Chronicle Editor
Brandon Moyo
SRI Lanka, once again flexed muscles in the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers with a crushing 10 wickets win over Oman earlier today at Queens Sports Club.
After winning the toss and electing to field first, Lankan bowlers made light work of Oman batters, bowling them out for a tournament low of 98 in 30,2 overs before going on to comfortably chase down the target in just 15 overs.
Oman, who have had a stellar performance with the bat so far didn’t know what hit them when they faced a lethal Lankan bowling attack. Spinning wizard, Wanindu Hasaranga continued his brilliant form with ball in hand taking a fifer.
Hasaranga finished with the best bowling figures of 5/13 in 7,2 overs while Lahiru Kumara took three scalps for 22 runs in his eight-over spell. Kasun Rajitha took one wicket and conceded 17 runs in six overs.
Aayan Khan fought a solo battle with the bat for Oman, finishing on 41 runs from 60 balls. The team’s second leading run scorer was Jatinder Singh who chipped in with 21 runs from 43 deliveries. The only other Oman batter who managed to cross double figures was Fayyaz Butt who finished with an unbeaten 13 runs having faced 28 balls.
In their chase, Sri Lankan openers easily chased down the target without any trouble and their innings was orchestrated by veteran, Dimuth Karunaratne who finished on 61 runs from 51 balls. His partner, Pathum Nissanka finished on 37 runs.
The huge victory was Sri Lanka’s second of the campaign while Oman suffered their first defeat in three matches. Sri Lanka have played two matches so far.
Meanwhile, in another Group B encounter played at Bulawayo Athletic Club (BAC), Scotland made it a perfect start to their campaign with their second victory in two games. Scotland thumped the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 111 runs. UAE’s defeat meant that they cannot progress to the Super Six.
After yet another poor start with the bat, Scotland managed to make another come back to reach a good score. Struggling on 115/5 just after the halfway mark, it took a special knock from Scotland skipper, Richie Berrington to help the team set a good target. Berrington top scored with a brilliant 127 runs from 136 deliveries to guide Scotland to 282/8 in 50 overs. Junaid Siddique finished with figures of 3/49 in 10 overs for UAE.
In their defense, Scotland managed to bowl out their opponents for 171 runs in 35,3 to eliminate UAE. Safyaan Sharif starred with the ball for Scotland, finishing with figures of 4/20 in 6,3 overs. Chris Sole took three wickets and conceded 37 runs in eight overs. UAE skipper, Muhammad Waseem top scored with a gallant 36 runs from 57 deliveries. Basil Hameed chipped in with 30 runs after facing 29 balls.
The next Group B matches take place on Sunday and Scotland will face Oman at BAC while Sri Lanka will be up against Ireland at Queens Sports Club. The top three sides from the group will proceed to the Super Six.
– @brandon_malvin
Online Reporter