Coming into the match at the bottom of the points table, Kandy Royals secured a thrilling 11-run victory over table-toppers Galle Gallants in Match 11 of the Lanka Premier League 2026 in Dambulla.
After winning the toss, Galle Gallants skipper Dasun Shanaka opted to bowl first. Once again, Kandy Royals got off to a poor start as their top three batters fell to pace with only 24 runs on the board. Making his debut for the Gallants, Pramod Madushan provided the perfect start by delivering a double-wicket maiden, removing left-handers Kusal Perera and Sediqullah Atal.
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Dale Phillips and Wanindu Hasaranga tried to revive the innings, but just as their partnership began to build momentum, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth struck twice in two overs to dismiss both batters. Despite conceding 15 runs from his first four deliveries, he bounced back to dismiss Hasaranga, who fell while attempting another big shot as the fourth-wicket partnership ended at 40. Phillips was then castled in the leg-spinner’s next over after scoring 34.
Moeen Ali top-scored for the Royals with a 29-ball 41 while sharing a 58-run partnership with Angelo Mathews. The skipper then added an unbeaten 28-run stand with Vijay Shankar to help Kandy Royals go past 160. Akif Javed was the pick of the Galle bowlers, returning figures of 2 for 26 from his four overs.
Chasing 166 to win, Galle Gallants were also dealt an early setback. Just like the Royals, they lost two wickets in the second over as Mehidy Hasan and Dinura Kalupahana fell to Nuwan Thushara. Sam Harper, Charith Asalanka and Sahan Arachchige, all of whom had been among the Gallants’ in-form batters, were dismissed cheaply as they slipped to 54 for 5 inside the first 10 overs.
However, Chamika Karunaratne and Dasun Shanaka brought the Gallants back into the contest with a 73-run partnership off just 44 balls. Just as the partnership looked set to take the game away from the Royals, Karunaratne holed out to long-off off the bowling of Asitha Fernando after a fighting 52 off 35 balls.
The Gallants needed 39 runs from the final three overs. After reaching his half-century in just 30 balls, Shanaka struggled to keep up with the required rate as Kandy Royals fought back with two superb death overs from Fernando and Garuka Sanketh. Fernando conceded just seven runs in the penultimate over before the young Sanketh, with his slingy action, held his nerve by giving away only six runs in the final over to seal an 11-run victory for Kandy Royals and lift them to third in the points table.
Brief Scores:
Kandy Royals – 165/6 (20) Moeen Ali 41, Dale Phillips 34, Angelo Mathews 28*, Akif Javed 2/26, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 2/36, Pramod Madushan 2/41
Galle Gallants – 154/8 (20) Dasun Shanaka 57*, Chamika Karunaratne 52, Nuwan Thushara 3/33, Asitha Fernando 2/33, Moeen Ali 1/11, Wanindu Hasaranga 1/26
Result – Kandy Royals won by 11 runs.
