Lanka T10 League

KB vs NEK, 20th Match

Preview 

Kandy Bolts will square off against Nuwara Eliya Kings in the 20th match of the Lanka T10 League 2024. The Pallekele International Cricket Stadium will host the game on Tuesday, December 17.

Fifth-placed Bolts have played six matches so far but still haven’t tasted any victory, losing two and the other four washed off due to heavy downpours. In their inaugural encounter, they only faced Galle Marvels, which ended against their side by 7 wickets. Their best batter was Dinesh Chandimal, who scored 66 runs off 25 deliveries. Imad Washim was the sole wicket-taker for their side, picking up two wickets. Their poor gameplay in the first match and lack of match time after that is a matter of concern, which will definitely make them worry in this game. 

On the contrary, the Kings are in the bottom half of the points table with the same number of losses and abandoned matches as their opponents. The Jaffna Titans defeated them in their last playable game. Their best performer with the bat was Chamika Karunaratne, who smashed an unbeaten 58 runs off just 26 balls. The seasoned all-rounder also took two wickets in the first innings, but all went in vain due to a lack of firepower from the other end, resulting in Jaffna winning the match by a massive 53-run margin.  

Match Details

Match: KB vs NEK, 20th Match, Lanka T10 League 2024

Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Time: 06:15 PM

Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Pitch Report

The wicket at Pallekele will be full of runs for the batting sides, and the bowlers will have to grind hard to get wickets. 

The weather forecast for the game is partly cloudy, with high and low temperatures of 26 and 21 degrees Celsius, respectively. There are also chances of moderate to heavy rainfall with thunderstorms during the match. 

KB vs. NEK Squads

KB: Pathum Nissanka, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Mohammed Shamaaz, Chaturanga de Silva, Thisara Perera (c), Shehan Jayasuriya, Ronsford Beaton, Imad Wasim, Arinesto Vezha, Seekkuge Prasanna, Kavindu Nirmana, George Munsey, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Chamika Gunasekara, Milinda Siriwardana, Danal Hemananda, Amir Hamza, Shahnawaz Dahani

NEK: Avishka Fernando, Kyle Mayers, Umar Akmal (c & wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Benny Howell, Lahiru Madushanka, Chamika Karunaratne, Vishen Halambage, Dushan Hemantha, Nimsara Atharagalla, Kasun Rajitha, Saurabh Tiwary, Pulindu Perera, Zubaid Akbari, Rivaldo Clarke, Oshane Thomas, Yashodha Lanka, Aftab Alam

KB vs NEK Probable Playing XIs

KB: Pathum Nissanka, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Mohammed Shamaaz, Chaturanga de Silva, Thisara Perera (c), Shehan Jayasuriya, Ronsford Beaton, Imad Wasim, Arinesto Vezha, Seekkuge Prasanna, Kavindu Nirmana

NEK: Avishka Fernando, Kyle Mayers, Umar Akmal (c & wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Benny Howell, Lahiru Madushanka, Chamika Karunaratne, Vishen Halambage, Dushan Hemantha, Nimsara Atharagalla, Kasun Rajitha

Match Prediction

Although rainfall has affected almost every game played at the Pallekele Internal Cricket Stadium since the tournament's commencement. Both sides have received very little game time on the pitch since then, so it’s tough to choose between them. But as we can see, both the teams on pen and paper, Kandy Bolts proves to be a more promising side and is expected to win this match. 

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