HARARE: Spinner Maheesh Theekshana's four-wicket haul and Pathum Nissanka's third ODI century led Sri Lanka to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over West Indies in a Super Six stage match of Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 at Harare Sports Club, here on Friday.
Opening batters Pathum Nissanka (104) and Dimuth Karunaratne (83) did the bulk of the damage to chase down 243 after Keacy Carty (87) had dragged Windies to a respectable target.
The victory means that Sri Lanka remain unbeaten in the Qualifiers and will go in as favorites against Netherlands in the final, set to be played on Sunday. Both Sri Lanka and Netherlands have already claimed their main prize, a place in India next October for the Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 but neither will want to end their time in Zimbabwe with defeat.
Chasing a target of 244, Sri Lanka got off to a flying start as Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne put together a commanding 190-run opening stand that took the game away from West Indies.
Kusal Mendis (34) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (17) did the rest to easily reach their target of 244, for which Windies had Keacy Carty (87) to thank after Maheesh Theekshana (4/34) had ripped through much of their top order.
Brief Scores: West Indies 243 all out in 48.1 overs (Keacy Carty 87, Johnson Charles 39; Maheesh Theekshana 4/34) lost to Sri Lanka 244/2 in 44.2 overs (Pathum Nissanka 104, Dimuth Karunaratne 83; Kevin Sinclair 1/52) by 8 wickets. IANS
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