Sri Lanka, the Asia Cup champion, have secured their place in the Super 12 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. In the group round, the Lankans lost their first game. But they have made a brilliant comeback in the remaining two games to secure a place in the Super 12. Today, Sri Lanka defeated the Netherlands by 16 runs at GMHBA Stadium.
Match Report
Sri Lanka needed to win today’s match against the Netherlands. So, the Lankans were very serious today. Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and decided to bat first in this crucial game. As a result, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis came into the pitch to start the innings for the Lankans.
Both openers were playing slowly from the first over. However, they picked up 36 runs in the opening partnership. But in the 7th over, Sri Lanka lost two wickets as Paul van Meekeren picked up Pathum Nissanka and Dhananjaya de Silva. Kusal Mendis then tackled the initial disaster with the new batter, Charith Asalanka. Together they added 60 runs to the scoreboard. Unfortunately, Asalanka couldn’t score more than 31 as he lost his wicket to Bas de Leede in the 15th over.
After that, Kusal Mendis started hitting boundaries. He became aggressive on the crease. With Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Kusal Medis made a brilliant partnership of 34 runs for the Lankans. However, Kusal Mendis scored the highest 79 off 44 balls before losing the wicket. Relying on his bat, Sri Lanka ended their innings with 162 runs.
Chasing the target, the Netherlands couldn’t get a good start. They lost their first wicket in the 4th over as Vikramjt Singh departed the crease with 7-runs.
Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was very deadliest in this match. He destroyed the Dutch’s batting line-up alone by taking three crucial wickets. However, opener Max O’Dowd fought for his life to chase the runs. He remained not out in 71 runs. But the remaining batters failed to contribute much to the team. As a result, Sri Lanka tied them up by 146 runs and won the match by 16 runs.
