Galle Gallants Win Maiden Lanka Premier League 2026 Title: Galle Gallants produced a superb performance, defeating Jaffna Kings by five wickets to lift the Lanka Premier League 2026 trophy for the first time. In the final played in Colombo, Galle’s bowlers did not allow Jaffna’s batsmen to play freely and restricted the entire team to just 123 runs. Galle then achieved the target by losing five wickets with 25 balls remaining.
Strong performance by the bowlers
Charith Asalanka and Ishan Malinga laid the foundation for Galle’s victory. Both bowlers took three wickets each, putting Jaffna’s middle order under immense pressure. Tharindu Ratnayake also took two wickets. Kamil Mishara top-scored for Jaffna with 41 runs off 32 balls, while Chamindu Wickremesinghe made a quickfire 25 off 16 balls.
Who became the player of the series?
Ishan Malinga’s three wickets were a highlight. With this performance, he became the highest wicket-taker of LPL 2026, taking 17 wickets in the tournament. He bowled at an economy rate of 9.32 throughout the season. Captain Charith Asalanka was named Player of the Match in the final match for his impressive bowling performance, while Jaffna’s Kamil Mishara was named Player of the Series for scoring 411 runs throughout the season.
The team did not have a good start
Chasing a target of 124, Galle Gallants didn’t have a good start, losing Sam Harper in the first over. Tom Rogers then took charge, scoring 34 runs off 27 balls. However, Shakib Al Hasan took two consecutive wickets in the ninth over to give Jaffna hope of a comeback. He dismissed Rogers and then Dinura Kalupahana.
Kalupahana scored 31 runs off 19 balls. Chamika Karunaratne then departed, but Galle’s batsmen maintained composure under pressure. Dasun Shanaka and Sahan Arachchige took charge and guided the team to the target.
Gaël Gallant’s historic victory
Captain Dasun Shanaka finally finished the match in a thrilling fashion with a blistering unbeaten 20 off just 9 balls. Galle Gallants achieved the target in 15.5 overs for the loss of 5 wickets, defeating Jaffna Kings by 5 wickets with 25 balls to spare. With this victory, Galle Gallants became the first champions in LPL history.