Kusal Perera smashed his way to the fastest 100 in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) off 50 balls, but his effort proved in vain as Jaffna Kings put up a much stronger display of batting to win the contest off the last ball by four wickets to secure their first win of the 2024 tournament at the Pallekele Cricket Stadium.
In the fifth match of the tournament, against Jaffna Kings, Perera’s superb century was also his career-best innings. His innings powered Dambulla to a total of 191 for 2 wickets. However, they couldn’t prevent defeat as Jaffna Kings clinched a 4-wicket victory in a thrilling final over.
At the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Dambulla Sixers lost the toss and batted first. Jaffna Kings found early success, dismissing opener Danushka Gunathilaka for just 9 runs off 11 balls. Nuwanidu Fernando, coming in at number three, then partnered with opener Kusal Perera, and together they brought Dambulla back into the match with a 108-run stand off 64 balls.
Towhid Hridoy, who was dismissed for just 1 run in the previous match, didn’t get a chance to bat today. Dambulla lost only two wickets in their allotted 20 overs, amassing a substantial score of 191 runs. Kusal Perera remained unbeaten on 102 off 50 balls, marking the first century of LPL 2024. His 50-ball century is the fastest in LPL history.
In reply, Jaffna Kings lost Kusal Mendis’ wicket early. Mustafizur Rahman struck in his first over, the 4th of the innings, dismissing Mendis for just 6 runs, with a catch at short third man. Mustafizur’s economical bowling continued as he conceded only 6 runs and took a wicket in his first over. Jaffna Kings lost two more wickets in the next two overs after the powerplay.
Mustafizur came back for his third over and gave away only 3 runs, dismissing the dangerous Charith Asalanka. In his final over, he conceded 11 runs. Although Towhid Hridoy did not get a chance to bat, he contributed with a direct throw to run out Dhananjaya in Mustafizur’s final over. However, Avishka Fernando’s superhuman 80-run innings off 34 balls took the match away from Dambulla. Fabian Allen ensured Jaffna’s victory by hitting a six off the last ball, securing a 4-wicket win for Jaffna Kings.
