Dambulla Giants in 2021

The Dambulla Giants (DG) is a franchise cricket team that competes in 2021 Lanka Premier League. The team is based in Dambulla, Central Province, Sri Lanka. In September 2021, Dambulla Viiking changed their name to Dambulla Giants after having new owners.^[1] The team was captained by Dasun Shanaka and coached by Stuart Law.^[2]

Dambulla Giants

2021 season
Coach	Stuart Law
Captain	Dasun Shanaka
Tournament performance	Playoffs (3rd)
Most runs	Phil Salt (301)
Most wickets	Imran Tahir (15)
← 2020 2022 →

Squad

• Players with international caps are listed in bold.
• Ages given as of 5 December 2021, the date the first match of the tournament was played

S/N	Name	Nationality	Date of birth (age)	Batting style	Bowling style	Notes
Batsman
24	Dilshan Munaweera	Sri Lanka	(1989-04-24)24 April 1989 (aged 32)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
92	Sohaib Maqsood	Pakistan	(1987-04-15)15 April 1987 (aged 34)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	Overseas player
1	Najibullah Zadran	Afghanistan	(1993-02-18)18 February 1993 (aged 28)	Left-handed	Right-arm off break	Overseas player
	Sacha De Alwis	Sri Lanka	(1992-01-30)30 January 1992 (aged 29)	Left- handed	Slow left arm orthodox
23	Rilee Rossouw	South Africa	(1989-10-09)9 October 1989 (aged 32)	Left- handed	Right-arm off break	Overseas player
All-rounders
7	Dasun Shanaka	Sri Lanka	(1991-09-09)9 September 1991 (aged 30)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	Captain
25	Ramesh Mendis	Sri Lanka	(1995-07-07)7 July 1995 (aged 26)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
	Tharindu Ratnayake	Sri Lanka	(1996-04-18)18 April 1996 (aged 25)	Left-handed	Right-arm off break
	Muditha Lakshan	Sri Lanka	(2000-12-20)20 December 2000 (aged 20)	Right-handed	Slow left arm orthodox
	Sachitha Jayathilake	Sri Lanka	(1997-02-24)24 February 1997 (aged 24)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
	Janith Liyanage	Sri Lanka	(1995-07-12)12 July 1995 (aged 26)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium-fast
Wicket-keepers
48	Niroshan Dickwella	Sri Lanka	(1993-06-23)23 June 1993 (aged 28)	Left-handed
	Lahiru Udara	Sri Lanka	(1993-11-27)27 November 1993 (aged 28)	Right-handed	–
Spin bowlers
99	Imran Tahir	South Africa	(1979-03-27)27 March 1979 (aged 42)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break	Overseas player
	Madushan Ravichandrakumar	Sri Lanka	(1994-12-23)23 December 1994 (aged 26)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
	Chamikara Edirisinghe	Sri Lanka	(1991-04-04)4 April 1991 (aged 30)	Left-handed	Slow left arm orthodox
Pace bowlers
29	Chamika Karunaratne	Sri Lanka	(1996-05-29)29 May 1996 (aged 25)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium-fast
63	Nuwan Pradeep	Sri Lanka	(1986-10-19)19 October 1986 (aged 35)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast
82	Josh Little	Ireland	(1999-11-01)1 November 1999 (aged 22)	Right-handed	Left-arm fast-medium	Overseas player
90	Marchant de Lange	South Africa	(1990-10-13)13 October 1990 (aged 31)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast	Overseas player
	Kalana Perera	Sri Lanka	(2000-07-28)28 July 2000 (aged 21)	Left-handed	Left-arm medium-fast
	Odean Smith	West Indies	(1996-11-01)1 November 1996 (aged 25)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	Overseas player

Administration and support staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Stuart Law
Assistant coach	Sampath Perera
Fielding coach	Kaushalya Gajasinghe

Teams and standings

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
1	Jaffna Kings (C)	8	6	2	0	12	2.210
2	Galle Gladiators (R)	8	4	3	1	9	0.143
3	Colombo Stars (4th)	8	4	4	0	8	−0.571
4	Dambulla Giants (3rd)	8	3	4	1	7	−1.003
5	Kandy Warriors	8	2	6	0	4	−0.668

Source: ESPN Cricinfo

• The top four teams qualified for the playoffs
•   Advanced to Qualifier 1
•   Advanced to Eliminator

League matches

Match 2 6 December 2021 15:00 (D/N) Scorecard

Dambulla Giants 190/7 (20 overs)	v	Kandy Warriors 170/8 (20 overs)
Phil Salt 64 (27) Lahiru Kumara 3/34 (4 overs)		Rovman Powell 42 (21) Ramesh Mendis 3/21 (4 overs)

Dambulla Giants won by 20 runs R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Keerthi Bandara and Raveendra Wimalasiri Player of the match: Phil Salt (Dambulla Giants)

• Dambulla Giants won the toss and elected to bat.

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Match 4 7 December 2021 15:00 (D/N) Scorecard

Dambulla Giants 110 (19.3 overs)	v	Jaffna Kings 114/2 (12.3 overs)
Nuwanidu Fernando 23 (25) Wanindu Hasaranga 3/16 (4 overs)		Tom Kohler-Cadmore 45* (30) Imran Tahir 1/20 (4 overs)

Jaffna Kings won by 8 wickets R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena and Ravindra Kottahachchi Player of the match: Maheesh Theekshana (Jaffna Kings)

• Dambulla Giants won the toss and elected to bat.

