Danushka Gunathilaka, Thisara Perera, Andre Russell in LPL team of the tournament

Danushka Gunathilaka’s tally of 67 fours is by a huge distance the highest in the tournament – SLC

• Mohammad Amir, Usman Shinwari, Laurie Evans among overseas players to make the XI

ESPNCRICINFO: After 23 matches, the Jaffna Stallions came out as the inaugural Lanka Premier League champions. Here, ESPNcricinfo picks the team of the tournament.

Danushka Gunathilaka (476 runs, strike rate 145)

No batsman was anywhere near as good. Gunathilaka made 187 more runs than the next-highest run-scorer in the league, and repeatedly dragged the Galle Gladiators to respectable totals in the league stage. What was especially impressive about his batting was his decision to tailor it to this particular tournament. He noticed early on that the outfield at Sooriyawewa was spectacularly fast, and that the boundaries were short. So he decided to focus on hitting fours, rather than take on deep fielders. His tally of 67 fours is by a huge distance the highest in the tournament, with Dinesh Chandimal’s 35 the next best. He only hit eight sixes. Nine other batsmen hit more, without getting close to his run tally.

Niroshan Dickwella (wk) (270 runs, strike rate 148, seven catches, three stumpings)

He had a slow start with the bat, but found his touch in the middle of the tournament, and made strong contributions in each of his last five outings, hitting two fifties through that run. Kusal Perera and Chandimal also had decent tournaments with the bat, but Dickwella was the best wicketkeeper on show - his sharp stumping of Shoaib Malik in the semi-final a particular highlight.

Laurie Evans (289 runs, strike rate 170)

Evans produced three big innings, including the league’s only century - his dazzling 108 off 65 against a strong Stallions attack (which was only missing Usman Shinwari from the frontline crew). He seemed to be hitting serious form just as the knockouts approached, but was injured for the semi-final, which his team failed to win. Although he mostly opened for the Colombo Kings, he is used to batting No. 3 for his Blast team. He was good in the field throughout.

Dasun Shanaka (278 runs, strike rate 162, four wickets, economy rate 9.25)

Shanaka’s batting provided the Dambulla Viiking early momentum, and though he only struck two fifties, he continued to make a substantial impact in the death overs. He has become more of a batting allrounder in the last few years, which sets up fascinating competition for white-ball places with Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews. Shanaka also marshalled the spin-heavy bowling resources at the Viiking’s disposal nicely through the latter half of the tournament. He was expensive with the ball at times, but he is the tournament’s third-highest run-scorer.

Thisara Perera (261 runs, strike rate 223, five wickets, economy rate 7.63)

Without question the most brutal finisher in the LPL, with 19 sixes, and the best strike rate of anyone, with more than 75 runs. He very nearly made a T20 hundred from No. 7, when he bludgeoned 97 not out off 44 balls against the Viiking early in the tournament. He went cold with the bat through the back-end of the league stage, but rebounded spectacularly for the final, clobbering 39 off 14 balls. His bowling was sporadically useful through the campaign.

Andre Russell (169 runs, strike rate 194, eight wickets, economy rate 8.92)

Unsurprisingly, Russell produced the most devastating and most memorable innings of the LPL, when he came in to open a rain-reduced five-over match, and stomped around like a giant at a kindergarten, bludgeoning six fours and nine sixes in a 19-ball 65 not out. He didn’t play any other big innings with the bat, though there were a few death-overs bursts. He was more consistent with the ball, but with his fitness still a concern, he didn’t bowl every match.

Wanindu Hasaranga (17 wickets, economy rate 5.18, 127 runs, strike rate 161)

The best bowler in the tournament by both wickets and economy rate (by a distance), and despite Gunathilaka’s batting heroics, a straightforward choice for the LPL’s MVP. Hasaranga bowled in ten innings, and did not fail to take a wicket in any - even the rain-curtailed match in which he bowled just one over. His legbreaks were accurate, his googly was frequently devastating, and there was even the odd, dangerous flipper. He only once conceded more than 30 in his four overs, and even then, he gave away just 31. With the bat, he played a number of decent cameos, including a 41 off 23 against the Kings. His fielding was mostly excellent.

Asela Gunaratne (nine wickets, economy rate 7.53, 168 runs, strike rate 141)

The only Kandy Tuskers player to make this side, Gunaratne was not only miserly through the middle overs with his right-arm schmooglies (official terminology for his style of bowling), he also frequently claimed wickets. He hit one half-century as well, and very narrowly beats out Dhananjaya de Silva and Samit Patel out for this spot.

Dhananjaya Lakshan (13 wickets, econ 8.65, 77 runs, strike-rate 126)

Largely unknown before the LPL, 22-year-old Lakshan made a huge impression with the substantial in-swing he generated to the right-hander when the ball was moving, but perhaps more impressively, the back-of-the-hand slower balls he was able to deliver consistently and accurately. He also picked up at least one wicket every time he bowled, and in fact claimed the best figures of the final with 3 for 36. His 31 not out off 23 balls helped take Gladiators home in the semi-final.

Mohammad Amir (11 wickets, economy rate 7.73)

It was Amir’s 5 for 26 (the only five-wicket haul in the tournament) that helped jump-start the Gladiators’ ailing campaign, and set them on course for a place in the final. Amir was especially good when the ball was swinging, as usual, but also effective when it was not, after the Gladiators found two local seamers - Nuwan Thushara and Dhananjaya Lakshan - to support him. He was at the receiving end of some bad catching, or his wicket tally would have been higher. As a result, he also provided some of the LPL’s most memorable angry looks.

Usman Shinwari (nine wickets, economy rate 7.52)

Good through the middle overs and the death, and possessed of a mean bouncer, Shinwari was a vital component of the Stallions’ championship run, without drawing a lot of attention to himself. He began the tournament with successive three-wicket hauls, and made important contributions through the rest of the campaign, largely coming to the bowling crease through the back half of the innings. Also effected two superb direct-hit run outs in the semi-final.

Andre Russell hit a 14-ball half-century early in the tournament – LPL

Dhananjaya Lakshan picked up 13 wickets in the tournament – AFP