An unbeaten 74-run stand between Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Chamika Karunaratne and a spirited bowling performance spearheaded by Lahiru Kumara saw Sri Lanka clinch a 5-wicket win over Oman in the second T20.
Dasun Shanka won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first. The visitors made two changes to the side bringing in Charith Asalanka and Binura Fernando, leaving out Kamindu Mendis and injured Nuwan Pradeep.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Dinesh Chandimal(w), Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Akila Dananjaya,
Oman (Playing XI): Kashyap Prajapati, Jatinder Singh, Aqib Ilyas, Zeeshan Maqsood(c), Mohammad Nadeem, Ayan Khan, Sandeep Goud, Naseem Khushi(w), Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Bilal Khan
Binura Fernando and Lahiru Kumara shared the new ball for the visitors and gave a decent start, restricting Oman to 23 for 1 in their combined spell of 4 overs upfront.
However, Oman’s number three batter Aqib Iliyas and number four batter Zeeshan Maqsood tried to take the game away from the visitors with a quick 39-run partnership off 23 balls but a stunning catch by Binura Fernando at short fine-leg pushed Oman onto the backfoot at 77 for 3 after 10 overs.
Read: Fernando, Shanaka and Kumara star in hard-fought win against Oman
The Sri Lankan bowlers continued to put pressure on the hosts’ batters but a late blitz provided by Iliyas helped them post a respectable total of 159 runs.
Iliyas made a blistering 60 off 38 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes, giving his team a fighting chance. Lahiru Kumara and Chamika Karunaratne were the pick of the bowlers for the visitors as they bagged 2 wickets each.
Chasing 160 runs to win, Sri Lanka got off to a decent start, putting on 40 runs in the first 4 overs but lost opener Dinesh Chandimal and one drop Charith Asalanka in the process. Pathum Nissanka and Avishka Fernando then built an impressive partnership of 47 runs off 30 balls for the third wicket.
Read: Nuwan Pradeep ruled out of T20 World Cup
The resurrection was followed by a collapse as Sri Lanka lost 3 wickets in 8 balls just as they were looking comfortable, stumbling to 89/5 in 11 overs.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Chamika Karunaratne then built a match-winning 74-run partnership for the sixth wicket, guiding Sri Lanka to a 5-wicket win in the end.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jatinder Singh | b Binura Fernando | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 41.67 |
| Kashyap Prajapati | c & b Chamika Karunaratne | 22 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 115.79 |
| Aqib Ilyas | c Dasun Shanaka b Chamika Karunaratne | 59 | 38 | 3 | 4 | 155.26 |
| Zeeshan Maqsood | c Binura Fernando b Maheesh Theekshana | 16 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 200.00 |
| Ayaan Khan | b Lahiru Kumara | 20 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 76.92 |
| Naseem Khushi | b Lahiru Kumara | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 300.00 |
| Sandeep Goud | c Avishka Fernando b Dasun Shanaka | 12 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 150.00 |
| Mohammad Nadeem | run out () | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Fayyaz Butt | not out | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Kaleemullah | not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 15 (b 5 , lb 5 , nb 0, w 5, pen 0) |
| Total | 159/8 (20 Overs, RR: 7.95) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-15 (2.6) Jatinder Singh, 2-36 (5.2) Kashyap Prajapati, 3-75 (9.1) Zeeshan Maqsood, 4-134 (16.5) Aqib Ilyas, 5-141 (17.2) Naseem Khushi, 6-142 (17.4) Ayaan Khan, 7-142 (17.5) Mohammad Nadeem, 8-157 (19.4) Sandeep Goud, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binura Fernando | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 4.50 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 4 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 5.00 | |
| Maheesh Theekshana | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 6.00 | |
| Chamika Karunaratne | 4 | 0 | 39 | 2 | 9.75 | |
| Akila Dananjaya | 3 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 11.00 | |
| Dasun Shanaka | 3 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 8.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | lbw b Kaleemullah | 26 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 89.66 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Ayaan Khan b Fayyaz Butt | 18 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 225.00 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Fayyaz Butt b Zeeshan Maqsood | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 125.00 |
| Avishka Fernando | lbw b Mohammad Nadeem | 33 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 183.33 |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksa | not out | 35 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 112.90 |
| Dasun Shanaka | c Naseem Khushi b Mohammad Nadeem | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Chamika Karunaratne | not out | 35 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 134.62 |
| Extras | 11 (b 1 , lb 3 , nb 3, w 4, pen 0) |
| Total | 163/5 (17.3 Overs, RR: 9.31) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-25 (2.4) Dinesh Chandimal, 2-40 (4.2) Charith Asalanka, 3-87 (9.2) Pathum Nissanka, 4-89 (10.1) Avishka Fernando, 5-89 (10.3) Dasun Shanaka, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaleemullah | 3.3 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 9.39 | |
| Bilal Khan | 3 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 8.33 | |
| Fayyaz Butt | 3 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 10.00 | |
| Zeeshan Maqsood | 4 | 0 | 38 | 1 | 9.50 | |
| Ayaan Khan | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13.00 | |
| Mohammad Nadeem | 3 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 7.33 | |
