Dambulla Giants vs Colombo Stars Match Prediction

After a chastening nine-wicket loss to defending champions Jaffna Kings, Dambulla Giants will face off, against Colombo Stars in the Lanka Premier League, at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota on December 8 at 3Hours IST. Both teams will look to get their first points as Colombo Stars had also started their campaign with a heavy 109-run loss to Kandy Falcons.

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Dambulla Giants vs Colombo Stars Chance of Winning

Dambulla Giants had a terrible campaign in the previous edition of the Lanka Premier League. They had three victories in the eight group games and finished second last on the table. Colombo Stars, meanwhile, managed to finish third, a place above Dambulla Giants to qualify for the play-offs with four wins and four losses. Colombo Stars lost to Dambulla Giants in the Eliminator last season.

DG restricted CS to 145/6 in 20 overs after Pathum Nissanka made 42 off 39 balls while captain Angelo Mathews scored an unbeaten 50 off 34 balls to take them to a decent total. Nuwan Pradeep and Imran Tahir got two wickets each for CS. Despite losing opener Niroshan Dickwella for a golden duck, DG chased the target in 18.5 overs after Janith Liyanage’s unbeaten 56 off 47 balls and Najibullah Zadran’s 34 off 28 balls.

As it is expected to be close game, the Stars have been favoured by Melbet for the contest with implied odds of 57.80% as compared to the Giants’ 47.53%.

• Dambulla Giants to win @2.104 (Melbet),
• Colombo Stars to win @1.73 (Melbet)

Our Prediction

Both teams have started this edition on the wrong note but have strong rosters of Sri Lankan international including Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Angelo Mathews. Colombo Stars have a slightly weaker roster of overseas players having to rely mostly on Afghanistan and West Indies players. Dambulla have managed to bring in a variety of players with different skillsets including Pakistan big hitter Haider Ali and Windies pacer Sheldon Cottrell to name a few. Our prediction leans towards Colombo Stars.

Dambulla Giants vs Colombo Stars Tournament Prediction & Betting Tips 2022

Dambulla Giants did not have the best of seasons last time around as they finished fourth in the points table with 7 points from eight games with a net run rate of 1.003. They started on a positive note with three wins from their first five games but somehow managed to claw their way into the play offs and beat Colombo Stars in the Eliminator. However, they dumped out of the tournament by Jaffna Kings in the second Qualifier where they lost by 23 runs. They started the tournament against Jaffna Kings again and suffered a humiliating nine-wicket loss.

Colombo Stars, meanwhile, finished third on the points table last season with four wins and four losses. Despite starting their previous campaign with a win against Galle Gladiators, they lost to Giants and Kings. However, they recovered with four wins from their last five league matches to finish in the playoff spots. Their opening to the current campaign was also not good as they allowed Kandy Falcons to post a massive total of 199/1. They then slumped to 109-run defeat after being skittled out for a mere 90 runs inside 15 overs.

Stars will like to look at their opening defeat as an aberration as the likes of Niroshan Dickwella, Charith Asalanka, Ravi Bopara and Dinesh Chandimal all fell for single-digit scores while five of their seven bowlers used on that day conceded at an economy over 9 RPO. Giants, meanwhile, will be expecting a lot from Sikandar Raza who was the star for Zimbabwe in the recent T20 World Cup. The spin-bowling allrounder was out for 5 runs and bowled two decent overs by conceding just 12 runs. They still have a decent bowling attack with the likes of Lahiru Kumara, Paul van Meekeren and Noor Ahmad.

Dambulla Giants vs Colombo Stars Match Toss Prediction

A total of 38 matches were played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota. Teams batting first have won 20 times while teams batting second have gone on to win 17 times. So winning the toss doesn’t automatically guarantee an advantage. With the winter weather playing its part, bowlers will have work extra hard to get their wickets.

Weather Report

The weather forecasts is clear for this afternoon and cloudy in the evening. The temperature which has been around 27°C for the past two days is likely to drop to 24°C.

