‘Team hi intahi bakwas ha’- Fans react as Jaffna Kings beat Colombo Strikers by 6 wickets in LPL 2023

Jaffna Kings (JK) beat Colombo Strikers (CS) by 6 wickets in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) on Tuesday, at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy. The three-time LPL champions came into this match with back-to-back losses and needed to get a win to be in the top four. They are now back in the playoffs race again.

Batting first Colombo Strikers made 146 for the loss of 8 wickets. In reply Jaffna Kings chased down the total with ease as they scored 150/4 in just 14.3 overs. Nishan Madushka scored maximum 46 runs off 32 balls from the team. Naseem Shah added 2 wickets to his account for Colombo Strikers.

Jaffna Kings bowlers shine against Colombo Strikers

Colombo batted first, and they struggled to get going. Both Babar and Pathum Nissanka got off to a good start, losing their first wicket for 57 runs in seven overs. Nissanka scored 36 runs off 25 balls, while Babar scored 24 runs off 21 balls. Lahiru Udara scored 29 runs, Mohammad Nawaz 27 runs, and Chamika Katunarate 21* runs.

Dunith Wellalage (2/9) and Dilshan Madushanka (2/23) kept the innings under control, and Pathum Nissanka’s resistance effort (36 off 25) could not push the Strikers above 146/8. In response, JK got off to a fast start thanks to their opening combination of Nishan Madushka and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

In 5.2 overs, they put on a 58-run partnership for the first wicket. Madushka hit 46 runs off 32 balls, while Gurbaz hit 39 off 21 balls. They increased their net run rate to 0.288 with this victory, and they now sit in third place on the leaderboard with six points from six games. CS is in fourth place with four points after five games.

CS captain Babar Azam after the loss stated, “We started well but didn’t capitalise in the middle overs. We also didn’t finish well. When we started we were looking at 180-190, but unfortunately, we lost back-to-back wickets. We’re just trying to learn from our mistakes and do our 100% going forward.”

The man of the match was presented to Dunith Wellalage, he said, “I want to thank my skipper and my bowling group for giving great support. I always trust myself and do the basics, and try to handle the match situation as best as I can.”

Here’s how fans reacted: 

Because BABAR wicket lost early 🥲

— awais_khan_ak (@awais_khan_ak) August 8, 2023

Poor captaincy by Babar Azam.

— Ugma Ram 𝕏 (@ugma_ram_) August 8, 2023

Poor performance by middle order and bowling was also not up to the mark.
Practice hard and all the best for next 3 games.
Hope we win next 3 matches

— Iqra Hussain (@Iqra_Hussain_ih) August 8, 2023

Abey kya kachra players daal rakhe Hain team mein, 2-3 players ko chhod kr baaki sb wastage 😡😡😡😡😡

— Mehak (@MehakBA56) August 8, 2023

It's not a bad total at all.. tbh the fielding is very bad 😞 there is no discipline in bowling too…

— M Owais (@AwaisKhokhar999) August 9, 2023

Team will Bounch back stronger Insha'Allah

— Rimsha🇵🇰 (@RimshaA15010819) August 8, 2023

You can't rely on Babar Azam all the time, your others batters need to take responsibility.

— ayeshay gul (@ayeshay_gul) August 9, 2023

That's alright. Colombo strikers gonna come back stronger in next game. We knw that 💜

— Hera (@Hera65432) August 8, 2023