The final league day of the Lanka Premier League 2022 saw two matches at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. With the conclusion of all the league stage matches, the tournament has its top four. Colombo Stars and Jaffna Kings faced off in the first match of the day, while Galle Gladiators took on Dambulla Aura in the next. Here is a complete round-up of day 11 of the Lanka Premier League 2022.
Match 19- Colombo Stars vs Jaffna Kings
Batting first, the Colombo Stars had a horrendous start as they lost four wickets within the powerplay. They could only manage 25 runs in the first six overs. However, Nishan Madushka (35) and Ravi Bopara (20) managed to resurrect the innings to some extent. In the end, Dominic Drakes played a great cameo of 38 runs in 20 balls that helped the Stars get to a total of 128/9 in their allotted 20 overs.
Unlike Colombo, Jaffna Kings had a great start to their batting innings. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Avishka Fernando, the two openers, put on a great partnership of 105 runs to get the team close to the target. The former played the attacking game and scored 69 runs in just 40 balls. On the other hand, Fernando played the anchor and remained unbeaten on 40 runs in 38 balls to take his team home with eight wickets and over four overs to spare. The Jaffna Kings will now face Kandy Falcons in the first qualifier.
Match 20- Galle Gladiators vs Dambulla Aura
The final league stage game of the tournament was another low-scoring game as the Galle Gladiators were restricted to a score of just 129/8. The Gladiators’ only hope came from Nuwanidu Fernando, who scored 63 runs in 42 balls during the innings. Nobody else could do much in the game. For the Dambulla Auras, Matthew Forde was at his best as he took a four-wicket haul in the innings.
In the chase, Dambulla Aura had a couple of good performances that helped them get to the target. While the bowlers did not make it easy for the batters, Jordan Cox and Matthew Forde played great knocks to help the team through. The two scored 34 runs in 21 balls and 52 runs in 30 balls, respectively, to take their team through with four wickets and close to six overs to spare. Despite a loss, the Gladiators made it to Eliminator and will play against the Colombo Stars on the 21st of December.
