Player of the Match
Player of the Match

END OF OVER:
20 | 10 Runs 1 Wkt | CLK: 183/9 (20 runs required, RR: 9.15)

  • Mujeeb Ur Rahman1 (1b)
  • Malsha Tharupathi9 (4b)
  • Mohamed Shiraz4-0-29-1
  • Dilshan Madushanka4-0-30-3

That's a wrap on tonight's LPL action, folks! Time to say goodbye. Go well and take care!

Bhanuka Rajapaksa: [Peaking at the right time?] Of course. I think it's always nice to keep winning in the latter part of the tournament, and it's good to grab those two points. [Wellalage at number four] See, we wanted to give some time to Wellalage to settle in because he had been scoring runs, and we wanted to keep the left-hand and right-hand combination going. It unfortunately didn't work out for us today, but with the firepower we have in the lower order, it all came together in the end. [Points Table pressure] I would be lying if I said there's no pressure while playing, but it's great to grab those two points today and move up to second on the table alongside Galle. So there is some pressure, but it's all about keeping the wins coming and staying calm."

Player of the Match, Ibrahim Zadran: "[That was one tremendous innings] Thank you so much. I was trying to find my rhythm, and Alhamdulillah, I got it today. [Shifting gears] If you look at the whole tournament, as I said, I was searching for momentum and rhythm. It wasn't there initially, so I was just telling myself to take my time. I knew I had the shots to manage the innings and not to worry about the strike rate early on. The longer you stay out there, the easier it gets to target the bowlers later. That's what worked today. I didn't put any pressure on myself and just enjoyed it. [Unfortunately missed out on the hundred] It's fine. To be honest, I was thinking about the team. I'll get plenty of hundreds if I keep batting like this, but I was focused on those last seven balls. Getting the century would have made me very happy, sure, but the team comes first, and we were just trying to put a good total on the board."

Kamindu Mendis: "[How disappointed are you that you let the game slip?] Well, I don't complain. The boys did well in this game. Actually, I think we could have restricted them to around 190, but as a batting group, we could have easily chased it. I think Sadeera and I got out in a crucial situation, so that was the turning point of the game. [Sending Rathnayake over Liyanage] Yeah, we thought they were bowling left-arm orthodox, so we were trying to get a left and right-hand combination out there."

Xiphoid: "@Rashad Hridoy's last over made the differences"

11:11 pm An early blow losing Hermann, put the Kaps on the back foot, but Samarawickrama and Bandara fought back to steady the ship, taking the score to 48 in the powerplay. Just as the fielding restrictions were lifted, disaster struck when Bandara threw his wicket away in a suicidal run-out. Skipper Kamindu Mendis carried on his fine form, playing a rapid 28 off 13 before falling in the 11th over. Wellalage was brought into the attack in the 12th and immediately struck, removing the set Samarawickrama for 44; he was beaten by flight and clean bowled. Liyanage and Rathnayaka briefly reignited hope with a flurry of boundaries, but the target proved too much for the men in yellow. In the end, Towhid Hridoy's late blitz in the first innings, combined with the Kaps' costly dropped catches and misfields, made all the difference. The Kings' bowlers stayed disciplined with their lines and lengths at the death, backed up by some top-notch fielding to keep their cool. Late hitting from Liyanage, Tharupathi, and Neesham only managed to narrow the margin. Madushanka was the pick of the bowling attack with three wickets, while Williams claimed two, albeit on the expensive side. Wellalage, Mathews, and Shiraz chipped in with a wicket apiece. With this victory, the Jaffna Kings move into second place on the points table, dropping the Colombo Kaps down to third. Lizaad Williams received the purple cap, as he is now the highest wicket taker in the tournament.

Jaffna Kings won by 19 runs

19.6
1
Shiraz to Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 1 run, pinpoint yorker ball right in the block-hole, Mujeeb only manages to toe-end the ball onto the back pad and scamper across for a single.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman is the last batter in

19.5
W
Shiraz to Neesham, OUT, Neesham bites the dust! Low full toss ball outside off, moves across and attempts to play the paddle sweep, gets the leading edge to the square leg ring fielder for a regulation catch.

JDS Neesham c Mathew b Shiraz 19 (22m 14b 3x4 0x6) SR: 135.71

19.4
1
Shiraz to Tharupathi, 1 run, fuller length ball hoicks it to deep midwicket for a single
19.3
1
Shiraz to Neesham, 1 run, Nails the widish yorker and Neesham only manages to toe-end it to short third, the ring fielder cuts it off with a diving stop

Need four sixes now from Neesham.

19.2
3
Shiraz to Tharupathi, 3 runs, bowls another low full toss ball wide outside off, steps out of the crease and lofts it over the covers. The sweeper fielder comes around and gathers the ball, then tosses it in as he goes over the ropes. Good running between the wickets. Hridoy was the fielder at deep.
19.1
4
Shiraz to Tharupathi, FOUR, Battered! Bowls a low full toss outside off, sits down on the track and hammers it through the cover point region

30 needed off the last over. Here's Shiraz.

