Three wins, six losses, LPL finalists. The Galle Gladiators are the first team to qualify for the final of the Lanka Premier League, coming out victors in a semi-final that at points seemingly neither side wanted to win.
Indeed, a two wicket win with one ball remaining barely begins to tell the story of a game that was largely dominated by the ball, but will undoubtedly be remembered for some incredibly sloppy moments in the field from both sides. The Gladiators to be sure will know they have got away with one.
In a truly Jekyll and Hyde performance, the Gladiators were exemplary with the ball; the pace trio of Mohammed Amir, Nuwan Thushara and Dhananjaya Lakshan, gave away just 80 runs in their 12 overs, picking up four wickets, which allowed Lakshan Sandakan to scalp the critical wickets of Angelo Mathews, Andre Russell, and Ashan Priyanjan.
At no point in the Kings’ innings were the batsmen allowed a breather – except for Daniel Bell-Drummond, who was dropped thrice and survived a run out scare on the way to a 53-ball 70 – as they were held to a sub-par 150 for 9.
But with the bat, the Gladiators showed the Kings more than enough opportunities to steal the win, all of which they somehow managed to squander. That the Kings got there without the bowling chops of Russell (who slipped in the dressing room and didn’t take the field) and Mathews (who pulled a hamstring midway through his spell), illustrates how difficult the Gladiators made life for themselves.
