Theekshana and Nissanka provide Sri Lanka a ticket to the ODI World Cup: Nissanka scored 101* and Theekshana took 4 for 25 as Zimbabwe was defeated by nine wickets.
Sri Lanka defeated Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the Super Six game, securing their place at the ODI World Cup in India later this year thanks to some precise bowling and an unbeaten 101 from Pathum Nissanka. The bowlers were responsible for setting up the victory, as they induced a batting collapse on either side of a 68-run partnership between Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza, which resulted in Zimbabwe’s first defeat at the ODI World Cup Qualifier for 2023.
The best bowling performance of the day came from Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe’s top order in a match involving the best batting and bowling teams in the competition. In just seven overs, Dilshan Madushanka destroyed Zimbabwe’s top order, sending them into disarray.
The injured Dushmantha Chameera was replaced by the left-arm quick, who only had played two games in the competition. The batters struggled against the left-arm quick’s movement and length changes. Having wicketkeeper-batsman Joylord Gumbie caught flicking at short midwicket in his first over, he scored. After that, he caught Wessly Madhevere off guard with a quick bumper that caused him to top-edge a pull to mid-off.
As Zimbabwe reached 30 for 3 in the seventh over, Madushanka had Craig Ervine poke at a full ball that straightened after being pitched outside off in his fourth over of the period. Williams may have been caught at long leg, but Matheesha Pathirana, who was substituted in for the injured Lahuru Kumara, missed a straightforward opportunity.
Williams and he were content to pass the time as they got their eye in while Raza got underway with a nicely timed square drive. An errant Pathirana, who bowled seven wides in his first two overs, contributed in part to their success. Then, Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga were pushed off their lengths by Raza and Williams using their feet. Williams cover-driven Hasaranga in the following over after first slog-sweeping Dhananjaya through midwicket. Prior to rushing down and putting Dhananjaya over his head, Raza welcomed Hasaranga with a pulled six over midwicket.
When Dasun Shanaka had Raza slash across the line off a short ball, he broke the stand, but Madushanka managed to make a diving grab at the long leg. Prior to Mahesh Theekshana starting his performance, Williams quickly reached his fifth fifty-plus score in the competition.
Before repeating the exercise against Ryan Burl in the subsequent over, Theekshana first passed through Williams’ defenses. After Luke Jongwe was out via line drive, he trapped Blessing Muzarabani, the final batter, to end the inning. Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were dispatched by Pathirana, keeping Sri Lanka’s record of removing every opponent in the Qualifier for less than 200 runs.
Evans hit Dimuth Karunaratne at short midwicket off Ngarava, giving him an early life as they chased 166. After that, he and Pathum Nissanka put the finishing touches on the chase with a 103-run stand for the first wicket. Nissanka took his time getting set, then displayed exceptional strokeplay. To shift gears, he executed three beautiful strokes of an Evans over.
Nissanka scored his second ODI century in an unbeaten 102-ball effort that included 14 fours, sending Sri Lanka to India with nearly 17 overs remaining.
The winner of Zimbabwe’s final Super Six match against Scotland will be guaranteed a spot at the ten-team World Cup in India. Sri Lanka’s final match of the campaign is against the West Indies.
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