Top News

Galle Gallants (GG) by Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2026 Making a great start to the campaign Jaffna Kings (JK) Put up an impressive performance against on Thursday, 17 July at the SSC Ground in Colombo. After a strong batting performance to post a huge total, the Gallants backed it up with an excellent effort with the ball and secured a comfortable win in the opening match of the tournament.

Charith Asalanka shines, Galle Gallants cross 200 mark

Asked to bat first, Galle Gallants posted an impressive score of 213/6 in their allotted 20 overs. foundation of this innings Charith Asalanka Rahe, who played a brilliant inning of 65 runs off 38 balls, which included seven fours and three sixes, and took over the innings during the middle overs.

Sam Harper Gave an explosive start scoring 40 runs off just 19 balls, while Sahan Arachchige Made an important contribution of 35 runs off 24 balls, which kept the scoreboard moving. Mohammad Nawaz also made an important contribution by scoring 21 runs, after which the captain Dasun Shanaka Made a great finish.

The captain scored an unbeaten 31 off just nine balls, hitting two fours and three sixes, helping Galle Gallants cross the 200-run mark. For Jaffna Kings, Lizaad Williams And Piyush Chawla took two wickets each, while Dunith Wellalage Bowled an economical spell giving only 10 runs in three overs.

Eshan Malinga led a clinical bowling performance

Chasing a challenging target of 214, Jaffna Kings made a positive start but failed to build a solid partnership as wickets fell at regular intervals. Wellalage struggled scoring 40 runs off 24 balls, while Avishka Fernando 34 more Kamil Mishara Scored 28 runs on 14 balls. Chamindu Wickramasinghe also entertained, scoring 24 runs off just 10 balls, but neither batsman could convert their opening score into a match-determining innings.

The Gallants’ bowling attack maintained constant pressure throughout the chase, with Eshan Malinga emerged as a standout performance. The right-arm pacer bowled a brilliant spell of 4/26, dismantling the Kings’ batting lineup at crucial moments. Akif Javed Provided excellent support by taking 2/31, ensuring that the required run rate continued to rise. Jaffna Kings were eventually all out for 177 runs in 19.4 overs, giving Galle Gallants a clear 36-run win to get their LPL 2026 campaign off to a great start.