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B-Love Kandy are the new Lanka Premier League champions. Angelo Mathews' men defeated Dambulla Aura by five wickets in a thrilling final at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on August 20 (Sunday). In what was a topsy-turvy summit clash, B-love Kandy appeared to be cruising towards victory at one stage before the pressure of the final seem to get them off track. Despite a mini hiccup, Kandy chased down the target with one ball to spare.
In pursuit 148-run target, Kandy got off to a decent start with Mohammad Haris and Kamindu Mendis forging an alliance of 49 runs for the opening wickets. Haris departed after scoring 26 runs off 22 balls with the help of three fours and a six. Mendis was the top-scorer for Kandy as he scored 44 runs off 37 balls with the help of three fours and a six.
At 94/1, it appeared like Kandy will win the game with an over or two to spare. But their innings stuttered as the pressure of a final took its toll. Veteran Dinesh Chandimal scored 24 runs off 22 balls while Matthews scored 25 not out off 21 balls.
In the end, Kandy needed a quick-fire cameo of 19 runs off 10 balls from Asif Ali, who smacked two fours and a six in his innings. Needing six runs off the final over, Kandy ambled to the promised land with a ball to spare.
For Dambulla, Noor Ahmad was the pick of all bowlers as he finished with figures of 3/27 in four overs. Binura Fernando bagged two wickets and conceded 31 runs in four overs.
Earlier, Dambulla Aura's skipper Kusal Mendis won the toss and decided to set a target in a high-pressure title clash. Dambulla got off to a very slow start as the top-order batters played with extra caution. Captain Mendis departed after scoring 22 runs off 23 balls, leaving his side at 68/2 after 10.1 overs.
Sadeera Samarawickrama, who walked out to bat at No.3, played a decent knock of 36 runs off 30 balls with the help of five fours. Kusal Perera remained unbeaten on 31 runs off 25 balls with the help of two fours and one six. Veteran all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva provided Dambulla's innings with the much-needed impetus by playing a quick-fire cameo. The elegant right-handed batter scored 40 runs off 29 balls with the help of three sixes as Dambulla posted a total of 147/4 in 20 overs.
For B-Love Kandy, Chaturanga de Silva was the pick of all bowlers as he finished with figures of 2/25 in four overs. Nuwan Pradeep and Mohammad Hasnain chipped in with a wicket each.
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