Stars vs Warriors, 20th Match at Colombo, LPL, Dec 17 2021 - Match Result

11.20pm And with that we're done with the group stages. Tomorrow is a rest day and the action returns on Sunday with an Eliminator-Qualifier 1 double header. Join us then, but for now it's good night from me!

11:10pm Jeffrey Vandersay is the Player of the Match: "I'm so happy to make a comeback and play in the LPL. Initially I was not in the draft, and it's a satisfying moment to put in this performance. I also went through some tough situations in life. I give God the glory for giving me the strength to get through it."

Kandy skipper Angelo Perera blames their defeat on poor execution: "Execution-wise we missed many crucial situations. Chasing 180 I thought we got off to a very good start, but we messed up at the end.

Asked about bowling pace at the end he says: "We always back them. The last three games they've really come through for us, so we backed them to execute, but they were nowhere close."

On the tournament he says: "Points don't reflect on the way we played, we've taken a majority of the games to the last few overs."

Colombo skipper Angelo Mathews: "We had ups and downs, but the way the boys showed up today was fantastic. I thought the way Kusal and Dhananjaya batted took the game away from Kandy."

10.55pm So it's the the Colombo Stars that will join Jaffna, Galle and Dambulla in the playoffs. They've registered a convincing 58-run win over the Kandy Warriors, who were behind in this game pretty much from the get-go.

Yes, there was a brief period when Ravi Bopara (47 off 31) and Charith Asalanka were going well - the pair put on a 54-run stand off 36 - but Seekkuge Prasanna, for the second time in as many games against the Warriors, intevened to devastating effect. In the space of an over he took out Bopara and Angelo Perera, to leave Kandy reeling.

This built on the excellent work of Jeffrey Vandersay who, on his was way to career-best figures of 6 for 25, would first remove both opening batters and then return to break the Bopara-Asalanka stand, trapping the latter lbw.

But the match had already gotten away from the Warriors much earlier than that. Kusal Perera's 38-ball 58 - which included partnerships with Dhananjaya de Silva (40 off 28) and Dinesh Chandimal (44* off 29) - had set up the Stars innings having been put into bat, but while the Kandy spinners had dragged things back in the middle overs, it was the decision to persevere with pace in the death overs that proved fatal. The seam pairing of Al-Amin Hossain and Shiraz Ahmed gave away 87 runs in six overs between them, while the final five overs cost Kandy 64 runs.

hat trick ball...

Vandersay returns.

Kandy folding fast here.

Vimukthi comes to the crease. 60 needed off 28.

Here's Naveen.

61 needed off the last 30 deliveries for the Warriors. The Stars took 64 off their last five overs.

both sides on 114 for 5 at this point. Look's like those death overs are really going to be the difference.

Cieran: "Well, this is mostly suicide from Kandy. First, bowling their pacers too often without much variation. Second, reshuffling the entire batting order for without a proper rationale. Third for now, failing to learn from mistakes (Bhanuka slogging similarly a ball after Lewis dismissal and Perera defending on the back foot immediately after Bopara was castled). Amateur!"