Colombo Stars defeated the Dambulla Aura by nine runs in a close encounter in the ongoing Lanka Premier League. With this win, the Stars earned their first points on the board as well and climbed to the third position in the table. Dambulla Aura, on the other hand, remained at the fourth position with no wins to show after two matches.
Kandy Falcons are at the top of the table with two wins in as many games, while Jaffna Kings are at second place with four points to their name as well. Galle Gladiators are rooted to the bottom of the table having lost both their games so far.
As far as the match is concerned, Niroshan Dickwella was the reason why Colombo Stars managed to post 165 runs on the board. He was well supported by Ravi Bopara and Dinesh Chandimal after the Stars were left reeling at 26/3. Lahiru Kumara was the best bowler for the Dambulla side, returning with figures of 4/36.
In response, Dambulla Aura got off to a brilliant start thanks to their openers Shevon Daniel and Jordan Cox adding more than 50 runs in less than five overs. With Tom Abell also looking good in the middle, at one stage, it felt like a cakewalk for them. They needed 50-odd runs in seven overs but lost their way since. Despite Dasun Shanaka’s brilliant cameo in the death overs, they fell short by nine runs.
Dickwella jumps into the top five
Niroshan Dickwella smashed 62 runs in the previous game and that has pushed him into the top five of the list of most run-getters of the season so far. He is at the fourth position with 67 runs in two matches at a strike rate of 148.89. Jordan Cox added a quick 29 runs in the previous game to take his tally to 72 runs in two outings.
He is at third place while Andre Fletcher is still ruling the charts with 122 runs to his name. Fletcher is the only centurion of the season so far. Pathum Nissanka is at the second position scoring 93 runs in two matches.
Kumara’s four-fer pushes him into top 10
Lahiru Kumara picked up four wickets in Match 5 of LPL 2022 and that has helped him jump to sixth place in the list of most wicket-takers of the season. Carlos Brathwaite sits pretty at the top of the pile with five wickets at an average of 7.20. His economy of six has also been excellent so far.
Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Wanindu Hasaranga also have five wickets to their name and are at second and third place respectively. Maheesh Theekshana and Nuwan Pradeep have occupied the next two places, picking up four wickets, and would be eager to add more to their tally.
