‘Babar hatao Colombo strikers team bachao’ – Fans react as Colombo Strikers suffer 21-run defeat against Jaffna Kings in LPL 2023 opener

The great middle-order batter Towhid Hridoy’s half-century helped the Jaffna Kings win the opening match against the Colombo Stars by 21 runs in the Lanka Premier League at R. Premadasa Stadium.

Earlier, the Colombo Stars skipper won the toss and invited the Jaffna Kings to bat first. Put into bat first, the Kings posted a score of 173 runs in the given 20 overs. Notably, the team didn’t have a good start as they lost their openers Madushka (12) and Gurbaz (21) early. Later, Hridoy’s half-century helped them put a respectable score on the board. The great batter hammered 54 runs from just 39 balls, featuring four boundaries and a six.

Following the chase, the Colombo Stars had a wonderful start as their opener, Dickwella, struck 58 runs from just 34 balls, featuring nine boundaries and a six. Notably, Babar Azam just departed for 7 runs and couldn’t contribute much on the other side. As the skipper departed after his magnificent knocks, Nissanka (1), Fernando (17), and Nawaz (3) collapsed early. In addition, Karunaratne and Mendis were looking in solid form but got out after scoring 23 and 17 runs, respectively, with a decent strike rate. Later, the team couldn’t continue the momentum and collapsed for 152 runs in 19.4 overs.

Really good start to the 4th edition: Perera

Jaffna Kings skipper Thisara Perera expressed his happiness during the post-match presentation. The great batter affirmed that this was a fantastic start to their journey, and he was confident in his team. The left-handed batter also confirmed that David Miller and Nandre Burger will be gearing up for the next matches.

“Really good start to the 4th edition. We did a great job. Very confident about my players. If someone is gone, I don’t worry about it, we build another team. David Miller and Nandre Burger have already arrived and they will be available for the next game,” Perera said during the post-match presentation.

Check here how the fans have reacted to the same: