Sri Lanka has advanced to the Super 12 for the third time in a row, and they will be looking to emulate their triumphs from 2014, when Dinesh Chandimal led them to victory. As Asian champions Sri Lanka defeated the Netherlands by 16 runs on Thursday to advance to the Twenty20 World Cup’s Super 12 round, opener Kusal Mendis smashed a 44-ball 79.
The Netherlands’ final total was 146/9. The eighth-ranked team in the world scored 162/6, blitzing 102 of them off the final 10 overs, to set a lofty goal that they were unable to meet.
The result of the latter match between Namibia and the United Arab Emirates in Geelong will decide which Super 12 group Sri Lanka will play in.
The Dutch will be eliminated if the African team wins, and they will advance since they already have a higher net run rate. The UAE upsetting Namibia would advance the Dutch.
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But it was a difficult journey to get there; after being defeated by UAE and now the Netherlands, it was upset by Namibia in the tournament’s first game.
“We were certain that we might have won the group, but the first game prevented us from doing so “Dasun Shanaka, captain of Sri Lanka, stated.
But the guys have done well, particularly the bowling team. We wanted to bowl well in the opening 10 overs and then take control of the game since I knew the wicket was two-paced.”
Sri Lanka vs Netherlands Match Highlights
Sri Lanka had a sluggish start to their innings after winning the toss and electing to bat, with Pathum Nissanka and Mendis managing just 22 runs off the opening five overs. When intense pace bowler Paul Van Meekeren rejoined the attack and delivered a yorker, Nissanka—who had been dropped in the sixth over—was left helpless.
The following ball, Dhananjaya de Silva was out lbw, and he immediately returned to the pavilion. Sri Lanka was living dangerously at the time, with several opportunities falling just short of the fielders. Prior to Charith Asalanka being caught behind off all-rounder Bas de Leede for 31, Mendis and Asalanka put up a 60-run partnership to increase the run pace.
Mendis hit a six to reach his eighth T20 half-century, followed by two more in the penultimate over before being caught trying to go for another boundary and nearly carrying his bat.
Despite the absence of pace spearheads Dushmantha Chameera and Pramod Madushan due to injury, a Sri Lankan attack led by stand-ins Lahiru Kumara and Binura Fernando successfully fended off the Dutch early on.
Vikramjit Singh, the opener, was caught by Shanaka off Maheesh Theekshana for seven, and Kumara then claimed the important wicket of emerging star De Leede for fourteen. As the Dutch reached 63-3 at the break, the seasoned Colin Ackermann went for a golden duck to Hasaranga de Silva’s spin.
Opening batsman Max O’Dowd (71 not out) battled valiantly, but the game was all but over when skipper Scott Edwards was dismissed by Fernando after scoring a quick-fire 21.
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