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After yet another name change, going back to Kandy Falcons after a season being known as B-Love Kandy, the defending champions host one of last season’s losing quarter-finalists in this one at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
DATE & TIME: Tuesday 2nd July, 2024 – USA ET – 7:00am / USA (CST) – 9:00am / USA PT – 10:00am / UK – 3:00pm / South Africa – 4:00pm / Pakistan – 7:00pm / India – 7:30pm / Sri Lanka – 7:30pm / Bangladesh – 8:00pm / Australia – 12:00am
VENUE: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka
WEATHER: 25c or 77 F with clear skies
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: USA – Not Televised / West Indies – Not Televised / UK – Not Televised / South Africa – Not Televised / Pakistan – Star Sports / India – Star Sports / Bangladesh – Star Sports / Australia – Not Televised/ Sri Lanka – Star Sports
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: USA – Not Available / West Indies – Not Available / UK – Not Available / South Africa – Not Available / Pakistan – Tapmad / India – Fancode / Sri Lanka – Dialog TV Bangladesh – Not Available / Australia – Kayo Sports
KANDY FALCONS FORM: BUILDING ON A WIN
The reigning champions of the Lanka Premier League began the defence of their title with a six-wicket victory against Dambulla Sixers in Pallekele the other day. They restricted the Sixers to 179-4 in their 20 overs with the Kandy Falcons then chasing the target with relative ease in just 17.2 overs with Dinesh Chandimal notching 65 runs from 40 balls.
LAST THREE: WWW
COLOMBO STRIKERS FORM: ROCK-BOTTOM IN 2023
Coached by former Leicestershire batting all-rounder Carl Crowe, Colombo do appear to have one of the most well-rounded teams in this tournament, despite their really poor campaign last year. There are quick runs at the top of the order with middle-order hitting, combined with some genuinely good pace options.
LAST THREE: LWL
KANDY FALCONS BETTING ANALYSIS
It is way too early to suggest the Kandy Falcons are the dominant force in Sri Lankan T20 franchise cricket but they are the strongest team at the moment. The standout star for them would be captain Wanindu Hasaranga but, off the back of a poor World Cup, there could well be a reliance on the aforementioned Chandimal to be their top scorer in this match (3/1) once again.
In terms of the bowling department, it was their all-rounder Dasun Shanaka that won them their opening game with Shanaka taking three crucial wickets and then scoring 46 runs from 15 balls in the chase. Him performing to a similar level would surely get him the Player of the Match award again and that may well be worth a bet.
COLOMBO STRIKERS BETTING ANALYSIS
The Colombo Strikers will be able to begin their tournament with the leading run scorer from the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup with Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the top of the order. Any side with Gurbaz in their eleven will be favoured to have the highest opening partnership in the match (1/1).
The bowling aspect of their game is perhaps reliant on some inexperienced paceman, except Chamika Karunaratne and Taskin Ahmed, so backing wickets to spin looks the way to go via Shadab Khan or Glenn Phillips.
KANDY FALCONS VS COLOMBO STRIKERS EXPERT PREDICTION
The Kandy Falcons are the defending champions and have an extremely impressive, well captained and well coached squad. They have started the tournament really well, too, looking quite scary with the bat as they chased Dambulla Thunder. Colombo Strikers are among the strongest teams in the six-team but Kandy Falcons do appear an extremely efficient and well composed team so will be expected to come out on top, despite Rahmanullah Gurbaz’ likely impact with the Strikers.
KANDY FALCONS VS COLOMBO STRIKERS TOP TIP: KANDY FALCONS TO WIN