PALLEKELE: Dunith Wellalage annihilated Galle Titans with a four-fer before Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s half-century led Jaffna Kings to a dominant eight victory in the seventh match of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023.
Chasing a modest 118, the Kings comfortably chased down the total for the loss of just two wickets and 44 balls to spare, thanks to a brisk half-century by Gurbaz.
The Kings lost their first wicket in the pursuit on 17 with Shamyl Hussain returning to the hut for five off 10 balls.
Right-handed batter Gurbaz was joined by Towhid Hridoy and the pair knitted an anchoring 83-run partnership for the second wicket.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz contributed 46 runs in the partnership and over the course of the second-wicket stand brought up a brilliant half-century.
The duo appeared to be in complete command to steer the Kings over the line before Shakib Al Hasan struck again to get rid of Gurbaz with the Kings still requiring 18 for victory off 52 balls.
The wicketkeeper batter struck three boundaries and five sixes on his way to top score for the Kings with a 39-ball 54.
Hridoy and David Miller then made sure there were no hiccups in the run-chase and took the Kings home in the 13th over.
After a late blitz, Hridoy remained unbeaten with a 23-ball 44 which featured two boundaries and four sixes.
Earlier, after opting to bat first in a bid to get behold of their top LPL spot, Galle Titans managed to score 120 for nine in 20 overs after left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage wreaked havoc with a four-fer.
For the Titans, skipper Dasun Shanaka top-scored with a cautious 24-ball 30, laced up with two boundaries and two sixes.
The next notable run-getters for the Titans were openers Shevon Daniel (25) and Lasith Croospulle (19).
Besides Wellalage, Nandre Burger picked two wickets while Charith Asalanka and Maheesh Theekshana made one scalp each.
The dominant eight-victory propelled holders Jaffna Kings to pip Galle Titans at the top of the LPL standings. Both teams have four points after three matches.
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