T20 World Cup: Sri
Lanka & Netherlands qualify for Super 12 after shock UAE win
|
ICC Men's T20 World Cup, GMHBA Stadium, Geelong |
|
Sri
Lanka (162-6) beat Netherlands (146-9) by 16 runs |
|
United
Arab Emirates (148-3) beat Namibia (141-8) by seven runs |
|
Sri Lanka v Netherlands scorecard; Namibia v UAE scorecard; Table |
Sri Lanka and the Netherlands both progressed to the Super 12
stage of the Men's T20 World Cup following a thrilling conclusion to Group A.
They finished first and second in the group respectively to
qualify for the next stage of games, starting on 22 October.
Having lost to Sri Lanka earlier in the day, the Netherlands
qualified after a shock seven-run win for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over
Namibia.
It was the UAE's first ever win in the T20 World Cup, in only
their second tournament.
Some inconsistent bowling from Namibia allowed UAE to score a
competitive 148-3, with opener Muhammad Waseem top-scoring with 50 from 41
balls.
The Netherlands players who stayed in the ground watched in
anticipation as Namibia then slipped to 69-7, before David Wiese's heroic 55
from 36 balls dragged them back.
But needing 14 from the final over, Wiese holed out to long-on
to hand UAE an unexpected win - and the Netherlands an unexpected qualification.
In the earlier game, Kusal Mendis' 79 from 44 balls propelled
Sri Lanka to 162-6 - the right-hander smashing five sixes in his match-winning
innings.
Max O'Dowd's entertaining 71 not out from 53 balls kept
Netherlands in the game throughout their innings but they fell 16 runs short
and were left nervously waiting for the second game to be completed.
Sri Lanka qualify in first position meaning they join England,
Afghanistan, Australia and New Zealand in Super 12 Group A, while Netherlands
will face India, Pakistan, South Africa and Bangladesh in Super 12 Group B.
Both groups will see one more team join them, on completion of
the first-round's Group B, with Scotland and Ireland both hoping to qualify in
Friday's matches.
Pressure tells for Namibia
Namibia were firm favourites to join Sri Lanka in the Super 12
stage, as they did in 2021. They had shocked Sri Lanka in the first game of the
tournament and UAE were yet to register a win.
Their bowlers started well, restricting the UAE to just 30 runs
from the six-over powerplay, before it unravelled.
Opener Waseem's half-century anchored the innings before captain
CP Rizwan and Basil Hameed capitalised on some loose bowling in the death overs.
Rizwan finished unbeaten on 43 from 29 balls and Hameed 25 not
out from 14 balls as they reached 148-3, a competitive score that was more than
Namibia were expecting to chase.
The UAE needed their bowlers to back up the batting effort,
which they did brilliantly.
Hameed added two wickets to his cameo with the bat, and seamer
Zahoor Khan put in a stellar performance to take 2-20 from his four overs.
From 46-5 and then 69-7, Namibia looked gone, while the
Netherlands' players were pictured grinning in the stands.
But Wiese and Ruben Trumpelmann, who finished with 25 not out,
smashed 70 runs in seven overs to completely shift the momentum.
It was all going Namibia's way as UAE's inexperienced bowlers
produced wides, fielding errors and dropped Wiese on 35.
But eventual player of the match Waseem took the match-winning
wicket in the final over as Wiese attempted one six too many, Alishan Sharafu
taking a smart catch on the boundary to secure UAE's historic win.
Sri Lanka return to
winning ways
Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup in September but their World
Cup campaign started disastrously with a shock defeat to Namibia.
But in a must-win game to secure their place in the next stage,
they responded to the pressure impressively.
The Netherlands' bowlers dominated initially, restricting Sri
Lanka to just 36 runs from the opening six-over powerplay.
That soon became 36-2 as Paul van Meekeren took two wickets in
two balls, bowling opener Pathum Nissanka for 14 before trapping Dhananjaya de
Silva lbw for a golden duck.
But Mendis stood in their way. A partnership of 60 for the third
wicket with Charith Asalanka rebuilt the innings to allow him to accelerate -
Sri Lanka adding 102 from the final 10 overs.
His innings of 79 came to an end in the final over and set up an
imposing total for the Netherlands to chase.
Max O'Dowd, however, had other ideas.
The opener batted through the innings, watching wickets tumble
around him until a disastrous 19th over from Maheesh Theekshana conceded 16
runs to leave Netherlands needing 23 from the final six balls with one wicket
remaining.
At the other end, Roelof van der Merwe was hampered by a back
injury, barely able to run or swing the bat.
But Kumara held his nerve, conceding seven runs from the over
and leaving a deflated O'Dowd unbeaten on 71, a remarkable innings without
which the Netherlands would have subsided.
