Kandy lose seven for 42 and Colombo Kaps go through to meet Galle again

Kandy Royals were three wickets down and in the game. Eight overs later they were all out for 135, and the Lanka Premier League is down to three teams.

Colombo Kaps won Wednesday night’s Eliminator at the R Premadasa Stadium by 68 runs, the biggest win by runs in their T20 history. They now play Galle Gallants in Qualifier 2 on Friday, with the winner going through to Saturday’s final against Jaffna Kings.

Seven wickets for 42

Colombo batted first and made 203 for 7. Kandy started the chase in decent order. Lahiru Udara, who made an unbeaten 132 off 63 balls against Galle Gallants in Pallekele on 29 July to chase down 209, got them going again with a quick fifty and had the required rate under control.

Then he got out, and the innings fell over. Seven wickets went down for 42 runs across the closing eight overs. Shahnawaz Dahani took 2 for 16. Wanuja Sahan was named Player of the Match, and Colombo captain Kamindu Mendis singled him out afterwards. Kandy were bowled out inside 19 overs of a chase they had been level with.

Colombo get Galle again, and they will not mind

There is a neat piece of symmetry to Qualifier 2. Colombo were in the race for a top-two finish going into the last week of the league stage. They lost to Galle, and that result decided which of the two went into Qualifier 1 and which had to take the long route. Galle got the shortcut. It did not help them much, because Jaffna beat them anyway, with Mishara making 108.

Both playoff matches were played on Wednesday, so Galle get Thursday to sit with the defeat and Colombo get the same day to enjoy the win. Colombo bring momentum and a bowling attack that has just taken seven wickets in eight overs. Galle bring a batting line-up that put up enough runs in Qualifier 1 to make it a 470-run match and still lost. Neither of those counts for much on its own in a single T20, which is roughly the point of the format.

How to watch from India

Qualifier 2 starts at 7.30pm IST on Friday 7 August at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Sri Lanka and India share a time zone, so the local start time and the Indian one are the same, which makes the LPL one of the easier overseas leagues for Indian viewers to follow live.

The final is on Saturday 8 August at the same ground, with 9 August held in reserve. Jaffna Kings are already there, waiting to see who turns up.

What Kandy leave behind

Kandy spent much of the league stage propping up the table before pulling themselves into the playoff places, and Udara’s 132 not out was the standout individual innings of their season by a distance. Going out having been level with the chase halfway through is a harsh way to finish, but 203 was always going to need somebody to bat through, and once Udara was gone nobody did.

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