Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne and Maheesh Theekshana guided Sri Lanka to an eight-wicket win over West Indies in their final game of the Super Six stage of the ICC World Cup Qualifier 2023.
Sri Lankan Skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and had no hesitation to bowl first in order to get the advantage with the new ball in early morning conditions.
Sri Lanka made two changes to their playing XI – the 27-year old off-spinning all-rounder Sahan Arachchige made his debut for Sri Lank, while Dushan Hemantha got his first game of the tournament.
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Sri Lanka had made the like-for-like replacements of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dhananjaya de Silva, with Hemantha and Arachchige.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Sahan Arachchige, Dasun Shanaka(c), Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana
West Indies (Playing XI): Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope(w/c), Nicholas Pooran, Shamarh Brooks, Kyle Mayers, Roston Chase, Kevin Sinclair, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein
Sri Lanka got off to a brilliant start with the ball thanks to Theekshana, who did the early damage by picking up 3 top order wickets up front, including the scalp of Windies’ Skipper Hope.
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West Indies were stuttering at 123/7 at one stage of the innings, but a special batting effort from Carty and their middle order helped them post a respectable total – 243 on the board.
Carty put his hand up to script his highest score (87) in ODIs and found great company in Sinclair to build a 63-run stand for the 9th wicket to revive West Indies’ innings.
Theekshana was once again brilliant with the ball for Sri Lanka as he scalped 4 key wickets for just 34 runs in his 10-over spell.
Sri Lanka’s opening batting pair Karunaratne and Nissanka once again provided an excellent start to the innings, adding a 190-run stand for the first wicket.
Nissanka displayed his array of shots against both spin and pace to bring up his 3rd century in ODIs, and the 2nd consecutive century of the tournament.
Karunaratne, continuing his brilliant form in the tournament, brought up another classy fifty as Sri Lanka cruised to the target with ease in the 45th over with 8 wickets in hand.
West Indies were sloppy in the field and did not hold onto their chances as they dropped at least four catches. With this win, Sri Lanka continues their unbeaten run in the tournament and will be going into the Final with plenty of momentum on their side.
Sri Lanka will take on Netherlands in the final of the tournament on Sunday (9th July) at the Harare Sports Club Grounds.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon King | b Mahesh Theekshana | 10 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 55.56 |
| Johnson Charles | lbw b Matheesha Pathirana | 39 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 102.63 |
| Shamarh Brooks | c Kusal Mendis b Mahesh Theekshana | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Shai Hope | lbw b Mahesh Theekshana | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Nicholas Pooran | c Pathum Nissanka b Dushan Hemantha | 14 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 70.00 |
| Keacy Carty | c Dilshan Madushanka b Dasun Shanaka | 87 | 96 | 6 | 1 | 90.62 |
| Kyle Mayers | b Sahan Arachchige | 18 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Roston Chase | lbw b Dushan Hemantha | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Romario Shepherd | b Mahesh Theekshana | 26 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 123.81 |
| Kevin Sinclair | b Dilshan Madushanka | 25 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 69.44 |
| Akeal Hosein | not out | 6 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 46.15 |
| Extras | 13 (b 0 , lb 5 , nb 1, w 7, pen 0) |
| Total | 243/10 (48.1 Overs, RR: 5.04) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-36 (6.2) Brandon King, 2-42 (8.1) Shamarh Brooks, 3-55 (10.1) Shai Hope, 4-62 (11.4) Johnson Charles, 5-81 (16.5) Nicholas Pooran, 6-122 (27.4) Kyle Mayers, 7-123 (28.1) Roston Chase, 8-155 (34.4) Romario Shepherd, 9-218 (44.2) Kevin Sinclair, 10-243 (48.1) Keacy Carty, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dilshan Madushanka | 10 | 0 | 49 | 1 | 4.90 | |
| Dasun Shanaka | 3.1 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 8.71 | |
| Mahesh Theekshana | 10 | 0 | 34 | 4 | 3.40 | |
| Matheesha Pathirana | 10 | 1 | 61 | 1 | 6.10 | |
| Dushan Hemantha | 10 | 0 | 49 | 2 | 4.90 | |
| Sahan Arachchige | 5 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 3.60 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | c Roston Chase b Kevin Sinclair | 104 | 113 | 14 | 0 | 92.04 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | lbw b Akeal Hosein | 83 | 92 | 7 | 0 | 90.22 |
| Kusal Mendis | not out | 34 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 79.07 |
| Sadeera Samarawickrama | not out | 17 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 94.44 |
| Extras | 6 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 5, pen 0) |
| Total | 244/2 (44.2 Overs, RR: 5.5) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-190 (33.3) Pathum Nissanka, 2-204 (36.5) Dimuth Karunaratne, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Mayers | 6 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 5.00 | |
| Romario Shepherd | 6.2 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 7.10 | |
| Kevin Sinclair | 10 | 0 | 52 | 1 | 5.20 | |
| Akeal Hosein | 10 | 0 | 52 | 1 | 5.20 | |
| Roston Chase | 9 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 4.33 | |
| Keacy Carty | 3 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 6.00 | |
