The 3rd edition of the Lanka Premier League is set to start with the match between Jaffna Kings and Galle Gladiators at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota. This is the re-match of last year’s final and both teams would want to get a win here in this match.
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Jaffna Kings are the defending champions, and they will be led by all-rounder Thisara Perera this season. Apart from Perera, they have some star all-rounders like Shoaib Malik, Dhananjaya de Silva and Jimmy Neesham in their ranks. In batting, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Avishka Fernando will be their main top-order batters.
Galle Gladiators have lost both the last finals, and they would want to get their hands on the trophy this time around. Kusal Mendis will captain the side, who was brilliant in the T20 World Cup. With players like Iftekhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Kusal Perera, Mohammad Hasnain, etc in the mix, this is a decent squad as well.
Hambantota Cricket Stadium pitch report
Hambantota cricket stadium has not hosted a T20I match since 2013, but it did host four matches of the Lanka Premier League last season. Like any Sri Lankan track, this pitch is also a good one for the spinners, and they will again play a big part in this edition of the tournament as well.
Waniya 😍#LankaPremierLeague2022 #LPL #LPLT20 #cricket #T20 #T20Cricket pic.twitter.com/GXJhN3mHtv
— LPL – Lanka Premier League (@LPLT20) December 4, 2022
A total of 7 T20Is have been played here, where the average 1st innings score was just 131 runs. However, in the last LPL, it was a great track for batting. In the 4 matches last year, the average 1st innings score was 186 runs, and three of them were won by the teams batting first. This track is brilliant for batting in the 1st innings and gets slower as the match goes on.
The boundaries of this ground are quite small, and it will be easier for the batters to clear the fence. It is a day game so both captains may look to bat first upon winning the toss in this match.
