Lanka Premier League: Day 3 Review: Galle Gladiators seal top spot after thrilling win, Jaffna Kings get onboard

Two matches were played on December 7 in the Lanka Premier League. In the first game, Jaffna Kings defeated Dambulla Giants by eight wickets. The heavy batting lineup of Dambulla fell like a pack of cards as the team was bowled out for a mere 110. None of the batters could resist against the Kings' bowling. While there were plenty of starts, none went on to score a big one. Every bowler that came in to bowl, troubled the Giants. Maheesh Theekshana picked 3 wickets, while Hasaranga too accounted for a three-fer. Jayden Seales and Suranga Lakmal bagged two wickets each.

Advertisment

The target was fairly easy and Kings had no trouble in cruising to a win. Avishka Fernando, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Shoaib Malik got decent batting practice and scored 33, 45 and 26 respectively.

In the second game, Galle Gladiators defeated Kandy Warriors. This was Warriors' second loss in a row. Batting first, the Warriors could not post a big score and settled for 143-6. Ahmed Shehzad scored 56, while Kamindu Mendis made 32. However, there was no support from other batters as the team settled for a par score.

Given the pitch, the chase was not the easiest one. Danushka Gunathilaka gave Galle a blistering start and added 62 runs for the first wicket along with Kusal Mendis. However, both batters departed in quick succession as Warriors crawled back into the game. From 62-0, Galle was left bleeding at 118-6. However, a seventh wicket partnership of 29 runs between Lahiru Madushanka and Dhananjaya Lakshan helped the team get over the team. The win also pushed Galle Gladiators to the helm of the points table.