Lanka Premier League, Playoffs: Preview, Key Players, Prediction

Colombo Stars (Source: SLC/LPL)

We have finally reached the business end of the competition at the Lanka Premier League 2022 with four deserving teams reaching the playoffs stage.

Qualifier 1: Kandy Falcons vs Jaffna Kings

While both these sides had a fantastic season, with seven and six wins, respectively, for the Falcons and Kings, they would want to continue the momentum before reaching the finals. Falcons, on the one hand, have won seven out of eight matches, whereas their counterparts were not far behind, with six wins in as many games. 

Kandy, led by Wanindu Hasaranga, have been boosted by the likes of Carlos Brathwaite, Chamika Karunaratne, Andre Fletcher and Fabian Allen. On the other hand, Thisara Perera's Jaffna would be keenly looking at Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, James Fuller and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth to deliver.

Key Players

• Binura Fernando could be one of the most sought players as he has already grabbed 10 wickets in just 3 matches with an economy under 6.
• Andre Fletcher has turned out to be a decent batter in the competition as he has amassed 264 runs at an average of 52.80.

Prediction

While looking at the group stage results, one could easily realise that Kandy Falcons have an edge here. Their team have the right resources to dominate their opponents in this match.