The Kandy Falcons beat Dambulla Aura by 77 runs in the 11th match of the Lanka Premier League 2022, played today (13th December) at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
After winning the toss, Kandy Falcons’ Skipper Wanindu Hasaranga opted to bat first, making three changes to their playing XI from previous game. The Falcons left out Ashan Priyanjan, Ashian Daniel and Zahoor Khan, making way for Najibullah Zadran, Fabian Allen and Chamindu Wijesinghe.
On the other hand, Dambulla Aura made five changes to their playing XI by bringing in Lasith Croospulle, Ramesh Mendis, Chathuranga de Silva, Paul van Meekeren and Noor Ahmad, replacing Tom Abell, Dushan Hemantha, Ravindu Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and Tharindu Rathnayaka.
Kandy Falcons (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Andre Fletcher(w), Kamindu Mendis, Ashen Bandara, Najibullah Zadran, Wanindu Hasaranga(c), Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen, Chamika Karunaratne, Isuru Udana, Chamindu Wijesinghe
Dambulla Aura (Playing XI): Shevon Daniel, Jordan Cox(w), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Lasith Croospulle, Dasun Shanaka(c), Sikandar Raza, Ramesh Mendis, Chaturanga de Silva, Pramod Madushan, Paul van Meekeren, Noor Ahmad
The Falcons’ opening pair Nissanka and Fletcher once again started things off pretty well, putting on 48 runs off 35 balls for the first wicket. After the dismissal of Nissanka in the 6th over, No. 3 batter Mendis took on the mantle and scored a super fifty, pushing the Falcons to a big score.
Fletcher made 44 runs off 31 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes, while Mendis contributed with 58 runs off 40 balls including 9 fours. In the latter stage of the innings, Bandara came out and played some big shots, which helped the Falcons post 193/3 in the allotted 20 overs. Bandara’s cameo of 22-ball 42 runs included 4 fours and a six, which came at a strike rate of 190.91.
On their turn with the ball, the Falcons never let Dambulla get a sniff as they took early wickets to put pressure on Dambulla batting lineup. The seamers Karunaratne and Brathwaite were brilliant with the new ball as they grabbed 2 wickets apiece to leave Dambulla five down within the powerplay.
The two left-handers Rajapaksa and De Silva tried to showcase some fight with the bat, but the 22-year-old speedster Wijesinghe dismissed both the batters in the middle phase to close out the game.
Wijesinghe and Brathwaite both picked up 3 wickets each as Dambulla Aura were bundled out for 116 runs in the 15th over, handing a convincing win for the Kandy Falcons. With this win, the Falcons regained the top spot in the points table, having won 4 out of 5 games played so far in the tournament.
Brief Scores
Kandy Falcons – 193/3 (20) Kamindu Mendis 58, Andre Fletcher 44, Ashen Bandara 42*, Pathum Nissanka 26
Dambulla Aura – 116 (14.2) Chathuranga de Silva 25, Chamindu Wijesinghe 3/25, Carlos Brathwaite 3/25, Fabian Allen 2/05, Chamika Karunaratne 2/11
Result – Kandy Falcons won by 77 runs
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | c Paul van Meekeren b Chathuranga de Silva | 26 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 130.00 |
| Andre Fletcher | run out (Jordan Cox) | 44 | 31 | 4 | 3 | 141.94 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Sikandar Raza b Pramod Madushan | 58 | 40 | 9 | 0 | 145.00 |
| Ashen Bandara | not out | 42 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 190.91 |
| Najibullah Zadran | not out | 16 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 200.00 |
| Extras | 7 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 1, w 5, pen 0) |
| Total | 193/3 (20 Overs, RR: 9.65) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dasun Shanaka | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 11.00 | |
| Pramod Madushan | 4 | 0 | 39 | 1 | 9.75 | |
| Paul van Meekeren | 4 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 9.25 | |
| Chathuranga de Silva | 3 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 8.67 | |
| Noor Ahmad | 4 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 6.50 | |
| Sikandar Raza | 2 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 16.00 | |
| Ramesh Mendis | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shevon Daniel | c Ashen Bandara b Chamika Karunaratne | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 180.00 |
| Lasith Croospulle | c Wanidu Hasaranga b Chamika Karunaratne | 13 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 144.44 |
| Jordan Cox | c Andre Fletcher b Carlos Brathwaite | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksha | c Minod Bhanuka b Chamindu Wijesinghe | 18 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 81.82 |
| Ramesh Mendis | lbw b Carlos Brathwaite | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Dasun Shanaka | c Andre Fletcher b Carlos Brathwaite | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Sikandar Raza | c Ashen Bandara b Fabian Allen | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Chathuranga de Silva | c Fabian Allen b Chamindu Wijesinghe | 25 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 166.67 |
| Paul van Meekeren | not out | 10 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 125.00 |
| Pramod Madushan | c Chamika Karunaratne b Chamindu Wijesinghe | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Noor Ahmad | lbw b Fabian Allen | 20 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 250.00 |
| Extras | 10 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 10, pen 0) |
| Total | 116/10 (14.2 Overs, RR: 8.09) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isuru Udana | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8.00 | |
| Carlos Brathwaite | 3 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 8.33 | |
| Chamika Karunaratne | 2 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 5.50 | |
| Fabian Allen | 1.2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4.17 | |
| Kamindu Mendis | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 9.50 | |
| Chamindu Wijesinghe | 3 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 8.33 | |
| Wanidu Hasaranga | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 11.50 | |
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