Lanka Premier League: Dambulla bowlers contain Jaffna, ensure first win of season

SOME SMART, precise bowling from Dambulla Aura defined the match as they restricted Jaffna Kings to a small total and chased it down with ease.

Coming off a loss, the pressure was on Dambulla do deliver on their second outing at Lanka Premier League 2023. And their bowlers delivered under pressure. Binura Fernando (2/27), Hayden Kerr (1/16), Dhananjaya de Silva (1/17) all made sure Jaffna batters had trouble scoring at a high rate. Even Charith Asalanka (56 off 52), the most succsssful batsman in the innings, had to play a cautious game where he was unable to score at a rate that would be considered high enough for a T20 match.

But Dambulla's batters had no problem hitting strike rates over 150. Avishka Fernando (52 off 32) set them on the right course, and Kusal Perera (34 not out off 22) got them home comfortably.

Dambulla got the winning runs in just 16.2 overs, giving their Net Run Rate a nice boost. So much so that it propelled them straight to the top of the LPL points table, for now.

Both Jaffna and Dambulla return to action on Friday in what's set to be tough outings against Kandy and Galle.

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