{"id":11887,"date":"2026-06-04T21:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/?p=11887"},"modified":"2026-06-04T21:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:16:14","slug":"janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/","title":{"rendered":"Janith Liyanage, who filled the gap in our cricket that has been lacking a real &#8220;Finisher&#8221; lately"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the match between Sri Lanka and West Indies, Pathum and Kusal Mendis put together a good score. But no matter how good the start of any match is, it doesn&#8217;t matter if there is no one to finish it with energy in the last few overs. That&#8217;s what Janith Liyanage gave to the team.<br>Janith, who put good pressure on the opposing bowlers from the moment he came on the field, scored 44 runs not out in 29 balls. It was because of that superb style of play that Janith played in the last few overs that Sri Lanka was able to put a huge score of 300+ on the board, which was unimaginable at one time.<br>Sri Lanka has had a midfield collapse for some time now and Janith Liyanage has filled the gap of a real &#8220;finisher&#8221; who can finish a match and is truly a good motivator for the Sri Lankan team.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the match between Sri Lanka and West Indies, Pathum and Kusal Mendis put together a good score. But no matter how good the start of any match is, it doesn&#8217;t matter if there is no one to finish it with energy in the last few overs. That&#8217;s what Janith Liyanage gave to the team.Janith,&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,57],"tags":[212,73,134,72],"class_list":["post-11887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket","category-national-cricket","tag-janith-liyanage","tag-slsports","tag-sports-news","tag-sri-lanka-cricket"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Janith Liyanage, who filled the gap in our cricket that has been lacking a real &quot;Finisher&quot; lately - SL Sports<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"si_LK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Janith Liyanage, who filled the gap in our cricket that has been lacking a real &quot;Finisher&quot; lately - SL Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the match between Sri Lanka and West Indies, Pathum and Kusal Mendis put together a good score. But no matter how good the start of any match is, it doesn&#8217;t matter if there is no one to finish it with energy in the last few overs. That&#8217;s what Janith Liyanage gave to the team.Janith,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SL Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lknewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-04T16:16:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-04T16:16:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jth-2026-06-04.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Slsports Viraj\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SlSports5\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SlSports5\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Slsports Viraj\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Slsports Viraj\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3ead9806ed4f2b4ddfc9faa69328a5\"},\"headline\":\"Janith Liyanage, who filled the gap in our cricket that has been lacking a real &#8220;Finisher&#8221; lately\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T16:16:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-04T16:16:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/\"},\"wordCount\":172,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jth-2026-06-04.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"janith liyanage\",\"slsports\",\"sports news\",\"sri lanka cricket\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Cricket\",\"National Cricket\"],\"inLanguage\":\"si\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/\",\"name\":\"Janith Liyanage, who filled the gap in our cricket that has been lacking a real \\\"Finisher\\\" lately - SL Sports\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jth-2026-06-04.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T16:16:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-04T16:16:14+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"si\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"si\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jth-2026-06-04.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jth-2026-06-04.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Janith Liyanage, who filled the gap in our cricket that has been lacking a real &#8220;Finisher&#8221; lately\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/\",\"name\":\"SL Sports\",\"description\":\"SL Sports - Sri Lanka&#039;s Premium Sports Channel\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"SL Sports\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"si\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SL Sports\",\"alternateName\":\"SL Sports\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"si\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-12-03-at-16.24.18.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-12-03-at-16.24.18.jpeg\",\"width\":666,\"height\":591,\"caption\":\"SL Sports\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lknewsroom\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/SlSports5\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@SLSPORTSLK\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/slsports17\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3ead9806ed4f2b4ddfc9faa69328a5\",\"name\":\"Slsports Viraj\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"si\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b7b872708dd3b24ab7ceb718fb4835bba36cbdff96449029958bb51f410e614d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b7b872708dd3b24ab7ceb718fb4835bba36cbdff96449029958bb51f410e614d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Slsports Viraj\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/author\/slsports-viraj\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Janith Liyanage, who filled the gap in our cricket that has been lacking a real \"Finisher\" lately - SL Sports","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/","og_locale":"si_LK","og_type":"article","og_title":"Janith Liyanage, who filled the gap in our cricket that has been lacking a real \"Finisher\" lately - SL Sports","og_description":"In the match between Sri Lanka and West Indies, Pathum and Kusal Mendis put together a good score. But no matter how good the start of any match is, it doesn&#8217;t matter if there is no one to finish it with energy in the last few overs. That&#8217;s what Janith Liyanage gave to the team.Janith,...","og_url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/","og_site_name":"SL Sports","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lknewsroom","article_published_time":"2026-06-04T16:16:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-04T16:16:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jth-2026-06-04.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Slsports Viraj","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SlSports5","twitter_site":"@SlSports5","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Slsports Viraj","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/"},"author":{"name":"Slsports Viraj","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3ead9806ed4f2b4ddfc9faa69328a5"},"headline":"Janith Liyanage, who filled the gap in our cricket that has been lacking a real &#8220;Finisher&#8221; lately","datePublished":"2026-06-04T16:16:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-04T16:16:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/"},"wordCount":172,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jth-2026-06-04.jpg","keywords":["janith liyanage","slsports","sports news","sri lanka cricket"],"articleSection":["Cricket","National Cricket"],"inLanguage":"si","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/","url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/","name":"Janith Liyanage, who filled the gap in our cricket that has been lacking a real \"Finisher\" lately - SL Sports","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jth-2026-06-04.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-04T16:16:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-04T16:16:14+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"si","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"si","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jth-2026-06-04.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jth-2026-06-04.jpg","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/janith-liyanage-who-filled-the-gap-in-our-cricket-that-has-been-lacking-a-real-finisher-lately\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Janith Liyanage, who filled the gap in our cricket that has been lacking a real &#8220;Finisher&#8221; lately"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/","name":"SL Sports","description":"SL Sports - Sri Lanka&#039;s Premium Sports Channel","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization"},"alternateName":"SL Sports","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"si"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#organization","name":"SL Sports","alternateName":"SL Sports","url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"si","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-12-03-at-16.24.18.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-12-03-at-16.24.18.jpeg","width":666,"height":591,"caption":"SL Sports"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lknewsroom","https:\/\/x.com\/SlSports5","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@SLSPORTSLK","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/slsports17\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3ead9806ed4f2b4ddfc9faa69328a5","name":"Slsports Viraj","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"si","@id":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b7b872708dd3b24ab7ceb718fb4835bba36cbdff96449029958bb51f410e614d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b7b872708dd3b24ab7ceb718fb4835bba36cbdff96449029958bb51f410e614d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Slsports Viraj"},"url":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/author\/slsports-viraj\/"}]}},"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11887"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11889,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11887\/revisions\/11889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slsports.lk\/si\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}