Despite a top score of 63 not out from Nuwanidu Fernando, the Gladiators were restricted to 129-8 from their 20 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat.
Forde, who represented the West Indies at the 2020 ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa and the St. Lucia Kings in the most recent edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), was spectacular with the ball, producing figures of 4-11 from his four overs, conceding just one boundary in the process.
The Barbadian also led the way with the bat, scoring a 30-ball 52 including six fours and two sixes to spearhead an easy chase. Englishman Jordan Cox also contributed well with 34 as the Aura needed just 14.2 overs to reach 134-6.
The win was just the second for the Aura this season meaning they failed to advance to the playoffs.
The Playoffs begin on Wednesday with the Kandy Falcons taking on the Jaffna Kings in Qualifier one before the Colombo Stars and the Galle Gladiators face off in the eliminator.
He was signed by the Kandy Tuskers for the 2020 season.
Gayle, who scored 288 runs in the recently concluded IPL despite playing only seven matches, has cited injury as the reason for his decision not to participate. The self-styled Universe Boss scored three half centuries including a top score of 99 against the Rajasthan Royals on October 30 and averaged 41.44.
He hit 15 fours and 23 sixes.
Last month, Andre Russell, who plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, withdrew from the LPL also citing injury.
The first match of the 2020 LPL is set to bowl off on November 26.
Shahid Afridi and Trinbago Knight Rider’s Colin Munro are also in the pool for the player auction set for October 1.
Under the rules governing the Sri Lankan T20 league, each franchise can buy up to six international players.
However, according to reports, there are still some loose ends to be tied up before the auction can take place. Among them government approval for a shorter quarantine period for players, officials and broadcast staff.
SLC officials are asking that the quarantine period for those arriving for the tournament be reduced from 14 to seven days.
Despite a pair of golden ducks from Andre Fletcher and Fabian Allen, the Falcons posted a competitive 168-6 from their 20 overs after the Stars won the toss and chose to field first.
Falcons captain Wanindu Hasaranga was excellent, producing an unbeaten 34-ball 77 including eight fours and three sixes. Ashen Bandara provided good support for the skipper with 40 against Kasun Rajitha’s 4-20 from four overs. Drakes chipped in with 1-32 from his four.
The Stars then needed just 18.5 overs to successfully reach their target for the loss of just four wickets. Charith Asalanka led the way with 64 off 40 balls including seven fours and three sixes and was supported well by Dinesh Chandimal (38), Ravi Bopara (29 not out) and captain Angelo Matthews (21).
The Stars will take on the Jaffna Kings in tomorrow’s final.
Fletcher hit 11 fours and three sixes on his way to a brilliant 102 not out off just 67 balls to help the Falcons post 199-1 from their 20 overs after the Stars won the toss and chose to field first.
Sri Lankan Pathum Nissanka was also dominant with a 41-ball 71 including eight fours and two sixes while Carlos Brathwaite ended 20 not out.
The Falcons were then equally dominant with the ball, restricting the Stars to just 90 all out in 14.3 overs.
Wanindu Hasaranga was the star of the show with 4-14 from three overs while Fabian Allen needed just three balls to finish with figures of 2-1.
Charles scored 26 runs in 15 balls in a 44-run opening partnership with Avishka Fernando (27) in just 21 balls that set the tone for the Stallions, who won the toss and chose to bat, to make 188 for 6 from their allotment of 20 overs.
"It always feels so grateful when you win a championship. I'm just glad we made it over the line. It's a very great feeling," Charles said after. "With our bowlers and the skill they have we were definitely pleased with the score we had."
Charles was the first wicket to fall off the fourth ball of the fifth over when he tried to heave a slower ball from Dhananjaya Lakshan over long-on but mistimed the shot and was caught by Gunathilaka, who 20 yards before diving to take the catch inches from the ground.
His was the first Lakshan’s three wickets. The Stallions lost two more wickets in the next four overs stumbling to 70 for 3 mid-way the ninth over. However, the champions regained some momentum in the middle overs through a fourth wicket partnership between Shoaib Mailk, who was the top scorer with 46 and Dhananjaya de Silva who had a 20-ball 33.
The innings got some late lift from Thisara Perara, who smashed five fours and two sixes in his 39 that came off just 14 balls as the Stallions raced towards their match-winning total.
Lakshan was the Gladiators’ best bowler with 3 for 36.
Needing to score at over nine runs and over to achieve victory, the Gladiators were in early trouble at 7 for 3 inside the first two overs.
