Sri Lanka vs Netherlands Highlights, T20 World Cup 2024: Charith Asalanka, Nuwan Thushara Shine As Sri Lanka Thrash Netherlands By 83 runs

That is all from this game. The places have been filled for the Super Eights but we still have a couple of games to go from the group stages. New Zealand will face Papua New Guinea on the 17th of this month. Join us at 8 pm IST (2.30 pm GMT) and earlier for the build-up. Till then, cheers!

Wanindu Hasaranga, the skipper of Sri Lanka says that after the first two defeats, this win is healthy for them. Adds that they saw that the wicket was good last night and thought that anything above 160, they could defend. Tells that losing a lot of wickets in clusters cost them a lot. Praises Asalanka and says that he has a lot of talent and showed what he can do for the team. Ends by saying that Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva also played key roles in this game.

Scott Edwards, the skipper of Netherlands says the wicket was better than what they have been playing on in other grounds. Adds they didn't execute the plans though and credits the way Sri Lanka batted. Tells they were slow to react and use the longer side of the fence. Feels against a good quality side, they can't afford to be lost for even a small period. Mentions they wanted one of the batters to have big contributions but it didn't happen.

Charith Asalanka wins the Player of the Match award. He says that the conditions are far better here than USA. Adds that he and the other batters enjoyed playing here. Mentions that it is tough to come in at number 5 and he tries play according to the conditions and situation. Says that he still needs to improve and be more consistent. Ends by saying that they are a bit disappointed with the first two results but it feels good to finish with a win.

...Presentation next...

Wanindu Hasaranga did said at the toss that the batters need to step up and boy they did, all of them made some crucial contributions. The surface was perfect to bat on and Sri Lanka showed a lot of character right till the last ball. In the second innings, the first six overs didn't go the Lankans' way but they bowled well throughout, took regular wickets to win by a big margin. Nuwan Thushara was the pick of the bowlers as he took three wickets while Wanindu Hasaranga and Matheesha Pathirana took two each.

Netherlands were 47/2 inside the Powerplay, they were going strong but the news came in about their qualification chances and all of a sudden, they lost 5 wickets in 5 overs. Scott Edwards was there for a long period of time but Netherlands never showed any intent to chase down this humongous total. On the other hand, this was the best performance by Sri Lanka in this tournament. Proper all-round performance from them but it came a little too late as they had nothing but to play for pride.

A convincing win in the end for Sri Lanka! The eyes were on Netherlands though at the start of the game. They came on the ground with a purpose but when it mattered the most, they succumbed under pressure. The bowling group mainly didn't execute their plans. Netherlands were ordinary with the ball throughout the innings. They allowed a couple of big partnerships to build on to make things worse for them. With the bat, the openers started well, Michael Levitt particularly showed a lot of intent but Sri Lanka knew they were a couple of wickets away from dominating the game.

OUT! PLUMB IN THE FRONT! That's it then! Nuwan Thushara serves this in the blockhole, on middle, Paul van Meekeren goes down to scoop it away but misses and gets hit on the pads right in front of the stumps. There is an appeal and up goes the finger. Paul van Meekeren still goes for the review here. UltraEdge confirms no bat involved and Ball Tracking comes up with three reds. SRI LANKA WIN BY 83 RUNS!

Fuller and on off, Vivian Kingma pushes it towards extra covers for a single.

Vivian Kingma is the last man in.

OUT! STRAIGHT TO THE FIELDER! The skipper goes now as well! Nuwan Thushara bangs this hard on the pitch, on middle, Scott Edwards pulls it hard but unfortunately hits it straight to short mid-wicket where Maheesh Theekshana takes a sharp catch. Sri Lanka one wicket away from the win now!

FOUR! Nice shot! Back of a length and outside off, Scott Edwards frees his arms and crunches it through point for a cracking boundary.

Pitched up and around off, Scott Edwards slices it over point for one.

SIX! MISJUDGED IN THE DEEP! Gives it some more air, full and on middle, Scott Edwards goes down and connects with his slog-sweep towards deep square leg, Dasun Shanaka fails to judge the flight of the ball and in the end, gets nowhere near the ball as it goes over for a maximum.

Flighted, full and on off, Paul van Meekeren taps it towards point for one.

Almost for Maheesh Theekshana! He slows it up this time, full and on off, Scott Edwards goes for the reverse sweep, gets a bottom edge that goes very close to the leg stump behind the keeper. They cross.

Tossed up, full and on middle, turns away, Paul van Meekeren tries to push it away but gets an outside edge along the ground to short third man for a single.

Floated, full but down the leg side, Paul van Meekeren misses his flick. Wided.

Close! Flatter, full and on middle and leg, Paul van Meekeren goes down to reverse sweep but misses, the ball just goes past the leg pole.