Jaffna Kings beat Colombo Stars by 2-wkts. In close finish to win LPL title for record third time
Jaffna Kings defeated Colombo Stars by two wickets in the final of the Lanka Premier League 2022 to secure the championship title for a record third time on Friday night at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.
The game went down to the wire before a large crowd with the ninth-wicket pair of Binura Fernando and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth running two off a wide off the third ball of the final over sent down by Kasun Rajitha after the wicket-keeper had fumbled with the ball as the Jaffna Kings finished on 164 for 8 off 19.4 overs in response to the Colombo Stars 163 for 5 off 20. The game went down to the wire with the Kings needing 6 off the final over with skipper Thisara Perera on strike dispatching the first ball to the boundary, but he was dismissed in the next delivery when Dominic Drakes held on to a skier.
Colombo Stars, put into bat, hashed it up from a healthy 75-run second wicket partnership between Dinesh Chandimal and Charith Asalanka after 9.3 overs. But rush of blood by both batsmen threw the whole thing out off the window. Asalanka threw it away holing out to Viyaskanth off Dunith Wellalage for 31 while Chandimal committed the bigger fault by getting out the worst way by running himself out when well set on 49 which a good batsman is forbidden especially in a decisive!! final. The rot set in from that point with skipper Angelo Mathews falling for 13, but Ravi Bopara with an unbeaten 47 off 34 rallied the innings from 114 for 4 after 16.3 in adding 45 for the fifth wicket with Mohammed Nabi 15.
TOURNAMENT AWARDS:
Player of the Final: Avishka Fernando,
Most Runs: Avishka Fernando,
Most Wickets: Carlos Braithwaite,
Innovative Player of the Tournament: Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Emerging Player of the Tournament: Vijayakanth Viyaskanth
Player of the Tournament: Sadeera Samarawickrama
CHIEF SCORES: Colombo Stars 163/5 (20 Overs) (Dinesh Chandimal 49, Ravi Bopara 47, Charith Asalanka 31,Mohammad Nabi 15, Mathews 13, Thisara Perera 1/16, Dunith Wellalage 1/18, Maheesh Theekshana 1/34, Binura Fernando 1/48) Jaffna Kings164/8 (20 Overs) (Avishka Fernando 50, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 36, Shoaib Malik 10, Suranga Lakmal 3/23, Benny Howell 2/17, Kasun Rajitha 1/27, Mohammad Nabi 1/42)
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