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Towhid Hridoy made an impression in his first LPL outing with a brilliant fifty for Jaffna Kings.
Colombo Strikers Captain Niroshan Dickwella scored a delightful half-century of no avail
Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva unveils the LPL trophy at the opening ceremony of the Lanka Premier League fourth edition at the R. Premadasa Stadium yesterday. Sri Lanka Women’s Captain Chamari Athapaththu, SLC secretary Mohan de Silva, IPG Group Founder CEO Anil Mohan, LPL Tournament Director Samantha Dodanwala, SLC CEO Ashley de Silva and Sri Lanka Test Captain Dimuth Karunaratne are also present
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Reigning champions Jaffna Kings got their campaign to win the Lanka Premier League for the fourth time in a row to a great start defeating last year’s finalists Colombo Strikers by 21 runs in the opening match of the fourth edition at the R. Premadasa Stadium under lights yesterday.
Jaffna Kings posted a challenging total of 173-5 and dismissed Colombo Strikers for 152 in the final over.
Bangladesh’s exciting young talent Towhid Hridoy scored a fifty on his maiden LPL appearance to help Jaffna to their total.
Despite the failure of Jaffna’s top three batters to continue with the starts they got Hridoy showed them how with a gem of an innings 54 off 39 balls (4 fours, 1 six) that gave Jaffna the impetus to drive forward after being invited to bat first by Colombo Strikers.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz as usual got the innings off to a flamboyant start hitting two sixes and a four in his brief knock of 21 off 11 balls before falling to a brilliant running catch by Ramesh Mendis to give Naseem Shah his first wicket.
Nishan Maduhska and Charith Asalanka actually didn’t quite get going but Hridoy stitched useful partnerships of 41 off 26 balls and 50 off 33 balls with Priyamal Perera (22 off 16 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) and Duntih Wellalage (25* off 23 balls, 2 fours) respectively to ensure Jaffna got over the 150-run mark. Skipper Thisara Perera slapped three fours before the innings terminated.
Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz was the pick of the Colombo bowlers conceding 24 runs in his four overs although going wicketless.
Colombo Strikers skipper Niroshan Dickwella got his team off to a great start in the run chase stroking his way to a delightful half-century, despite losing the key wicket of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam seven in the fourth over. Dickwella continued to take the fight to the Jaffna bowlers striking nine fours and one six as he raced to 58 off 34 balls, but the constant fall of wickets from the other end put immense pressure on him and he finally succumbed in the 11th over. His dismissal saw Colombo lose momentum as they lost three wickets for nine runs. With scoreboard pressure mounting Colombo found the task beyond their reach as Jaffna struck hard through their spinners especially leg-spin Viyanakanth Viyaskanth who conceded just 17 runs in his four overs for two wickets.
Seamers Hardus Viljoen (3/31) and Dilshan Madushanka (2/18) kept picking up wickets regularly and Jaffna’s fielding also rose to great heights affecting two run-outs which Colombo could easily have done without.
Scores:
