Sri Lanka defeats Netherlands at World Cup 2023

On Saturday, Sri Lanka defeated the Netherlands to gain its first win in its World Cup 2023 campaign.

At the loss of five wickets, the Islanders were able to chase down the 263-run target in the 49th over of the match.

At the moment, Sri Lanka are ranked ninth in the points table with two points, and have lost three of their four games so far in the tournament, hence they are currently ranked ninth in the points table with two points.

It was Sadeera Samarawickrama who scored 91 runs in 107 balls with the help of seven fours to emerge as the top scorer. At the same time, Pathum Nissanka scored 54 runs in 52 balls whereas Charith Asalanka contributed 44 runs to the total.

For the third wicket, Nissanka and Samarawickrama put on 52 runs in 40 balls after losing two wickets for 52 runs in the previous two innings. As a result of Nissanka’s departure, Samarawickrama accumulated 77 runs in 99 balls along with Asalanka to keep Sri Lanka on track during the course of the run chase after Nissanka decided to depart.

As the Netherlands recovered from a poor start and posted 262 against Sri Lanka following a disastrous start, Sybrand Engelbrecht and Logan van Beek each scored their maiden one-day international fifties.

As the Dutch returned to action for the first time since their shock victory against South Africa the 35-year-old Engelbrecht reached his milestone off 65 balls with three fours and one six in seven overs.

It took Van Beek just 68 balls to reach his fifty with just one boundary along the way.

Engelbrecht, a South African native, and Van Beek, a New Zealander, both played key roles in the Dutch recovery from 91-6. They put on a 130-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

As the match progressed, left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka was able to clean-bowl Englebrecht for 70, ending with a score of 221 as a result.

After becoming the fourth victim of recalled fast bowler Kasun Rajitha’s spell, Van Beek was eventually dismissed for 59 by the fast bowler.

It was Madushanka who finished with four figures of 4-49, while Rajitha finished with four figures of 4-50.

It is worrying for the Sri Lankans that they coughed up 33 extras, of which 26 were wides, during the game.

It was a disappointing day for the Netherlands as after winning the toss and choosing to bat, Rajitha sent back Vikramjit Singh (four), Max O’Dowd (16) and Colin Ackermann (29) as they fell to 54-3 in their innings.

It was Madushanka who picked up the wickets of Bas de Leede and Teja Nidamanuru before the spinner Maheeesh Theekshana grabbed the key wicket of captain Colin Edwards (16) which was crucial for the victory.

Before Engelbrecht and Van Beek came to the Dutch’s rescue, the Dutch had gone twenty overs without hitting a boundary.