Sri Lanka drubs UAE by 175 – Wanindu Hasaranga 6/24 Player of the Match all-round show
TOP FIVE BATTERS RUN RIOT
By Srian Obeyesekere
All-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva fired out the United Arab Emirates for 180 runs off 39 overs in returning career best figures of 6 for 24 to round off a cameo 23 off 12 final assault in a run avalanche of 355 for 6 as Sri Lanka got on song in their opening qualifying round match of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Club by drubbing the less fancied opposition by 175 runs at the Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo,Zimbabwe on Monday.
The Lankans got off to electrifying run assault after being put into bat with the top five of Pathum Nissanka 57 off 76 (5×4), Dimuth Karunaratne 52 off 54 (7×4), Kusal Mendis 78 off 63 (10×4), Sadeera Samarawickrama 773 off 64 (9×4) and Charith Asalanka 48 n.o. off 23 (5×4, 2×6) leading the way.
Full marks to former captain Dimuth Karunaratne, back in the fold from two years in the wilderness, showing the way in his boundary filled spurt adding 95 for the first wicket with Pathum Nissanka off 102 balls. Following Karunaratne’s exit leg before wicket to Aayan Afzal Khan swishing across and missing, the Nissanka-Kusal Mendis second wicket partnership realised 43 off 55 balls when the latter was bowled by Basil Hameed. The advent of Sadeera Samarawickrama set up the tempo – 105 off 79 before Mendis exited caught by by substitute fielder E.C. D’Souza off Ali Naseer.
Samarawickrama went on to stamp his flourish to the key No.4 slot in a new found elevation in ably manning the area in only the 27-year old right-hander’s second outing since being called up for duty in the hounding of Afghanistan in the third home ODI. He added a further 44 off 25 with Charith Asalanka before being run out in the quest for quick runs. The UAE did have late respite in the quick doubledismissals of Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka for 1 to give Ali Naseer his second wicket and when Dhananjaya de Silva followed five balls later falling leg before wicket to Rohan Mustafa for 5 off 5 as Sri Lanka reached 297 for 6 after 46.2.
But it was to usher the final lashing – the seventh-wicket run riot between Charith Asalanka and Wanindu Hasaranga in plundering 58 off the last 22 deliveries.
Pacer Lahiru Kumara started the UAE slide as he caught and bowled Rohan Mustafa for 12 before the wrecker Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva got into the act trapping the UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem leg before wicket for a sturdy 39 off 48 balls that included 5 boundaries and a six – UAE 1 for 36 after 5.3, and 82 for 2 after 16.1. But the early gall that little known UAE had fronted was to gradually wither against the menacing Hasaranga spin web as he proceeded to trap Basil Hameed plumb leg before wicket two deliveries later without addition to the score. Twelve runs and 14 balls later Hasaranga made his second strike tanking out Asif Khan leg before wicket for 8 off 7. The UAE got to 119 when Dhananjaya de Silva removed Vritya Aravind who became the third batsman to fall LBW for 39. From that point only two others – Ali Naseer 34 off 32 with 3 boundaries and a six, and Rameez Shahzad 26 off 43 with 2 boundaries made substantial scores as the UAE prospered through a 48-run sixth-wicket resistance between the duo which was broken when Maheesh Theekshana bowled Naseer and Hasaranga bowled the other in reducing the UAE to 170 for 7 after 34.1 and going on to wrap it up accounting for the last two wickets as well sfter Karthik Meiyappan was run out for a duck.
CHIEF SCORES:
Sri Lanka 355/6 (50 Overs)
(Kusal Mendis 78, Sadeera Samarawickrama 73, Pathum Nissanka 57, Dimuth Karunaratne 52, Charith Asalanka n.o. 48, Wanindu Hasaranga n.o. 23, Ali Naser 2/44, Basil Hameed 1/19, Aayan Afzal Khan 1/52, Rohan Mustafa 1/55)
United Arab Emirates 180 (39 Overs)
(Muhammad Waseem 39, Vritya Aravind 39, Ali Naseer 34, Rameez Shahzad 26, Rohan Mustafa 12, Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva 6/24, Lahiru Kumara 1/26, Dhananjaya de Silva 1/25, Maheesh Theekshana 1/43}
The post Sri Lanka drubs UAE by 175 – Wanindu Hasaranga 6/24 Player of the Match all-round show first appeared on Sri Lanka Cricket.
The post Sri Lanka drubs UAE by 175 – Wanindu Hasaranga 6/24 Player of the Match all-round show appeared first on Sri Lanka Cricket.
