Sri Lanka thump Netherlands in T20 World Cup match

Sri Lanka have outclassed the Netherlands by eight wickets in the last match of Round one of the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup at the Sharjah International Stadium.

2014 T20 World Cup winners were on song from ball one after opting to field first. They bundled out the Netherlands for just 44, the second-lowest total in T20 World Cup history. The first one being 39, also belong to the Netherlands against Sri Lanka in 2014.

The match started with In-form Max O'Dowd (2) walking back in the first over courtesy of a brilliant run out by skipper Dasun Shanaka. Maheesh Theekshana caused more trouble for the Netherlands with a double strike in the third over.

Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva joined the party and removed Colin Ackerman and Bas de Leede in fifth over. The batting side were crumbling at 37 for six inside the powerplay overs.

The Netherlands were bundled in ten overs as Lahiru Kumara wrapped up the proceedings with three wickets in one over. Only Ackerman (11) and Ben Cooper (10) reached the double figures.

In return, Sri Lanka steered the run chase in 7.1 overs for the loss of two wickets. Kusal Perera scored unbeaten 33 off 24, the bulk of the total. Brandon Glover and Paul van Meekeren picked the wickets of Pathum Nissanka (0) and Charith Asalanka (6) respectively.

Remember, the Dutch were already knocked out of the competition while Sri Lanka qualified for Super 12s on October 20 after defeating Ireland by 70 runs. They have joined England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh in Group 1