After suffering a loss in a thrilling super-over, Kandy faces Dambulla in the first Saturday double-header of Sri Lanka T20 League 2020. Dambulla is yet to announce its captain, while Kandy will be led by Kusal Perera.
Match Timings: Nov 28, 3:30 PM (IST)
Team Preview
Dambulla will start its Sri Lanka T20 League campaign with a clash against Kusal Perera’s Kandy, who lost their opening fixture in a Super-Over. Kandy made a high-flying start scoring a total of 219, riding on Kushal Perera’s 52-balls 87 and Gurbaz’s 22-balls 53. Colombo almost chased down the target on a pure batting track, but Kandy took the game into the super-over. Kandy failed to chase 17 in the super-over, and Colombo clinched the thriller.
Gurbaz has offered good depth in the opening slot with Kusal Perera. Gunaratne and Mendis also contributed in middle-overs. Kandy will now look to build their bowling unit, which gave 200 plus runs in the 2nd innings. Dale Steyn can replace Irfan Pathan, who suffered an injury in the previous match. Naveen-ul-Haq and Nuwan Pradeep need to carry their form as the duo picked four wickets together. Anjula went for 48 in the last match, and Perera can pick another player who can bowl well in middle-overs. In the last match, Kendy tried seven bowlers, and Pathan’s injury made the task difficult.
Meanwhile, Dambulla gets its campaign underway, and they got the best batting unit with local players such as Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga, and Oshada Fernando. The trio will start in the top-order for Dambulla. They got Irish star Paul Stirling in the opening slot, giving them the 6th bowling option too. To deliver the acceleration, in the end, they have got Dasun Shanaka. From the domestic circuit, Dambulla included Angelo Perera and Ramesh Mendis.
Afghanistan's Samiullah Shinwari would fancy chances in the bowling attack. In the pace attack, Lahiru Kumara finds his name in the squad who have performed for Sri Lanka in white-ball earlier. Kasun Rajitha, Aftab Alam, and Sudeep Tyagi will also be seen in this bowling unit. In the spin department, Samit Patel joined the squad who recently won Blast and played for Lahore in Pak T20 League. They can also look for left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara who had good numbers in the domestic season.
Pitch Report
Hambantota’s track is a pure batting paradise, and it offers a lot of runs. It’s a day game, so we might expect plenty of help to spinners in both innings. Chasing would be a great call on this surface.
Possible XI
Kandy
Kusal Perera (c & wk), Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Del Styen, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Nuwan Pradeep, Seekkuge Prasanna, Naveen-ul-Haq, Kamindu Mendis, Lasith Embuldeniya, Kaveeshka Anjula
Dambulla
Paul Stirling, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dasun Shanaka, Samiullah Shenwari, Samit Patel, Lahiru Kumara, Oshanda Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Upul Tharanga, Angelo Perera, Dilshan Madushanka,
Key Players
Kandy
Kushal Perera
Previous outing: 87 (52)
Kusal Mendis
WI ODI series – M: 3, Runs: 194, Avg: 64.67
Dambulla
Paul Stirling
T20 Blast 2020 – M: 10, Runs: 232, SR: 152.63
Samit Patel
T20 Blast 2020 – M: 11, Wickets: 11, Avg: 26
