The 18th game of LPL Season 3 took place between Kandy Falcons and Dambulla Aura. The falcons had another comprehensive win against Aura who finally won a game in their previous encounter only to go back to losing ways here once again.
Wanindu Hasaranga who won the toss for the Falcons decided to bat first as they tested their bench strength for this game. Kavin Bandara got the nod to open the batting with Minod Bhanuka and the 25-year-old looked impressive during his stay to make 27 from 16 balls.
Everyone in the Falcons top 6 managed to make it to double figures but only one of them was able to go past the 30-run mark. Ashen Bandara who has been solid in the middle order for the Falcons played the anchor role again making 37 off 31 deliveries.
The best partnership for Falcons was between Bandara and Najibullah Zadran who constructed a 42-run stand for the 4th wicket. Zadran made 22 from 18. Even Though there were no big knocks, with contributions from nearly everyone, the Falcons made 160 after losing 7 wickets in their 20 overs.
Matthew Forde was the pick of the bowlers for Aura taking 2 for 16 in 3 overs while the young left-arm spinner Dilum Sudeera impressed with a 2-wicket haul for 19 in 2 overs. Left-arm pacer Kalana Perera also got an opportunity for 2 wickets for 27.
Chasing 161, the young opening duo for Aura who compiled a record-breaking stand in the previous game couldn’t even come close to giving them a good start this time as both fell for single-digit scores. Sikander Raza was the only batter who was able to put Falcons bowlers under any sort of pressure making 45 from 33. Other than that Sudeera made 21 down the order to make sure Aura batted out their 20 overs.
At the end of 20 overs, Aura was only able to score 121 for the loss of 9 wickets giving the Falcons an easy 39-run win. Oshane Thomas was on point once again for the Falcons taking his 2nd consecutive 3-wicket haul giving away just 15 runs which also won him the player of the match award. Fabian Allen also chipped in with 2 strikes.
With this loss, Aura will have to beat Galle Gladiators by a big margin to qualify for the playoffs. For Falcons, they will be facing arch-rivals Jaffna Kings in the first qualifier.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kavin Bandara | c Shevon Daniel b Kalana Perera | 27 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 168.75 |
| Minod Bhanuka | c Dilum Sudeera b Kalana Perera | 14 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 127.27 |
| Kamindu Mendis | b Sikandar Raza | 19 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 135.71 |
| Ashen Bandara | c Jordan Cox b Dilum Sudeera | 37 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 119.35 |
| Najibullah Zadran | c Pramod Madushan b | 22 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 122.22 |
| Wanidu Hasaranga | b Dilum Sudeera | 11 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 122.22 |
| Fabian Allen | c Jordan Cox b Matthew Forde | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Chamika Karunaratne | not out | 13 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 144.44 |
| Chamindu Wijesinghe | not out | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 85.71 |
| Extras | 8 (b 4 , lb 2 , nb 0, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 160/7 (20 Overs, RR: 8) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dasun Shanaka | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8.00 | |
| Sikandar Raza | 4 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 6.50 | |
| Pramod Madushan | 3 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 11.33 | |
| Kalana Perera | 3 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 9.00 | |
| Noor Ahmad | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 6.00 | |
| Dilum Sudeera | 2 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 9.50 | |
| Matthew Forde | 3 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 5.33 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Cox | c Ashen Bandara b Zahoor Khan | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Shevon Daniel | c Minod Bhanuka b Oshane Thomas | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Sikandar Raza | st Minod Bhanuka b Fabian Allen | 45 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 136.36 |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksha | c Minod Bhanuka b Oshane Thomas | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Dasun Shanaka | c Kamindu Mendis b Oshane Thomas | 14 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 127.27 |
| Ravindu Fernando | b Wanidu Hasaranga | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Matthew Forde | b Fabian Allen | 9 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Noor Ahmad | c Wanidu Hasaranga b Chamindu Wijesinghe | 13 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 118.18 |
| Dilum Sudeera | not out | 21 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 80.77 |
| Kalana Perera | c Minod Bhanuka b Chamindu Wijesinghe | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Pramod Madushan | not out | 9 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 90.00 |
| Extras | 2 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 121/9 (20 Overs, RR: 6.05) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zahoor Khan | 3 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 5.33 | |
| Chamika Karunaratne | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7.00 | |
| Oshane Thomas | 4 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 3.75 | |
| Wanidu Hasaranga | 3 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 6.00 | |
| Fabian Allen | 4 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 5.75 | |
| Ashen Bandara | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 9.00 | |
| Chamindu Wijesinghe | 2 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 8.50 | |
