Well well well.... what surprises might there be in store tomorrow for the second semi-final? Come back to see whether Jaffna Stallions or Dambulla Viiking will join the Gladiators in the tournament final. Thanks for following along. I'm Peter Della Penna. Good night!
Man of the Match Dhananjaya Lakshan: "My plan was to bat to the end. I wanted to take it to the last over."
Galle Gladiators captain Bhanuka Rajapaksa: "It's a miracle that we got through from the stage that we were. We could have easily got through from 60 for 3 but then we lost wickets in the middle. But credit goes to Dhananjaya Lakshan. He showed a lot of maturity and eventually we came through. Our bowling set the tone for us. We had to take responsibility as seniors because it's a very young side."
Colombo Kings captain Angelo Mathews: "I thought we had a terrible day today. It doesn't give us a cushion for topping the table. The tournament is structured in a way where you lead the table, you have one off day and you're gone. But credit should go to the Galle Gladiators. They outplayed us. We had a terrible day in all three departments. We dropped about five or six catches today and that doesn't do any good when you're defending 150. I'm not even sure if we could've had 11 on the field if we made the final. Laurie, Andre, Isuru, Qais, myself."
10.50 pm Not the most cleanly played semi-final you'll ever see. Plenty of grit though and it sees the Gladiators into the final. Fielding was sloppy on both sides today but Kings paid for it most as Qais Ahmad shells two easy chances in the final overs that could have iced the game. Dhananjaya Lakshan an unlikely hero with the ball at the start and then with an unbeaten 31 off 23 to keep hopes alive until Sandakan clinched it with one shot.