On the fifth day of the Lanka Premier League 2022, two matches went underway at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. In the first encounter, Galle Gladiators took on Colombo Stars, while Jaffna Kings went head-on with Dambulla Aura in the second match. The Gladiators took their first win of the tournament, while the Kings got back on the winning track in the second match. Here is the roundup of day five of the Lanka Premier League 2022.
Match 7- Galle Gladiators vs Colombo Stars
Galle Gladiators won the toss and decided to bat first, and this decision paid off well for them. Thanuka Dabare and Kusal Mendis had a decent start with a partnership of 75 runs. The two scored 36 runs and 39 runs, respectively. Batting at number three, Lahiru Udara also got the team in a great position. He scored 45 runs in 30 balls to help his team reach 174/6. For The Colombo Stars, Jeffrey Vandersay took two wickets, while Naveen-ul-Haq, Dominic Drakes, Ravi Bopara, and Navod Paranavithana took one each.
In the chase, Niroshan Dickwella got off to a good start as he scored a hard-fought half-century. He got some support from Ravi Bopara, who scored quickfire 46 runs in 35 balls. However, no other batters could do much for the batting side. Eventually, the Stars were restricted to 149-7 in their allotted 20 overs, handing the Gladiators a 25-run victory. On the other hand, the bowlers kept striking regular wickets, with Nuwan Pradeep, Wahab Riaz, and Iftikhar Ahmed each taking two wickets.
Match 8- Jaffna Kings vs Dambulla Aura
Batting first the Jaffna Kings had a perfect start as the openers got them off to a flying start. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Avishka Fernando put up a 133-run opening partnership, with the former scoring 73 runs in 35 balls and the latter scoring 54 runs in 30 balls. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Shoaib Malik also played short cameos of 38 runs and 32 runs, respectively, to guide their team to a massive score of 240-4.
In the chase, Dambulla Aura had some short cameos from their batters, but not enough for them to get to the target. Shevon Daniel scored 29 runs in 20 balls, Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored 38 runs in 31 balls, while captain Dasun Shanaka scored 44 runs in 23 balls. In the end, they were restricted to 189-8, handing the Kings a 51-run victory. Binura Fernando, with his four-wicket haul, was the pick of the bowlers.
