Sri Lanka qualify for ODI World Cup with an unbeaten streak of six wins

Sri Lanka (Source: Twitter)

Sri Lanka beat the home team Zimbabwe in the ODI World Cup Qualifiers and became the first team to qualify for the ODI World Cup from the Qualifiers. Opting to bowl first at Bulawayo, Sri Lanka’s collective efforts with the ball restricted Zimbabwe to a total of just 165. Dilshan Madushanka and Maheesh Theekshana were great with the ball, as they registered a figure of 3/15 and 4/25 respectively. Matheesha Pathirana picked 2 wickets and cleaned up Zimbabwe’s tail.

Chasing 166, Sri Lanka looked totally in control throughout their innings. Pathum Nissanka batted very well by taking minimal risks. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis batted cautiously and assisted Nissanka well. The 25-year-old batted well and scored an unbeaten ton. Nissanka’s 101(102) consisted of 14 boundaries. Sri Lanka chased down the target in just 33.1 overs. Maheesh Theekshana got the Player of the Match award for his great spell with the ball.

An unbeaten streak of six wins

In the first game of their campaign, Sri Lanka registered a massive 175-run victory against the United Arab Emirates. The top 4 batters of the island nation registered fifty and Wanindu Hasaranga claimed a 6-wicket haul in the match. In the second match, Lankans beat Oman by 10 wickets. Hasaranga claimed yet another fifer and helped Sri Lanka register an easy win. In the third match, Sri Lanka beat Ireland by a whopping 133 runs. Dimuth Karunaratne’s 103 and Sadeera Samarawickrama’s 82 helped Sri Lanka score 325 against Ireland. With the ball, Hasaranga claimed yet another fifer and helped Sri Lanka in winning the game. Wanindu became only the second bowler to claim three fifers in a row in ODIs after Waqar Younis.

In the last game of the league stage, Sri Lanka faced Scotland and beat them comfortably by 82 runs. In the first Super six game, Sri Lanka beat the Netherlands by 21 runs. In a closely contested game, the collective team efforts helped the Lankan Lions to win the game. Against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka won the game by 9 wickets and qualified for the World Cup with 2 games to spare. With six wins on a trot, Sri Lanka is unbeaten in the tournament till now.