Chronicle Editor
Brandon Moyo,
SRI Lanka stamped their authority as one of the favourites in the upcoming 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers after thumping the United States of America (USA) by 198 runs in their second warm-up match at Bulawayo Athletic Club (BAC) earlier today.
Batting first, the Asian champions made light work of USA bowlers, scoring a mammoth 392/5 in 50 overs before going on to bowl out their opponents for just 194 runs in 33.2 overs.
Sri Lanka’s huge score was courtesy of two centuries from veterans Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis. Karunaratne top scored with 111 runs from 100 balls before retiring hurt while Mendis fell for 105 runs from 91 balls. Charith Asalanka and skipper Dasun Shanaka also chipped in with half-centuries, scoring 62 and 61 runs respectively. Shanaka and Asalanka remained undefeated.
Saurabh Netravalkar finished with the best figures for the USA, taking two wickets for 60 runs in nine overs while Ali Khan, and Usman Rafiq took one scalp each.
USA captain, Monank Patel and Shayan Jahangir put up gallant fights with the bat after they both scored half-centuries.
Chasing a huge target, Patel played a captain’s knock which, however yielded no results. He top-scored with a brilliant 98 runs from 44 balls while Jahangir made 63 runs from deliveries. The only other USA batter who managed to cross double figures was Aaron Jones with 18 runs.
Matheesha Pathirana starred with the ball for the Sri Lankans, finishing with figures of 4/23 in his six-over spell while Kasun Rajitha and Wanindu Hasaranga took two scalps each for 28 and 32 runs respectively to help their side seal a huge victory.
The win was a big confidence booster for Sri Lanka who have their eyes set on qualifying to the World Cup in India in October.
The Lankans, playing in their first World Cup Qualifiers in over four decades are in Group B alongside the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Scotland, and Ireland.
Their group matches will be played in Bulawayo at BAC and Queens Sports Club. – @brandon_malvin
Online Reporter