Sports

Evans smashes hundred and seals Jaffna’s fate

Published

6 years ago

2020/12/11

One of the problems in tournaments is that you don’t want to peak too early. Jaffna Stallions maybe feeling the pinch. The well organized franchise won four straight games and everything was going their way. Then they started too many experiments and the wheels started coming off. Their loss at the hands of Colombo Kings yesterday at Suriyawewa was only by six runs, but more worryingly they have now lost three games in a row.

Three straight losses has resulted in them being pushed to number three in the points table after being the table leaders. This means that they will meet either Colombo Kings or Dambulla Viikings, both teams in good form, in the semis. Had they topped the table, their semi-final would have been against one of the two teams struggling to make an impact – Galle Gladiators or Kandy Tuskers.

Laurie Evans made a mark scoring the first ever century in the LPL. The opener finished unbeaten on 108 off 65 balls with nine fours and five sixes. His effort enabled Colombo Kings to finish with a competitive 173 for four and in the end it proved to be enough.

Suranga Lakmal, who shared the new ball, was on the money finishing with figures of one for 26 in his four overs. The leg-spin of Wanindu Hasaranga was tidy as always but the most efficient was off-spinner Mahesh Theekshana, whose three overs just cost 17 runs.

The run chase didn’t gain momentum until Thisara Perera joined Shoaib Malik. When the pair were out in the middle, the target of 174 looked well within Jaffna Stallions’ reach and into the bargain there were some costly fielding mistakes as well.

However, their dismissals in successive deliveries took the momentum away from Jaffna Stallions. Andre Russell claimed both wickets to finish with three for 46.

Colombo Kings have gained momentum leading up to the business end of the competition. Their coach Herschelle Gibbs wasn’t to be seen in the dugout yesterday. It’s said that he had been suspended by the franchise following an altercation with a senior player of the side. They will have to patch up differences and turn up focused for today’s game against Colombo Viikings.

Although both teams are through to the semis, this ain’t a dead rubber. The winner of this contest will top the group and will not have to worry about playing Jaffna Stallions in the semi-final.

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Colombo Kaps down Dambulla Sixers by 21 runs

Published

10 hours ago

2026/07/26

Priyan

Colombo Kaps defended 197 runs to win the 12th match of the Lanka Premier League by restricting Dambulla Sixers to 176/8 at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Saturday [25] night.

SCORES:
Colombo Kaps 197/5 in 20 overs [Rubin Hermann 39, Sadeera Samarawickrema 16, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 12, Kamindu Mendis 88*, Ben McDermott 14, Janith Liyanage 17; Fazalhaq Farooki 1-41, Dushmantha Chameera 1-41, Ramesh Mendis 1-05, Gulabdin Naib 1-15]
Dambulla Sixers 176/8 in 20 overs [Pavan Rathnayake 50, Marques Ackerman 40, Gulabdin Naib 28, Maheesh Thhekshana 13; Shahnawaz Dahani 2-20, Wanuja Sahan 1-34, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-33, Malsha Tharupathi 1-26, Milan Rathnayake 1-26]

Latest News

Kandy Royals win by 11 runs

Published

10 hours ago

2026/07/26

Priyan

Nuwan Thushara starred with three wickets

Kandy Royals’ bowlers led by Nuwan Thushara were able to defend their score of 165 to win the 11th match of the Lanka Premier League by defeating Galle Gallants by 11 runs at Dambulla on Saturday.

SCORES:
Kandy Royals 165/6 in 20 overs [Lahiru Udara 16, Dale Phillips 34, Wanidu Hasaranga 16, Moeen Ali 41, Angelo Mathews 28, Vijay Shankar 15; Pramod Madushan 2-41, Akif Javed 2-26, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 2-36]

Galle Gallants 154/8 in 20 overs [Sam Harper 14, Charith Asalanka 14, Chamika Karunarathne 52, Dasun Shanaka 57*; Nuwan Thushara 3-33, Asitha Fernando 2-33, Moeen Ali 1-11, Wanidu Hasaranga 1-26]

Sports

Jaffna Kings LPL side under SLC purview

Published

17 hours ago

2026/07/26

Thilina Walpola

Jaffna Kings former co-owner Manjot Kalra is in judicial custody until July 31

Innovative Production Group (IPG), the tournament rights holder of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), in consultation with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has terminated the franchise agreement with Sports Commune, which was granted franchise rights of the Jaffna Kings.

The termination follows the franchisee’s inability to fulfil its financial obligations under the terms of the franchise agreement. As a result, all rights relating to the Jaffna Kings franchise have reverted to IPG, which, together with Sri Lanka Cricket, has assumed full operational control of the team.

IPG confirms that the 6th edition of the LPL will proceed as scheduled and Jaffna Kings will continue to participate in the tournament under the same nomenclature, with no changes to the squad, tournament format, or match schedule.

To ensure the uninterrupted operation of the franchise, IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket have taken complete responsibility for all player, coaching staff, and support staff contracts. The organizers also confirm that all logistical arrangements for the team have been secured, ensuring the squad is intact for the tournament.

Furthermore, approximately 90% of all player and staff payments have already been completed, with the remaining payments to be settled in accordance with contractual commitments.

IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket remain committed to delivering a successful sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League while upholding the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and transparency for players, teams, commercial partners, and fans.