By Dwayne Ferreira.
Kandy Royals beat Dambulla Sixers by 43 runs after scoring 194 for six, with Wanindu Hasaranga and Nuwan Thushara leading the victory.
Kandy Royals – 194/6 in 20 overs (Lahiru Udara 51, Wanindu Hasaranga 29, Angelo Mathews 29*, Fazalhaq Farooqi 2/20, Dushmantha Chameera 1/37, Maheesh Theekshana 1/39)
Dambulla Sixers – 151/8 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 74, Reeza Hendricks 27, Niroshan Dickwella 26, Nuwan Thushara 4/29, Dushan Hemantha 2/23, Wanindu Hasaranga 1/19)
Result: Kandy Royals won by 43 runs.
Player of the Match: Wanindu Hasaranga.
Kandy Royals secured their first victory of the Lanka Premier League 2026 with a convincing 43-run win over Dambulla Sixers at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Tuesday night.
After being asked to bat first, Kandy Royals posted an imposing 194 for six from their 20 overs. Dambulla then appeared well placed during the early stages of the chase but suffered a dramatic middle and lower-order collapse before finishing on 151 for eight.
Wanindu Hasaranga was named Player of the Match after producing an influential all-round performance. The Kandy all-rounder struck 29 from just 15 deliveries before returning figures of one wicket for 19 runs from four economical overs.
Lahiru Udara Anchors Strong Kandy Royals Total
Kandy lost Vishen Halambage for seven with the total on 13, but Kusal Perera and Lahiru Udara rebuilt the innings.
Perera made 25 from 20 balls, including two fours and a six, before being dismissed by Mohammad Wasim Jr. Udara continued to attack, completing a valuable half-century and finishing with 51 from 34 deliveries. His innings contained five fours and two sixes.
Moeen Ali accelerated the scoring with 24 from only 13 balls, striking three sixes, while Hasaranga’s rapid 29 included two fours and two sixes.
Captain Angelo Mathews then guided the innings through the closing overs with an unbeaten 29 from 19 balls. Vijay Shankar added 13 not out from seven deliveries as the pair shared an unbroken 31-run partnership from 16 balls.
Kandy Royals consequently reached 194 for six, scoring at 9.70 runs per over. Fazalhaq Farooqi was Dambulla’s most economical and successful bowler, claiming two wickets for 20 runs from four overs. Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Vishwa Lahiru and Mohammad Wasim Jr collected one wicket each.
Sahibzada Farhan’s 74 Ends in Dramatic Collapse
Dambulla Sixers began their pursuit of 195 positively through Sahibzada Farhan and captain Dinesh Chandimal.
The opening pair put on 57 runs before Chandimal was removed for 12 from seven balls by Nuwan Thushara. Farhan continued to dominate, striking seven fours and four sixes during an explosive 74 from 45 deliveries.
Dambulla reached 108 for one in the 12th over and remained in contention. However, Farhan’s dismissal triggered a damaging collapse in which the Sixers lost seven wickets for only 40 further runs.
Dushan Hemantha removed Farhan and Niroshan Dickwella, who made 26 from 23 deliveries. Hasaranga then dismissed Dhananjaya Lakshan as Kandy tightened their control over the chase.
Thushara delivered the decisive spell. He removed Chandimal, Pavan Rathnayake, Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Wasim Jr to finish with four wickets for 29 runs from four overs.
Reeza Hendricks made 27 from 21 balls but was dismissed by Shaheen Shah Afridi with Dambulla on 148 for seven. Only three runs came from the final 13 deliveries as the Sixers ended on 151 for eight.
Afridi returned one for 32, while Hemantha collected two for 23 and Hasaranga conceded only 19 runs from his four overs.
The victory also reversed the result from the teams’ previous meeting at the SSC on July 18, when Dambulla Sixers scored 205 for six and defeated Kandy Royals by 18 runs.
