19th December 2024: Lanka T10 champion Hambantota Bangla Tigers, The finale was a nail biter, much like during the course of the tournament between Hambantota Bangla Tigers and the Jaffna Titans – the two teams who made it to the finals of the first edition of the league.
Rightfully so, the league started with much anticipation and left the audiences on the edge with the unexpected outcome that we waited for whole season. For starters, the first season saw its fair share of drama and heightened expectations as this was the first season of the tournament season.
Lanka T10 champion Hambantota Bangla Tigers
There were 35 runs scored by Kusal Perera and 26 off 11 balls by Shahzad, contributing significantly to wining the Lanka T10 champion the opening partnership. In the finals, the two batsmen who batted first were able to perform decently well, but the team quickly found itself in a difficult spot as it lost too many wickets at crucial junctures, reducing the innings from 3 wickets to 59.
Kusal was once again placed near the front of the pitcher along with the big hitters after the other batsmen had built an innings, only to miss the opportunity to put into action his expected skills, so the pick pears stuck to their basic core strategy of waiting it out while shocked. Upon hitting a few more limits thanks to standout performances, Kenner and Dhananjaya significantly improved one team’s position.
The shelf and strong partnership that Senior added with Daniel which became a match winning 44 runs helped to keep score at a confident one. In the 4th innings after one of the players signaled for a 10 run strike zone and was run out, the skipper left the pitch. “Den late thanks to 10 balls scored by Lewis and Lakshan at the end of the game helped answer the first question, was too hard. Would a warrant stand behind their tough play? One easy answer was no Bangla likely because few managed to remain intact.”
The Titans managed to earn a lead in the opening over after just 17 runs but things went south for them after that. They lost batsmen in quick succession and pressure mounted them courtesy of the Hambantota bowling attack. Richard Gleeson was the most successful bowler for his side as he took 3 wickets for 21 runs in 2 overs while Shanaka also took 2 wickets for 4 runs during a single over.
For Jaffna, Tom Abell put in one of his best career innings as he ended up scoring 54 runs off just 27 balls and remained unbeaten.
The finale was decorated with stellar lively performances from singer Hana Shafa and musical Wasthi, which made the spectators and fans watch in awe.