Cricket

'Boys are back into the playoffs race' - Fans react as Jaffna Kings move up to 3rd place in LPL 2023 after beating Colombo Strikers by 6 wickets

Jaffna Kings moved up to third place in the LPL 2023 after beating Colombo Strikers by six wickets on Tuesday.

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Daniel S
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Jaffna Kings

Jaffna Kings (Source: Twitter)

Jaffna Kings are back on track in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023 following a dominant all-round performance against Colombo Strikers on Tuesday, August 8 at Pallekele. The three-time LPL champions came into the match with two losses in a row, but hammered Kings by six wickets to move into the top four of the points table.

The Babar Azam-led Strikers won the toss and opted to bat first on a sluggish surface, and posted a respectable total of 146 in 20 overs. Everyone thought it would be a challenging score on this pitch but Kings batters proved them wrong finishing the match in just 14.3 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz got his team off to a flying start in the chase, with his partner Nishan Madushka providing solid support.

The duo put on a 58-run first-wicket partnership before Matheesha Pathirana dismissed the Afghanistan batter for 39 off 21 balls in the sixth over. Madushka then teamed up with his compatriot Asalanka in a brief partnership that helped the Kings close to the 100-run mark. However, after Asalanka's dismissal in the 11th over, Kings lost a couple of wickets, but they were still far ahead in the chase.

Thisara Perera promoted himself up the order and played a short cameo before Naseem Shah struck twice in the 13th over, sending the skipper and Madushka back to the pavilion. However, by then they were almost near the finish line and Towhid Hridoy hit a few boundaries and remained unbeaten on 14 off 9 balls to take his team home with 33 balls to spare.

We couldn't capitalise on the middle overs: Babar Azam 

Earlier, Babar (24 off 21 balls) and Pathum Nissanka (36 off 25 balls) provided a solid start for the strikers with a 50-plus start for the first wicket. Nuwanidu Fernando and Iftikhar Ahmed failed to find any resistance but wicket-keeper batter Lahiru Udara (29 off 25 balls) played contributed his part in the middle overs to keep the scoreboard ticking. When Strikers struggled to get a decent total, it was Mohammad Nawaz and Chamika Karunaratne's brilliant batting towards the end pushed them to a decent total.

"We started well but couldn't capitalise on the middle overs. We wanted to target 180-190 because this pitch was much better than the previous ones. Me and Nissanka tried to build a partnership but unfortunately we both got out at the wrong time. We need to learn from our mistakes. Three matches still left and give our best in those matches," said Strikers captain Babar in the post-match presentation.

Here's how fans reacted to Jaffna Kings victory over Colombo Strikers: 

LPL Jaffna Kings Lanka Premier League 2023