking for the second time by 4 wickets. In the crucial decider, they cruised to a 9-wicket win against Kandy Tuskers and earn a slot in the semi-finals.
“We would prefer to go out as underdogs, that would take off the pressure from us. We were really disappointed with the start, but managed to keep our spirit high. And finally we are at where we want to be, and right now we are on top of the world,” said Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who leads the Gladiators in absence of their regular skipper Shahid Afridi.
The Gladiators, as their name depict, have a fine set of players. Opener Gunathilaka has been in perfect form, followed by contributions from Azam Khan, Rajapaksa and Hazrathullah Zazai in batting. Mohammad Amir has found his rhythm back, and with sudden wake of Nuwan Thushara, their bowling unit, which includes Asitha Fernando, Ahsan Ali and Lakshan Sandakan is quite strong.
“We will treat this as another important game as usual. We are glad to have Danushka (Gunathilaka) in fine form, he is the one who led us to the semis. We will go out with the same team. But there’s a little bit of a doubt about Nuwan Thushara, who has an injury. Other than that, we are ready to move forward,” Rajapaksa added.
The winner of today’s game will meet the winner of the second semi-final between Dambulla Viiking and Jaffna Stallions in the final on Wednesday.
| Gibbs sacked for ‘vilifying’ players | |
| Colombo Kings sacked their head coach Hershelle Gibbs this week after players rebelled against his attitude. Gibbs, the South African who was enplaned to join the commentary panel of the Lanka Premier League was appointed as head coach of the Kings after Kabir Ali was ruled out after contracting the coronavirus.However, Gibbs stint with the team ended prematurely after players request for his removal from the team management. According to sources, Gibbs has been publicly vilifying players–the main reason to oust him from the job. He has done this a couple of times and despite many requests not to do so, he had repeated it. This is when a very senior player got into a heated argument with Gibbs. The players had then requested the team management to remove him. Rangana Herath who was assisting Gibbs is promoted as head coach. Gibbs was to leave the country last night. |