• Sri Lanka edged past West Indies by eight wickets.

  • Pathum Nissanka played an impressive knock of 104 runs.

CWC Qualifiers 2023, Super Sixes: Pathum Nissanka’s brilliant ton guides Sri Lanka to an emphatic victory over West Indies
Maheesh Theekshana and Pathum Nissanka (Image Source: Twitter)

Sri Lanka emerged victorious against West Indies by eight wickets in a one-sided affair of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023 Super Sixes round on Friday (July 7).

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl first as they looked to restrict the West Indies batting lineup from scoring big. The decision by the Islanders paid off, and they successfully managed to bowl out the Windies team for 243 runs in 48.1 overs. Keacy Carty played a vital knock of 87 runs off 96 deliveries for the Caribbean side. Carty was well supported by his teammate Johnson Charles, who scored 39 runs off 38 balls. However, the West Indies struggled to maintain momentum as wickets fell at regular intervals.

Maheesh Theekshana was the standout bowler for Sri Lanka, claiming an impressive four wickets for 34 runs in his quota of ten overs. Dushan Hemantha and Dilshan Madushanka also contributed with two and one wickets, respectively.

Chasing a target of 244 runs, Sri Lanka exhibited a dominant batting performance. Opener Pathum Nissanka played a brilliant innings, scoring 104 runs off 113 deliveries, including fourteen fours. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne provided excellent support to Nissanka and contributed 83 runs off 92 balls with seven fours. The partnership between the duo of Nissanka and Karunaratne laid a solid foundation for Sri Lanka’s successful run chase. Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama also made useful contributions of 34 and 17 runs. Although Kevin Sinclair and Akeal Hosein bagged one scalp each, the other Men in Marron bowlers struggled to break through the Sri Lankan batting lineup,

In the end, Sri Lanka comfortably reached the target, scoring 244 runs for the loss of just two wickets in 44.2 overs, securing a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over the West Indies. Nissanka’s outstanding century earned him the well-deserved ‘Player of the Match’ award.

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CATEGORY: ODI World Cup Sri Lanka

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VISHWANATH HARIHARAN
Vishwanath Hariharan is Content Strategist at CricketTimes.com. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. From breaking news stories to in-depth features and opinion pieces, he has covered a wide range of topics. Vishwanath is very fond of watching cricket. Like many others, he too grew up watching, playing, and imitating his favourite players of the game. MS Dhoni is like a demigod to him. You can connect with him at vishwanath.hariharan@crickettimes.com and follow him on Twitter & Linkedin.