Tag: B-Love Kandy vs Galle Titans

COLOMBO: Wanindu Hasaranga paired up his 48-run knock with two wickets and muscled B-Love Kandy into the Lanka Premier League (LPL) final with a convincing 34-run victory over Galle Titans in the Qualifier 2 on Friday.

Opting to bat first, B-Love Kandy posted a decent total of 157/7 on the board, courtesy of a match-saving 48-run knock by skipper Hasaranga.

B-Love Kandy got off to a poor start to their innings as they were reduced to 20/3 inside five overs.

Following the slump, Hasaranga joined experienced Dinesh Chandimal at the crease and launched a counterattack with clean hitting.

The pair pulled B-Love Kandy out of trouble, adding 72 runs for the fourth wicket at a brisk rate before Hasaranga faltered and fell just two shy of his half-century.

The all-rounder smashed three boundaries and four sixes on his way to a 30-ball 48.

Chandimal soon followed Hasaranga back to the pavilion after stitching a brief 13-run partnership with Angelo Mathews.

Chandimal scored 38 from 37 deliveries, laced up with three boundaries and a six.

Following his dismissal, Mathews and Chaturanga de Silva added valuable runs at the death and bolstered the team’s total.

Mathews scored 24 off 17 before getting run out in the final over while de Silva played a brisk 15-run cameo in just six deliveries.

Kumara and Sonal Dinusha bagged two wickets each for Galle Titans while Kasun Rajitha and Shakib Al Hasan made one scalp each.

Set to chase 158, Galle Titans’ batting lineup failed and could only raise 123/8 in the allotted overs.

Their openers Litton Das and Lasith Croospulle provided a flying start as they had piled up 37 runs in the first four overs.

Chaturanga de Silva provided a much-needed breakthrough to B-Love Kandy as he dismissed Das in the fifth over, who scored 25 off 19 deliveries.

Galle Titans then lost two wickets — Lasith Croospulle (14) and Sohan de Livera (1) — in quick successions and thus were slipped to 45/3 in the seventh over.

Shakib Al Hasan and Sonal Dinusha then attempted to anchor the run chase as they put on a brief 28-run partnership before the former perished in the 12th over, scoring 17 off 15.

Galle Titans then lost wickets at regular intervals which halted the flow of runs and they were consequently restricted to 123/8 in 20 overs.

Dinusha top-scored for the Titans with a cautious 32-ball 28, hitting a six.

Wanindu Hasaranga-led B-Love Kandy will now take on table-toppers Dambulla Aura in the LPL 2023 final, scheduled on Sunday.

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Pallekele: Wanindu Hasaranga’s all-round exploits guided B-Love Kandy to a thumping 89-run victory against Galle Titans in the 12th game of the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL).

Hasaranga, who has been in tremendous form in LPL this year, played a blitzing knock of 65 off 27, before decimating Galle Titans’ batting lineup with figures of 4-17.

Galle Titans captain Dasun Shanaka opted to bowl first after winning the toss. They drew first blood as Richard Ngarava sent Mohammad Haris back to the dugout.

However, they failed to capitalize on the early damage as Fakhar Zaman and Dinesh Chandimal stitched a solid 49-run partnership before the latter was removed by Tabraiz Shamsi with 75 runs on the board in nine overs.

Zaman was joined by Angelo Mathews in the middle and cautiously, while the opener anchored the innings before hitting a four and six off successive deliveries of Tabraiz Shamsi to bolster the total.

He added three more runs to his tally before falling to a magnificent catch at long-on by Ngarava off Lahiru Samarakoon. Zaman’s 35-ball 45 featured three boundaries and two sixes.

The scoreboard read 103-3 in 12.1 overs when Hasaranga came out to bat, fancying his match-winning half-century (52* off 22) against Jaffna Kings in the last match.

Hasaranga dominated the Titans’ bowlers and soon raced to 38 off 15 before Angelo Mathews joined the party with a six off Kasun Rajitha. Together, they stitched a vital partnership of 87 off 38 balls.

