100/3 (13.3)
CR : 7.41
96/10 (19.3)
CR : 4.92
Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Maheesh Theekshana
3/25
13.2
2
J Frylinck to B Rajapaksa
Back of a length angling into Rajapaksa who slaps it in between deep square leg and deep mid wicket for an easy brace.
13.3
6
J Frylinck to B Rajapaksa
SIXX!! Rajapaksa ends the game with a stylish six. Slightly short angled into Rajapaksa who moves inside and just helps it on its way over the deep fine leg fielder for a maximum.
DG: And there it is, a comprehensive performance from the Lankan Lions who have won this game by 7 wickets in hand. A win to start the World Cup and this will surely boost their confidence for the remaining qualifying matches. Namibia put up a brave fight, but never really challenged Sri Lanka. They played well in bits and pieces and will surely learn from their mistakes.
A target of 97 was never going to trouble the Sri Lankan batters. But for a brief period, it looked like Namibia had something in store for their opposition. The top-order batting woes of the Sri Lankan batters continued as they failed to get going against an inexperienced Namibian bowling attack. At one stage, Sri Lanka were tottering at 3 for 26 and Namibia saw a small ray of hope.
But all the hopes were dashed by the dynamic duo of Rajapaksa and Avishka Fernando who consolidated the sinking ship of their side and played a mature knock under pressure as the duo added 74 runs for the 4th wicket. In the end, skipper Gerhard Erasmus tried all the permutation combinations with his bowling lineup, but Sri Lanka eventually eased through the target with 39 balls to spare.
SL won by 7 wickets
Maheesh Theekshana bags the Player of the Match award.
Maheesh Theekshana " It's a huge moment for me as I am just 21. My stock ball is off break. In the last game, I played against India, I got the Man of the Match. I am proud to represent my country, I just take each match, one by one"
Gerhard Erasmus: "We started well with the ball and have to take positives from this game. Still two matches to go and we have to take the positives into the other games. We clearly have to regroup as two vital matches are coming up for us. Sri Lanka have a quality attack and with just 96 on the board the batters have to take the responsibility."
Dasun Shanaka: "A really good performance from our team. We want to do well in the qualifying stage and all went good for us today. He was outstanding with the ball (Theekshana). He has been training with Ajantha Mendis and has a lot more to offer. Winning all three matches will keep us in a good frame of mind as we'll know the conditions and everything."
That's all for the coverage of this qualifying match. Do join us tomorrow, sharp at 2:45 PM IST for the live coverage of the Scotland v PNG game. Till the next time, it's a ta-ta and a goodnight from me, Anurag Dasgupta and my co-commentators, Anurag Singh and Akshay Bhide.