LPL to be played over two legs in Hambantota and Pallekele

The Lanka Premier League (LPL) T20 Cricket Tournament will open with a night match between the Colombo Kings and Galle Gladiators on November 21 at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Hambantota, with the tournament in its entirety being split into two legs.

The first-leg, which covers the first 11 matches of the tournament, will be played in Hambantota while the second half will be played at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy.

Teams will move from one bio-secure bubble into another and will have a four-day break in between the two legs.

“We wanted to play some matches at the Dambulla Stadium as well but there were some issues with the ground relating to the floodlights which would have resulted in us incurring an extra cost. Also, it would have been an added expense to have a third bio-secure bubble,” Tournament Director of the LPL and Vice-President of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Ravin Wickramaratne told the Daily Mirror today.

The top four teams will qualify directly into the semi-finals, to be played on December 10 and 11, with the final on December 13. SLC have also scheduled a reserve day in the event the final cannot be completed on that day. A ceremony to open the tournament has been planned ahead of the first match on November 21. (SMD)