Wickramasinghe’s 43 run blitz, Lizaad Williams’ 3-30 take Jaffna Kings to their second win

• Chamindu Wickramasinghe’s 22-ball 43 and a 65-run opening stand between Mishara and Fernando took Jaffna Kings to a total of 179
• A tale of contrasting powerplays, Jaffna Kings scored 44/0, while Colombo Kaps struggled to 37/3 in opening six overs
• Lizaad Williams goes top of the wickets leaderboard with eight wickets in the tournament so far

Jaffna Kings grabbed their second win of the tournament by proving slow and steady wins the race against Colombo Kaps in the seventh match of the Lanka Premier League 2026 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in afternoon match of the Wednesday double-header.

Jaffna Kings were steady with the bat making sure they don’t lose early wickets and collapse, openers
Avishka Fernando (34 off 28) and Kamil Mishara (39 off 30) broke their own record of this season’s highest opening partnership, scoring 65 runs in 8.5 overs. Wanuja Sahan finally broke the stand by trapping Mishara in front of the stumps.

After this stand, Chamindu Wickramasinghe was promoted to number three and hit four boundaries and two maximums to up the ante collecting 43 runs off just 22 balls before being dismissed by Shahnawaz Dahani, who was playing his first match this season. Then Dunith Wellalage (19 off 13) and Shakib al Hasan (10 not out off 5) finished the innings, taking the total upto 179 by scoring 37 runs in the last three overs against Dahani, as well as Hasan Mahmud and Milan Rathnayake.

Ibrahim Zadran, who later made way for Lizaad Williams, also chipped in with 19 runs off 17 balls hitting two fours.
Jaffna continued with the momentum in the second innings as well, as Traveen Mathew, Dilshan Madushanka and tWilliams took a wicket each to set the tone for defence, leaving Colombo Kaps 30/3 in five overs.

Ben McDermott, the impact sub in place of Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, failed to make a mark as the stand-in skipper Kamindu Mendis was the only batter to cross into double figures from the top five of Jaffna Kings, leaving the equation to 128 runs required off 71 balls.

However, Kamindu also holed one out to Chamindu Wickramasinghe on the leg-side and got out on 58 off 42 deliveries scoring three boundaries and two maximums. Traveen Mathew finished the spell with 2/21 in four overs, dismissing the skipper as well as opener Rubin Hermann.

Williams and Wellalage took a wicket each while the eighth wicket partnership settled down with Rathnayake taking down both the above bowlers for runs, before Williams dismissed him for 15 runs off 8 balls, leaving Colombo requiring 38 runs off 15 balls.

Dilshan Madushanka delivered a clinical penultimate over, conceding just 6 runs, leaving his team in a better place as Zahoor Khan’s last over went for 21 runs, but still it was not enough for Colombo Kaps. Wanuja Sahan fought back with 35 off 15 balls hitting six fours and one six but in vain.

Brief Scores
Jaffna Kings: 179/10 (20)
Chamindu Wickramasinghe: 43 (22)
Kamil Mishara: 39 (30)
Avishka Fernando: 34 (28)

Shahnawaz Dahani: 2/25 (4)
Mujeeb ur Rahman: 2/33 (4)

Colombo Kaps: 182/4 (19.4)
Kamindu Mendis: 58 (42)
Wanuja Sahan: 35 (15)
Sharujan Shanmuganathan: 26 (17)

Lizaard Williams: 3/30 (4)
Dilshan Madushanka: 2/12 (3)
Traveen Mathew: 2/21 (4)