Colombo, Dec 17 (IANS): Dambulla Aura beat Galle Gladiators by 48 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium, here on Saturday, in the ongoing Lanka Premier League 2022.

Batting first, Dambulla Aura posted a competitive total of 178 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.

Chasing down the target, for Galle Gladiators, Thanuka Dabare and Captain Kusal Mendis opened the innings. The team didn't get to a good start as Kusal Mendis was dismissed by Dasun Shanaka for a duck. Shortly after that, Thanuka was sent back to the pavilion by Pramod Madushan. Lahiru Udara and Asad Shafiq then put up a 41-run partnership to give the chase stability. But Dambulla Aura's bowlers hit back strong as they kept taking wickets at regular intervals to bowl them out for 130. Lahiru was the team's highest scorer with 32, while Asad pitched in with 28 and Iftikhar Ahmed made 21.

For Dambulla Aura, Pramod Madushan and Sikandar Raza were the picks of the bowlers as they took 3 and 2 wickets respectively. Dasun, Matthew, Dilum Sudeera, and Noor Ahmad all took one wicket each.

Earlier, after winning the toss, Dambulla Aura elected to bat first. For Dambulla Aura, Shevon Daniel and Jordan Cox opened the innings. The opening duo put up a mammoth 163-run partnership in 17.4 overs to set up a strong platform for the team. Shevon Daniel made 80 from 55 balls, which included 5 boundaries and 5 sixes. Meanwhile, Jordan Cox made 77 from 58 balls. His innings was laced with 6 boundaries and 3 sixes. However, towards the end of the innings, Galle Gladiators bowlers took some wickets to keep the Dambulla Aura to 178 for the loss of 5 wickets.

For Galle Gladiators, Nuwan Pradeep was the pick of the bowler as he took 3/37 from 3 overs, while Nuwan Thushara took 1/29 from 4 overs.