Sri Lanka managed to defend 162, albeit with some nervous moments, to win their final Group stage game and qualify for the Super 12 Round of the T20 World Cup.
The Netherlands hadn’t chased well in the tournament so far, despite their two wins, and 162 looked well beyond their reach at the half-way stage. However, Max O’Dowd held the innings together, despite a slow start, giving Sri Lanka a mighty scare in the final few overs, as he smashed 31 off the 18th and 19 over to give the Dutch a chance going into the final over of the game.
However, Lahiru Kumara, who had famously failed to defend 15 off the last over against South Africa last year, managed to give away just 6 runs this time, sealing a win for the Sri Lanka.
Nissanka, Chameera give Sri Lanka NRR boosting win
The openers started off slow, going at 6 runs an over until the 10th over. In fact, Mendis was on 23 off 21 at the end of the 8th over, but surged through the next 12, with 5 fours and 5 sixes to finish with 79 off 44.
Some much-needed runs came Charith Asalanka’s way as well, as he and Mendis built a 60-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, before the former fell in the 15th over.
Though neither Bhanuka Rajapaksa nor Dasun Shanaka made any significant contribution, Mendis batted on as Sri Lanka made 102 off the last 10 overs.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka made two forced changes to their XI, with Lahiru Kumara and Binura Fernando coming into the side to replace Dushmantha Chameera and Pramod Madushan. Chameera has been ruled out of the competition due to a calf tear, while Madushan is carrying a hamstring niggle.
Replacements confirmed for Chameera and Gunathilaka
The equation is pretty simple for both teams, a win here would secure them a place in the next round. While a win would take the Netherlands through as A1, Sri Lanka will need a big win to leapfrog Namibia on NRR (if Namibia beat UAE).
Playing XIs
Sri Lanka: Kusal Mendis (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka ©, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara, Binura Fernando
Netherlands: Max O’Dowd, Vikram Singh, Bas de Leede, Tom Cooper, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (C) (WK), Roelof van der Merwe, Tim Pringle, Timm van der Gugten, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren
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Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | b Paul van Meekeren | 14 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 66.67 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Logan van Beek b Timm van der Gugten | 79 | 44 | 5 | 5 | 179.55 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | lbw b Paul van Meekeren | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Scott Edwards b Bas de Leede | 31 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 103.33 |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksa | c Tim Pringle b Bas de Leede | 19 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 146.15 |
| Dasun Shanaka | c Colin Ackermann b Fred Klaassen | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 160.00 |
| Wanidu Hasaranga | not out | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 125.00 |
| Chamika Karunaratne | not out | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 4 (b 3 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 162/6 (20 Overs, RR: 8.1) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Klaassen | 4 | 0 | 34 | 1 | 8.50 | |
| Tim Pringle | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 7.33 | |
| Roelof van der Merwe | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 5.00 | |
| Paul van Meekeren | 4 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 6.25 | |
| Bas de Leede | 3 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 10.33 | |
| Timm van der Gugten | 3 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 10.33 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max O’Dowd | not out | 71 | 53 | 6 | 3 | 133.96 |
| Vikramjit Singh | c Dasun Shanaka b Maheesh Theekshana | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Bas de Leede | c Kusal Mendis b Lahiru Kumara | 14 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 140.00 |
| Colin Ackermann | c & b Wanidu Hasaranga | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Tom Cooper | b Maheesh Theekshana | 16 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 84.21 |
| Scott Edwards | b Binura Fernando | 21 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 140.00 |
| Tim Pringle | run out (Dhananjaya de Silva) | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Timm van der Gugten | b Wanidu Hasaranga | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Fred Klaassen | b Wanidu Hasaranga | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Paul van Meekeren | run out (Dasun Shanaka) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Roelof van der Merwe | not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 12 (b 1 , lb 1 , nb 1, w 9, pen 0) |
| Total | 146/9 (20 Overs, RR: 7.3) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5.00 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 4 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 7.00 | |
| Binura Fernando | 4 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 8.00 | |
| Maheesh Theekshana | 4 | 0 | 32 | 2 | 8.00 | |
| Wanidu Hasaranga | 4 | 0 | 28 | 3 | 7.00 | |
| Chamika Karunaratne | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5.50 | |
| Dasun Shanaka | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 | |
