The third season of the Lanka Premier League kicked off with defending champions Jaffna Kings taking on Galle Gladiators at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota. In the next match, Kandy Falcons took on Colombo Stars at the same venue. Day one of the tournament saw some excellent performances as both the winning teams got through with huge margins. Here’s a roundup of the first day of the Lanka Premier League 2022.
Match 1: Jaffna Kings vs Galle Gladiators
Sent in to bat first after losing the toss, Jaffna Kings did not have the best start as they lost a few wickets early on. However, Dhananjaya de Silva and Shoaib Malik got the team back in the game to some extent. They scored 29 and 30 runs, respectively. Dunith Wellalage also played a short cameo of 30 runs, but the Kings kept losing wickets, which put them under strain. In the end, they were dismissed for 137 runs. Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Nuwan Thushara, Nuwan Pradeep, and Iftikhar Ahmed each took two wickets for the Galle Gladiators.
While Kusal Mendis played an impressive knock of 51 runs in 43 balls, he did not get any support from his teammates in the chase. The Kings always kept the batters under pressure and kept taking regular wickets. Eventually, the Gladiators were restricted to a score of 113 runs in their 20 overs. Binura Fernando was the pick of the bowlers for the Kings, taking three wickets in the game. Vijayakanth Viyaskanth also took two wickets in the game, while Maheesh Theekshana, James Fuller, and Dunith Wellalage took one each.
Match 2: Kandy Falcons vs Colombo Stars
Batting first, Pathum Nissanka and Andre Fletcher wreaked havoc on the Colombo Stars bowlers. The two scored boundaries regularly and kept the run rate high, scoring 156 runs in their opening partnership. Nissanka was dismissed for a score of 71 runs in 41 balls, while Fletcher went on to complete his century. The two guided the team to a total of 199-1 in the first innings.
Contrary to the first innings, the second innings saw very little scoring by the Stars. The Kandy Falcons’ bowlers put the batters under a lot of strain as they kept striking regularly. Wanindu Hasaranga took a four-wicket haul, while Fabian Allen took two. Zahoor Khan, Carlos Brathwaite, and Ashian Daniel also took one wicket each to restrict the Stars to a score of 90 and take the massive win of 109 runs.
