Five-wicket Hasaranga leads Sri Lanka to rout of Oman
Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took his second successive five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka crushed Oman by 10 wickets in the 2023 World Cup Qualifier on Friday.
Sri Lanka now have two wins from two matches and are well-placed to reach the Super Six stage.
Scotland are also on course for the next stage after they defeated the UAE by 111 runs in the day’s other Group B fixture.
Hasaranga took six wickets in the opening win over the UAE, and was at it again with five for 13 against Oman who were bowled out for just 98.
Sri Lanka needed just 15 overs to chase that total down, Dimuth Karunaratne (61 not out) leading them home.
Lahiru Kumara (3-22) also starred with the ball for 1996 world champions Sri Lanka as Oman slipped to 20 for four.
A 52-run stand between Jatinder Singh (21) and Ayaan Khan (41) hinted at a recovery before Hasaranga entered the fray.
His triple wicket maiden ripped the heart out of the Omani middle order, leaving them in dire trouble at 72 for seven.
Hasaranga finally removed Ayaan before finishing off the innings by trapping Bilal Khan leg before.
Sri Lanka showed their intent from the very first ball of the chase, Pathum Nissanka (39 not out) slashing Bilal for four over point.
The pair never really looked troubled, bringing up the 50 partnership in the seventh over with Karunaratne’s fifth boundary of the innings.
“He’s a champion. Whenever I throw him the ball, he delivers for me,” Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka said of Hasaranga.
“Very good to see him keep getting five-wicket hauls and man of the match awards. I think the future is really bright and they support staff and management has done a good job to keep the environment calm.”
Sri Lanka have now won two in a row with matches against Ireland and Scotland to come. Oman can still reach the Super Six with a win over Scotland in their next game.
Scotland backed up their thrilling one-wicket win over Ireland by beating the UAE by 111 runs, with a captain’s knock from Richie Berrington.
His 127 with nine fours and three sixes fired them to 282 for eight before Chris Sole and Safyaan Sharif finished the job with the ball.
Michael Leask with 41 also shone with the bat.
“It was really important today after the win against Ireland to turn up and adapt to the conditions. Pleasing that we put in such a clinical performance with the ball and make it pretty comfortable,” said Berrington.
Plenty of UAE batters got in, including skipper Muhammad Waseem (36), but none were able to turn starts into big scores as wickets fell at regular intervals.
With two wins apiece, the West Indies and Zimbabwe meet in Harare on Saturday and are both well-placed to make the Super Sixes from Group A.
The other match between the Netherlands and Nepal could end up being decisive in the race for third place.
For Nepal, only a win will do but if they can get the better of the Dutch, they will be on the brink of qualifying.
Netherlands will clinch a top three spot in the group with a win, ahead of a final match against the West Indies. (AFP)
