[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A last ball thriller in Hambantota saw the Dambulla Viiking go to the top position of the Lanka Premier  League (LPL) 2020, as they beat Galle Gladiators by 4 wickets. 

The Gladiators got off to a rollicking start in the Power-play as the game seem to drift away from the  Viiking’s, before young off-spinner Ramesh Mendis’ two wickets in as many balls helped his team to come  back into the match. He finished with top figures of 2/28 in his four overs while the rest of the bowlers did  their job during the latter part of the innings to make sure the Gladiators were restricted to 168/7. 

Useful contributions from Niroshan Dickwella(38) and Angelo Perera(45) kept the Viiking’s on track to  victory, but a cluster of wickets in the middle meant the Viiking’s had to find a new hero and so they did in  their Afghan star Samiullah Shinwari, as he blasted an unbeaten 46* off just 20 balls to take his team  home. 

Ramesh Mendis capped off a good all-round game too as he gave good support to Shinwari with an  unbeaten 13* off just seven balls. 

Dambulla Viiking have played seven matches in the competition so far recording five wins with their only  loss coming against the Jaffna Stallions and one game being washed out against the same opposition. 

It was also a special occasion for the Viiking skipper Dasun Shanaka and Samit Patel as they played their  100th and 300th T20 match respectively. 

The Viiking’s will meet Colombo Kings on Friday (11) in their final game of the group stage, as they will look  to finish on top of the table ahead of the semi-finals. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]