A 36 ball 63 by Sahan Arachchige and three wickets each by Eshan Malinga [3-13] and Tharindu Rathnayake [3-19] helped Galle Gallants defeat Jaffna Kings by 60 runs in the 10th match of the Lanka Premier League 2026. Galle Gallants lead the points table with three wins from four outings.

Scores:
Galle Gallants 193/8 in 20 overs [Chris Lynn 46, Sahan Arachchige 63, Dasun Shanaka 12, Dinura Kalupahana 10, Mohammad Nawaz 27; Mohamed Shiraz 1-23, Dunith Wellalage 1-13, Shakib Al Hasan 1-27, Dilshan Madushanaka 2-35, Lizaad Williams 2-37]

Jaffna Kings 133 in 17.5 overs [Kamil Mishara 15, Ibrahim Zadran 11, David Weise 22, Dunith Wellalage 56; Dasun Shanaka 1-21, Tharindu Rathnayake 3-19, Akif Javed 1-22, Eshan Malinga 3-13, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 1-32]

Hosts Sri Lanka made a winning start to their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV campaign, edging out Qatar 2-1 in a closely contested opening-day tie at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts in Colombo on Wednesday.

The visitors struck first when Mubarak Alharrasi defeated Sri Lanka’s Apna Perera 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a hard-fought opening singles encounter, giving Qatar an early 1-0 lead.

Sri Lanka bounced back in the second singles as Thehan Wijemanne produced a spirited comeback to overcome Mossa Alharrasi 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. After dropping the opening set, Wijemanne showed great composure to win the next two sets and level the tie at 1-1.

The decisive doubles match proved to be a tense affair, with Apna Perera returning to partner Saha Kapilasena. The Sri Lankan duo held their nerve in two tie-breaks to defeat Jabar Al Mutawan and Mossa Alharrasi 7-6, 7-6, sealing the tie 2-1 for the hosts.

Sri Lanka’s ability to recover from the opening singles defeat highlighted the team’s resilience as Wijemanne’s comeback victory and the doubles pair’s clutch performance ensured a successful start to their campaign. The hosts will now look to build on the opening-day victory as they continue their quest for promotion in the Asia/Oceania Group IV competition.

MCA PREMIER LEAGUE 2026

A 253 run sixth wicket partnership between Vinuka Rubasinghe [142 runs off 124 balls] and Lahiru Samarakoon [177 runs off 77 balls] set the foundation for David Pieris Group of Companies to amass 411/7 against DFCC Bank in the opening match of the Mercantile Cricket Association’s Premier League Cricket tournament played at the Thurstan Ground on Thursday [23]

Lahiru smashed 18 fours and 13 sixes in his 177 while Vinuka smashed 16 fours and 3 sixes in his 124 ball 142. Nipun Premarathne, Sandaru Wickremarathne and Raveen de Silva captured two wickets each.

In the chase Mihiranga Nimsara and Tharindu Nirmal captured three wickets each to restrict DFCC Bank to 257/8 in their 50 overs. Raveen de Silva top scored with 79 off 103 balls while Pavan Pathirajah chipped in with 65 runs.

SCORES:

David Pieris Group of Companies

411/7in 50 overs [Vinuka Rubasinghe 142, Lahiru Samarakoon 177; Nipun Premarathne 2-67, Sandaru Wickremarathne 2-65, Raveen de Silva 2-79]

DFCC Bank

252/8 in 50 overs [Raveen de Silva 79, Pavan Pathiraja 56 ; Mihiranga Nimsara 3-57 , Tharindu Nirmal 3-35]