‘Pura one-man show tha’ – Fans react as Avishka Fernando’s knock of 70* powers Dambulla Aura to 7-wicket win over Galle Titans in LPL 2023

The 14^th game of the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL) pitted the Dambulla Aura against the Galle Titans. The game saw the Auras defeat the Titans by 7 wickets and further consolidate their position at the top of the standings of LPL 2023. Dambulla won the toss and elected to field first in Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium. They dropped a brilliant all-round performance to restrict the Titans to 133/9 in 20 overs.

Dushan Hemantha remained the pick of the bowlers for the Auras with figures of 2/31 in four overs. Every other player who bowled returned with one wicket. These included Binura Fernando, Hasan Ali, Dhananjaya de Silva, Hayden Kerr, and Noor Ahmad. Their top-class fielding performances also included two brilliant run-outs.

Avishka Fernando of the Dambulla Aura remained the ‘Player of the Match’

In reply, the Auras had a straight-forward job as they chased the target down with 14 balls to spare. Opener Avishka Fernando remained the star of the show with a knock of 70* off 49, including three fours and three sixes. Skipper Kusal Mendis smashed 18 off 24, including a four whereas Sadeera Samarawickrama smashed 25 off 18, including four boundaries. Talking of the bowling from the Titans, Lahiru Kumara remained the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/31 from his four overs whereas Shakib Al Hasan scalped the other wicket.

The win saw the Dambulla Aura climb to the summit of the LPL 2023 standings with eight points from six games. The Galle Titans, on the other hand, are struggling at the bottom of the table with four points from six games. The Colombo Strikers also have four points in their bag. But they have one game in hand. For the second and the third positions, B-Love Kandy and Jaffna Kings are tied at six points but, Kandy have one game in hand.

Next in the LPL 2023, a doubleheader awaits fans on Saturday, 12 August. The Jaffna Kings and B-Love Kandy will face off in the first game which is a crucial encounter in the top half of the table. Whereas the bottom two teams, Dambulla Aura and Colombo Strikers will be facing off in the second game which could be a game of survival for the two teams.

Here’s how fans reacted:

https://twitter.com/ds7456650/status/1690041118187208704

https://twitter.com/ds7456650/status/1690050096296230912