Abu Dhabi, Nov 4 (IANS) Riding on attacking fifties by Charith Asalanka (68 off 41) and Pathum Nissanka (51 off 41), Sri Lanka posted 189-3 against West Indies in a super 12 match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, here on Thursday.
Apart from Asalanka and Asalanka, Kusal Perera (29) and Dasun Shanaka (25) also made valuable contributions with the bat for Sri Lanka.
Put into bat first, openers Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka got Sri Lanka to a terrific start. Perera in particular, looked in sparkling form, hitting three boundaries as he raced to 29 off 20 before being dismissed by a spectacular caught-and-bowled by Andre Russell.
The fall of Perera brought Charith Asalanka to the crease and the 24-year-old showed attacking intent right from the off. He took the attack to West Indies and put on a partnership of 40* with Nissanka as the score raced along to 82/1 at the midway point of the innings.
From there, both Asalanka and Nissanka continued to hit periodical fours and helped Sri Lanka cross the 100-run mark in the 12th over of the innings. West Indies were still searching for a wicket when Nissanka brought up his fifty with a fine boundary.
The experienced DJ Bravo finally gave Windies a much-needed breakthrough in the 16th over of the innings as he dismissed Nissanka (51) off a catch by Hetmyer at cow corner. Asalanka and Nissanka had a 91-run stand for the wicket.
After Nissanka’s wicket, Shanaka came to bat and joined Asalanka in the middle. The wicket didn’t affect Asalanka’s batting and he kept hitting boundaries before falling in the penultimate over for 68. Skipper Dasun Shanaka also played a sparkling late cameo, smashing 22 off just 13 balls to help his side post 189/3 in 20 overs.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka – 189-3 in 20 overs (Charith Asalanka 68, Pathum Nissanka 51; Russell 2/33) against West Indies
–IANS
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