The destructive partnership was broken when Mathews was removed at a total of 190 by Samarakoon, courtesy of a brilliant catch by Kasun Rajitha. Mathews scored a 23-ball 40, featuring three boundaries and two sixes.

Hasaranga was still on the crease, eyeing a 200-run landmark, but he was caught at mid-wicket by Shevon Daniel off Rajitha. His blistering knock of 64 off 27 was laced with nine boundaries and two sixes.

Isuru Udana scored two off the next delivery to reach the 200-run mark, the first of LPL 2023, before the innings ended at 203 with the loss of five wickets.

Lahiru Samarakoon picked two wickets for 31 runs, while Shamsi, Rajitha and Ngarava picked one apiece.

Galle Titans started the mammoth chase on a high as Lasith Croospulle scored 11 runs off the first over, bowled by Mathews.

However, Mujeeb Ur Rahman cut their flying start short by removing Shevon Daniel (0) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (5) in his successive overs.

Lasith Croospulle continued to attack from the other end, before being cleaned up by Hasaranga in his first over. Croospulle played a quick cameo of 27 off 17.

Wanindu Hasaranga then removed a struggling Shakib Al Hasan (11 off 12), which reduced Galle Titans to 47-6 in the ninth over.

Ashan Priyanjan and Lahiru Samarakoon then formed a solid partnership of 62 off 45 balls, however, the mounting required run rate maintained pressure on both batters.

Subsequently, the asking run rate got the better of both batters, sent packing by Nuwan Pradeep in the span of three deliveries, leaving Titans requiring 93 runs from four overs with two wickets in hand.

Hasaranga then picked the final two wickets off consecutive deliveries in the next over to seal a dominant triumph for B-Love Kandy.

Samarakoon top-scored for the Titans with 36 off 25 balls, hitting one boundary and four sixes.

Wanindu Hasaranga finished with figures of four wickets for 17 runs, while Pradeep picked up three wickets.

The victory helped B-Love Kandy improve their net-run rate and jump to the top of the table in LPL 2023, while Galle Titans sank to the bottom.

Galle Titans will face Dambulla Aura in their next game on August 11, while B-Love Kandy will square off against holders Jaffna Kings on August 12.

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COLOMBO: Tim Seifert’s quickfire 74-run knock led Galle Titans to a thumping 83-run victory over B-Love Kandy in the fifth match of the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023.

Opting to bat first, Galle Titans piled up a massive total of 180/5 on the board with Seifert leading the charge with a brisk half-century.

The Titans got off to a cautious start to their innings as they were 50/2 in 8.3 Overs when Seifert walked out into the middle.

The wicketkeeper batter turned the game on its head with belligerent hitting and put his side in command with a brilliant 95-run partnership with Shakib Al Hasan.

Seifert dominated the opposition bowlers with belligerent hitting while Shakib held his ground firm with a sensible 21-ball 30 before a brilliant effort in the deep by Thanuka Dabare saw the end of his sensible knock.

Tim Seifert soon followed Shakib back to the dugout in the next over as Mohammad Hasnain’s short-pitched delivery got the better of him.

He smashed five boundaries and as many sixes on his way to a 39-ball 74.

Following his departure, skipper Dasun Shanaka and Lahiru Samarakoon gave final touches to the Titans’ batting expedition as they added 15 runs off the last nine deliveries.

For B-Love Kandy, Mohammad Hasnain, Wanindu Hasaranga and Aamer Jamal could pick up a wicket.

B-Love Kandy’s batters put on a dismal show in response to the Titans’ 181 and bundled out for a paltry 97.

Middle-order batter Ashen Bandara offered brief retaliation against a dominant Titans’ bowling attack with a 19-ball 27 which included two boundaries.

The next best scores for B-Love Kandy were Isuru Udana (16) and Thaunka Dabare (12) while the rest failed to make it into the double digits.

With a thumping 83-run victory, Galle Titans skyrocketed to the top of the LPL standings with four points in two matches while B-Love Kandy sank to the bottom.

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