Dambulla Sixers suffer 7/43 collapse after Sahibzada’s 74 to give Kandy Royals first win in LPL 2026

Kandy Royals jumped from bottom of the table to second position after their come-from-behind win against Dambulla Sixers, who threw away the 195-run chase

Wanindu Hasaranga’s all-round performance (29 and 1-19 in 4) coupled with Lahiru Udara’s fifty and Nuwan Thushara’s four-fer took Royals over the line as the LPL 2026 entered its Dambulla leg

Wanindu Hasaranga became second Sri Lankan bowler to take 350 T20 wickets, while Angelo Mathews became fourth Sri Lankan to cross the 1000-run mark in LPL

Dambulla Sixers lost their second consecutive game in the Lanka Premier League 2026 as they were strangulated by Angelo Mathews’ Kandy Royals who took seven wickets for 43 runs to win by 43 runs as well after the home team looked on course to chase 195 when they were 106-1 in 11 overs.

At the beginning of the chase, the Dambulla Sixers came out all guns blazing as the opening duo of Sahibzada Farhan and Dinesh Chandimal (12 off 7) collected 57 runs in 5.2 overs. The Sixers skipper became Nuwan Thushara’s first of four preys.

Sahibzada, who came in as Impact sub for Fazalhaq Farooqi, finally tapped into his red-hot form and unleashed seven fours and four sixes during his entertaining 74 off 45 balls. He shared 51-run stand with Niroshan Dickwella (26 off 23), which came to an end when Dushan Hemantha got Sahibzada caught at long off.

At that point, Sixers were requiring just a shade under 10 runs an over and had nine wickets in the bag but Royals had other ideas. They cut through Sixers’ middle and lower order with fine precision as a wicket fell in each of the 12th, 14th, 15th, 18th and 19th overs, while impact sub Thushara struck twice on two balls in the 17th over to break the back of chase.

No Sixers batter crossed the double digits apart from top four, while Reeza Hendricks’ 21-ball 27 was also not enough as he tried to launch a counterattack with a six and two fours but became Shaheen Shah Afridi’s solitary wicket of the day.

Player of the match Hasaranga backed up his blitzy 15-ball 29 hitting two fours and two sixes, with figures 4-0-19-1, while Thushara finished with four for 29 in his four. Hemantha gave 23 runs for his two scalps in three overs. Thushara now sits atop the wicket-takers column with seven poles.

Sixers have now lost back-to-back games after opening their account with a win in Colombo, while Royals’ maiden win catapulted them to number two on the table from the pits of it.

After being put into bat, Royals’ batting effort was once again spearheaded by Lahiru Udara, who scored second consecutive fifty (51 off 34) hitting five fours and two sixes and went top of the batting charts in the ongoing season with 148 runs.

Udara came in after Vishen Hembalage departed for run-a-ball seven in the third over. He shared a 55-run stand with Kusal Perera (25 off 20) and a quickfire 18-ball 38-run stand with Moeen Ali, who gathered 24 off 13 hitting three sixes and one four.

After Hasaranga and Udara were separated for a 18-run partnership in the 14th over with Royals 124-4, Mathews joined the leg-spinning all-rounder in the middle and the duo laid the base for a healthy total with 32-run stand off just 2.4 overs.

Mathews’ 29 not out off 19 balls on the back of four fours also included the milestone of him becoming fourth Sri Lankan to 1,000 LPL runs after Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis and Chandimal.

Vijay Shankar contributed a vital 13 not out off seven balls hitting two fours and partnered with skipper Mathews for a 16-ball 31-run unbeaten stand, which ensured the total of 194/6 in 20 overs for Royals.

On Wednesday, Colombo Kaps will take on Jaffna Kings in afternoon game, while Dambulla Sixers will lock horns with Galle Gallants.

Brief Scores

Kandy Royals: 194/6 (20)
Lahiru Udara 51 (34)
Wanindu Hasaranga 29 (15)
Angelo Mathews 29* (19)
Kusal Perera 25 (20)

Fazalhaq Farooqi 2/20 (4)
Dushmantha Chameera 1/37 (4)

Dambulla Sixers: 151/8 (20)
Sahibzada Farhan 74 (45)
Reeza Hendricks 27 (21)
Niroshan Dickwella 26 (23)

Nuwan Thushara 4-29 (4)
Dushan Hemantha 2-23 (3)

Player of the match – Wanindu Hasaranga