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Friday Sep 20, 2024
Wednesday, 9 August 2023 02:11 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
B-Love Kandy skipper Wanindu Hasaranga thumps the ball on his way to the fastest fifty of the 2023 LPL
Angelo Mathews (40) hits to leg during his partnership of 87 with Wanindu Hasaranga
B-Love Kandy spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman struck early blows with the wickets of Shevon Daniel and Bhanuka Rajapaksa
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
B-Love Kandy skipper Wanindu Hasaranga played one of the finest T20 innings to guide his team to a comprehensive 89-run win over Galle Gladiators in a Lanka Premier League match played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium yesterday.
Hasaranga was at his imperious best as he smashed the ball to all parts of the ground to race to the fastest fifty of the current tournament off just 18 balls. He reached it in emphatic fashion with a six off Tabraiz Shamsi. Four days ago Hasaranga had thumped a fifty off 21 balls against defending champions Jaffna Kings and yesterday he went one better helping his team to become the first to top the 200-run mark.
Galle simply had no answer to Hasaranga’s onslaught as he smoked nine fours and two sixes in his 64 off 27 balls. Angelo Mathews who scored a well-paced 40 off 23 balls (3 fours, 2 sixes) helped Hasaranga add 87 off 38 balls in a fourth wicket partnership that simply knocked the sails off the Galle bowling.
Fakhar Zaman scored a scrappy 45 off 35 balls (3 fours, 2 sixes) and Dinesh Chandimal 25 off 17 balls (3 fours, 1 six) laid the platform for the late assault after Kandy was put into bat first by Galle.
The task of chasing down a target of 204 proved beyond Galle who were bowled out for 114 in the 17th over, that too after a partnership of 62 for the seventh wicket between Ashan Priyanjan (25) and Lahiru Samarakoon (36). Having destroyed the Galle bowling with the bat, Hasaranga returned with the ball to dismantle the Galle batting, ending up with figures of 4/17 to displace Matheesha Pathirana as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. Hasaranga has eight wickets to Pathirana’s seven.
B-Love Kandy who began the tournament with two losses in Colombo came to Kandy with no points on the board, but ended the Kandy leg on a high, winning all three matches which catapulted them from the bottom of the table right to the top after five games. The opposite can be said of Galle Titans who came to Kandy unbeaten with two wins and lost all three games played here and sank to the bottom of the table.
Scores:
