Dambulla Aura made it two wins in a row, beating the Jaffna Kings in a thrilling game at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.
Jaffna Kings Captain Thisara Perera, who won the toss, opted to bowl first. Both teams made a couple of changes apiece. The Aura brought Janith Liyanage and Binura Fernando to replace Pramod Madushan and Praveen Jayawickrama, while the Kings added veteran Shoaib Malik and Dilshan Madushanka for Priyamal Perera and Nandre Burgur.
<<< Babar Azam masterclass guides Colombo Strikers to a thrilling win >>>
Dambulla Aura got off to a terrible start with both the openers throwing their wickets away inside the very first over. Avishka Fernando was run out off the very first ball, while Kusal Mendis hit one straight to the deep mid-wicket fielder Shoaib Mailk when trying to capitalise on a half-tracker from Maheesh Theekshana.
Sadeera Samarawickrama and Kusal Perera added 51 runs for the 3rd wicket before Dunith Wellalage cleaned up Samarawickrama for 30. Dhananjaya De Silva and Kusal Perera were castled by Malik, Perera the top-scorer for Dambulla with a 36-ball 41.
Alex Ross and Janith Liyanage failed to make useful contributions in the middle overs while Hayden Kerr made 25 unbeaten runs, which helped Dambulla Aura to post 134/8 in their 20 overs.
The Pakistani veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik bowled superbly well to pick 2/13 in his 4 overs. Nuwan Thushara too bowled well and finished with 2/26, while Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage scalped a wicket each.
<<< Hasaranga heroics seal emphatic win for B – Love Kandy >>>
Hassan Ali struck early to dismiss Charith Asalanka, who failed to make any significant contribution once again, trying to swing across the line and getting a thick outside edge, which flew to the man at deep third.
Binura Fernando removed the in-form batter Towhid Hridoy for a golden duck and Jaffna Kings found themselves in a terrible position when Hassan Ali got the wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, courtesy of some brilliant fielding from the substitute Ben McDermott and Dhananjaya De Silva.
The dangerous David Miller was next to depart after giving a simple catch straight back to the bowler Hayden Kerr, as the Kings were reduced to 4/27 in 6.1 overs. Shoaib Malik and Dunith Wellalage kept them in the game for a brief period, adding 39 runs for the 5th wicket. That partnership was broken by Hassan Ali as he bowled Wellalage for 16.
Avishka Fernando held on to a brilliant grab to get rid of the opposite Skipper Thisara Perera off Noor Ahmad while Vijayakantha Viyaskanth was the next to depart courtesy of Dhananjaya De Silva’s superb direct-hit as the Kings stumbled to 7 down for 72.
Shoaib Malik was the lone warrior for them as he made 74* off 53 balls including 5 fours & 6 sixes, but Dambulla Aura sealed a 9-run win to register their 3rd win and remain at their top spot in the Points Table.
With the ball in hand, Hassan Ali was the most successful bowler of Dambulla, bagging 3/20 in 4 overs. Binura Fernando’s 4-over spell also impressive, where he given away only 8 runs for 1 wicket.
For his brilliant bowling display, Hassan Ali was adjudged as the Player of the Match.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avishka Fernando | run out (Rahmanullah Gurbaz) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Shoaib Malik b Maheesh Theekshana | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Sadeera Samarawickrama | b Dunith Wellalage | 30 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 120.00 |
| Kusal Janith | b Shoaib Malik | 41 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 113.89 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | b Shoaib Malik | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 44.44 |
| Alex Ross | run out (Shoaib Malik) | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 62.50 |
| Janith Liyanage | c David Miller b Nuwan Thushara | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Hayden Kerr | not out | 25 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 125.00 |
| Hasan Ali | c David Miller b Nuwan Thushara | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Noor Ahmad | not out | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 350.00 |
| Extras | 8 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 7, pen 0) |
| Total | 134/8 (20 Overs, RR: 6.7) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maheesh Theekshana | 4 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 6.50 | |
| Nuwan Thushara | 4 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 6.50 | |
| Dilshan Madushanka | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 7.33 | |
| Vijayakanth Viyaskanth | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 9.00 | |
| Dunith Wellalage | 3 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 9.33 | |
| Shoaib Malik | 4 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 3.25 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Hasan Ali | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 27.27 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Dushan Hemantha b Hasan Ali | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 55.56 |
| Towhid Hridoy | c Sadeera Samarawickrama b Binura Fernando | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| David Miller | c & b Hayden Kerr | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Shoaib Malik | not out | 74 | 53 | 5 | 6 | 139.62 |
| Dunith Wellalage | b Hasan Ali | 16 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 94.12 |
| Thisara Perera | c Avishka Fernando b Noor Ahmad | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Vijayakanth Viyaskanth | run out (Dhananjaya de Silva) | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Maheesh Theekshana | not out | 9 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 81.82 |
| Extras | 12 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 12, pen 0) |
| Total | 125/7 (20 Overs, RR: 6.25) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binura Fernando | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 2.00 | |
| Hasan Ali | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 5.00 | |
| Noor Ahmad | 4 | 0 | 46 | 1 | 11.50 | |
| Hayden Kerr | 4 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 5.25 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 4 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 7.50 | |
<<< Lanka Premier League 2023 >>>
 to beat the Jaffna Kings in a thrilling Match No. 11 of the Lanka Premier League 2023 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.){kind=link}