DG VS CS MATCH 5

Right then, that's all from this game. The Lanka Premier League 2022 action moves to Kandy and resumes after a day's break on Saturday, 10th December as Kandy Falcons take on Jaffna Kings and that will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2.00 pm GMT). Do join us for the build-up in advance. Until then, take care and goodbye!

The captain of Colombo Stars, Angelo Mathews says that it was a pretty decent batting effort given their poor start and applauds Niroshan Dickwella for his effort. Mentions that Dominic Drakes, Dinesh Chandimal and Ravi Bopara all made valuable contributions with the bat. He then goes on to applaud the seamers for their efforts and they were able to force the batters to hit into the breeze. Says that they had a shocker in the first game but it was an eye-opener but sometimes that happens.

Dasun Shanaka, the captain of Dambulla Giants says that they started really well with the ball but they failed to take wickets in the middle phase but the total on board was chasable. Adds that it is all about partnerships but he is unable to find someone who stays with him at the other end. Mentions that a couple of their frontline bowlers were injured but hopes to have them back for the Kandy leg of the competition.

Niroshan Dickwella is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his half-century. Dickwella says that it was not an easy wicket to bat on in the first half an hour. Adds that he tried to build a partnership with Ravi Bopara and that was the highlight. Adds that he wants to take it game by game and do whatever the team needs and end up on the winning side. On his catching, he says that his approach remains the same and he takes it ball by ball.

The presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, Angelo Mathews opted to put runs on the board which turned out to be a disaster as Lahiru Kumara ripped through the top order of Colombo Stars. However, Niroshan Dickwella remained resolute and had ample support from Ravi Bopara at the other end. Dickwella went on to score a fifty and a couple of decent scores from Bopara and Dinesh Chandimal propelled the Stars to a competitive total of 165. Kumara was the star with the ball for the Giants as he picked up 4 wickets and a couple of other bowlers also did well. Needing 166 runs for the win, the openers of Dambulla Giants got them off to a flier but Colombo Stars had experience on their side with the ball and managed to pull things back to set up a thrilling finish. In the end, the Stars were just a bit more clinical with the ball.

Colombo Stars will be pretty pleased overall with that outing as they were able to thrive under pressure with the ball. They did not have the best of starts in the field, conceding a lot of boundaries but the experienced campaigners like Suranga Lakmal, Karim Janat, Dominic Drakes and Naveen-ul-Haq all bowled well when it mattered most and picked up a few important scalps. Janat did go for a bit of stick in the last over but by then, the game was already in the bag.

Dambulla Giants needed to chase down 166 runs for the win and given the start they had in the first few overs, they will be thoroughly disappointed for falling short of the target. Shevon Daniel and Jordan Cox hit a barrage of boundaries to bring up the team's 50 inside 5 overs but then both of them got out soon after. Bhanuka Rajapaksa spent time at the crease but couldn't get going. It was then Tom Abell who brought them back into the contest. Dasun Shanaka played a fighting knock as well but just ran out of partners. The Giants have a lot of work to do now and will look to bounce back stronger.

A well-fought contest between two sides who were looking for their first win of the campaign and it is Colombo Stars who have edged out Dambulla Giants to get their first points on the table. It was neck and neck till the end but the Stars just had the quality with the ball in the death overs.

Slower on a length on off, Dasun Shanaka drills it down the ground to long off for a single.

SIX! Slower and short on middle, Dasun Shanaka lets the ball come to him and dispatches this one over the deep mid-wicket fence for a maximum. Consecutive sixes for Dasun Shanaka.

SIX! Full on off, Dasun Shanaka makes room and gets into the position early. Goes through with the slog and clears the long off fence with ease.

Fullish on off, Dasun Shanaka goes for a slog but gets an inside edge that rolls to deep square leg. No run taken.

Short and quicker on off, Dasun Shanaka is late on the pull and fails to get any bat on it.

Short on off, Dasun Shanaka goes for a pull but plays it a bit too early and mishits it back to the bowler.

Who will bowl the final over? It will be Karim Janat. Can he defend 22 runs?

Slower and short on middle, Tharindu Ratnayake pulls it uppishly towards deep mid-wicket. Dasun Shanaka wants to be on strike for the next over and the batters decide not to run a single.