LUCKNOW (Web Desk) – Sri Lanka on Saturday defeated Netherlands by five wickets in 19th match of the World Cup 2023 at Lucknow stadium.
The Lankans suffered early blows when Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis were dismissed in quick sessions. However, Pathum Nissanka tried to make a steady start with his fifty.
He got full support from Sadeera Samarawickrama before his removal by Paul van Meekeren. Dhananjaya de Silva made 30 runs while Charith Asalanka played an inning of 44 runs to boost the chase.
Later, Samarawickrama, who played an unbeaten knock of 91 runs, helping his team to bag the victory.
Earlier, feisty fifties from Sybrand Engelbrecht and Logan van Beek helped Netherlands to a competitive total against Sri Lanka in Lucknow. Kasun Rajitha (4/50) and Dilshan Madushanka (4/49) starred with the ball for Sri Lanka.
Netherlands had won the toss and decided to bat first against Sri Lanka.
Earlier Coverage
After chalking out a historic win against in-form South Africa, the Netherlands will take the field once again to play their brand of 'total cricket' as espoused by captain Scott Edwards. Squaring up against 1996 World Cup winners Sri Lanka. The outcome of the match could effectively decide the future of either of the two sides in the tournament.
While the Netherlands have bagged a win and are on the ascendency, Sri Lanka are yet to get off the mark, having drawn blank in last three matchups. The last match was a drag for the islanders as they downed the tools and surrendered rather tamely in front of an under-firing Australian squad.
If one regards the previous encounter as an aberration, the Sri Lankan team has managed to etch a 320+ total every time they have taken the field, which should be the silver outline that they should take into this contest. The bowlers, however, have been off the boil, partly due to the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmatha Chameera - the two linchpins of the Sri Lankan bowling lineup.
As for the Dutch side, their focus will be to replicate the minute planning which proved to be the foundation, upon which the win against Proteas was scripted. Edwards, a sharp mind on the field will look for the matchups and use them effectively to come out on top.
Dutch player Teja Nidamanuru, speaking on the eve of the contest, said it wouldn't be an upset if the Netherlands beat Sri Lanka.
"I don't know if I'd call it an upset if I'm really honest with you. We've competed against Sri Lanka multiple times in the qualifiers, and obviously, we fell short in our batting side, and we've worked extremely hard on that, whether that's camps in Alor and Bangalore, previous to the tournament or back in the Netherlands. So, we're here to play well and win," said Nidamanuru.
Squads:
Netherlands: Max O'Dowd, Teja Nidamanuru, Wesley Barresi, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Saqib Zulfiqar, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Vikramjit Singh, Noah Croes (wk), Scott Edwards (c & wk), Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Logan van Beek, Paul van Meekeren, Ryan Klein and Shariz Ahmad
Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews, Charith Asalanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Chamika Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Kusal Mendis (c & wk), Kusal Perera (wk), Dilshan Madushanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana