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.