Twitter Reactions: Qais Ahmad's all-round efforts propel Colombo Kings to a top-class victory

The 20th and final league game of the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) was a top-table clash, which brought up the table-toppers Dambulla Viiking against the Colombo Kings at the MRIC Stadium, Hambantota.

Winning the toss, the Kings decided to field first and their skipper Angelo Mathews must have been disappointed after the kind of start the opponent-openers – Samit Patel and Niroshan Dickwella – provided to the Viiking. Patel slammed one six and three boundaries in his quick-fire 26-run cameo before Qais Ahmed knocked him over to provide his side the first breakthrough. Having added 50 for the first-wicket with Patel, Dickwella continued to flow freely from the other end.

Perera-Dickwella power Viiking to a 200-plus total

The Kings got another wicket in quick succession as Upul Tharanga, who came in at 3, failed to trouble the scorers and walked out after being trapped leg before wicket by Ahmed. Tharanga’s exit brought in Angelo Perera, who came in with some serious intention. Taking the attack to the opponents alongside Dickwella, he added runs at a brisk pace and tore apart the opponents’ bowling attack en route to his 51-ball 74, which included seven boundaries and a couple of sixes.

The 94-run stand did not come to an end until the 15th over when a slower one from Mathews was top-edged by Dickwella (65 from 40) to short third man, where Dushmantha Chammera made no mistake. Some late acceleration was all that the Viiking needed to run past 200, and skipper Shanaka, through his knock of 28 from 15 did just that.

Chasing a stiff target of 204, the Kings did not have an ideal start as they lost Dinesh Chandimal early. Chandimal struggled for the entire duration as he managed merely 3 in 10 balls before Anwar Ali got rid of him. While his partner failed to find his groove, Laurie Evans on the other end made the pitch look like a completely different one as he continued to play with pacers and spinners with equal ease. However, his free-flowing knock of 53, including 5 fours and 4 sixes, was shortened after he was retired hurt.

Colombo Kings’ brilliant pull off

Kings, then, lost two wickets in a space of 8 balls as Lahiru Udana (1 from 2) was trapped LBW by Samit Patel, whereas Daniel Bell-Drummond was caught behind off Malinda Pushpakumara when he was at 14. Hindered by two quick ones, the Kings’ ship was steadied by Ashan Priyanjan and Thikshila de Silva, as the duo added 49 for the 5th wicket. Realizing the mounting scoreboard pressure, de Silva counterattacked the bowlers as he added 31 in just 16 balls before falling to Shanaka.

Despite the middle-phase hiccup, the Kings did exceptionally well to not let the opponents pounce on them as they kept the required run rate in check. Having shone with the ball, Qais Ahmed took the lead with the bat too, as he slapped 5 sixes and 2 fours in his sublime 50* from 22. The unbeaten 77 runs stand between Priyanjan and Ahmed led the Kings to win the game by 6 wickets with 7 balls to spare.

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