Sri Lanka beat Oman
Blazing fifties by Pavan Rathnayake and skipper Dasun Shanaka along with Kusal Mendis’ assured half-century helped Sri Lanka register a statement 105-run win over Oman in their T20 World Cup Group B clash on Thursday.
Rathnayake (60 from 28 balls) and skipper Dasun Shanaka (50; 20b) returned to form, while Kusal (61; 45b) anchored the innings with successive World Cup half-centuries as Sri Lanka piled up 225/5 — their second highest in the T20 World Cup and the highest score of this tournament so far — after Oman opted to bowl.
Oman’s chase never quite recovered from early setbacks as they wilted under scoreboard pressure to be restricted to 120/9. Skipper Jatinder Singh was cleaned up by Dushmantha Chameera in the first over, and Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza soon followed with single-digit scores as Oman slipped to 36/3 inside the power play.
Chameera (2/19) struck twice with the new ball, while spinner Maheesh Theekshana was tidy and incisive, returning figures of 2/11 from his full quota of four overs. There was brief entertainment when Wasim Ali counter-attacked Dushan Hemantha, clubbing the leg-spinner for two sixes in a row — one over deep midwicket and another forward square leg — lifting Oman to 75/3 in 11 overs.
But the recovery was short-lived as they crashed to 91/6, losing three wickets in six balls. Theekshana triggered the collapse by dismissing the fluent-looking Wasim for 27 (20 balls; 3x6), caught by Kusal. A direct hit from Kamil Mishara at the deep point ran out Vinayak Shukla the very next ball, and Jiten Ramanandi was brilliantly stumped by Kusal for a golden duck. Mohammad Nadeem, back after missing the opener, waged a lone battle with a valiant fifty, as the 43-year-old hit his third T20I fifty in 71 appearances.
The 2014 champions now have two wins from as many matches, topping Group B, ahead of Australia and Zimbabwe, who have one win each. After a poor World Cup debut against Ireland, where he fell for sloppy upper cut for 5, Rathnayake made amends in style smashing eight fours and one six en route to his maiden fifty that came off just 24 balls. In the process he overtook his previous best of 40 at this venue earlier this month.
The 23-year-old charged pacer 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 Kusal 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. Kusal, 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 (19 not out; 7 balls) 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. Sri Lanka's players celebrates after winning the T20 World Cup cricket match against Oman in Pallekele.
