Sports

Sri Lanka thrash Dutch by eight wickets and 77 balls to spare

Published

5 years ago

2021/10/23

Sri Lanka finished off the World Cup qualifiers in style beating Netherlands by eight wickets in Sharjah yesterday. Pic Sameera Pieris.

Rex Clementine in Sharjah

Sri Lanka finished off their World Cup qualifying round in style cruising to a massive eight wicket win with 77 balls to spare against Netherlands here in Sharjah yesterday. With Sri Lanka having already qualified and more than certain of number one slot in the group, the game was a dead rubber but they did not take the foot off the gas.

Netherlands were bowled out for 44 runs in just ten overs and then Sri Lanka knocked off the target without breaking a sweat.

This is the second lowest score in T-20 World Cups. The lowest also belongs to the Dutch who were bowled out for 39 against Sri Lanka in the 2014 World Cup. New Zealand’s 60 all out is the third lowest in World Cups and incidentally that was also against Sri Lanka.

Netherlands had made lot of noise prior to the tournament but they failed to live up to expectations losing all their games and finishing last in the group.

Sri Lanka left out struggling former captain Dinesh Chndimal brining in Charith Asalanka in his place.

They had things under control from the word go with Max ODowd run out by a brilliant piece of fielding by Dasun Shanaka, who is frequently scoring direct hits these days. .

Maheesh Theekshana shared the new ball and bamboozled the Dutch top order mixing up his deliveries cleverly and claimed two wickets in his first over. He went off the field with a side strain and did not return to the field. The Island learns that the bowler is out of danger and Sri Lanka kept him out as a precaution.

Then it was Wanindu Hasaranga’s show as the Dutch struggled to pick his googly and he claimed three wickets.

The Dutch lower middle order and tail were exposed to Lahiru Kumara and Dushmatha Chameera and their class was too good for the opposition as wickets fell at regular intervals. Kumara claimed three wickets for seven runs and bowled a maiden too. The quick has made tremendous progress in the last three months. Chameera settled for one wicket.

Sri Lanka now head into the World Cup with a lot of momentum behind them. Given three of their five World Cup games will be played here in Sharjah and one wonders whether they would have been better off batting first to give some exposure to their batters. However, all’s well that ends well.

Sri Lanka will meet Bangladesh on Sunday in their first World Cup game. Their other games are against Australia, South Africa, England and West Indies.

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Colombo Kaps down Dambulla Sixers by 21 runs

Published

7 hours ago

2026/07/26

Priyan

Colombo Kaps defended 197 runs to win the 12th match of the Lanka Premier League by restricting Dambulla Sixers to 176/8 at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Saturday [25] night.

SCORES:
Colombo Kaps 197/5 in 20 overs [Rubin Hermann 39, Sadeera Samarawickrema 16, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 12, Kamindu Mendis 88*, Ben McDermott 14, Janith Liyanage 17; Fazalhaq Farooki 1-41, Dushmantha Chameera 1-41, Ramesh Mendis 1-05, Gulabdin Naib 1-15]
Dambulla Sixers 176/8 in 20 overs [Pavan Rathnayake 50, Marques Ackerman 40, Gulabdin Naib 28, Maheesh Thhekshana 13; Shahnawaz Dahani 2-20, Wanuja Sahan 1-34, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-33, Malsha Tharupathi 1-26, Milan Rathnayake 1-26]

Latest News

Kandy Royals win by 11 runs

Published

7 hours ago

2026/07/26

Priyan

Nuwan Thushara starred with three wickets

Kandy Royals’ bowlers led by Nuwan Thushara were able to defend their score of 165 to win the 11th match of the Lanka Premier League by defeating Galle Gallants by 11 runs at Dambulla on Saturday.

SCORES:
Kandy Royals 165/6 in 20 overs [Lahiru Udara 16, Dale Phillips 34, Wanidu Hasaranga 16, Moeen Ali 41, Angelo Mathews 28, Vijay Shankar 15; Pramod Madushan 2-41, Akif Javed 2-26, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 2-36]

Galle Gallants 154/8 in 20 overs [Sam Harper 14, Charith Asalanka 14, Chamika Karunarathne 52, Dasun Shanaka 57*; Nuwan Thushara 3-33, Asitha Fernando 2-33, Moeen Ali 1-11, Wanidu Hasaranga 1-26]

Sports

Jaffna Kings LPL side under SLC purview

Published

13 hours ago

2026/07/26

Thilina Walpola

Jaffna Kings former co-owner Manjot Kalra is in judicial custody until July 31

Innovative Production Group (IPG), the tournament rights holder of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), in consultation with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has terminated the franchise agreement with Sports Commune, which was granted franchise rights of the Jaffna Kings.

The termination follows the franchisee’s inability to fulfil its financial obligations under the terms of the franchise agreement. As a result, all rights relating to the Jaffna Kings franchise have reverted to IPG, which, together with Sri Lanka Cricket, has assumed full operational control of the team.

IPG confirms that the 6th edition of the LPL will proceed as scheduled and Jaffna Kings will continue to participate in the tournament under the same nomenclature, with no changes to the squad, tournament format, or match schedule.

To ensure the uninterrupted operation of the franchise, IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket have taken complete responsibility for all player, coaching staff, and support staff contracts. The organizers also confirm that all logistical arrangements for the team have been secured, ensuring the squad is intact for the tournament.

Furthermore, approximately 90% of all player and staff payments have already been completed, with the remaining payments to be settled in accordance with contractual commitments.

IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket remain committed to delivering a successful sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League while upholding the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and transparency for players, teams, commercial partners, and fans.