Pakistan batter Khawaja Nafay was on top of his game as Jaffna Kings got past Galle Gallants in Qualifier 1 of the Lanka Premier League. The batter paired up with Jaffna opener Kamil Mishara, who scored a 55-ball 108, and posted 242, the highest total in the league’s history.
Nafay and Mishara run riot
Playing in his first LPL game, his only previous appearance having been a washout against Dambulla, Nafay struck a 32-ball 54. Along with Mishara, he overcame the early loss of Avishka Fernando as the pair stitched an incredible 138-run stand off 66 balls. By the time Nafay was dismissed in the 16th over, Jaffna were already wreaking havoc with 173 on the scoreboard. Towhid Hridoy further cranked up the momentum with his 21-ball 54 to shatter the record books.
Gallants fall short despite late flourish
Gallants’ bowling seemed rather toothless in front of the Jaffna juggernaut. Barring Akif Javed, who took a wicket for 46 runs, none of the other bowlers could get their name on the wickets column. The pressure of a gigantic total naturally got to the batters. Gallants lost two of their wickets inside the powerplay, though they managed to put 81 runs on the board. But after the fielding restrictions, they could not quite carry the momentum. It took two more quick wickets falling for Gallants to finally take some control. Dasun Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne put forth a 27-ball 63. Their knocks were followed by some edge-of-the-seat cameos, which, though brilliant, could not do enough in the face of Jaffna’s monstrous target.
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