(Reuters) – Kusal Mendis blasted a timely half-century and Wanindu Hasaranga took three wickets as Sri Lanka eased into the Super 12 phase of the T20 World Cup with a 16-run win over the Netherlands in Geelong yesterday.
The Dutch side also made the Super 12 as the second team from Group A after United Arab Emirates did them a massive favour by beating Namibia by seven runs despite David Wiese’s valiant 55.
Mendis’ swashbuckling 79 from 44 drove Sri Lanka to 162 for six on a sunny afternoon at Kardinia Park before the talismanic Hasaranga helped restrict Netherlands to 146 for nine, despite an unbeaten 71 from opener Max O’Dowd.
Sri Lanka joined champions Australia, England, Afghanistan and New Zealand in Group I of the Super 12 stage.
The 2014 champions were stunned by Namibia in their first qualifier, but steadied their campaign by thrashing the UAE.
“We knew that when we came to the World Cup we would be the favourites in this group,” said Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka.
“Unfortunately we missed out in the first game, but we regrouped and we came back strong.”
With injuries tearing through Sri Lanka’s bowling unit, the Asia Cup champions brought in Lahiru Kumara and left-armer Binura Fernando in place of Dushmantha Chameera, who was ruled out of the tournament on Wednesday, and the sidelined Pramod Madushan.
The replacement seamers each chipped in a wicket, while Maheesh Theekshana took 2-32 in front of a modest but buoyant crowd of Sri Lankan fans.
The Netherlands started well in their chase but came to grief as the powerplay wound up, losing two wickets in four balls to fall to 47 for three in the seventh over.
The runs dried up as all-rounder Hasaranga went to work with his leg-spin and Shanaka bowled tidily off the seam.
NERVOUS WAIT
Needing 100 runs off the last 10 overs, Netherlands tried to slog their way out of trouble but a quick double-strike by Hasaranga in the 17th over all but wrapped up the match.
They endured a nervous wait and heaved a huge sigh of relief as the UAE went on to register their first victory in a T20 World Cup.
Opting to bat, the UAE posted a modest 148-3 with opener Muhammad Waseem topscoring for them with a breezy 50.
Captain Chundangapoyil Rizwan (43) and Basil Hameed (25) milked 51 runs in the last five overs to power the UAE to a competitive total.
Namibia lost the top half of their batting lineup inside eight overs and slumped to 69-7 in the 13th over but Wiese, dropped on 33, launched a spectacular counter-attack to drag his side back into the contest.
The African side needed 16 runs from the last over from Waseem, who dismissed Wiese with his fourth delivery to effectively seal the match for his side.
The Netherlands join India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa and a qualifier in Group II.
“It is a great moment for UAE cricket, our first ever victory in a World Cup. I’m really grateful,” captain Rizwan said.
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus said they could not maintain momentum after the victory against Sri Lanka.
“After the high of the first game, the momentum swung against us and we couldn’t quite get over the line and play well enough cricket for the next two games to get through.”
