Dambulla Aura bounced back to register their first win after their super over loss over Galle Titans, to beat Jaffna Kings in Match No. 4 of the Lanka Premier League 2023 which was played today (1st August) at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.
Jaffna Kings Skipper Thisara Perera won the toss and decided to bat first. The hard-hitting left hander David Miller, who recently joined the Kings squad, made his way to the playing XI, replacing Nishan Madushka. Dambulla Aura also made one change as they brought Afghan wrist spinner Noor Ahmed into the side in place of Praveen Jayawickrama.
>>Photos – Jaffna Kings vs Dambulla Aura | Lanka Premier League 2023 – Match 04<<
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Charith Asalanka walked out to the middle as the openers for the Kings. The dangerous Gurbaz had just started to gain some momentum with three successive fours, but left-arm pacer Binura Fernando struck back to get the big fish for 14.
Asalanka got together with Towhid Hridoy to add 55 runs for the 2nd wicket, but it came really slowly off 51 balls. Dhananjaya De Silva broke that partnership, dismissing Hridoy for 24 runs. Priyamal Perera came next, but Shahnawaz Dahani sent him back to the pavilion via a spectacular review after trapping him in front.
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The Proteas’ southpaw David Miller, who made his LPL debut today, joined Asalanka in the middle. In the meantime, Asalanka smashed back-to-back boundaries off Fernando to bring his half-century. Soon after, the half-centurion miscued a skier, where De Silva held on to it safely. He made 56 runs off 52 balls including 5 fours & 1 six.
In the next over, the Skipper Thisara Perera’s brief stay was ended by Dahani with an outstanding direct hit off his own bowling. Hardus Viljoen hit the first-ball boundary before Fernando castled him in the penultimate over. Miller too failed to break free as he was dismissed by Hayden Kerr in the 3rd delivery of the final over when he hit that straight to cover fielder. The former was able to score only 14 runs, facing 18 balls.
Eventually, the Jaffna Kings only managed to post 129/7 in their 20 overs, courtesy of some wonderful bowling by Dambulla Aura. Binura Fernando stuck to the plans superbly and finished with 2/27 in his 4 overs, which included a maiden. Dhananjaya De Silva was the most economical bowler, picking up a wicket for 16 in his spell. Apart from them, Hayden Kerr, Noor Ahmed and Shahnawaz Dahani also bagged a wicket apiece.
In reply, Avishka Fernando and the Captain Kusal Mendis began the chase and decided to go after the bowling right from the start. When Hardus Viljoen was brought into the attack, Fernando took him to the cleaners, smashing 2 fours & 2 sixes in that over. In the meantime, Aura raced to the 50-run mark in just 5 overs.
>>HIGHLIGHTS – Dambulla Aura vs Jaffna Kings – Lanka Premier League 2023 | Match 04<<
The right-handed duo finished the batting power play on a high, posting 62 runs. An over later, Fernando registered his 8th half-century in LPL. After a 76-run stand, the leggy Vijayakanth Viyaskanth provided the breakthrough for the Kings, clattering the stumps of Fernando. The former made a quickfire 52 runs off 32 deliveries, hitting 6 fours & 3 sixes.
An over later, the Captain Mendis had to depart as well, making 29 runs before hitting one straight to the opposite Captain off the bowling of Dunith Wellalage. From then onwards, the Jaffna Kings’ bowlers were not able to take any more wickets as Sadeera Samarawickrama and Kusal Perera took Dambulla Aura to the victory with 22 balls to spare.
Perera eased the chase with a 22-ball 34* which was included 3 fours & 2 sixes, as the duo stitched together an unbroken 47-run partnership. With the ball in hand, Wellalage and Viyaskanth finished with 1/24 & 1/27 respectively, but it was not enough to defend a below par total.
This was the first time that Dambulla Aura beat the Jaffna Kings in LPL history after 9 attempts, where the defending champions won 7 games, while 1 game ended without a result.
At the post-match presentation, Dambulla Aura’s Avishka Fernando won the Player of the Match award for his brilliant half-century.
You can watch the highlights from every match of Lanka Premier League 2023 on ThePapare.com.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | c Kusal Mendis b Binura Fernando | 14 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 116.67 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Noor Ahmad | 56 | 52 | 5 | 1 | 107.69 |
| Towhid Hridoy | c Alex Ross b Dhananjaya de Silva | 24 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 120.00 |
| Priyamal Perera | lbw b Shahnawaz Dahani | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 166.67 |
| David Miller | c Janith Liyanage b Hayden Kerr | 14 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 77.78 |
| Thisara Perera | run out (Shahnawaz Dahani) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 120.00 |
| Hardus Viljoen | b Binura Fernando | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Dunith Wellalage | not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Maheesh Theekshana | not out | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Extras | 4 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 129/7 (20 Overs, RR: 6.45) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binura Fernando | 4 | 1 | 27 | 2 | 6.75 | |
| Shahnawaz Dahani | 4 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 9.00 | |
| Hayden Kerr | 3 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 5.33 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 4 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 4.25 | |
| Noor Ahmad | 4 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 6.75 | |
| Ravindu Fernando | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avishka Fernando | b Vijayakanth Viyaskanth | 52 | 32 | 6 | 3 | 162.50 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Thisara Perera b Dunith Wellalage | 29 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 126.09 |
| Sadeera Samarawickrama | not out | 12 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 54.55 |
| Kusal Janith | not out | 34 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 154.55 |
| Extras | 5 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 1, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 132/2 (16.2 Overs, RR: 8.08) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dilshan Madushanka | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 11.00 | |
| Dunith Wellalage | 4 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 6.75 | |
| Maheesh Theekshana | 4 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 5.75 | |
| Hardus Viljoen | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 20.00 | |
| Vijayakanth Viyaskanth | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 6.00 | |
| Charith Asalanka | 1.2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 11.67 | |
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 at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.){kind=link}