Galle Gladiators problems compound after fourth straight loss

Game one of yesterday’s double header proved to be a stalemate with Jaffna Stallions proving their might and Galle Gladiators struggling to make an impact yet again. Jaffna continued their impressive run collecting their fourth win in the competition and despite them having four more games in the league stage, they are through to the semis. Galle meanwhile now have lost all four encounters and there’s not much indication that they can fix the problem.

Galle got a few things wrong in their campaign and selections is one of them. To quote Sanjay Manjrekar they have got too many, ‘bits and pieces cricketers’ and their over reliance on all-rounders has resulted in absence of a couple of solid batsmen.

Leading up to their game against the in form Jaffna side, Galle had to come out all guns blazing but they were dealt a heavy blow when captain Shahid Afridi flew back to Pakistan due to personal reasons.

They got off to a good start with Danushka Gunathilaka posting yet another half-century. But Galle depend too much on Gunathilaka and although a few batsmen chipped in with useful contributions nobody was able to take on the bowling and put pressure back on Jaffna.

Shehan Jayasuriya often said to be not being given enough opportunities by Sri Lanka’s selectors; despite his impressive shows in domestic cricket and here was a perfect opportunity for him to make an impact. But his seniority has not meant much in this competition and he was run out off the last ball of the innings for eight that came off 13 balls.

Then during a crucial stage of the run chase, Jayasuriya made a mess of a chance off Man of the Match Avishka Fernando not attacking the ball. The very next ball, Fernando was put down by the wicket-keeper with Dhananjaya Lakshan being the unlucky bowler.

Jaffna had a scare or two especially when they needed 18 off 12 balls. But they got home with four balls to spare.

Avishka Fernando was in red hot form. Together with Minod Bhanuka he added 99 runs for the second wicket as both batters found the boundary frequently.

Given Thisara Perera’s big hitting skills, often fans have wondered why Sri Lanka do not promote him up in the order to get them some quick runs. They have been very conventional limiting him to number seven or eight, but yesterday, Perera – with little pressure on his side – promoted himself to number four. He managed only nine off nine but the experimentation is commendable nevertheless.

Fernando was Man of the Match. He made 84 off 59 balls with seven fours and five sixes.