The Portuguese had attempted three times without success to capture the Kingdom of Kandy, in order to bring the entire island under their rule.

In 1635, Rajasinghe II became the king of Kandy and started negotiations with the Dutch to obtain their help in driving out the Portuguese.

[4] Rajasinghe, earlier known as Maha Asthana, had fought against the Portuguese at the Battle of Randeniwela along with his father and cousins in 1630.

[8] Rajasinghe had presented an elephant to a Portuguese merchant, António Machado, who had gained the king's favour.

[8] Melo began preparing his troops to attack Kandy after the seizure of his horses by the Sinhalese king.

On 19 March 1638, Melo departed from Colombo and arrived at Menikkadawara with an army of 900 Portuguese soldiers and 5,000 mercenaries including Lascarins, Kaffirs, Malays, Canarese, and some Sinhalese.

[8] The Portuguese army was put under the command of Fernão de Mendonça Furtado, the nephew and son-in-law of Melo.

The Sinhalese army encamped on Gannoruwa hill, preparing to attack the Portuguese force upon their return from Kandy.

[10] While reconnoitering with his generals in the area around a shrine called Dodanwala Dewalaya, the king's crown fell from his head.

[2] The Portuguese force advanced through Atapitiya to Balana, a fort and observation post of the king's army.

They sacked and burned the city, including the royal palace and temples, and then withdrew, intending to return to Colombo.

[2] They retreated towards Balana with the objective of entrenching themselves on the slopes of Kiriwat Talawa, but had only reached Gannoruwa by nightfall.

[12] At Gannoruwa, Sinhalese woodmen cut down forest trees and obstructed the Portuguese path, preventing them from crossing the nearby Mahaweli river.

The road back to Kandy was blocked by troops from Matale, and all escape routes were effectively cut off.

Before the Portuguese troops could reach the high ground at Kiriwat Talawa, the Sinhalese army surrounded them and opened fire with their heavy guns, including jingals.

[14] The numbers of the Portuguese force were rapidly reduced before the Sinhalese army charged up the hill and attacked them.

[21] King Rajasinghe II later presented Melo's sword to a Dutch Admiral, Adam Westerwolt.