146/9 (20.0)
CR : 7.30
162/6 (20.0)
CR : 8.10
Sri Lanka won by 16 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Kusal Mendis
79(44)
19.5
0
L Kumara to M O'Dowd
Back of a length and outside the off. O'Dowd misses the swing!
19.6
0
L Kumara to M O'Dowd
Back of a length and outside the off. O'Dowd shuffles and misses the swing. Sri Lanka win by 16 runs and are almost there in the Super 12's!
Over 20
Netherlands 146/9
Max O'Dowd71(53)
Roelof van der Merwe0(1)
Lahiru Kumara1-28(4.0)
SL won by 16 runs
Some late-end magic from the Sri Lankan bowlers has ensured that they move to the next stage i.e. Super 12s on this occasion. It was a valiant effort from Max O’Dowd as he steered his side much closer to the target but in the end, the Dutch side had to taste the harsh defeat. O’Dowd would be banging his head to fail to stretch past the finishing line despite coming so near.
Netherlands did look in the game in the first half of the innings but didn’t really could up the ante with the building pressure. It was Max O'Dowd who had to be credited for his insane innings of 71 runs from 53 deliveries.
Earlier, arriving to surmount 163 runs, it was Max O’Dowd and Vikramjit Singh as the opening pair for Netherlands. They lost 2 wickets inside the powerplay, scoring just 40 runs. O’Dowd lacked support from the other end, and the wickets fell in succession. The Sri Lankan spinners controlled the run-scoring rate quite well in the middle stages. It was the duo of Hasaranga and Theekshana which fetched five wickets between them.
Skipper Scott Edwards hovered around for a while with the blistering opener at the opposite end, but later got out in a terrible fashion, trying to sweep an overpitched delivery.
The chase went down to the wire, courtesy of Max O'Dowd and an erratic over from Maheesh Theekshana in the 19th over. He gave away 16 runs of it, which meant the Dutch side needed 23 runs in the last over. A good over from Lahiru Kumara meant that the orange army fall short of the target by 16 runs.
Netherlands still have a chance to qualify provided UAE beats Namibia in the match to follow.
The chase went down to the wire, courtesy of Max O'Dowd and an erratic over from Maheesh Theekshana in the 19th over. He gave away 16 runs of it, which meant the Dutch side needed 23 runs in the last over. A good over from Lahiru Kumara meant that the orange army fall short of the target by 16 runs.
Netherlands still have a chance to qualify provided UAE beats Namibia in the match to follow.
Previously in the game, winning the toss, Sri Lanka had opted to bat first. Openers Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka gave the Lankan side a brisk start, and later it was Paul van Meekeren who gained two wickets on back-to-back deliveries to draw the first blood.
Charith Asalanka and Kusal Mendis shifted the tide towards them and built a partnership of 60 runs together. It was Bas de Leede with his golden arm who broke the shackles and initiated a few more scalps for the Dutch side.
Mendis switched gears as the game progressed and therefore steered the total to 162 with tiny supports from the tail. Bas de Leede and Paul van Meekeren bagged two wickets for Netherlands and one was scalped by Fred Klaassen.
Kusal Mendis | Player of the Match: "Yeah, earlier, the wicket was a little bit slower. Took time as I knew the runs would come along. Took singles and tried to get set. Yeah Asalanka was slower in his first 15 balls, but later he started to score. Yeah, was a tough track to bat and happy that I did well. Yeah, happy with the qualification."
Scott Edwards | Netherlands Captain: "I think we bowled really well in the powerplay. Things didn't go our way in terms of picking wickets. Once you didn't get too many wickets up at the top, you know they will come hard at us in the middle overs. Yeah, hope that UAE will bring their 'A' game to help us qualify. Now, the things aren't at our hands."
Dasun Shanaka | Sri Lanka Captain: "We knew we can be the no.1 in this group but was unfortunate to lose the first one. I knew it was a two-paced wicket and credits to the boys for doing well, specially the bowling unit. Lahiru, Wanindu, Maheesh did well. In the first half, we controlled the rate well and therefore we are able to win this game. Thank you."
So, despite some stout-hearted efforts from Netherlands, Sri Lanka has finally edged past to find themselves in the Super 12s. The Dutch side would be melancholic and would be hoping to see UAE beat Namibia in order to find themselves in the next stage.
Thank you so much for sticking to our coverage, hope you enjoyed it. It's time to sign off, from your guy, Arijit Kundu alongside deputy, Akshaya Krishna Polya, correspondent Jack, and scorer analyst Zeeshan Naiyer. Until then, enjoy the last game of this group and the WBBL match slating soon.
Thank you so much for sticking to our coverage, hope you enjoyed it. It's time to sign off, from your guy, Arijit Kundu alongside deputy, Akshaya Krishna Polya, correspondent Jack, and scorer analyst Zeeshan Naiyer. Until then, enjoy the last game of this group and the WBBL match slating soon.