Chasing a huge 185, Jaffna Kings lost Pathum Nissanka on the first ball of the innings courtesy of Dwaine Pretorius.

However, that proved to be only success for Galle Marvels during the innings as Rossouw joined Kusal Mendis and together they launched an onslaught.

They struck 63 runs in the first six overs, with Mendis leading the charge with a 13-ball 32. Meanwhile, Rossouw switched the gears in the next over and took the game completely away from the Marvels.

Rossouw and Mendis created the record for the highest partnership for any wicket in the history of LPL with their 185-run stand as they led their team to the victory with 26 balls to spare.

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Mendis finished with a 40-ball 72, which featured eight boundaries and two sixes, while Rossouw scored 106 runs from 53 balls with nine fours and seven sixes.

Earlier, Galle Marvels reduced to 24-3 in 6.5 overs after being inserted to bat first. Tim Seifert and Bhanuka Rajapaksa then added 62 runs from 32 balls to help the team recover.

Asitha Fernando bowled Seifert after he had scored 47 off 37 to break the momentum, however, Rajapaksa remained unfazed.

Rajapaksa waged a lone war as he struck 82 runs from 34 balls with the help of eight boundaries and six sixes. His smashing knock came to an end courtesy of Fernando.

Galle Marvels managed to set a 185-run target for Jaffna Kings in the LPL 2024 final. Fernando returned with bowling figures of 3-35, while Jason Behrendorff claimed two wickets.

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However, it was not the easiest of defence for Fernando, who was hit for a six and a four as Ramesh Mendis had brought the equation down to four off one.

But Fernando somehow managed to get away despite bowling a low full-toss as Mendis could hit it towards mid-wicket and ran a couple.

Mendis remained unbeaten gutsy 30 off just 11 deliveries with the help of three fours and two sixes but his gutsy knock could not withstand the damage done by Fabian Allen and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth.

Allen led the bowling charge for the Kings with a four-fer while Viyaskanth made three scalps.

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West Indies international Andre Fletcher remained the top-scorer for the Falcons with a 21-ball 38 while Mohammad Haris (26) and Kamindu Mendis (32) were the other notable run-getters.

Earlier, Kusal Mendis’ unbeaten century powered the Kings 187/7 in the allotted overs after they were put into bat first.

Mendis smashed 12 fours and five sixes on his way to an unbeaten 105 off 54 deliveries and top-scored for the former champions.

Besides him, Azmatullah Omarzai contributed significantly to the Kings’ total with a quickfire cameo down the order.

He struck one four and three sixes on his way to a 13-ball 26.

Mohammad Hasnain, Ramesh Mendis and Chaturanga de Silva bagged two wickets each for the Falcons while Wanindu Hasaranga made one scalp.

Former champions Jaffna Kings will now face Galle Marvels in the LPL 2024 final, scheduled to take place at R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.

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The Falcons chased down the 160-run target on the fourth delivery of the penultimate over when Ramesh Mendis struck Dunith Wellalage for a four.

But the defending champions had to make hard yards in achieving the total as they lost eight wickets in the process.

The Falcons, after getting off to a dismal start, kept losing wickets at an alarming rate and were consequently reduced to 83/6 in 10.2 overs.

However, a fighting partnership between Kamindu Mendis and Dasun Shanaka pulled the holders out of trouble and in touching distance of the victory.

The duo added an important 69 runs amid their seventh-wicket partnership that lasted with Shanaka’s dismissal on the last delivery of the 17th over.

Shanaka scored a brisk 39 off 21 deliveries, peppered with four fours and two sixes.

Mendis followed suit on the next delivery as he was cleaned up by Matheesha Pathirana, briefly after amassing his half-century.

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He remained the top-scorer for the Falcons with a 36-ball 54, including three fours and as many sixes.

Binura Fernando and Pathirana took three wickets each for the Strikers while Shadab Khan and Isitha Wijesundara made one scalp each.

