Ngarava’s Galle Titans suffer heavy defeat

IT was not a good outing for Zimbabwe senior men’s national team bowler Richard Ngarava and his teammates at Galle Titans after they on Friday night suffered their first defeat of the season in the ongoing 2023 Lanka Premier League (LPL) at the hands of Jaffna Kings.

Ngarava’s Titans fell to an eight wickets loss after they were outplayed in all departments that saw them being handed their first loss in three outings they have played so far.

However, it was not such a bad match on a personal level for the Chevrons star.After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Ngarava and his team were restricted to 117/9 in their 20 overs before their opponents went on to chase down the target in 12,4 overs to finish on 120/2.

In the match’s first innings, Ngarava came in to bat at number 11 and remained undefeated with six runs after facing six balls. He managed to score one four as his team struggled with the bat. Their captain, Dasun Shanaka top scored with 30 runs off 24 balls while Shevon Daniel made 25 runs off as many deliveries. Daniel’s opening partner, Lasith Croospulle fell for 19 runs off 12 balls.

For the Jaffna Kings, Dunith Wellalage put up a brilliant performance with ball in hand as he claimed four scalps for just 10 runs in his four-over spell. Nandre Burger had the second-best figures of 2/15 in two overs.

Defending what was a below par score, Ngarava had the best economy rate from the Titans bowlers. Failing to pick up a wicket, the 25-year-old Chevrons star only bowled two overs and went for an impressive four runs only. The only two wickets that the Titans picked were taken by Shakib Al Hassan who, in his four overs, conceded 31 runs.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz starred with the bat for Jaffna Kings, top scoring with 54 runs from 39 balls while Towhid Hridoy remained undefeated on 44 runs off 23 balls to guide their side to a comfortable win.

Next up for Ngarava and Titans is a clash against Colombo Strikers in Pallekele tomorrow. The Titans would fancy their chances as their opponents are sitting at the bottom of the standings with just one win from their first three games.

This is Ngarava’s debut season in the LPL and in his first match, he managed to claim two wickets which played a huge part in his team going all the way to collect maximum points.

Playing in international franchise leagues will also provide the left hander the opportunity to more exposure with the 2024 T20 World Cup Qualifiers on the cards. – @brandon_malvin