However, thanks to Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who raced to 40 from just 17 balls during which he struck three fours and four sixes, the Gladiators got back in the hunt with 62 runs on the board by the middle of the ninth over when he was caught behind by the St Lucian off the bowling of Usman Shinwari, who finished with figures of 2 for 20 from his four overs.
Azam Khan tried to rally his team with a 17-ball 36 but the Gladiators lost wickets regularly and eventually ran out of time and balls at 135 for 9.
Malik was the best the bowlers with 2 for 13.
Charles smashed 76 from 56 balls as the Stallions scored 165 for 9 from their 20 overs. Their bowlers then combined to dismiss the Viikings for 128 in 19.1 overs.
In what was topsy-turvy semi-final, the Viikings won the toss and sent the Lions in to bat. Charles and Avishka Fernando laid the foundation for a competitive score putting on 68 before Fernando tried to shovel a length delivery from Anwar Ali over long-on only to be caught by Angelo Perera just inside the boundary rope.
Charles dominated the second-wicket partnership of 43 with Charith Asalanka, who on the last ball of the 13th over, charged Malinda Pushpakumara but failed to get the necessary elevation and picked out Ali at long-on. He made 10.
At the fall of Asalanka’s wicket, the Stallions crumbled losing five for 36 in the next four overs including that of Charles, who tried to smash a wide thigh-high full toss from Lahiru Kumara only to see Anwar Ali covering 10 yards to his left on the ring at mid-off before diving to pull off a sensational catch.
The Lions only added 19 runs from the next four overs having lost the earlier momentum from the top order.
Pushpakumara was the best of the bowlers with 2 for 24 from his four overs.
Despite losing two wickets in the first three overs for just 18 runs, Dambulla Viikings, through Niroshan Dickwella and Upul Tharanga got back into the chase getting to 62 by the start of the ninth over. However, once Dickwella fell lbw to Asalanka for 29, they lost five wickets for 34 runs and eventually 8 for 54 in a dramatic collapse.
Upul Tharanga top scored with 33 in the losing effort.
Wanindu Hasaranga was the chief destroyer with 3 for 15 and and Usman Shinwari, who created multiple run outs fielding at short third man hastened the collapse.
Brathwaite bowled an excellent four over spell to help restrict the Gladiators to 153-6 off their 20 overs after they won the toss and batted first.
Thanuka Dabare (70) and Nuwanidu Fernando (56) were the main contributors as Isuru Udana provided good support fie Brathwaite with 2-19 from his four overs.
In reply, Brathwaite and Andre Fletcher, who hit an unbeaten century in their first game, managed only four and eight, respectively, as the Gladiators restricted the Falcons to 141-7 from their 20 overs handing them their first defeat of the tournament in their fourth game.
Ashen Bandara (41 not out), Chamika Karunaratne (32) and Pathum Nissanka (29) were the main run-getters while Nuwan Thushara and Lakshan Sandakan took figures of 2-26 and 2-22, respectively.
The Falcons lead the five-team table with six points from four games.
In the match that was reduced to 14 overs because of rain and a wet outfield, Jaffna Kings scored 181-6 on the back of 53 from Avishka Fernando, whose 23-ball innings included seven sixes and Thisara Perera, who hit six sixes and two fours in his 21-ball knock of 53.
Shiraz Ahmed was the best of the Warriors’ bowlers taking 3-23 that included the wickets of both Fernando and Perera.
However, Chaturanga de Silva’s 21 from just 10 balls helped the lower order push Kings to their winning total.
Needing to score at near 13 runs an over for victory, Warriors got good starts from Kennar Lewis and Charith Asalanka, who put on an opening partnership of 64 in six overs. Asalanka scored 42 from just 19 balls before he was dismissed by de Silva.
In his last match before joining the West Indies for international duties in Pakistan, Powell came to the wicket in the seventh over and together with an out of sorts Lewis, who was mainly a spectator in the second wicket partnership of 81 runs. Powell scored 61 of those smashing two fours and seven sixes. His 50 came up in 15 balls, the second-fastest in the LPL.
Warriors got to 145-1 and were in with a good shot at winning needing 36 from 16 balls when Suranga Lakmal got Powell with a Yorker that crashed into his leg stump sending it flying.
The Warriors innings stalled after that as Jayden Seales, who had been taken to the woodshed in his second over that went for 22, returned to take the wickets of Kamindu Mendis for nine and Lewis for 41 to effectively end the contest.
Seales ended with figures of 2-40 from his three overs.
