Jaffna Kings defeated Colombo Strikers by 21 runs in the opening match of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023 in Colombo, on Sunday.
With the victory, Kings secured the first position.
Points Table
Strikers struggled from the very start after Thisara Perera removed Babar Azam with a tricky delivery for just seven runs.
After Azam’s wicket, it was Pathum Nissanka’s turn who as well could not do anything. He departed for the pavilion after scoring just one run.
Strikers’ skipper Niroshan Dickwella played a captain knock scoring 58 off 34 balls with a total of 10 boundaries.
Wickets did not stop falling and one by one, the Strikers lost all of their players for a total of 152 runs.
Kings’ bowlers were the difference makers. Especially Hardus Viljoen, who took three important wickets of Nissanka, Mohammad Nawaz and Ramesh Mendis.
While batting first Kings scored 173 in 20 overs with all of their batters scoring in double digits, displaying an all-round performance.
Five teams B-Love Kandy, Colombo Strikers, Dambulla Aura, Galle Titans, and Jaffna Kings are participating in the cricket tournament.
Lanka Premier League schedule of remaining matches:
July 31 — Galle Titans vs Dambulla Aura
July 31 — B Love Kandy vs Colombo Strikers
August 1 — Dambulla Aura vs Jaffna Kings
August 1 — Galle Titans vs B Love Kandy
August 4 — Colombo Strikers vs Galle Titans
August 4 — Dambulla Aura vs Jaffna Kings
August 5 — Galle Titans vs B-Love Kandy
August 7 — Jaffna Kings vs Colombo Strikers
August 7 — B-Love Kandy vs Dambulla Aura
August 7 — Galle Titans vs Jaffna Kings
August 8 — Colombo Strikers and Dambulla Aura
August 8 — B-Love Kandy vs Jaffna Kings
August 11 — Dambulla Aura vs Galle Titans
August 12 — Jaffna Kings vs B-Love Kandy
August 12 — Dambulla Aura vs Colombo Strikers
August 13 — Jaffna Kings vs Galle Titans
August 13 — Colombo Strikers vs B-Love Kandy
August 14 — B-Love Kandy vs Dambulla Aura
August 15 — Colombo Strikers vs Galle Titans
August 17 — First Qualifier
August 17 — Eliminator Match
August 19 — Second Qualifier
August 20 — Final