Mendis, spinners star as Sri Lanka upstage Netherlands and book a spot in Super 12s
With the 16-run win against Netherlands in their third and final first round fixture, Dasun Shanaka's men have booked a spot in the Super 12s. If Namibia win against the UAE later on the day, Netherlands will be knocked out of the tournament despite winning two out of three because of the former's superior net run rate.
After a heavy defeat against Namibia, Sri Lanka made a strong comeback in the first round of the ICC T20 World Cup. With the 16-run win against Netherlands in their third and final first round fixture, Dasun Shanaka's men have booked a spot in the Super 12s. If Namibia win against the UAE later on the day, Netherlands will be knocked out of the tournament despite winning two out of three because of the former's superior net run rate.
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanka opted to bat first after winning the toss. Kusal Mendis scored 79 off 44 balls to lead his team to a score of 162/6. Charith Asalanka scored 31 off 30 balls. Apart from these two, none of the Sri Lanka batters crossed 20.
Fast bowler Paul van Meekeren was the standout for the Netherlands, recording figures of 2/25.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The match was a must-win for both teams, particularly for Sri Lanka as they lost their first match to Namibia by 55 runs and needed to win this match to be at par with the Netherlands in terms of points.
For Netherlands, Max O'Dowd (71 off 53) tried his best to get close to Sri Lanka's total but it was a little bit too much for them. Sri Lanka spinners - Maheesh Theekshana (2/32) and Wanindu Hasaranga (3/28) - shared five wickets among them and Lahiru Kumara returned 1/28 off four overs.
Two run outs towards the end hurt Netherlands as well as they finished with 146/9 and fell 16 short.
