Lucknow, Saturday – Sri Lanka celebrated their first victory in the ICC World Cup series with a comfortable 5-wicket win against Netherlands in an exciting match at Ekana Stadium. Despite Netherlands’ Aryan Dutt’s strong performance, it was Sadeera Samarawickrama who stole the show.
Aryan Dutt, a spinner from the Netherlands, made a great start by taking important wickets, dismissing Kusal Perera and skipper Kusal Mendis. But Sadeera Samarawickrama, a middle-order batsman for Sri Lanka, played a fantastic inning. He scored an unbeaten 91 runs and was named the ICC Player of the Match.
Samarawickrama and opener Pathum Nissanka added 52 runs for the third wicket. Nissanka achieved his third consecutive half-century in One Day Internationals, setting a new record for Sri Lanka. Samarawickrama continued his impressive performance by partnering with Charith Asalanka, who scored 44 runs before falling to Aryan Dutt. Samarawickrama then added 77 more runs with Dhananjaya de Silva, securing the win for Sri Lanka.
Netherlands chose to bat first and faced a tough start. Sri Lankan bowlers Dilshan Madushanka and Kasun Rajitha took five wickets for just 71 runs. The situation looked bleak when Maheesh Theekshana bowled out Dutch skipper Scott Edwards for 16 runs.
However, Netherlands made a comeback with a remarkable 7th-wicket partnership by Sybrand Engelbrecht and Logan van Beek, scoring 131 runs, setting a new ICC World Cup record.
Sri Lankan bowlers Rajitha and Madushanka impressed, taking eight wickets together. But Sri Lanka’s fielding displayed some weaknesses, except for notable catches by Kusal Perera and Charith Asalanka.
In the end, Netherlands managed to post a total of 262 runs on the board. The match showcased the excitement of the ICC World Cup with ups and downs for both teams.
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).
