Netherlands vs Sri Lanka, 12th Match
First Round Group A (N), Sharjah, Oct 22 2021,T20 World Cup 2021
Match Result : Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets (with 77 balls remaining)
Player of the Match : Lahiru Kumara
Match Report : This was the first one-sided match of the World Cup, and aptly enough, Sri Lanka were ruthless with their execution. Seven years after they had outplayed Netherlands for 39, the lowest T20 World Cup total, Sri Lanka condemned the same team to the second-lowest total too, running through them for 44 in merely ten overs.
The chase was more batting practice than anything else, and the top order, which had not performed until now in the tournament, for the first time faced no pressure at all.
Even so, Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka fell for low scores, as Sri Lanka still finished the game off in just over seven overs, giving their own confidence a nice jump ahead of the Super 12s round, they could barely have wished for a smoother evening’s work.
A disappointing end to the campaign for Netherlands, who came into the T20 World Cup promising much more. They still have some very good players, but it just didn’t come together for them today, even though they had topped the qualifying race.
The only positive point they can take from this game is that they didn’t give it away easily despite defending a low target, fishing out two wickets and not letting through a flood of boundaries.
Sri Lanka will be happy they’ve dominated the opposition here, but now tougher tests await. At least they’re as primed as can be.
Shanaka | SL captain: “Bowlers executing really well. I didn’t bowl in these qualifiers (sic), so we have six bowlers. We know the advantages and disadvantages (in these conditions) so going forward it’s a big plus for us.”
Seelaar | Netherlands captain: “Pretty simple – SL outplayed us. Outplayed this whole group. Just two steps ahead. Have got a SA series in November. Qualifier in NZ in March. Got to go to the drawing board. They came out with some good heat, some good aggression, and some team frustration came out.”
Lahiru Kumara | Player of the Match. He credits bowling coach Chaminda Vaas for his showing. Says the team is going well and they want to continue that rhythm.
This is what the groups now look like:
Group 1: Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Group 2: Afghanistan, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland and Namibia.
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