ICC World Cup Qualifier 2023: Sri Lanka top Super Six table with 21-run win over Netherlands

A blistering half-century from Dhananjaya de Silva and all-round efforts from Mahesh Thikshana and Wanindu Hasaranga helped Sri Lanka overcome a valiant effort from the Netherlands in their ICC Cricket World Cup Super Six match on Friday.

Sri Lanka won by 21 runs and are on top of the Super Six stage points table with six points. The Netherlands is in fourth place with two points. Sri Lanka elected to bat first and did not get off to a good start, losing the wicket of opener Pathum Nissanka on the very first ball.

He lost two more wickets in less than five overs. Ryan Klein dismissed Kusal Mendis for 10, while Van Beek dismissed Sadeera Samarawickrama for just one in the very next over.

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Van Beek took his third wicket in the seventh over, dismissing the in-form Charith Aslanka for just two runs.

Sri Lanka had lost half their team for 67 runs. It was the big wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne, who was looking to rebuild and shared a 33-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Dhananjay de Silva. Dimuth could score 33 runs in 51 balls.

From that point on, de Silva stood alone for Sri Lanka as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Wanindu Hasaranga raised some hopes with some powerful hitting but he too was bundled out for 20 runs. Mahesh Thikshana scored valuable 28 runs.

De Silva continued to resist and hit a six and two fours in one over from Sharij Ahmed to get the edge. He took Sri Lanka’s score past 200 runs but fell just seven runs short of a century. His 111-ball knock was studded with eight fours and two sixes.

The Netherlands bowled out the Lankan team for 213 in the 48th over. This was Sri Lanka’s second lowest total against an associate team. Van Beek (3/26) and Bas de Leede (3/42) were the bowlers chosen for the Netherlands.

The Netherlands struggled in their chase of 214, losing their openers Vikramjit Singh and Max O’Dowd for a duck. Wesley Barresi and Bas de Leede began the rebuilding work for the Netherlands and stitched a half-century partnership for the third wicket. Baresi also scored his 7th ODI half-century.

The Dutch faltered after the wicket of Baresse (52 off 50 balls with six fours and a six) and soon their five wickets fell and they needed 87 runs to win. Lead also scored 41 runs in 53 balls with the help of three fours.

Mahesh Thikshana took two wickets in his fifth over to further strengthen the Netherlands. But Captain Scott Edwards refused to go down without a fight. He shared crucial stands with the lower order to give hope to his team.

However, he was stranded at the other end, scoring 67* off 68 balls as the team fell 22 runs short of the desired target. Netherlands were bowled out for 192 in 40 overs.
Thikshana (3/31) and Hasaranga (2/53) were the best bowlers for Sri Lanka. Dhananjay got the ‘Player of the Match’ for his half-century innings.