Dambulla Sixers Play-off chances washed away by rain

Monday, 3 August 2026 00:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Dilshan Madushanka took three wickets for Jaffna Kings

Kandy Royals advance to Play-offs as fourth team

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

PALLEKELE: Bad weather decided the fate of Dambulla Sixers, washing away their hopes of reaching the Lanka Premier League Play-offs when their final league match against Jaffna Kings ended in a no-result at the Rangiri Dambulla Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Only one innings was completed in the match with Dambulla Sixers invited to bat first posting a challenging total of 203-8. It was a must-win game for Dambulla Sixers and they had done enough with the bat, but as fate would have it, they never got an opportunity to bowl at the Jaffna Kings batters as relenting rain of a stop-start nature dragged the evening deep into the night forcing the umpires to finally surrender to the forces of nature to call of the contest at around 10.45 pm.

The one point that Jaffna Kings earned from the match saw them finish on top of the final league standings with 11 points followed in second place by Galle Gallants with 10, Colombo Kaps with 8 and Kandy Royals with 6. Dambulla Sixers finished at the bottom with 5.

With the top four teams qualifying for the Play-offs on 5 August the double-header will see Galle Gallants meeting Jaffna Kings in Qualifier 1 at 3 pm, and Colombo Kaps and Kandy Royals meeting in the Eliminator at 7.30 pm at the R Premadasa Cricket Stadium.

Despite the wet conditions underfoot with the ground having experienced rain before the start of the match, Galle Gallants batted entertainingly under challenging conditions to reach their imposing total with skipper Dinesh Chandimal finally coming good setting the tone with a brisk 44 off 24 balls (2 fours, 4 sixes) and Pavan Rathnayake slamming 47 off 28 balls (3 fours, 2 sixes). Gulbadin Naib chipped in with a crucial 20 off 18 balls as Dambulla Sixers shifted gears to amass 50 runs off the final five overs.

The Jaffna Kings fielders were outstanding on the wet outfield offering good support to their bowlers. Zahoor Khan and Dunith Wellalage made good use of the slower balls with the latter being a joy to watch picking up three wickets with his subtle variations. Dilshan Madushanka was impressive with his cutters and finished with three scalps maintaining excellent control throughout.

Scores:

Dambulla Sixers 203-8 (20) (Sahibzada Farhan 24, Dinesh Chandimal 44, Pavan Rathnayake 47, Gulbadin Naib 20, Dilshan Madushanka 3/32, Dunith Wellalage 2/24, Lizaad Williams 2/39) vs. Jaffna Kings