Lanka Premier League 2023

'Arey ek match toh jeetne do'- Twitter reacts as defending champions Jaffna Kings clinch 6th win in 8 matches

Defending champions Jaffna Kings defeated Colombo Stars by 8 wickets in the 19th match of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2022 on Monday.

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Rohit Kumar
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Jaffna Kings (Source - Twitter)

Jaffna Kings (Source - Twitter)

Defending champions Jaffna Kings defeated Colombo Stars by 8 wickets in the 19th match of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2022 on Monday. Kings are currently placed at the second position on the points table whereas Colombo Stars are at the third spot.

After winning the toss, Jaffna Kings captain Thisara Perera invited Colombo Stars to put runs on the scoreboard. The stars had a really bad start as they lost both of their openers without even scoring a single run. They lost 4 wickets for 16 runs and were in trouble. However, Nishan Madushka and Ravi Bopara tried to run the scoreboard but Bopara got out in the 10th over of the innings.

Madushka's struggling innings also came to an end in the 17th over. He scored 35 runs off 44 balls including only 1 six at a strike rate of 79.55. Dominic Drakes's fiery knock, in the end, helped Stars to achieve a respectful total of 128 runs after losing 9 wickets in 20 overs. Kings displayed a brilliant bowling performance as every bowler was able to dismiss at least one batter each. Perera and Shoaib Malik took 2 wickets each for their team.

Easy win for the defending champions

Chasing the target of 130 runs, openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Avishka Fernando started aggressively and stitched a 105-run stand for the first wicket. They made the target look even smaller and easy to achieve. Gurbaz' magnificent knock of 69 runs off just 40 deliveries came to an end in the 12th over. He smashed 8 fours and 4 sixes.

Coming in at no.3, Shoaib Malik failed again as he was dismissed after scoring only 4 runs in the 14th over of the innings. But it seemed to be very late for the Stars as the target they set for the Kings was already very short and the Kings’ openers made it look too small. Jeffrey Vandersay and Drakes were the only bowlers who were able to dismiss any batter from the opposition. Fernando remained unbeaten on 40 and led the team to victory.

Here’s how people reacted:

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