SAJEEWA JAYAKODY
In a thrilling match at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday, Sri Lanka secured their first victory in the ICC World Cup series by defeating Netherlands with a comfortable five-wicket win. Despite a strong effort from Netherlands’ spinner Aryan Dutt, it was Sadeera Samarawickrama, a key middle-order batsman for Sri Lanka, who played a fantastic innings.
Aryan Dutt, the offspinner, made an impressive start by taking two important wickets, dismissing Kusal Perera and skipper Kusal Mendis. However, Sadeera Samarawickrama showed remarkable composure and played a crucial role in stabilizing Sri Lanka’s innings. He scored an unbeaten 91 runs, earning himself the ICC Player of the Match award.
Samarawickrama partnered with opener Pathum Nisankaa, and together, they added 52 runs for the third wicket. Nisankaa achieved his third consecutive half-century in One Day Internationals, setting a record for Sri Lanka as an opener, surpassing the previous record held by Roshan Mahanama.
Samarawickrama continued to make a significant impact on the game, forming a crucial partnership of 77 runs with Charith Asalanka, who contributed with a patient 44 runs before falling to Aryan Dutt. Even after Asalanka’s departure, Samarawickrama managed to add another 77 runs to the total, this time in partnership with Dhananjaya de Silva. De Silva played a composed innings, scoring 30 runs off 37 balls, including two important sixes towards the end of the match.
Samarawickrama’s exceptional performance played a vital role in Sri Lanka’s successful pursuit of the target, securing their first win in the ICC World Cup series.
Earlier, Netherlands faced a tough start, choosing to bat first, the Dutch team struggled as Sri Lankan bowlers Dilshan Madushanka and Kasun Rajitha put on a brilliant show, taking five wickets for just 71 runs. Madushanka and Rajitha used their swing bowling skills to trouble the Dutch batsmen.
Things looked dire for the Netherlands when Maheesh Theekshana bowled a fantastic delivery that spun into the stumps of Dutch skipper Scott Edwards, who could only manage 16 runs. The score was a mere 91 for 6 at that point.
However, the match took an exciting turn as Sybrand Engelbrecht and Logan van Beek put up a remarkable partnership for the seventh wicket. They managed to score 131 runs together, setting a new record for the highest seventh-wicket partnership in ICC World Cup history, surpassing the previous record held by Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.
The Sri Lankan bowlers, particularly Rajitha and Madushanka, were impressive, taking a total of 8 wickets between them. This performance showed positive intent for Sri Lanka in future tournament matches.
Notably, there were some issues with Sri Lanka’s fielding, as they displayed poor ground fielding and a lack of energy, except for great catches made by Kusal Perera and Charith Asalanka.
In the end, the Netherlands managed to post a decent total of 262 runs on the board, despite their early struggles. The match showcased the ups and downs of both teams, making it an exciting contest in the ICC World Cup.
Chief Scores:
Netherlands: 262 all out in 49.4 overs (Sybrand Engelbrecht 70, Logan van Beek 59, Colin Ackermann 29, Scott Edwards 16, Max O’Dowd 16, Dilshan Madushanka 4/49, Kasun Rajitha 4/50, Maheesh Theekshana 1/44).
Sri Lanka: 263/5 in 48.2 overs (Sadeera Samarawickrama 91, Pathum Nissanka 54, Charith Asalanka 44, Dhananjaya de Silva 30, Kusal Mendis 11, Aryan Dutt 3/44, Colin Ackermann 1/38, Paul van Meekeren 1/39).
