Galle Gladiators vs Jaffna Kings, LPL 2022, Today Match Prediction 18 December 2022

ggd vs jsk Match Prediction & Analysis

In the 17th match of the Lanka Premier League 2022, Galle Gladiators will face Jaffna Kings at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Galle Gladiators have good records against Jaffna Kings and will look forward to maintaining that this season.

With 2 wins and 4 defeats, Galle Gladiators are in the 5th place in the points table with 4 points. Jaffna Kings, on another side, have managed to win 4 games from 6 games played so far. They are in 2nd place with 8 points. 

Jaffna Kings have started the season’s campaign with positive intent but failed to carry forward it in the last few matches. Kusal Mendis is in good touch with the bat for Galle Gladiators, and the team’s batting unit heavily depends on his batting performance. Nuwan Thushara, with the ball, has been a key player for GG and is currently the 2nd on the list of leading wicket-takers of the season.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Galle Gladiators Preview

Galle Gladiators have had a dreadful season for far in the Lanka Premier League 2022 They have lost 4 of the 6 league games and are at the bottom of the points table, just above Dambulla aura.

In the last game, GG suffered a big defeat by 40 runs against Danbulla. After conceding  178 runs in the first innings, the GG could only muster 130 all out with 2 balls to spare. With this loss, the Gladiators have now lost 3 of their last 5 games. In their last 5 games against the Jaffna Kings, however. they have won 3 games.

Everything rests on Kusal Mendis, who scored 345 runs in the last 10 games at a strike rate of 143, and Nuwan Thushara, who has 16 wickets in the last 8 games. Although the qualification for the qualifiers looks difficult for Galle Gladiator, they will try to salvage some pride against Jaffna Kings in the encounter.

Key players: Kusal Mendis, Imad Wasim, Wahab Riaz, Nuwan Thushara.

Galle Gladiators Predicted Playing XI:

Thanuka Dabare, Lahiru Udara, Asad Shafiq, Kusal Mendis, Anwar Ali, Imad Wasim, Oshada Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Wahab Riaz, Nuwan Thushara, Lakshan Sandakan.

Galle Gladiators Actual Playing XI:

Thanuka Dabare, Imad Wasim, Lakshan Sandakan, Lahiru Udara, Wahab Riaz, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kusal Mendis, Nuwan Thushara, Nuwanidu Fernando, Asad Shafiq, Nuwan Pradeep

Jaffna Kings Preview

After winning 2 back to back games against Stars and Aura, Jaffna Kings lost their last match against Falcons. Now, to return on a winning track, they will face Galle Gladiators on 18th December 2022.

While bowling first against Kandy Falcons,  Dunith Wellalage bowled a brilliant spell of 2 wickets for just 7 runs in the spell of 4 overs. James Fuller also picked up 2 wickets in his spell, and they restricted opponents to 160 runs in 20 overs but failed to chase down the target.

Jaffna Kings lost 2 early wickets in the first 2 overs on just 5 runs while chasing 161 runs. Avishka Fernando then played a key knock of 33 runs from 20 balls with a strike rate of 165. But other batters failed to deliver their responsibilities in the middle order, and Kings lost the game by 10 runs.

The overall team looks balanced with good depth in the batting and bowling unit, but the team’s batting unit failed to deliver in the last few matches. They need to work on their middle-order batting unit when they face Galle Gladiators in the upcoming game.

Key players: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Avishka Fernando, Dunith Wellalage, James Fuller.

Jaffna Kings Predicted Playing XI:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Avishka Fernando, Dhananjaya de Silva, Shoaib Malik, Thisara Perera, Dunith Wellalage, Sadeera Samarawickrama, James Fuller, Dilshan Madushanka, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth. Waqar Salamkheil.

Jaffna Kings Actual Playing XI:

Dunith Wellalage, Avishka Fernando, Maheesh Theekshana, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Binura Fernando, Afif Hossain, James Fuller, Shoaib Malik, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Thisara Perera, Rahmanullah Gurbaz

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be rainy on the match day, with 60-70% chances of rain. The pitch has added advantages to batters here. The maximum and minimum temperatures will be between 30°C - 23°C.

Venue Details

R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will host this match. The ground can accommodate 35,000 people and has conducted many domestic and international games. 

Toss: To Bowl

Here the general trend is the winning captain chooses to bowl first as the pitch favors batters in the 2nd innings while chasing the target.