JK vs CS: Jaffna Kings won their title in a row after beating Colombo Stars by 2 wickets in the final on Saturday. The Kings could have won the game easily but suffered a collapse in the second innings but still managed to reach over the line with four balls left in the end.
After winning the toss, the Kings opted to bowl first. Thisara Perera got rid of Nishan Madushka (1) cheaply in the 1st over only. However, Chandimal and Asalanka then stitched a 75-run partnership to lay a strong foundation for a big score.
Wellalage, eventually, got rid of Asalanka (31 off 23) in the 10th over and broke the partnership. Chandimal (49 off 40) also got out two overs later, while Angelo Mathews (12 off 11) couldn’t get going either.
Wickets wicket in regular intervals but a stellar knock of 47 runs in 33 balls from Bopara and a 9-ball 15-run cameo from M Nabi helped the team reach a competitive score of 163 runs at the end of the first innings.
Avishka’s fifty gives the team a promising start
In reply, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (36 off 18) and Avishka Fernando (50 off 43) gave the team a stellar start. The duo added 49 runs for the opening wicket in just 4 overs. Howell broke the partnership, eventually, as he got rid of Gurbaz on the first ball of the 5th over.
Afif Hossain (3 off 10) also got out cheaply but Sadeera Samarawickrama and Fernando were taking the team closer to the target with ease. The Kings were 128 for 2 after 14.5 overs but from there, they, suddenly, slipped to 154 for 5 in 19 overs.
Lakmal got the vital wickets of Fernando (50), Samarawickrama (44) and Shoaib Malik (10) to bring his team back into the game. However, the runs were too less as 6 runs were needed only in the last six balls.
Rajitha hit the very first ball for a boundary and a run off a wide meant Jaffna Kings chased down the score with 4 balls remaining.
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