LPL 2020: Match 2, JS vs GG – Avishka's big knock in chase, Afridi’s fastest T20 fifty and more stats

Jaffna Stallions made a winning start to their LPL 2020 campaign as they got the better of Galle Gladiators by eight wickets. Galle team got 53 runs in the powerplay after electing to bat first but got only 45 runs in the next nine overs for the loss of four wickets. But the Galle skipper Shahid Afridi smashed a 23-ball 58 to power his team to 175/8. Avishka Fernando batted through the chase with an unbeaten 92 off 63 and shared an unbeaten 110-run for the 3rd wicket with Shoaib Malik whose contribution was only 27 runs.

Here are all the statistical highlights from Jaffna Stallions’ 8-wicket victory during the JS vs GG game:

A big knock in the chase from Avishka:

92* – Avishka Fernando’s unbeaten 92 is now the 8th highest individual score during a T20 chase in Sri Lanka. Only one of the seven scores more than Avishka’s 92* during T20 chases on Sri Lankan soil resulted in a defeat.

Avishka’s 92* is also the highest individual score in T20 cricket in Hambantota surpassing Kusal Perera’s 87 during the tournament opener on Thursday. The seven sixes hit by Fernando are also the most by any player in a T20 match in Hambantota.

63 – The 63 balls faced by Avishka during the JS vs GG game are most during a T20 chase on Sri Lankan soil. Dilshan Munaweera also faced 63 balls during his 75* in the 2018 domestic T20 game for Colombo CC.

Afridi’s fastest T20 fifty:

20 – Shahid Afridi’s 20-ball fifty during the JS vs GG game is his joint-fastest fifty in the T20 format. Afridi brought up his fifty for Hampshire in the 2017 T20 Blast game against Derbyshire in 20 balls. It was Afridi’s last 50+ score in T20 cricket which turned out to be his lone T20 ton as well.

Afridi has a total of 11 fifty-plus scores in the T20 format out of which three came in Sri Lanka only. He has four 50+ scores on England soil in T20 cricket while one each came in UAE, Bangladesh and Kenya alongside two fifties in Pakistan.

252 – Shahid Afridi completed 250 sixes in the Twenty20 format with the six maximums he hit during his 23-ball 58. He is only the 2nd player from Pakistan after Shoaib Malik (305) to hit 250+ sixes in T20s.

Avishka @ 1000 runs:

1001 – Avishka Fernando completed 1000 runs in the Twenty20 format when he reached his individual score of 91 on Friday. His unbeaten 92 against Galle is now his highest T20 score surpassing 76 which he scored for Colts CC against Ragama CC earlier this year.

Among Sri Lankans, only Dinesh Chandimal (34), Dhananjaya de Silva (35), Kumar Sangakkara (36) and Sanath Jayasuriya (37) took fewer innings than Avishka (38) to reach 1000 T20 runs. Kusal Mendis also got to the milestone in 38 innings while the Sri Lankan born Ruvindu Gunasekera, who migrated to Canada, also reached 1000 T20 runs in 38 innings.

An expensive 4-fer for Olivier:

4/44 – Duanne Olivier’s 4/44 is now the joint 2nd most expensive 4-wicket haul by any player in the T20 format on Sri Lankan soil. Charith Rajapaksa also took 4/44 during the last year’s domestic T20 game while Sachithra Senanayake conceded 46 runs for his four wickets during the 2015 Pallekele T20I against West Indies.