Dambulla Giants and Jaffna Kings will go head to head against each other in the 3rd league match of the Lanka Premier League 2022 at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota. Hambantota will host the initial 5 matches of the tournament, and the pitch has to be well maintained for the same.
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Dambulla Giants will be led by the Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka, who has impressed everyone with his leadership skills. This team will rely on the all-rounders, and Sikandar Raza has to be the most important player of this side. Haider Ali, Tom Abell and Bhanuka Rajapaksa are going to lead the batting department.
The batting of Jaffna Kings failed in the last match, where the likes of Shoaib Malik, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Avishka Fernando, etc failed to get going. It will be interesting to see how the batting of the side will fare in this match.
Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium pitch report
This will be the 3rd straight match at Hambantota’s Mahinda Rajapaksa International cricket stadium, and this will certainly play a part in this very match. The tracks in Sri Lanka are on the slower side generally, and the track can behave the same in this match as well.
A total of 4 matches were played here in the LPL last season, where three of them were won by the teams batting first, and the average 1st innings score was 187 runs. So, it is clear that batting in the first innings was easy, but the pitch went slow as the match went on. Even in the 1st match of LPL 2022, batting was not at all easy, and the ball gripped on the wicket.
The boundaries of this ground are not that big, so it is good news for the batters, but the outfield is not that fast. Anything around 150 runs is a very good fighting score on this track. An overcast day is expected in Hambantota, so both captains may opt to bowl upon winning the toss.
