Lanka Premier League, 10th Match: Jaffna Kings Sealed the Match Against Colombo Stars With 6-Runs Win

The 10th match of Lanka Premier League 2022 was held between Colombo Stars and Jaffna Kings on 12 December at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele.

After putting up a gigantic score of 240 runs, Jaffna Kings were pretty confident and looked energised in the match. Colombo Stars won the toss and invited Jaffna Kings to bat first and that turned out to be a disastrous decision for them. Gurbaz and Avishka Fernando opened the batting for Kings while Rajitha bowled the first over for Colombo stars. Gurbaz got off the crease in the 4th over at 17 (11) by Howell. After 5 overs, Jaffna Kings scored 38 with 9 wickets remaining. Ashan Randika and Avishka took the Jaffna Kings to 51 runs with a loss of 1 wicket during the powerplay.

Ashan tried to chase a good run score by hitting some boundaries, but Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed him in the 9th over, and he was gone after 27(14). Avishka was also gone in the 11th over, and Benny Howell dismissed him at 32(31). After losing the two most important wickets, Shoaib Malik and Sadeera took some pace. However, the 55 runs partnership of both players ended when Drakes dismissed Sadeera in the 18th over. Sadeera did well and scored 32(25).

But Malik and Perera, towards the end, ensured Jaffna had enough runs to play with. Jaffna has put up an almost par score of 178/5 in 20 overs.

The second inning started with Dickwella and Nishan Madhshanka at the crease, and Perera opened the attack. Perera dismissed the first wicket of the second inning in the 4th ball. Dickwella was gone without even scoring a single run.

M Theekshana also dismissed Nishan Madhushanka in the following over. Navod tried to settle down on the pitch but was dismissed in the 5th over. The start could have been better for the Colombo Stars than they expected. During the powerplay, they were able to score only 33 runs with a loss of important 3 wickets.

Asalanka and Chandimal were dismissed in the 7th and 8th overs, respectively. Colombo Stars reached 48 runs in the 10 overs with half wickets gone. They were far behind the asking price for most of the pursuit, but Benny Howell offered them hope late in the game. He had a 50-run connection with veteran Angelo Mathews, who also began swinging for fun late in the innings.

With 22 needed off the final over and both of these batters well set, it was anyone’s game, but James Fuller held his nerve. He got Howell off the first ball, then dished up a dot ball to defend seven against a frenzied Mathews. Mathew, who tried his best, took the Colombo Starts to 172 runs, but that was not enough to win the game.

Another win for Jaffna, who climb to the top of the table, and Colombo will go back repenting this game.

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