Colombo Strikers will play Dambulla Aura at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on August 4, 2023, in their third match of the Lanka Premier League 2023. Due to a solid all-around effort, the Colombo team defeated B-Love Kandy in their most recent match by a margin of 27 runs. The victory versus Kandy gave the team a much-needed lift in its inaugural season after they had lost their opening game to the Jaffna Kings.
The game against Dambulla, where the team is now ranked third on the points chart, will be essential to maintaining a slim lead over the team in first position. Niroshan Dickwella, the captain of the Colombo Strikers, commented on the atmosphere in the camp before the game and said, “Everyone’s together like a family now and gelling up lot better. We had a chance to win the first game as well, but in the second game, everyone gave it their all and contributed when it mattered most. It was a great victory, in my opinion.
The weather for the match in Pallekele will be very different because it will take place during the day. Dickwella emphasised that everyone in Pallekele has an excellent chance to win on the wickets. “Conditions are different, and we unquestionably have better wickets here in Pallekele,” he declared. The outfield is moving quite quickly, and altitude affects the game. I believe it will be an excellent opportunity for us to launch another tempo attack. All of us are fired up and ready for the game.
Also commenting on the Dambulla group, Dickwella remarked, “I think Dambulla is a really good team. In the Lanka Premier League, every side is strong, and they all appear to be quite evenly matched. The key will be to master the fundamentals of the game.
Simon Helmot, head coach of the Colombo Strikers
However, highlighted the team’s areas for growth and stated, “The two things that we are working on as a team at the moment are first, building greater partnerships in the top order—top 3 or 4 which lead to significant match-winning partnerships, and secondly, ensuring that we play fewer dot balls.”
The unrelenting pace assault of the team from Sri Lanka’s capital, which was in full force during their encounter against Kandy, has long been one of the team’s draws. The speed team of Matheesha Pathirana and Naseem Shah received nothing but praise from Helmot.
They are both incredibly quick bowlers, yet they bowl very differently. While Matheesha is very different from Naseem, who is a conventional hit-hard-length bowler who forces the batsmen to execute really tough strokes off good-length deliveries, Naseem is known for doing this. He has a bouncer, a slower ball, and a yorker. He is perfect for 20-over cricket. Although they are completely different bowlers, they do share a trait. They are swift, he said.
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