The 8th match of the Lanka Premier League 2020 will feature the Jaffna Stallions and the Kandy Tuskers. Both the teams will be playing each other for the very first time. The Kandy Tuskers have not been able to open their account as they were defeated by the Colombo Kings in the opener and later were defeated by the Dambulla Viking in yet another thriller.
The Jaffna Stallions on the other side will be feeling more confident as they started their campaign with a dominating 8-wicket win over the Shahid Afridi-led Galle Gladiators. They will play their second match of the season on Monday, where they face-off against the second-placed Dambulla Viking.
Kandy Tuskers will be feeling really unfortunate after the first match was well in their favor till the last over of the game, wherein Isuru Udana of Colombo Kings took the game away from them and ensured the scores were tied and super over was enforced. The Colombo Kings made sure they did not make a mess of the super over and registered the first points on the table. While the second match was a rain-curtailed one and the KDT required 89 runs in 9.4 overs but fell four runs short of the target.
Kandy Tuskers will play their 3rd match of the season against the Galle Gladiators on Monday and a loss there would make things very difficult for Kusal Perera and Co.
Can Thisara Perera and Co. come on top in this thrilling encounter? Or will it be the Kandy Tuskers who turn the fortunes in their favor?
Match Toss Time: 19:30 Local (19:30 IST)
Match Start Time: 20:00 Local (20:00 IST)
Match Venue: Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota
Weather Report
The conditions are once again in favor of cricket as clear skies are expected throughout the day. The temperatures are expected to hover in the 29-25 degree range. While the humidity at the peak is expected to reach the 78 percent mark.
Pitch
The pitch as we saw in the last few games is ideal for batting and the bowlers have still not been able to find something in their favor. Scores of 200 plus have been seen often and we can expect the same once again. The dew factor has come into play in a few games and for that reason, the team winning the toss will be looking to chase. The batting first should be looking to score above the 190 mark as any score less than that is likely to be chased down in the flat pitch of Hambantota.
Team News
The Jaffna Stallions looked solid in their very first game and managed to chase down the score with ease with the loss of only two wickets. The management will not want to fiddle with the playing Xl and will be hoping they continue their winning run.
The Kandy Tuskers on the other side have not yet been able to open their account and will be feeling very unfortunate as both their losses have been narrow defeats. The team does look solid but have lacked the finishing touch and it would be too harsh on the players to replace anyone based on the last match and the KDT would be hoping they can switch the momentum towards their side.
The injury of Irfan Pathan during the opener of the LPL 2020 was dealt as a huge blow to the Kandy Tuskers and the Indian all-rounder is still recovering from the injury and there has been no official report on the return of the pacer to the side yet.
Probable Playing Xl
Jaffna Stallions (JST): Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka, Tom Moores (wk), Shoaib Malik, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chaturanga de Silva, Usman Shinwari, Duanne Olivier, Binura Fernando
Kandy Tuskers (KDT): Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Kusal Perera (c & wk), Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Priyamal Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Dilruwan Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Nuwan Pradeep, Naveen-ul-Haq, Kaveeshka Anjula
JST vs KDT Fantasy Team
Kusal Fernando, Avishka Fernando, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Asela Gunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Duanne Olivier, Naveen-ul-Haq, Nuwan Pradeep
Captain Picks: Kusal Perera (KDT), Thisara Perera (JST)
Vice-Captain Picks: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (KDT), Wanindu Hasaranga (JST)
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