SL qualify for 2023 WC: Decoding their journey in Qualifiers
Team Sri Lanka has confirmed their spot in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, which will be played in India in October-November. On Sunday (July 2), they defeated hosts Zimbabwe by nine wickets to maintain their unbeaten run in the CWC Qualifiers. This was their sixth win in the tournament which officially secured SL's WC berth. Here we decode their journey.
A 10th-place finish in the CWC Super League standings
SL had to feature in the qualifying event as they failed to finish in the top eight of the inaugural ICC CWC Super League standings. With just seven wins in 24 games, they finished at the 10th spot. However, they embraced the challenge and topped Group B with wins in all four games. They then defeated Netherlands and Zimbabwe in the Super-Sixes stage.
A look at SL's run in the tournament
SL started off their campaign with a thumping 175-run against UAE. They then thrashed Oman by 10 wickets. Even Ireland could not do much against them and suffered a 133-run loss. SL defeated Scotland by 82 runs in their last league game. Though Netherlands gave them a hard time, SL eventually prevailed by 21 runs. The nine-wicket win against Zimbabwe sealed their WC spot.
Openers have been among the runs
Openers Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne have been SL's leading run-getters in the competition. While the former has smashed 290 runs at 72.50, Karunaratne is just behind him with 286 runs at 57.20. Both batters own two fifties and a ton in the tournament. Overall, Nissanka and Karunaratne are the fourth and fifth-leading run-getters of the tournament, respectively.
How has the middle order performed?
Sadeera Samarawickrama, who has scored 182 runs at 45.50, is the only other SL batter with multiple 50-plus scores (2) in the competition. Other middle-order batters Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, and Dhananjaya de Silva boast one fifty apiece. Asalanka's strike rate of 119.84 is the highest among SL batters with 65-plus runs in the event. All-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga has scored 62 runs (SR: 124).
Hasaranga's golden run with the ball
Hasaranga claimed five-wicket hauls in SL's first three games in the competition including a six-fer in the opener. Only Pakistan's Waqar Younis has taken as many successive fifers in ODIs. With 20 wickets at 12.45, Hasaranga is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. His teammate and fellow spinner Maheesh Theekshana trails him with 13 wickets at 14.69.
Sri Lanka's run in World Cups
SL have featured in all previous 12 editions of the ODI World Cup. While they tasted glory back in 1996, the 2007 and 2011 editions saw them finishing as runners-up. They made it to the semi-final and quarter-final of the 2003 and 2015 events, respectively. The Lankans could not make it to the knock-outs in the preceding ODI WC in 2019.