END OF OVER:
19 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | CLK: 173/8 (30 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 9.10, RRR: 30.00)

  • James Neesham18 (12b)
  • Malsha Tharupathi1 (1b)
  • Dilshan Madushanka4-0-30-3
  • Lizaad Williams4-0-47-2
18.6
0
Madushanka to Neesham, no run, Madushanka lands the final blow! Full and overpitched ball angles away on the off stump, shuffles across and gets cramped for space, thudding the back pad. Madushanka pleads for the LBW, and the umpire is convinced. Neesham decides to review. Ultra Edge confirms no bat is involved. Pitching and impact are in line, missing the off stump with the angle. Neesham survives!
18.5
0
Madushanka to Neesham, no run, Oh dear! Neesham knows he should have hit it out of the park! Sumptuous full toss on the pads, plays a half-hearted flick shot and finds the short fine leg fielder at the edge of the circle

around the wicket to Neesham

18.4
1
Madushanka to Tharupathi, 1 run, widish fuller length ball shovels it away to deep cover

Malsha Tharupathi is the next batter in

18.3
W
Madushanka to Sahan, OUT, Nicked through to the keeper! Short pitched ball on the off stump channel, moves away from the wicket to play the swivel pull shot, a full swing of the bat and only manages to get a feather touch off the sticker part of the bat and Mishara makes no mistake behind the stumps.

W Sahan c †Mishara b Madushanka 0 (2m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0

Over the wicket to Suhan

18.2
1
Madushanka to Neesham, 1 run, widish full toss ball outside off, pace off ball, slaps it to deep cover for a single
18.1
0
Madushanka to Neesham, no run, slower through the air ball angling away outside off, deceives the batter and stays low on the track, swing and a miss by Neesham

Wanuja Sahan is in at number 9. 32 runs needed off 12 balls. Madushanka to bowl out now. Around the wicket

END OF OVER:
18 | 12 Runs 1 Wkt | CLK: 171/7 (32 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 9.50, RRR: 16.00)

  • James Neesham17 (8b)
  • Lizaad Williams4-0-47-2
  • Dilshan Madushanka3-0-28-2
17.6
W
Williams to Liyanage, OUT, Caught at long on! Full and overpitched outside the leg stump channel, follows Liyanage as he backs away early, tries to whack it over long on, but strikes it flat and hard. Zadran rushes in and times his dive to pouch the ball cleanly before landing on the green.

J Liyanage c Ibrahim Zadran b Williams 20 (19m 9b 4x4 0x6) SR: 222.22

17.5
1
Williams to Neesham, 1 run, length ball smashes it straight down the ground to long off
17.4
4
Williams to Neesham, FOUR, Cheeky and it all counts! Premeditates the lap scoop and shuffles across, adjusts his stance as Williams bowls a length ball outside off, plays the reverse ramp scoop and got a bit luck as the ball struck the outside part of the bat, evades the short third fielder
17.3
2
Williams to Neesham, 2 runs, pitched up front around off, driven through cover point and picks up a couple of runs
17.3
1w
Williams to Neesham, 1 wide, full toss ball wide outside off, play and a miss
17.2
4
Williams to Neesham, FOUR, a touch short and plays with the full swing of the bat, battered through midwicket and no chance for the sweeper fielder to cut it off
17.1
0
Williams to Neesham, no run, three-quarter length ball outside off, stays low and Neesham fails to connect the square cut stroke

44 runs needed off 18 balls. Williams to bowl out

END OF OVER:
17 | 8 Runs 1 Wkt | CLK: 159/6 (44 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 9.35, RRR: 14.66)

  • James Neesham6 (3b)
  • Janith Liyanage20 (8b)
  • Dilshan Madushanka3-0-28-2
  • Shakib Al Hasan3-0-27-0
16.6
1
Madushanka to Neesham, 1 run, width on offer fuller length ball, knocks it to cover
16.5
4
Madushanka to Neesham, FOUR, Short of a length ball ouside off, Neesham stands tall and drags it down firmly to the left of deep midwicket
16.4
1
Madushanka to Liyanage, 1 run, off-cutter ball 108.1 kph, smacks it with the sticker part of the bat to mid-off
16.3
1
Madushanka to Neesham, 1 run, Pace off widish fuller length ball, driven to long off

James Neesham is in at number 8

16.2
W
Madushanka to Rathnayaka, OUT, pace off length ball on middle-leg, moves away from the wicket and plays the reverse lap scoop shot, doesn't get quite hold of it, mistimes it behind the stumps and Mishara tracks back nicely to gobble it up.

RMMP Rathnayaka c †Mishara b Madushanka 26 (28m 15b 1x4 2x6) SR: 173.33

16.1
1
Madushanka to Rathnayaka, 1 run, pace off length ball wide outside off, drags it down with the toe-end of the bat to widish long on for a couple of runs. Oh dear. It looks like Rathnayaka failed to ground his bat at the non-striker's end, deflected off the legs of Madushanka there. Schoolboy stuff!

Here's Madushanka

Kaps 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st8RA HermannS Samarawickrama
2nd50S SamarawickramaKNA Bandara
3rd39S SamarawickramaPHKD Mendis
4th0BR McDermottS Samarawickrama
5th33BR McDermottRMMP Rathnayaka
6th22J LiyanageRMMP Rathnayaka
7th19JDS NeeshamJ Liyanage
8th1JDS NeeshamW Sahan
9th10JDS NeeshamM Tharupathi
10th1Mujeeb Ur RahmanM Tharupathi