Dambulla Giants Player List

Dambulla Giants Squad:

Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Jordan Cox, Lasith Croospulle, , Shevon Daniel, Chaturanga de Silva, Ravindu Fernando, Haider Ali, Dushan Hemantha, Sachitha Jayathilake, Lahiru Kumara, Lahiru Madushanka, Ramesh Mendis, Noor Ahmad, Kalana Perera, Pramod Madushan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Tharindu Ratnayake, Sikandar Raza, Dilum Sudeera, Paul van Meekeren, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Sheldon Cottrell, Ben Cutting, Nuwan Pradeep, Sandeep Lamichhane, Tim Seifert, Sacha De Alwis, D’Arcy Short

Dambulla Giants Predicted XI:

Bhanuka Rajapaksa	Batsman
Shevon Daniel	Batsman
Sikandar Raza	Allrounder
Lahiru Madushanka	Allrounder
Dasun Shanaka (C)	Allrounder
Ramesh Mendis	Bowling allrounder
Jordan Cox	Wicketkeeper batsman
Chathuranga de Silva	Allrounder
Paul van Meekeren	Bowler
Lahiru Kumara	Bowler
Noor Ahmad	Bowler

Dambulla Giants Team Form

Last season is something Dambulla Giants would want to forget. They scraped their way to the playoffs and this season’s opening match should be a wake up call. Last season they managed to beat Stars by just one run after beating them by 18 runs in the first encounter. Its is a positive stat they will have their mind ahead of the match.

Colombo Stars Player List

Colombo Stars Squad

Chamod Battage, Ravi Bopara, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Dominic Drakes, Nishan Madushka, Benny Howell, Karim Janat, Kevin Koththigoda, Chathuranga Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Dhananhaya Lakshan, Muditha Lakshan, Lakshita Manasinghe, Angelo Mathews, Naveen-ul-Haq, Navod Paranavithana, Seekkuge Prasanna, Kasun Rajitha, Romario Shepherd, Jeffrey Vandersay.

Colombo Stars Predicted XI

Angelo Mathews (C)	Allrounder
Charith Asalanka	Batsman
Ravi Bopara	Allrounder
Benny Howell	Allrounder
Seekkuge Prasanna	Allrounder
Niroshan Dickwella	Wicketkeeper batsman
Muditha Lakshan	Batsman
Dinesh Chandimal	Batsman
Suranga Lakmal	Bowler
Dominic Drakes	Bowler
Kasun Rajitha	Bowler

Colombo Stars Team Form

After failing to reach the finals last season, Stars have started in a shambolic manner. They will try to forget that their first match didn’t happen as they have a talented squad at their disposal. They still players such as Naveen-ul-Haq and Charith Asalanka in their ranks which is a good sign.

Dambulla Giants vs Colombo Stars Head to Head

Dambulla Giants and Colombo Stars have faced off five times in total. Giants have the upper hand in the fixtures with four wins to one. Last season, they did a double over Stars in the league stage and then beat them in the playoffs.

Dambulla Giants vs Colombo Stars Betting Odds

Colombo Stars’ pacer Benny Howell is fresh off a good Abu Dhabi T10 where he picked up five wickets from six matches for Bangla Tigers. He is likely to pick up two wickets against DG. MelBet is yet to update the odds and will most likely provide favorable odds for Howell.

Dambulla Giants vs Colombo Top Team Batsmen

Charith Asalanka to be CS’s top batter

Ever since making his T20 debut in 2018, Charith Asalanka has developed into a reliable batter in the domestic circuit and for Sri Lanka. The 25-year old packs power in his shot and has immaculate timing. Specifically he is a run accumulator and plays according to the situation which is why his T20 strike rate is 123.80. He has managed to score six fifties in the format at an average of 24.16 which is impressive for a youngster.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa to be DG’s top batter

Despite being dropped from the Sri Lanka national team, Bhanuka Rajapaksa managed to earn his place in the 2022 T20 World Cup with his performances in the LPL and IPL. The left hander scored 206 in nine matches for Punjab Kings in IPL 2022 against the best bowlers in the world. DG will rely on his experience to set their campaign straight.

Dambulla Giants vs Colombo Top Team Bowlers

Seekkuge Prasanna to be CS’s top bowler

The experienced legspinner was Stars’ best bowlers last season with 13 wickets from eight matches. He was ably supported by offspinner Jeffrey Vandersay who claimed 11 wickets which underlines how important spinners are for CS. Prasanna can bowl the tough overs at the death and open in the powerplay while managing to keep his economy under 7 RPO.

Noor Ahmed to be DG’s top bowler

The 17-year old Afghanistan legspinner is making a name for himself as the next big talent with his performances in T20 leagues. He has played 44 T20s and claimed 44 wickets at an impressive economy of 7.39.