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Sri Lanka opened their account in World Cup 2023 with a five-wicket win over the Netherlands at Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on October 21. Sadeera Samarawickrama's unbeaten 91 ensured Sri Lanka didn't panic in the run chase and lose too many wickets like South Africa did in Dharamsala. Sri Lanka chased down the target of 263 with 10 balls to spare.
The Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards won the toss and opted to bat first. Kasun Rajitha was exceptional with the new ball. He dismissed Vikramjit Singh in the fourth over as the opener was unable to rotate strike. In the 10th over, Max ODowd got bowled by Rajitha. In his last over of the spell with the new ball, he got the wicket of Colin Ackermann as well.
With top order back in the hut, Dilshan Madushanka did the damage. Bas de Leede looked out of touch and departed for a single-digit score. Then Teja Nidamanuru was trapped in front of the stumps. They lost five wickets for 71 but it was about to turn worse. Edwards started well but got bowled by Maheesh Theekshana as the Netherlands found themselves struggling for 91/6 in the 22nd over.
Sybrand Engelbrecht and Logan van Beek steadied the ship in the middle overs. They shared a 130-run partnership. This is the highest partnership for the seventh wicket in ODI World Cups. The partnership was broken by Madushanka in the 46th over. Engelbrecht departed for an 82-ball 70. Roelof van der Merwe could not deliver with a cameo and became Madushanka's fourth victim of the day. Van Beek departed in the penultimate over. He scored 59 runs from 75 balls. The Netherlands were bowled out for 262 with two balls left in the innings.
Sri Lanka's run chase did not get off to an ideal start. Aryan Dutt got the wickets of Kusal Perera and skipper Kusal Mendis in the first powerplay overs. Pathum Nissanka and Samarawickrama got the run chase back on track. They shared a 52-run stand for the third wicket. In the 17th over, Paul van Meekeren broke the partnership with the wicket of Nissanka. The opener scored 54 runs from 52 balls including nine fours. After Nissanka, Charith Asalanka (44) and Dhananjaya de Silva (30) contributed to the run chase while Samarawickrama held on to one end. Samarawickrama remained unbeaten for 91 off 107 balls including seven fours as Dushan Hematha finished the run chase in the penultimate over with a boundary.
The win helped Sri Lanka rise from the bottom of the table to ninth place above Afghanistan. Sri Lanka will face defending champions England in their next clash at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on October 26.
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