Lanka Premier League: Skipper Rajapakse steers Jaffna Kings to first win

By M. Shamil Amit

An unbeaten 61 off 37 balls, inclusive of four boundaries and four sixes by skipper Bhanuka Rajapakse, paved the way for Jaffna Kings to record a comfortable five-wicket win over Dambulla Sixers in the Lanka Premier League tournament encounter played at the SSC grounds yesterday.
Jaffna Kings, in pursuit of 131 runs for victory, reached the target with six balls to spare to secure their first win of the tournament, despite undergoing some anxious moments in the early stages of the innings before Rajapakse anchored the chase.
Jaffna Kings lost three early wickets with the score on 35 in the seventh over, before Ibrahim Zadran and skipper Rajapakse rescued the innings with a 47-run stand for the fourth wicket. With the score on 82 for 4, they lost another wicket for the addition of 11 runs, leaving them in a spot of bother at 93 for 5 in the 15th over.
Skipper Rajapakse came to the rescue of the side once again, partnering with Dunith Wellalage to see the team through. The pair shared a valuable, unbroken match-winning partnership of 40 runs to seal the victory for Jaffna Kings.
Earlier in the day, Dambulla Sixers were invited to take first lease of the wicket, but their top-order batting failed to make any impression. They lost wickets at regular intervals, and with no significant partnerships developing, they were in deep trouble, struggling at 69 for 4 at the halfway stage of the innings.
From there onwards they never recovered, despite some resistance from Pavan Ratnayake. Unfortunately, he was forced to watch partners fall at the other end as Dambulla Sixers lost four quick wickets for the addition of 40 runs, collapsing to 109 for 8 in the 17th over. They only succeeded in adding another 21 runs before being bowled out for 130, which proved to be insufficient.