Jaffna Kings will clash with Kandy Falcons in the Qualifier 2 of the 2024 Lanka Premier League (LPL) at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday. Jaffna lost Qualifier 1 to Galle Marvels while Kandy Falcons defeated Colombo Strikers in the Eliminator. The winner of Qualifier 2 will meet Galle Marvels in the final in Colombo on Sunday. Jaffna has played three matches at the Premadasa Stadium this season and lost two of them whereas Kandy has been victorious in two of their three encounters at the venue.

LAST 5 MATCHES

JAFFNA KINGS: LWWLL

KANDY FALCONS: WLLWW

CHAPTER PLATE 3 - LIKELY PLAYING XIs

Both the teams are unlikely to make any changes to their last playing XIs.

THE LIKELY PLAYING XIs FOR JAFFNA KINGS VS KANDY FALCONS

JAFFNA KINGS likely XI

Batters: Pathum Nissanka, Rilee Rossouw, Avishka Fernando, Charith Asalanka

Allrounders: Azmatullah Omarzai, Fabian Allen, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanuja Sahan

Wicketkeeper: Kusal Mendis

Bowlers: Asitha Fernando, Tabraiz Shamsi

KANDY FALCONS likely XI

Batters: Kamindu Mendis

Allrounders: Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Chamath Gomez, Chaturanga de Silva

Wicketkeeper: Andre Fletcher, Dinesh Chandimal, Mohammad Haris

Bowlers: Mohammad Hasnain

Statistical Performance (Jaffna Kings)

1. AVISHKA FERNANDO

Avishka Fernando is at the top of the run-charts in LPL 2024 with an aggregate of 363 runs in 9 innings including five fifties. He has also scored his runs at a fair clip at a strike rate of 165!

AVISHKA FERNANDO IN LPL 2024

2. PATHUM NISSANKA

Pathum Nissanka has also been in fine form for Jaffna Kings with an aggregate of 315 runs in 9 innings at a scoring rate of almost 160 with one hundred and two fifties.

PATHUM NISSANKA IN LPL

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Jaffna Kings)

1. RILEE ROSSOUW

Rilee Rossouw has smashed 276 runs in 9 innings this season with one hundred and a fifty. He has also been very attacking with a strike rate of 167.3.

2. AZMATULLAH OMARZAI

The Afghanistan all-rounder has bagged 7 wickets at a strike rate of 18.8 while also smashing a few quick runs for Jaffna in the middle-order. He has a strike rate of 248.7 in the tournament.

Statistical Performance (Kandy Falcons)

1. WANINDU HASARANGA

Wanindu Hasaranga has been in good wicket-taking form for Kandy this season and has returned with 14 wickets in 9 matches at a strike rate of 14.1. He has also provided the cameos with the bat in the lower-middle order.

WANINDU HASARANGA IN 2024 LPL

2. ANDRE FLETCHER

Andre Fletcher has also been in top-notch form for Kandy this season and is their leading run-getter with 283 runs in 9 innings including three fifties.

ANDRE FLETCHER IN 2024 LPL

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Kandy Falcons)

1. DINESH CHANDIMAL

Dinesh Chandimal has been in menacing form for Kandy. He has been destructive with the bat and blasted 276 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of 172.5 in the tournament!

2. DASUN SHANAKA

Dasun Shanaka has bagged 13 wickets in 9 matches for Kandy in LPL 2024 at an excellent strike rate of 12.5. He is also a dangerous hitter in the lower-order capable of clearing any boundary in the world.

Team Head to Head

Jaffna have the edge over Kandy in the LPL and have won 5 of the 9 matches between the two teams since 2020! The head to head is levelled at 1-1 in this tournament. While Kandy gunned down a record 225-run target set by Jaffna in Dambulla - which is the highest successful chase in LPL history, Jaffna got the better of them in a rain-reduced contest in Colombo.

JAFFNA KINGS VS KANDY FALCONS - HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

MATCHES: 9

JAFFNA WON: 5

KANDY WON: 4

NO RESULT: 9 5 4 0

Venue and Pitch

The Premadasa Stadium in Colombo has hosted 8 matches in this tournament. The team which has set the target has won two matches while the team batting second has been victorious in five - thus, chasing is a big advantage definitely in Colombo! Not surprisingly, the captain who has won the toss has elected to chase in all 8 matches this season! The captain who has won the toss has won 5 of the 8 matches for a win probability of 62.5%.

Excluding the Kandy vs Jaffna 2024 LPL encounter which was a rain-reduced 7 overs a side content, the average first innings team total at RPS in LPL 2024 is 154 while the average score chasing is 144. Interestingly, the highest score at the venue this season is Kandy's 222/4 while the lowest total is Colombo's 95.

Pacers have displayed a higher propensity to pick wickets in Colombo in the tournament but the spinners have been more restrictive. The pacers have bagged 61 wickets at a strike rate of 14 and economy of 8.41 while the spinners have picked 41 wickets also at a strike rate of 19.3 but economy of 7.38!

MATCH PREDICTION

Jaffna Kings have a slight edge over Kandy Falcons in Qualifier 2. Jaffna are the most successful team in LPL history with three titles whereas Kandy are the defending champions. Jaffna have a stronger batting unit and this could be the main difference between the two units. However, they do not have a potent bowling unit and this is where Kandy could cash in. Based on the relative strength of both teams, Jaffna have a 55% chance of winning the match.

Fantasy XI

And finally our Fantasy XI includes Chandimal and Fletcher as the wicket-keeper batters, Nissanka, Rossouw and Avishka Fernando as the specialist batters, Hasaranga, Shanaka, Mathews and Omarzai as the all-rounders and Asitha Fernando and Shamsi as the bowlers. The captain of the fantasy XI will be Hasaranga while the vice-captain will be Avishka Fernando.

Fantasy XI:

Wicketkeepers: Dinesh Chandimal, Andre Fletcher

Batters: Pathum Nissanka, Rilee Rossouw, Avishka Fernando (VC)

Allrounders: Wanindu Hasaranga (C), Dasun Shanaka, Angelo Mathews, Azmatullah Omarzai

Bowlers: Asitha Fernando, Tabraiz Shamsi

BACKUP PLAYERS:

BATTER – Charith Asalanka

BOWLER – Mohammad Hasnain

ALL-ROUNDER – Dhananjaya de Silva