Dambulla Viiking Captain Dhasun Shanaka, with his prolific all-round performances, guided his team to the second position in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) points table after notching up three victories in their four outings so far. They will surge ahead to secure another win to their folds, when they meet Galle Gladiators, while Colombo Kings will go all out to get into their winning ways by taking on Kandy Tuskers in their encounters commencing from 3.30 p.m. at MRICS, Hambanthota, today.
Shanaka became the second-highest scorer of the tournament with 197 runs after his quick-fire half-century, which subsequently helped them seal an all-important win against the Kandy Tuskers on Thursday. After a scrappy tournament opener, the Dambulla boys got into rhythm and played some enthralling cricket which has proved dividends for them to remain second in the fray.
Shanka got a placid platform laid by his senior batsman Anjelo Perera, who played a swashbuckling inning together to guide them to victory. But they are worried over the form of their key experienced wicket-keeping batsman Niroshan Dickwella, who is struggling to get into form and give them a flying start. The injury to Oshada Fernando has been a major blow for them after an ankle twist sidelined him for a week. Nevertheless, today’s game is very crucial for them to experiment with some of their other players before getting into the remaining games.
Galle Gladiators, on the other hand, are struggling after losing all their four fixtures played so far. Playing sans their regular playmaker and skipper Shahid Afridi, who left for Pakistan due to family commitments, had made a tremendous impact on their team composition. Danushka Gunathilaka, who is the highest run-getter in the tournament so far, has given them some flying starts in their batting but the rest of the batters failed to continue building a formidable total.
Except for the spin duo Lakshan Sandakan and Akila Dananjaya, the rest of their bowlers failed to make an impact to lead them to victory. They are expected to get into this game as a rejuvenated side and put up and improved performance. Both teams are yet to finalise their eleven players and will decide once they inspect the pitch today.
Meanwhile, in the second game under lights, Colombo Kings are tipped to pull off another win against the reeling Kandy Tuskers. They had a nerve-tingling finish when they met the same rivals in their curtain-raiser, which they won after the super over. Their ‘big guns’ skipper Angelo Mathews, Andre Russell, and Dinesh Chandimal had a dismal performance in their last outing against the Thisara Perera’s Jaffna Stallions who outsmarted them in all departments.
But they cannot be underestimated as their West Indies batting machine and playmaker Andre Russell is a dangerous player in this format. His getting into form means a high-scoring match is expected, along with Mathews and Chandimal who sailed them to victory in one of their games with timely 80 runs earning him the ‘Man of the Match’ title.
On the other hand, Kusal Janith Perera’s Kandy Tuskers is going through a bad passage. Their ground fielding is at a very low ebb, and the blowing department is struggling to find the required breakthrough. The Injury to Irfan Pathan was a major blow; he is still nursing a hamstring injury. This match is, once again, going to be an acid test for them. However, a well-executed plan would enable them to reach success.
0 comments:
Post a Comment