Jaffna Kings thrashed Galle Marvels by nine wickets to secure their fourth Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2024 title at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
They made light work of the 185-run target with explosive innings from Kusal Mendis and Rilee Rossouw.
Pathum Nissanka was dismissed on the very first ball of the Jaffna Kings’ batting innings, but spectacular performances from Kusal Mendis and Rilee Rossouw enabled them to complete the chase in just 15.4 overs.
Kusal Mendis, who scored a century in Qualifier 2 against the Kandy Falcons on Saturday, made an unbeaten 72 runs off 40 balls. South Africa’s Rossouw, on the other hand, struck a century off 50 balls and finished with an unbeaten 106 off 53 balls. His innings included nine fours and seven sixes.
Galle captain Niroshan Dickwella used six bowlers, but only Dwaine Pretorius managed to take a wicket. Star spinner Maheesh Theekshana conceded 34 runs in four overs without taking any wickets.
Earlier, Jaffna Kings won the toss and opted to bowl first. The decision paid off as they reduced Galle to 24/3 in 6.5 overs. Just when things started to look gloomy for Galle Marvels Bhanuka Rajapaksa rose to the occasion and scored 82 runs off 34 balls.
The left-hander blasted eight fours and as many as six sixes. He. forged two crucial partnerships – 62 off 32 with Tim Seifert for the fourth wicket, before a super handy 72-run partnership off 30 balls with Sahan Arachchige for the fifth wicket.
The knock helped Galle recover from their early blows and finish at 184/6 in 20 overs. Jaffna Kings pacer Asitha Fernando picked three wickets, while his partner Jason Behrendorff gave away just 18 runs in four overs for two wickets.
