SAJEEWA JAYAKODY
Netherlands faced a tough start in their fourth ICC World Cup match against Sri Lanka at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium. 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).