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Match 6 8 December 2021 15:00 (D/N) Scorecard

Dambulla Giants 195/6 (20 overs)	v	Colombo Stars 177 (18.5 overs)
Phil Salt 62 (34) Dushmantha Chameera 3/34 (4 overs)		Dinesh Chandimal 26 (16) Nuwan Pradeep 3/50 (4 overs)

Dambulla Giants won by 18 runs R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena and Rohitha Kottahachchi Player of the match: Phil Salt (Dambulla Giants)

• Dambulla Giants won the toss and elected to bat.

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Match 8 10 December 2021 15:00 (D/N) Scorecard

Dambulla Giants 159/7 (20 overs)	v	Galle Gladiators 18/0 (1.2 overs)
Dasun Shanaka 37 (32) Nuwan Thushara 2/24 (3 overs)		Kusal Mendis 15* (5)

No result R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Keerthi Bandara and Lyndon Hannibal

• Dambulla Giants won the toss and elected to bat.
• No further play was possible due to rain.

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Match 11 11 December 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard

Dambulla Giants 138/9 (20 overs)	v	Colombo Stars 137/8 (20 overs)
Niroshan Dickwella 30 (16) Jeffrey Vandersay 3/25 (4 overs)		Dinesh Chandimal 65* (40) Tharindu Ratnayake 3/18 (4 overs)

Dambulla Giants won by 1 run R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Hemantha Boteju and Raveendra Wimalasiri Player of the match: Tharindu Ratnayake (Dambulla Giants)

• Dambulla Giants won the toss and elected to bat.

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Match 14 13 December 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard

Dambulla Giants 69 (14.1 overs)	v	Jaffna Kings 71/3 (9.2 overs)
Phil Salt 23 (22) Chaturanga de Silva 4/16 (4 overs)		Wanindu Hasaranga 37 (18) Imran Tahir 2/21 (4 overs)

Jaffna Kings won by 7 wickets R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Keerthi Bandara and Raveendra Wimalasiri Player of the match: Chaturanga de Silva (Jaffna Kings)

• Jaffna Kings won the toss and elected to field.

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Match 16 14 December 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard

Galle Gladiators 134/7 (14 overs)	v	Dambulla Giants 125/5 (14 overs)
Kusal Mendis 35 (17) Imran Tahir 3/20 (3 overs)		Janith Liyanage 51 (37) Samit Patel 2/24 (3 overs)

Galle Gladiators won by 9 runs R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Ravindra Kottahachchi and Prageeth Rambukwella Player of the match: Samit Patel (Galle Gladiators)

• Dambulla Giants won the toss and elected to field.
• The match was reduced to 14 overs per side due to rain.

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Match 18 16 December 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard

Dambulla Giants 130/9 (20 overs)	v	Kandy Warriors 135/4 (19.2 overs)
Ramesh Mendis 41 (28) Binura Fernando 3/22 (4 overs)		Ravi Bopara 59* (50) Imran Tahir 2/17 (4 overs)

Kandy Warriors won by 6 wickets R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Rohitha Kottahachchi and Raveendra Wimalasiri Player of the match: Ravi Bopara (Kandy Warriors)

• Dambulla Giants won the toss and elected to bat.

Playoffs

Main article: 2021 Lanka Premier League § Playoffs

Eliminator

Match 21 19 December 2021 16:00 (D/N) Scorecard

Colombo Stars 145/6 (20 overs)	v	Dambulla Giants 146/4 (18.5 overs)
Angelo Mathews 50* (34) Nuwan Pradeep 2/23 (4 overs)		Janith Liyanage 56* (47) Dushmantha Chameera 1/24 (4 overs)

Dambulla Giants won by 6 wickets Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota Umpires: Lyndon Hannibal and Raveendra Wimalasiri Player of the match: Janith Liyanage (Dambulla Giants)

• Colombo Stars won the toss and elected to bat.

Qualifier 2

Match 23 21 December 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard

Jaffna Kings 210/4 (20 overs)	v	Dambulla Giants 187/9 (20 overs)
Avishka Fernando 100 (64) Lahiru Samarakoon 2/30 (2 overs)		Chamika Karunaratne 75* (47) Jayden Seales 3/24 (4 overs)

Jaffna Kings won by 23 runs Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota Umpires: Lyndon Hannibal and Prageeth Rambukwella Player of the match: Avishka Fernando (Jaffna Kings)

• Dambulla Giants won the toss and elected to field.
• Avishka Fernando (Jaffna Kings) scored his first century in Twenty20 cricket.^[3]

Statistics

Most runs

Player	Matches	Runs	High score
Phil Salt	10	301	64
Chamika Karunaratne	10	156	75*
Najibullah Zadran	9	152	54
Niroshan Dickwella	10	151	37
Dasun Shanaka	8	139	38

• Source: ESPNcricinfo^[4]

Most wickets

Player	Matches	Wickets	Best bowling
Imran Tahir	10	15	3/20
Nuwan Pradeep	8	10	3/31
Ramesh Mendis	10	7	3/21
Tharindu Ratnayake	6	6	3/18
Chamika Karunaratne	10	5	2/46

• Source: ESPNcricinfo ^[5]