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'Bhai saab kya close final tha' - Fans react as B-Love Kandy beat Dambulla Aura in closely-fought LPL 2023 final

B-Love Kandy beat Dambulla Aura in the final of Lanka Premier League 2023. Here's how fans reacted after the game.

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Daniel S
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Angelo Mathews, BLK

Angelo Mathews, BLK (Source: Twitter)

The fourth edition of the Lanka Premier League finally came to an end as B-Love Kandy triumphed over Dambulla Aura in the final on Sunday, 20 August. The Aura won the toss and elected to bat first. However, Kandy’s economical bowling limited them to 147/4 in 20 overs. Skipper Kusal Mendis (22 off 23), Sadeera Samarawickrama (36 off 30), Kusal Perera (31 off 25), and Dhananjaya de Silva (40 off 29) remained the key contributors for Dambulla.

Talking of the bowling from Kandy, Chaturanga de Silva remained the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/25. At the same time, Nuwan Pradeep and Mohammad Hasnain returned with one wicket each. Notably, B-Love Kandy were without their regular skipper Wanindu Hasaranga who has been a star player in LPL 2023. In his absence, it was veteran Angelo Mathews who assumed captaincy for the all-important final.

B-Love Kandy skipper Wanindu Hasaranga was adjudged the ‘Player of the Series’

It was a neck-to-neck fight in the run chase. But it was B-Love Kandy who managed to reach the target with one ball to spare. They started with an impressive 49-run partnership between Mohammad Haris (26 off 22) and Kamindu Mendis (44 off 37). Dinesh Chandimal with 24 off 22, including three fours, and Asif Ali with 19 off 10, including two fours and a six remained instrumental. Ultimately, it was skipper Angelo Matthews, unbeaten at 25* off 21, including three fours, who drove Kandy home.

For Dambulla Aura, Noor Ahmed dropped an impressive spell recording figures of 3/27 in four overs. Whereas Binura Fernando followed him closely at 2/31 in four overs. However, four of their bowlers remained wicketless and they missed the regular wickets that were a necessity in a run-chase of below 150 runs.

Angelo Mathews was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ whereas B-Love Kandy skipper Wanindu Hasaranga won the ‘Player of the Series’ for his outstanding all-round display. Jaffna Kings’ dominance in the LPL thus came to an end as Kandy etched their name as winners of the fourth season of the tournament following three seasons of Jaffna’s dominance.

Here’s how fans reacted:

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