B – Love Kandy made it three consecutive victories today (8th August) to beat the Galle Titans, climbing to the top of the table after Match No. 12 of the Lanka Premier League 2023 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.
After winning the toss, the Galle Titans Skipper Dasun Shanaka decided to bowl first. B – Love Kandy made one change when they replaced Mohammad Haris with Kamindu Mendis, while the Titans brought Ashan Priyanjan and Lahiru Samarakoon in place of injured Minod Bhanuka and Akila Dananjaya.
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Richard Ngarava provided the first wicket, reducing the stand between Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Haris to 26. The tall left arm-pacer removed Haris for 17 when the batter found the top-edge and flew straight up to pick the fielder at a backward square leg.
Then, Zaman and Chandimal added 49 runs for the 2nd wicket before Shamsi got rid of the keeper batter for 25. Zaman went along nicely until Lahiru Samarakoon struck. The hard-hitting left hander scored 45 off 35 deliveries including 3 fours & 2 sixes.
The Skipper Wanindu Hasaranga joined Angelo Mathews and went all gun blazing, targeting all the vacant areas. The right-hand duo stitched together in an astonishing 87-run stand, which came off only 38 balls. Hasaranga, though, continued from where he left off in their last game, registering his 2nd successive LPL half-century – this time it came off only 18 balls.
Mathews also broke free and stroked 40 off 23 before Samarakoon dismissed him in the penultimate over. Hasaranga fell in the final over after being smashed for 64 off 27. His knock was compiled of 9 fours & 2 sixes with a staggering strike-rate of 237.04.
In the end, B – Love Kandy went on to reach the 200-run mark for the first time this season, 203/5. On the other hand, Samarakoon was the pick of the bowlers, scalping 2/31 (4), while Rajitha, Ngarava and Shamsi also bagged a wicket apiece.
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A big start was expected on a tough chase, but they were unable to do so. In the 2nd over, Shevon Daniel was plumb in front by Mujeeb Ur Rahman for a second-ball duck. Bhanuka Rajapaksa continued his poor run with the bat as Mujeeb struck for the 2nd time with a top catch from the veteran Mathews.
The Titans’ most successful batter Tim Seifert’s stayed at the crease but did not last long as Dushmantha Chameera removed him for a single. Lasith Croospulle batted for a brief period until Hasaranga arrived as the star leg spinner and castled the opener for 27.
Skipper Dasun Shanaka (1) also perished after being trapped in front of the stumps by Pradeep. Shakib Al Hasan (11) was the next to depart, handing the 2nd scalp for the Skipper Hasaranga, which put them into a terrible position of 6/47 in 8.1 overs.
Ashan Priyanjan and Lahiru Samarakoon took them to a respectable position, adding 62 runs for the 7th wicket. Samarakoon hit 4 sixes, but Pradeep cleaned him up, having the last laugh. The former stroked 36 off 25 as their top scorer. Two balls later, Pradeep removed the other set batter Priyanjan for 25.
Their tail-enders did not provide anything better as the Galle Titans were blown away for 114, handing a massive 89-run victory for B – Love Kandy. Once again, Hasaranga was the star with the ball as well, finishing with 4/17 in 3.4 overs. Pradeep too bowled well to pick up another three wickets for only 21 runs. Apart from him, Mujeeb took a couple and Chameera got one.
Courtesy of another sensational all-round performance, Wanindu Hasaranga won the Player of the Match Award for the 2nd consecutive time. With this win, B – Love Kandy has overtaken Dambulla Aura’s top position in the Points Table.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammad Haris | c Tabraiz Shamsi b Richard Ngarava | 17 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 121.43 |
| Fakhar Zaman | c Lahiru Samarakoon b Richard Ngarava | 45 | 35 | 3 | 2 | 128.57 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Richard Ngarava b Tabraiz Shamsi | 25 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 147.06 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Kasun Rajitha b Lahiru Samarakoon | 40 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 173.91 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | c Shevon Daniel b Kasun Rajitha | 64 | 27 | 9 | 2 | 237.04 |
| Asif Ali | not out | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Isuru Udana | not out | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 150.00 |
| Extras | 7 (b 1 , lb 1 , nb 1, w 4, pen 0) |
| Total | 203/5 (20 Overs, RR: 10.15) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasun Rajitha | 4 | 0 | 42 | 1 | 10.50 | |
| Lahiru Samarakoon | 4 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 7.75 | |
| Richard Ngarava | 4 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 7.75 | |
| Tabraiz Shamsi | 4 | 0 | 46 | 1 | 11.50 | |
| Dasun Shanaka | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 20.00 | |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 3 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 10.33 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lasith Croospulle | b Wanindu Hasaranga | 27 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 158.82 |
| Shevon Daniel | lbw b Mujeeb ur Rahman | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksa | c Angelo Mathews b Mujeeb ur Rahman | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 62.50 |
| Tim Seifert | c Isuru Udana b Dushmantha Chameera | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | c Fakhar Zaman b Wanindu Hasaranga | 11 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 91.67 |
| Dasun Shanaka | lbw b Nuwan Pradeep | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Ashan Priyanjan | c Sahan Arachchige b Nuwan Pradeep | 25 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 108.70 |
| Lahiru Samarakoon | b Nuwan Pradeep | 36 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 144.00 |
| Kasun Rajitha | not out | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Tabraiz Shamsi | b Wanindu Hasaranga | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Richard Ngarava | c Dushmantha Chameera b Wanindu Hasaranga | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 6 (b 0 , lb 4 , nb 0, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 114/10 (16.4 Overs, RR: 6.84) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angelo Mathews | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11.00 | |
| Mujeeb ur Rahman | 4 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 6.50 | |
| Dushmantha Chameera | 3 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 5.67 | |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 3.4 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 5.00 | |
| Nuwan Pradeep | 3 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 7.00 | |
| Isuru Udana | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 9.00 | |
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 to beat the Galle Titans, climbing to the top of the table after Match No. 12 of the Lanka Premier League 2023 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.){kind=link}