COLOMBO: Asitha Fernando held his nerves calm to defend 17 runs in the last over and steered Jaffna Kings to the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2024 final with a narrow one-run victory over Kandy Falcons in Qualifier 2 on Saturday.
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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