The elimination rounds are set to commence as Qualifier 1 of the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2022 was played between Kandy Falcons (KF) and Jaffna Kings (JK). The two heavyweights took center stage on Wednesday, December 21 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and Jaffna won the match on DLS and move to the final.
Talking about the match, Falcons opted to bat first after winning the toss. Opener Andre Fletcher couldn’t provide anything special for the team he got out in the 3rd over of the innings for just 2 runs. However, Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis, who came in at no.3 position stitched a 61-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. After Nissanka got out in the 10th over, the Falcons’ batting lineup shattered like a pack of cards.
Kings displayed a brilliant bowling performance and bundled out Falcons for 143/8 in 20 overs. Vijayakanth Viyaskanth was the highest wicket-taker for the Kings, he dismissed 3 batters in his 4 overs quota while conceding only 30 runs. Mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana showed his bowling ability and took 2 wickets at an economy rate of 6 in 4 overs.
Jaffna Kings qualify for the finals again
Chasing the target of 144, the Kings started with the same aggressive approach which they have taken throughout the tournament. However, Rahmanullah Gurbaz got out in the 2nd over of the innings. But Avishka Fernando and Afif Hossain carried the inning aggressively and kept putting runs on the scoreboard. Kings were 98 for 3 before the match was interrupted by rain.
Kings started the chase in a hurry taking 18 off Isuru Udana’s first over and never looked back from there. They were always ahead on DLS as two rain breaks came. The second one put an end to the game. Kandy conceded too many boundary balls and were sloppy with their bowling. They allowed Jaffna to get away to a fast start chasing a modest total and that’s where the game was lost.
Here’s how fans reacted:
LPL: Jaffna Kings won by 24 runs (DLS Method) against Kandy Falcons in the first qualifier.#LPL2022
— Crickdom (@Crickdom7) December 21, 2022
3rd consecutive final for #JaffnaKings. 😍
— Star-Lord🏳️ (@tharu__) December 21, 2022
Well done boys.
#LPL2022 Qualifiers 1
— 11CricketNews (@11cricketnews) December 21, 2022
KDF 143/8 (20)
JKS 98/3 (11)
Jaffna Kings won by 24 runs (DLS Method) pic.twitter.com/LgqPD0zabG
Third consecutive LPL final for Jaffna Kings.
— Poornama🏏 (@iam_poor9) December 21, 2022
Third consecutive LPL final for Jaffna Kings! pic.twitter.com/dujSwLMUQy
— රෝමියෝ ✨ (@OvinKaushalya96) December 21, 2022
Kisi or ko bhi jeetne do!#LPL2022 #jaffnakings #Kandyfalcons
— Cricketbugs (@Cricketbugs0) December 21, 2022
Sri Lankan Cricketers working on their backup career. @FIFAcom #SriLankaFootballAssociation #LPL #T20SriLanka #JaffnaKings pic.twitter.com/N7me5ysnPu
— Ihshan Iqbal (@ihshaniqbal) December 21, 2022
Jaffna Kings are into the Final ❤️#Shoaibmalik #PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/LIuLWpzTkD
— Muhammad Noman (@nomanedits) December 21, 2022
