In the T20 World Cup Super 12, Mendis propels Sri Lanka past the Netherlands.
As Asian champions Sri Lanka defeated the Netherlands by 16 runs on Thursday to advance to the Twenty20 World Cup’s Super 12 round, opener Kusal Mendis smashed a 44-ball 79.
The Netherlands finished with a score of 146-9 after being outscored 162-6, with 102 of them coming off the final 10 overs, by the eighth-ranked team in the world.
Following the latter match between Namibia and the United Arab Emirates in Geelong, it will be decided in which Super 12 group they will compete.
A victory for the African team will eliminate the Dutch and advance them because they already have a higher net run rate. The Dutch will advance if the UAE upsets Namibia.
Sri Lanka is in the Super 12 for the third time in a row, and they’re trying to recreate their heroics from the previous year, when Dinesh Chandimal led them to victory.
But the journey there was difficult; after being defeated by UAE and now the Netherlands, it had been stunned by Namibia in the tournament’s first game.
Pathum Nissanka and Mendis struggled to just 22 runs off the first five overs after Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat.
Having been dropped in the fifth over, Nissanka was in trouble when hostile pace bowler Paul Van Meekeren re-entered the fray and delivered a yorker with the score at 14.
The following ball, Dhananjaya de Silva was out lbw, and he followed him back to the pavilion as Sri Lanka continued to play recklessly with numerous chances that were narrowly missed by the fielders.
In order to increase the run rate, Charith Asalanka and Mendis put in a 60-run stand until Asalanka was caught behind by all-rounder Bas de Leede for 31.
Mendis hit a six to reach his ninth T20 half-century, followed by two more sixes in the penultimate over before being run out while almost carrying his bat while going for another boundary.
Despite the absence of pace spearheads Dushmantha Chameera and Pramod Madushan due to injury, a Sri Lankan attack led by stand-ins Lahiru Kumara and Binura Fernando managed to contain the Dutch in the opening overs.
Opening batsman Vikramjit Singh was dismissed for seven runs after being caught by Dusan Shanaka off Maheesh Theekshana. Kumara then claimed the important dismissal of young star De Leede for fourteen runs.
As they reached 63-3 at the half, the seasoned Colin Ackermann attempted a golden duck to Hasaranga de Silva’s spin.
Opening batsman Max O’Dowd (71 not out) fought valiantly to stay in the game, but when captain Scott Edwards was bowled by Fernando after scoring 21 runs quickly, they fell from 100-4 to 109-8, and the game was all but over.
