Dasun Shanaka fireworks extend Knight Riders' losing streak

Result: LAKR 196 all out beat Seattle Orcas 115 all out by 81 runs Powell vs Shanaka: Rovman Powell smashed 5 consecutive sixes off Dasun Shanaka in the 17th over. Powell’s cameo: 37 off 11 balls, 1 four + 5 sixes. Shanaka’s figures: Taken for 37 runs in that over before dismissing Powell.

Their spin twins kept Los Angeles Knight Riders in their MLC 2026 contest against Seattle Orcas but their batting came a cropper in a modest chase to go down to a 20-run defeat. It was Knight Riders' second loss in a row after two wins, while for Orcas, the win, their third in six games, took them to the top of the table for the moment.

Having opted to bat, Orcas struggled against the spin of Fabian Allen and Sunil Narine, as well as the medium pace of Jason Holder. Between them, the three went for 61 runs from 12 overs, picking up five wickets.

But still, Orcas managed to get a respectable score on the board, and that was entirely down to Dasun Shanaka, who walked out in the 13th over at the fall of Marcus Stoinis' wicket, with the scoreboard reading 66 for 5, slammed a six off Shadley van Schalkwyk to get going, and finished unbeaten on 58 from 23 balls, hitting five fours and five sixes in his innings.

Knight Riders got a decent start in response. Colin Munro couldn't quite get going, but Andre Fletcher scored 23 in 13 balls as the opening partnership got them 42 runs in five overs. But there was little to crow about after that. Munro's 33, the top score of the innings, took 36 balls. Only three other batters got into double digits and Holder's 20-ball 21 was the best of those efforts. And Knight Riders finished well behind at 134 for 8.

Stoinis (3 for 28) and Harmeet Singh (2 for 20) did much of the damage for Orcas, while all their bowlers kept things tight.

The headline "Shanaka's blitz hands Knight Riders another defeat" fits the June 28 game where Seattle beat LA, with Shanaka playing for the Orcas. LAKR fell 20 runs short chasing 155, adding to their losses this season. If you meant the Powell 5-sixes over, that was LAKR beating Seattle – Shanaka got blitzed, not the other way around.