Aura vs Gladiators, 15th Match at Colombo, LPL, Dec 17 2022 - Match Result

6:45pm Right. That will be a wrap from us for this game. The action, though, does not stop. In less than an hour, the Colombo Stars will take on the Kandy Falcons. Do hop in to our coverage of that encounter. Until next time, this is me (Shashwat), on behalf of Sudeep as well, signing off. Goodbye, and take care!

Dasun Shanaka, Dambulla Aura captain: First time we did a lot of things 100% well. The mental preparation and the practice. The boys prepared well before the game and it worked out for us. They (Cox and Daniel) have been outstanding players. It was the right time to deliver.

Kusal Mendis, Galle Gladiators captain: (On his injury) It is good, it is better. (On the score) Wicket was very good. We lost too many wickets in the first few overs and that is why we were bowled out. I think batters did not do too well today. If we win one of our two remaining games, we will have a chance. (On team going through the right processes) I tell my team every day that we have good batters and bowlers. Hopefully we can come back in the next couple of games.

Jordan Cox, Player of the Match: It is good to get the first win on the board. Good to contribute today. Daniel batted awesome today so congratulations to him as well. Idea was to score more runs and take more wickets. We tried to have fun and express ourselves and that is what we did today. We are on the board and we are in the competition, that is the main thing. Hopefully we can sneak in through the back door.

Time for the post-match presentation!

6:34pm The Gladiators got off to the worst possible start, losing Mendis and Dabare inside the first two overs. Through the rest of the powerplay, they ensured they scored at a healthy rate, although that came at the cost of four wickets. That, as it turned out, proved key because they also huffed and puffed during the middle overs. Iftikhar struck a couple of lusty blows but that was not nearly enough in the end.

Dambulla, meanwhile, would be pleased with how they put together a coherent bowling display. Their spinners were excellent in the middle, as were their fast bowlers during the powerplay. Those efforts meant that they did not really have to worry about the death overs. Cox and Daniel were also brilliant earlier in the day, and helped Dambulla produce a performance that has kept them alive, and might have even made them believe that they can secure a play-off berth, especially if they can find a bit of consistency.

Madushan to bowl the final over

Thushara walks out at 11

53 needed off 12. How close can Galle get to this target? NRR could come into the equation at some point in this tournament. Raza to continue

Noor to bowl out now