The Strikers, after being put into bat first, could register 159/8 on the board in their 20 overs despite Sadeera Samarawickrama’s half-century.

Samarawickrama took the reigns of Strikers’ batting expedition after coming out to bat in the sixth over with his side reeling at 42/3.

He waged a lone battle with a gutsy 62 off 45 deliveries until his departure in the final over.

Besides him, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (30) and Wellalage (28) made significant contributions.

Mohammad Hasnain was the star with the ball for the Falcons, picking up three wickets for 24 while skipper Wanindu Hasaranga claimed two wickets.

Defending champions Kandy Falcons will now take on Jaffna Kings in Qualifier 2 of the LPL 2024 in a bid to face Galle Marvels in the final on Sunday.

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Set to chase 178, the Marvels knocked the winning runs in style when Seifert smashed Tabraiz Shamsi for a six on the first delivery of the penultimate over.

Seifert oversaw the Marvels’ pursuit with an unbeaten half-century after coming out to bat at No.3 with the scoreboard reading 29/1 in 2.2 overs.

He was involved in a quickfire 41-run partnership for the second wicket, majorly dominated by Alex Hales, who departed in the sixth over after scoring 36 off 21 deliveries.

Tim Seifert then joined forces with Janith Liyanage and the duo combined to put Marvels in touching distance.

Seifert and Liyanage added 92 runs amid their third-wicket partnership until the latter perished in the 17th over.

Liyanage smashed five fours and three sixes on his way to a 36-ball 56.

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Seifert, on the other hand, carried his bat all the through and returned with an unbeaten 62 off 41 balls, laced up with 10 boundaries including a six.

For the Kings, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fabian Allen and Shamsi made one scalp each.

Put into bat first, the Kings registered a commendable total of 177/7 in the allotted overs with Avishka Fernando leading the charge with a half-century.

Fernando top-scored for the Kings in the LPL 2024 Qualifier 1 with a 33-ball 52 which featured four fours and three sixes.

Besides him, wicketkeeper batter Kusal Mendis (46) and South Africa international Rilee Rossouw (40) made notable contributions while Omarzai remained the only other batter to amass the double digits, scoring 14 off eight.

Dwaine Pretorius was the star with the ball for Galle Marvels with brilliant figures of 4/23, followed by Isuru Udana, who bagged two wickets.

Despite succumbing to a defeat, Jaffna Kings will have another chance to make it to the LPL 2024 final as they will face the winner of the Eliminator between Kandy Falcons and Colombo Strikers in the Qualifier 2 on Saturday.

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Despite the 28-run victory, the Sixers crashed out of the playoffs race as they finished at the bottom with six points in eight matches.

Meanwhile, defending champions Kandy Falcons, who also boast alike record in the ongoing tournament, advanced into the next stage of the LPL 2024, owing to a superior net run rate.

Put into bat first, Dambulla Sixers recovered from a disastrous start to register 123 runs on the board.

The Sixers had lost half of their side inside eight overs with just 38 runs on the board.

Following the slump, Mohammad Nabi joined forces with Chamindu Wickramasinghe and launched an astounding recovery.

The duo batted sensibly and added 62 runs for the sixth wicket before Binura Fernando dismissed Nabi in the 16th over.

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The veteran all-rounder remained the top-scorer for the Sixers with a 33-ball 40, laced up with four fours and two sixes.

Wickramasinghe soon followed in his senior’s footsteps and perished in the 18th over after scoring an important 26 off 29 deliveries.

Fernando led the bowling charge for the Strikers with 3/15, followed by Matheesha Pathirana and Dunith Wellalage, picking up two wickets each.

Chasing a modest 124, the Sixers’ batting unit unfolded on a paltry 95 despite skipper Thisara Perera’s fighting knock.

Perera waged a lone battle after coming out to bat at No.7 with the Strikers reeling at 48/5.

