At the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St. Lucia on Monday, June 17, the 2014 edition champions Sri Lanka (SL) and the Netherlands (NED) squared off in a dead rubber in game 38 of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. The Lankans lost the toss and elected to bat first to start the game.
Pathum Nissanka, the team’s opener, was removed off the field in the second ball of the game without contributing any runs to the score. This dealt the side an early blow. On the other hand, Kusal Mendis hit five boundaries and scored 46 runs in just 29 deliveries against the Dutch spinners. Following the powerplay, the scoreboard read 45/2, putting the previous champions in a position of stability.
The middle order of Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, and Angelo Mathews steadied the batting for their side and scored the majority of the runs when the top three Lankan batsmen walked off the pitch. De Silva amassed 34 runs off 26 deliveries with caution, hitting three fours and a six.
An vital 43-run partnership for the fifth wicket was forged by Asalanka and veteran Mathews. In contrast, Mathews maintained his perfect record with a score of 30 runs in 15 deliveries, while Asalanka scored a strong 46 runs in 21 deliveries. In addition, Sri Lanka managed to achieve a first innings total of 201/6 thanks to the 20 runs scored by captain Wanindu Hasaranga.
Logan van Beek took two wickets, which made him the highest wicket-taker for Scott Edwards and company.
Sri Lanka triumphed in the T20 World Cup group stage.
With the intention of pursuing the mark, the Dutch team got off to a quick start thanks to opener Michael Levitt’s scorching 31-run knock off of 23 deliveries. Max O’Dowd and Vikramjit Singh, on the other hand, didn’t really contribute to the scorecard as Netherlands’ total was 62/3 in less than eight overs. The Dutch team attempted to play freely with no pressure to advance to the next round. However, they quickly lost four wickets as a result of their misguided strategy. While doing everything in his power to ensure that his team won, Edwards lost his wicket despite hitting 31 runs off of 24 deliveries.
Also read: T20 World Cup 2024: Sri Lanka vs Netherlands, 38th Match – Who Said What?
Hasaranga and his team completed an easy 83-run victory, with no batter remaining at the crease for very long. The best bowler for his team was Nuwan Thushara, who claimed three wickets in 3.4 overs.