Rathnayake, Shanaka, Mendis fifties power Sri Lanka to 225/5
Pavan Rathnayake and skipper Dasun Shanaka returned to form with blazing fifties, while Kusal Mendis anchored the innings with another half-century as Sri Lanka piled up a formidable 225 for 5 against Oman in their Group B T20 World Cup clash here on Thursday.
After a poor World Cup debut against Ireland, where he fell for a sloppy upper cut for 5, Rathnayake made amends in style, smashing a 28-ball 60 (8x4, 1x6).
He brought up his maiden T20I fifty in just 24 balls, overtaking his previous best of 40 at this venue earlier this month. The 23-year-old charged pacer Jiten Ramanandi for the innings’ first six in the 12th over and hammered Sufyan Mehmood for three successive fours to reach the milestone.
Rathnayake and the experienced Mendis added 94 runs off just 52 balls, maintaining a run-rate in excess of nine through the middle overs. They rotated strike smartly as 40 of Sri Lanka’s 96 runs at the halfway mark came in singles and twos.
Mendis, playing the senior partner’s role to perfection, capitalised on width from the Oman spinners and struck seven fours in his 61 off 45 balls, his second successive fifty and 19th overall.
He was run out in the penultimate over.
Shanaka, who had endured a lean build-up to the tournament with scores of 1, 4 and 0, exploded at the death with a 19-ball fifty — the fastest by a Sri Lankan in the T20 World Cup. He took on Nadeem Khan with a boundary and back-to-back sixes, and then smashed Sufyan Mehmood for successive sixes to reach the landmark.
Shanaka and Mendis fell off consecutive deliveries in the 19th over, briefly slowing the charge. But Kamindu Mendis ended with a flourish, hitting Shah Faisal for two sixes in a row as the co-hosts scored 65 runs in the last four overs to post the highest total of this edition so far.