He scored a gutsy 30 off 31 deliveries with the help of one four and three sixes and was the last batter to be dismissed.

Nuwan Pradeep was the star with the ball for the Sixers with his three wickets while Chamindu Wickramasinghe bagged two.

READ: Shadab Khan aims to carry LPL 2024 form into international cricket

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Shadab, who is representing Colombo Strikers in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2024 has been in a phenomenal touch as the leg-spinner is the leading wicket-taker of the ongoing season with 16 scalps in seven matches.

He has taken three four-wicket hauls in the tournament, with the latest coming in the Strikers’ victory over Jaffna Kings.

However, the same was not the case for Shadab Khan in the international circuit as the 25-year-old all-rounder played 12 T20I matches this year, but bowled in only eight matches, taking a mere three wickets at an average of 73.66.

With the bat, he has scored 110 runs in nine outings at an average of 13.75. The only positive is his strike rate, which is slightly over 150.

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The all-rounder acknowledged that his recent performances for Pakistan were not up to the mark but reiterated that sometimes a player goes through a rough patch.

“I was struggling for three months. I hadn’t taken a wicket in the last seven international games. I came here, started bowling and am now always taking wickets. That is the beauty of cricket,” stated Shadab.

“You have to enjoy these types of scenarios as well… sometimes you perform, sometimes you don’t. But the process that you follow has to be consistent,” he added.

Shadab Khan then went on to recall his first outing in the LPL 2024, highlighting the pitch’s helpfulness for the spinners before emphasizing the need for variations to flourish in the shortest format.

“The pitch was helping us as it was a bit slow and gripping a bit… But T20 cricket is very hard nowadays, as 200 is easily changeable. As a spinner, you have to have your variations because on flat tracks, if you don’t have variations, you can go for runs,” Shadab stated.

“But if you have variation, you can take wickets as well as contain runs. So that is very important, and it is also important that you land it in a good area,” he added.

READ: Shadab Khan aims to carry LPL 2024 form into international cricket

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Put into bat first, Galle Marvels could post 138 runs on the board despite Tim Seifert’s anchoring 44-run knock.

The Marvels, at one stage, were 93/3 before running into a disastrous collapse, mainly triggered by Pathirana, who took four wickets in the process.

Seifert remained the top-scorer for the Marvels with a 38-ball 44 which featured three fours and two sixes while Bhanuka Rajapaksa made a quickfire 35 off 15 balls, laced up with one four and four sixes.

The duo recorded the highest partnership for the Marvels when they added a quick 41 runs for the fourth wicket.

Matheesha Pathirana was the star with the ball for the Strikers while Shadab Khan and Dunith Wellalage contributed significantly with two wickets each.

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In response, the Strikers comfortably chased down the 139-run target for the loss of just three wickets and 10 balls to spare, thanks to Muhammad Waseem’s half-century.

The home side, however, had a contrasting start to the pursuit as they lost Angelo Perera (11) in the second over with just 14 runs on the board.

Waseem then anchored the run chase with the sensible knock, which lasted in the 15th over.

He top-scored for the Strikers with a 44-ball 50, peppered with four fours and two sixes.

Glenn Phillips then partnered with Sadeera Samarawickrama and made sure there were no more hiccups in the modest run chase.

Phillips scored an unbeaten 31 off 32 while Samarawickrama made 15 not out.

For the Marvels, Maheesh Theekshana, Isuru Udana and Sahan Arachchige took one wicket apiece.

The seven-wicket victory strengthened Colombo Strikers’ grip at the third spot in the LPL 2024 standings with eight points in seven matches while Galle Marvels remained at the top with 10 points after eight outings.

READ: All-round Hasaranga leads Falcons to massive victory over Sixers

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Chasing a daunting 223-run total, the Sixers could accumulate 168/9 despite a fighting half-century from Kusal Perera.

The Sixers were never in the hunt as they lost wickets at regular intervals while Perera did the majority of the fight single-handedly.

