After bowlers restricted Dambulla Sixers to 130, skipper Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s blazing half-century guided Jaffna Kings to their first win in the Lanka Premier League 2026 at the SSC Grounds.
Match 4 of this season, named the ‘Pink Game’, was an initiative by Dambulla Sixers in partnership with Indira Cancer Trust and Suwa Arana. The match featured players wearing pink jerseys to raise awareness about breast cancer and the importance of TLC (Touch, Look & Check). Jaffna Kings also showed their support by wearing pink ribbons on their regular jerseys during the match.
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On a slow surface, Rajapaksa elected to bowl first after winning the toss. Runs were hard to come by right from the beginning for the Sixers, who were restricted to 33 in the first powerplay with both openers back in the pavilion. Niroshan Dickwella got off to a positive start but was dismissed for 23, while Marques Ackerman fell in the same over as Traveen Mathew claimed three of the first four wickets to fall.
Pavan Rathnayake top-scored for Dambulla with 27 as wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Dushmantha Chameera’s 11-ball 18 helped the Sixers reach 130 before being dismissed with three balls remaining. Lizaad Williams also starred with three wickets, while Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan marked his return to the LPL with impressive figures of 2 for 12 in his four overs.
In reply, Jaffna Kings made a similarly cautious start, reaching 33 in the first powerplay. Chamindu Wickramasinghe was promoted to No. 4, but the move did not pay off as the Kings slipped to 35 for 3 soon after. Ibrahim Zadran also struggled for fluency, scoring 21 off 25 balls.
However, skipper Rajapaksa made the difference, batting as though he was on a different pitch. The hard-hitting left-hander struck an unbeaten 61 off just 37 balls, including four fours and four sixes, guiding his side home with an over to spare.
Dushmantha Chameera was the pick of the Dambulla bowlers, claiming 2 for 29, while Maheesh Theekshana kept things tight with figures of 1 for 11 in his four overs.
Brief Scores:
Dambulla Sixers – 130 (19.3) Pavan Rathnayake 27, Niroshan Dickwella 23, Lizaad Williams 3/14, Traveen Mathew 3/19, Shakib Al Hasan 2/12
Jaffna Kings – 133/5 (19) Bhanuka Rajapaksa 61*, Ibrahim Zadran 21, Dushmantha Chameera 2/29, Maheesh Theekshana 1/11, Vishwa Lahiru 1/11
Result – Jaffna Kings won by 5 wickets.
