ROUND-UP
Follow UsThe fifth edition of Lanka Premier League has its top four set for an exciting playoff week, starting on July 18 (Thursday). Table toppers Galle Marvels and Jaffna Kings, who both won five of their eight league games respectively, will face each other in the first qualifier with the winner directly qualifying for the final.
The loser will face the winner of the eliminator between Colombo Strikers and defending champions Kandy Falcons in the second Qualifier. The winners of both the qualifiers will face off in the final on July 21 (Sunday) in Colombo.
LPL 2024 - POINTS TABLE
LPL 2024 – PLAYOFFS
Qualifier 1, Colombo (RPS) – Galle Marvels vs Jaffna Kings – 18th July 2024 – 3pm
Eliminator, Colombo (RPS) – Colombo Strikers vs Kandy Falcons – 18th July 2024 – 7.30pm
Qualifier 2, Colombo (RPS) – Loser of Q1 vs Winner of Eliminator – 20th July 2024 – 7.30pm
Final, Colombo (RPS) – Winner of Q1 vs Winner of Q2 – 21st July 2024 – 7.30pm
LPL 2024 - TOP RUN SCORERS
LPL 2024 - TOP WICKET TAKERS
Team Performance
Galle Marvels – 8 matches, 5 wins, 3 losses, 10 points, -0.059 NRR
The newly designed Galle Marvels came into the tournament with high expectations from their side. They started off well winning three of their first four games. The second half saw a slump as they lost two games and one of the other two wins was in a super over. They will be hoping to get back on track in the playoffs.
Their overseas signings have been outstanding as both Tim Seifert and Alex Hales have had excellent seasons so far, with 250+ runs.
Captain Niroshan Dickwella and Bhanuka Rajapaksa have played crucial cameos in the tournament. The bowling unit also has given equal contribution as Isuru Udana and Maheesh Theekshana have taken 12 and 10 wickets respectively. Foreign signings in Zahoor Khan and Dwaine Pretorius have been decent as well.
With a balanced approach helping the team top the points table, the Marvels will be eyeing to lift their first time with the similar mindset during playoffs.
Jaffna Kings – 8 matches, 5 wins, 3 losses, 10 points, -0.392 NRR
Three-time LPL Champions Jaffna Kings had another spectacular run the league stage of LPL, winning five of their eight games.
After losing the first game, they came back strongly by winning three in a row. Chasing has favored them a lot as they've won all their four games in which they've batted second.
Their batting has been the best in the tournament with top order batters in Avishka Fernando and Pathum Nissanka both scoring 311 runs respectively, being the joint-highest run scorers in the tournament currently.
Other important batters in Rilee Rossouw, Charith Asalanka and Kusal Mendis have stepped up when required. Going into playoffs, the Kings will hope to see their underperforming bowling step up as theirs has been the most expensive bowling attack in the tournament.
Colombo Strikers – 8 matches, 4 wins, 4 losses, 8 points, 0.583 NRR
Colombo Strikers, the team with the most expensive player in LPL in Matheesha Pathirana, came into the tournament with a strong bowling unit with the likes of Pathirana, Shadab Khan, Binura Fernando and others.
The bowling did live up to expectations, with the team picking up 62 wickets, the most by any team in the group stages. The aforementioned players have taken 12, 16 and 10 wickets respectively, playing a key role in the team's playoffs qualification.
The batting, too, has clicked well with the likes of Glenn Phillips and Rahmanullah Gurbaz scoring the bulk of the runs. They have got good support from Muhammed Waseem and Angelo Perera. With key signings performing and bowling very solid, Colombo Strikers will hope to keep the momentum going and with the trophy.
Kandy Falcons – 8 matches, 3 wins, 5 losses, 6 points, 0.033 NRR
Defending champions Kandy Falcons have been lucky to sneak into the top four as they've managed to have a better NRR compared to Dambulla Sixers. After winning the tournament opener, the Falcons had a slump with three back-to-back defeats.
A win in the fifth game gave them some confidence, but they lost their next two fixtures against Jaffna and Galle, respectively, to put themselves in a must win situation against Dambulla. With an outstanding effort, they managed to win the game big by 54 runs and that gave them the NRR boost they needed to make it to the final four.
The big performers for them have been Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga as the two seniors have stepped up and performed, with both taking 12 wickets each.
On the batting front, four of their batters in Chandimal, Fletcher, Mathews and Mendis have scored 200+ runs at an excellent strike rate above 160. They will come into the playoffs as the most aggressive batting side and will hope to overpower the Colombo Strikers, who have been the best bowling unit in this edition.
Dambulla Sixers – 8 matches, 3 wins, 5 losses, 6 points, -0.269 NRR
Dambulla Sixers are the only team to miss out on playoff qualification in LPL 2024. Their terrible start to the season, which saw them lose each of their first three games, put them on the backfoot instantly.
They managed to get back their confidence after winning their next two games, but lost in a super over against Galle Marvels to put themselves in a do or die scenario alongside Kandy Flacons. They were badly beat by the defending champions in a must win game, resulting in the side hurting their NRR and eventually finishing bottom of the table.
The major reason for their failure was underwhelming performance from their key bowlers Nuwan Thushara, Dilshan Madushanka and Mohammad Nabi.
On the batting front, Kusal Perera, Reeza Hendricks and Mark Chapman were good but that was not enough to take them across the line.
Dushan Hemantha and Chamindu Wickramasinghe were two positives for Dambulla as Hemantha did will with the ball, picking 11 wickets in six innings. Wickramasinghe had a spectacular debut season as well, scoring 186 runs while also picking up seven wickets in eight games.
Top Fantasy performers from the group stages
Isuru Udana (GM) - 509 points
Pathum Nissanka (JK) - 467 points
Avishka Fernand (JK) - 453 points
Alex Hales (GM) - 441 points
Dinesh Chandimal (KF) - 418 points
Wanindu Hasaranga (KF) - 416 points
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