Perera waged a lone battle until he was dismissed by Hasaranga in the 15th over.

The opening batter smashed five fours and as many sixes on his way to top score for the Sixers with a 40-ball 74.

Mark Chapman, who scored 24 off 19 in the middle, was the next contributor to the Sixers’ pursuit.

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Hasaranga led the bowling charge for the Falcons with four wickets, followed by Dasun Shanaka with three while Mohammad Hasnain and Chaturanga de Silva made one scalp each.

Earlier, the Falcons registered a massive total of 222/4 on the board, courtesy of Fletcher’s fifty and an unbeaten partnership between Mendis and Angelo Mathews.

Fletcher carried his bat till the 13th over and returned with top-scoring for the Falcons with a quickfire. His 34-ball knock featured one four and seven sixes.

Following his dismissal, Mendis joined forces with Mathews and added an unbeaten 95 runs to the total.

Mendis returned undefeated with a 24-ball 51 while Mathews made 44 not out in 23 balls.

Dushan Hemantha was the pick of the bowlers for the Sixers with 3/14 in his four overs.

The 54-run victory lifted Kandy Falcons to the fifth spot in the LPL 2024 standings with six points, two clear of rock-bottom Dambulla Sixers.

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The leg-spinner, who is playing for Colombo Strikers, is currently the leading wicket-taker in the LPL 2024 with 14 wickets in six matches.

He has taken three four-wicket hauls in the tournament, with the latest coming in today’s victory against Jaffna Kings.

While speaking after the match, Shadab Khan acknowledged his recent struggles in international cricket but vowed to carry his good form into international cricket for Pakistan.

“I struggled in the last three months, but that’s the beauty of cricket, suddenly you start performing and hopefully that continues with Pakistan as well,” he stated.

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For the unversed, the 25-year-old all-rounder has been under fire for his below-par performances in international cricket.

He has played 12 T20I matches this year, but bowled in only eight matches, taking a mere three wickets at an average of 73.66.

With the bat, he has scored 110 runs in nine outings at an average of 13.75. The only positive is his strike rate, which is slightly over 150.

Khan was part of the Babar Azam-led Pakistan team during their disastrous T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, where he remained wicketless and managed 44 runs in four games.

The Green Shirts were knocked out from the group stage of the T20 World Cup, majorly because of their upset defeat against the USA, followed by a gut-wrenching defeat against arch-rivals India.

READ: Shadab Khan powers Colombo Strikers to thump Jaffna Kings

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Defending eight runs in the final over, Theekshana forced the game into the Super Over. He then took two wickets and gave away only six runs in the Super Over, which Galle Marvels successfully chased in four balls.

Reeza Hendricks kept Dambulla in the 149-run pursuit throughout the game, putting his team in the position to reach the finish line comfortable with him and Mohammad Nabi on the crease, requiring eight runs in the last over.

However, Theekshana bowled a brilliant last over as he gave away only two runs in two balls before removing Hendricks on the third ball.

With six required off three, Dushan Hemantha took a single to give a strike to Mohammad Nabi, who struck a boundary on the fifth ball to level the scores. But a last-ball mix-up saw Nabi getting out, pushing the match into the Super Over.

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Hendricks top-scored for the Sixers with a 57-ball 72, which featured six boundaries and one six, while Nabi scored 25 off 17.

Ibrahim Zadran was another notable contributor with a quick 30-run cameo from 18 balls with six fours.

Theekshana was adjudged man of the match for his efforts as he topped the bowling charts with figures of 3-26, while Dwaine Pretorius, Kavindu Nadeeshan and Sahan Arachchige bagged one wicket each.

Galle Marvels are placed at the second spot in the LPL 2024 standings with 10 points, equal to table-toppers Jaffna Kings, who have a superior net run rate. Meanwhile, Dambulla Sixers are lying in fourth position with four points.

READ: Jaffna Kings thump Kandy Falcons in rain-hit LPL clash

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