Asalanka and Malinga lead Galle to maiden LPL title

Charith Asalanka wheels away after taking a wicket Sri Lanka Cricket

Galle Gallants 126 for 5 (Rogers 34, Shakib 2-15, Mathew 2-15) beat Jaffna Kings 123 (Mishara 41, Asalanka 3-20, Malinga 3-25) by five wickets

Charith Asalanka and Eshan Malinga shared six wickets between them as Galle Gallants clinched a low-scoring final to secure their first Lanka Premier League (LPL) title, in Colombo. After the pair dismissed Jaffna Kings for 123, Gallants wrapped up the chase with five wickets and 25 balls to spare at the Premadasa Stadium.

Malinga's three-wicket haul placed him at the top of the wickets charts, with 17 strikes overall at an economy rate of 9.32. Malinga combined well with Asalanka, the batting allrounder, to run through Kings' middle order.

Wicketkeeper-opener Kamil Mishara was the only Kings batter to pass 25 in their innings. He scored 41 off 32 balls before Malinga cut his knock short in the 13th over. Allrounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe was the second-highest scorer for Kings with 25 off 16 balls.

Tharindu Ratnayake, the ambidextrous spinner, also did his bit, picking up 2 for 14.

In response, Gallants lost Sam Harper in the first over, but Tom Rogers, his Australian compatriot, smoothed the chase with 34 off 27 balls. In the ninth over, Shakib Al Hasan engineered a double-strike to remove Rogers and Dinura Kalupahana (31 off 19 balls), and Chamika Karunaratne fell shortly after, but Dasun Shanaka and Sahan Arachchige got the job done for Gallants.

Gallants 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st7SB HarperTF Rogers
2nd3KIC AsalankaTF Rogers
3rd64TF RogersD Kalupahana
4th1C KarunaratneD Kalupahana
5th28C KarunaratneSSD Arachchige
6th23MD ShanakaSSD Arachchige