The stage was set for an enthralling battle between B-Love Kandy (BLK) and Dambulla Aura (DA) in the final of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023 on 20 August in Colombo. However, Wanindu Hasaranga missed the game and hence, Angelo Mathews got the leadership duties for BLK.
Speaking of the match, DA skipper Kusal Mendis won the toss and opted to bat first. They scored 147 runs for four wickets in 20 overs. Dhananjaya de Silva was the highest scorer with a 40-run knock from 29 balls. Along with him, Sadeera Samarawickrama scored 36 runs off 30 balls.
Wanindu Hasaranga led BLK from the front with both the bat and ball in LPL 2023
For BLK, Chaturanga de Silva took two wickets while both Mohammad Hasnain and Nuwan Pradeep took one wicket each. In reply, BLK chased down the target with one ball and five wickets to spare. Kamindu Mendis was the highest scorer with a 44-run knock from 27 balls. Thus, they became the champion of the tournament and it was their maiden title. Wanindu Hasaranga won the Player of the Tournament award while Angelo Mathews won the Player of the Match award. Hasaranaga was the highest run-scorer (279 runs) and wicket-taker (19) in the tournament.
He also managed to hit the most number of sixes (14) in the tournament. During the post-match presentation, Hasaranga said: "I'm very happy to have contributed with the bat. Our head coach Mushtaq Ahmed asked me to bat at the top of the order, and I also wanted to do something with the bat. Whether I'm captaining or not I try to do my best. This is very special because I contributed with the bat too. The foreign players played well. We started badly, but then we went to Kandy and won three out of three there and came back and did well here."
Mathews said: "It was a bad day for Wanindu who single-handedly brought us through, so we had to play for him as well. He asked me to bowl a few overs and I happily did it. I am happy I was able to contribute in all three departments."
Here is how fans have reacted:
Standards
— Ashutosh (@Ashutos56485324) August 20, 2023
One man army.
— cric_tok (@cric_tok) August 21, 2023
Call it greatest all-round performance not one of the .
— Slog Sweep-189 (@SloggSweep) August 20, 2023
He is A great Leader Like king
— Suresh Parmar® (@iamSureshParmar) August 20, 2023
A player can perform on Mars, but not in RCB. Too commercial franchise.
— Himanshu Pareek (@Sports_Himanshu) August 20, 2023
Unlucky tha final nhi khel paya hasranga , fir bhi uski team jeeti. Congratulations ❤️
— Abhinav singh (@Abhinav_tmk) August 20, 2023
Rcb blood
— kohli fan (@KOHLIdeODIgoat) August 20, 2023
He is leading run getter also 😮
— Subham (@Kind0703) August 20, 2023
Kash RCB ke liye b ese khelta 🌝
— 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻🌙 (@moonlight_glin_) August 20, 2023