LPL 2021: Rajapaksa stars as Galle Gladiators win tournament opener

Colombo [Sri Lanka], December 6 (ANI): Skipper Bhanuka Rajapaksa led by example clobbering a cameo 31-ball 56 in Galle Gladiator's 54-run triumphant to kick off the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2021 second edition curtain-raiser over Jaffna Kings on Sunday.
He struck three sixes and six boundaries in a total of 164 for 7 off 20 overs on which the Gladiators bowlers ran through the Jaffna Kings for 110 in 18.2 overs.
If the left-handed mauler of the ball was the trump card batter of the momentous tournament opener, Samit Patel with whom he set a ball rolling 40-run 5-wicket partnership, capped it with an all-round Player of the Match performance rounded by his 3 for 21 in decimating the Kings.
Upfront, Rajapaksa figured in a fourth wicket pairing of 52 with Ben Dunk who made 17. The highest Jaffna Kings could offer was Wahab Riaz 27.
The LPL 2021 started on Sunday with Galle Gladiators and Jaffna Kings locking horns in the tournament opener.
Last month, the second edition of the LPL 2021 will be officiated by the Match Referee Panel and an Umpiring Panel, respectively, consisting of Chief Match Referee of the ICC, Ranjan Madugalle, and ICC Elite Panel Umpire Kumar Dharmasena. (ANI)