International Sports
Lanka T10: Kandy Bolts in at 4th spot in playoffs after thrilling day
It was a make-or-break game for Colombo who came off second best against a Jaffna outfit that was formidable in every department of the game
The final day of the inaugural Lanka T10 league matches at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Tuesday provided plenty of action for the fans.
Kandy Bolts qualified as the fourth team in the playoffs, Hambantota Bangla Tigers joined Jaffna Titans in Qualifier 1, Kasun Rajitha performed the second hat-trick of the tournament and Kusal Mendis scored the second fastest fifty.
The line-up for today’s playoffs:
Qualifier 1 – Jaffna Titans vs Hambantota Bangla Tigers started play at 2.30pm.
Eliminator – Galle Marvels vs Kandy Bolts will follow at 4:45pm
Qualifier 2 – Runner-up of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Eliminator at 7pm.
These three matches will be screened live on Ariana Television.
Tuesday’s match however, saw pace setters Jaffna Titans come up with a complete team performance to outplay Colombo Jaguars by nine wickets and consolidate their position at the top of the table with 12 points from 7 matches (5 wins) and keep their unbeaten record in the tournament intact.
It was a make-or-break game for Colombo who came off second best against a Jaffna outfit that was formidable in every department of the game.
Invited to bat first, Colombo struggled against some quality bowling and could muster only 99-8.
In a crucial knockout match that went to the wire, Kandy Bolts edged out Nuwara Eliya Kings by 5 runs to fill the fourth and last slot of the play-offs.
Nuwara Eliya Kings fast bowler Kasun Rajitha’s second hat-trick of the tournament failed to help as Kandy Captain Thisara Perera outshone him to take his team into the next round.
In a low scoring third game for the day Hambantota Bangla Tigers beat Galle Marvels by 5 wickets to grab the second spot and make it to Qualifier 1 pushing Galle to third spot to play in the Eliminator.