LPL: Angelo Mathews celebrates a dismissal for Colombo Kings.© Twitter
Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews has named for an Indian Premier League (IPL) style play-off structure following his side Colombo Kings, who had been the table toppers, bowed out of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in the semi-final. Galle Gladiators, who had suffered six defeats in the tournament, defeated table topper Colombo Kings in the 1st semi-final of LPL on Sunday. Mathews expressed disappointment more than the guidelines and mentioned the group topping the table will have to get yet another opportunity of qualifying for the finals.
“After doing so well — winning six out of the eight matches — and then having one bad day and having to go home it’s really disappointing,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Mathews as saying.
The Sri Lanka cricketer cited IPL-style playoffs as an instance and hoped the organisers will appear into the matter for the subsequent edition of the tournament.
“When you top the table, you should get another go, like with an IPL-style playoffs. The way things are, teams will know that if they win two or three games, they’ll qualify for the semi-final,” mentioned Mathews.
“Then there’s no reason for them to keep going and keep the intensity up. That should not be the case. I’m sure the organisers will look into it next year,” he added.
Mathews mentioned if a group is playing a round-robin form of tournament then there ought to be an benefit for topping the table.
“Not only us, everyone is of the view that when you’re playing eight league games, there should be some advantage to topping the table. There should be some cushioning,” he mentioned.
Dambulla Viiking and Jaffna Stallions will lock horns in the tournament’s second semi-final on Monday.