The only consolation for Powell was the pats on the shoulder from the Kings’ players and his teammates as he walked dejectedly into the dressing room.
The loss means that Warriors sit at the bottom of the table winless after three games. The Kings, which were getting their second win are on four points, the same as leaders Galle Gladiators and third-placed Dambulla Giants.
The 32-year-old heavy hitter showed no signs of a recent injury or quarantine fatigue, as he crashed 13 of the 19 deliveries he faced to the boundary. His total included nine fours and four sixes - en route to an unbeaten 65.
Overall, the score put Russell in elite company, as he became the joint fifth fastest scorer of a half-century in T20 cricket. Only compatriot Chris Gayle, India’s Yuvraj Singh and Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai who reached the mark in 12 deliveries, and England’s Marcus Trescothick, who reached the mark in 13, remain ahead of Russell on the list.
In getting to the total of 96 for 1 from five overs, Colombo lost Russell’s opening partner Thikshila de Silva who was dismissed for a golden duck. After being sent in to bat, Russell by himself scored three more runs than the entire Gladiators team when they unsuccessfully chased the target. In fact, he was on 44 from 11 balls and just one six away from matching the fastest T20 half-century but could only take one run from the 12th delivery he faced.
Danushka Gunathilaka top-scored for Gala with an unbeaten 30 as the Gladiators managed to get to 62 for 2.
The Kings took first strike and got off to a good start thanks to openers Avishka Fernando and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Gurbaz was the first to go in the sixth over for 35 with the score at 56-1.
Englishman Tom Kohler-Cadmore then joined Fernando and the two put on a further 63 runs before Fernando was dismissed by Nuwan Thushara for a top score of 63 from 41 deliveries.
The score at Fernando’s dismissal was 119-2 off 12.4 overs when Shoaib Malik came to the crease to join Kohler-Cadmore. The pair put on a further 62 runs before Malik was dismissed in the 19th over for 23 off 11 balls with the score at 181-3 off 18.2 overs.
Kings captain Thisara Perera strode to the crease to give them a big finish along with Kohler-Cadmore to post a daunting 201-3 off their 20 overs, with Kohler-Cadmore finishing not out on 57 from 41 balls and Perera finishing with 17 off 9 balls.
Thushara and Samit Patel were the best bowlers on the day for the Gladiators, bowling their four overs with figures of 1-32 and 1-33, respectively.
The reply from the Gladiators got off to a spectacular start with openers Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka racing to 63-0 at the start of the fifth over before Gunathilaka was dismissed by Wanindu Hasaranga for a blazing 54 off just 21 balls.
Things went from bad to worse for Galle as Australian batsman Ben Dunk was dismissed by Hasaranga off the very next ball for a duck, leaving them 63-2 from 4.3 overs.
Mohammed Hafeez then joined Mendis at the crease to attempt to stabilize the innings. He didn’t last long as he was run out in the sixth over for 10 from six balls, leaving Galle now 84-3 from 6.2 overs.
Mendis was now joined at the wicket by captain Bhanuka Rajapaksa and the pair put on a further 29 runs before Rajapaksa was dismissed for 14 from 16 balls to leave them 113-4 from 10.4 overs.
Mendis was finally dismissed in the 14th over for 39 off 28 balls to leave the team 129-5 from 13.1 overs.
Dhananjaya Lakshan and Pulina Tharanga were then both dismissed in quick succession by Chatarunga de Silva to leave the score at 143-7 from 15.5 overs.
Samit Patel, who came to the crease at the fall of Rajapaksa’s wicket, made a solid 22 from 20 balls before he became the eighth wicket on the last ball of the 18th over.
The Gladiators ended their reply 178-9 off 20 overs to fall short by 23 runs. Wanindu Hasaranga was the pick of the bowlers for the Kings with 2-30 from his four overs.
Seales took 1-36 from his three overs for the Kings.
Thomas was economical with the ball, finishing his four overs with figures of 3-20 to help restrict the Stars to 106 all out after they won the toss and chose to bat.
Sri Lankan pacer Chamika Karunaratne was the spearhead of the attack for the Falcons with a brilliant 4-11 off 3.1 overs while Captain Angelo Matthews (41) and Dinesh Chandimal (20) were the only batsmen to provide any resistance for the Stars.
The chase was a simple one thanks to a 101-run second wicket partnership between Kamindu Mendis (51 not out) and Fletcher (44 not out). The pair got together after the wicket of Minod Bhanuka for just six in the second over and guided the Falcons to 108-1 after 16 overs for their sixth win in seven matches.
