CWC Qualifiers: Bowlers help Sri Lanka sail past Netherlands
Sri Lanka continued their purple patch as they edged past Netherlands in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers at the Queen Sports Club ground in Bulawayo. The Lankan Lions registered a 21-run victory over the Dutch with some sensational bowling performances from all their bowlers. SL restricted Netherlands to only 192 after they could only manage 213. Notably, this is their fifth straight win.
How did the match pan out?
SL won the toss and decided to bat first and were off to a very poor start. They never got going as Netherlands kept picking wickets. Dhananjaya de Silva (93) was the lone warrior SL were bundled for 213. Bas de Leede and Logan van Beek scalped six wickets together. In reply, Netherlands folded for 192 despite fifties from Wesley Barresi and Scott Edwards.
De Silva slammed his highest ODI score
SL all-rounder De Silva smashed a 111-ball 93 as he was the only Lankan batter to cross the 50-run mark. The all-rounder tonked eight fours and two sixes as he fell short of his maiden ODI ton. The right-handed batter has now raced to 1,649 runs in 74 ODI appearances at an average of 28.43. This was his 10th ODI fifty.
De Leede and van Beek claim three-fers against SL
Netherlands were brilliant from the start of the game as their pacers De Leede and Van Beek scalped three wickets apiece. They were the main weapon for the Dutch as they restricted SL to only 213. De Leede finished with figures of 3/42 in 9.4 overs while Van Beek scalped 3/26 in his nine overs. This was also De Leede's best ODI figures.
A steady hand from Wesley Barresi
Dutch veteran batter Barresi played a fearless knock as he attacked Wanindu Hasaranga with aplomb. Barresi scored his seventh ODI fifty with a steady 50-ball 52, laced with six fours and a six. He stitched a nice partnership with De Leede but Dasun Shanaka ran him out right after he slammed his fifty. Barresi has amassed 1,085 runs in 42 ODIs at 30.13.
13th ODI fifty for Edwards
Netherlands skipper Edwards fought valiantly as he registered his 13th ODI fifty. The wicket-keeper batter was simply running out of partners as he kept the scoreboard ticking. Edwards brought up his half-century in only 47 deliveries. He did put up a sensational fight but the Dutch fell short by 21 runs. Edwards remained unbeaten at 67 from 68 balls.
A brilliant three-fer from Theekshana
SL spinner Maheesh Theekshana was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with 3/37 in his 10 overs quota. Theekshana was the one who made things very interesting during the run-chase. Firstly, he removed the dependable De Leede. Theekshana also dismissed Saquib Zulfiqar and Van Beek in quick succession to open up the match. Theekshana has scalped 24 ODI scalps in 19 matches.
Fifth straight win for SL
SL maintained a perfect record in the group-stage clashes of the Qualifiers. They entered the Super Six on the back of four wins and have continued the momentum with their fifth straight win. Their superior NRR of 1.832 has propelled them over Zimbabwe (0.752).
