Bulawayo: Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga clinched his second consecutive five-wicket haul in ODIs while Lahiru Kumara picked three wickets and openers scored vital runs to lead Sri Lanka to a thumping ten-wicket win over Oman in their Group B match of Mens Cricket World Cup qualifiers at the Queens Sports Club, here on Friday.
After the duo of Hasaranga (5/13) and Kumara (3/22) combined to bowl out Oman for just 98, opener Dimuth Karunaratne made 51 not out as Sri Lanka chased down the total in 15 overs. The result means the 1996 World Cup winners climbed to the top spot in Group B and put themselves on the verge of qualifying for the Super Six stage of the tournament.
Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka’s decision to bowl first paid off very well as pace from Kumara and Kasun Rajitha was too fiery to handle for the Oman top-order. Kashyap Prajapati was the first wicket to fall, as Kumara trapped him in front of the stumps. Aqib Ilyas followed suit, with Rajitha getting in on the act.
Kumara was in no mood to stop as he sent Zeeshan Maqsood and Mohammad Nadeem packing in quick succession, as Oman found themselves reeling at 20/4. Ayaan Khan and Jatinder Singh then embarked on a rebuilding job for Oman, putting together a 52-run stand.
But it all changed when Hasaranga came on to bowl in the 21st over — three wickets and a maiden over coming out of it. Hasaranga first trapped Jatinder lbw for 21 on the first delivery, followed by castling Shoaib Khan and getting Jay Odedra out on the final delivery of the over.
Oman’s slide continued as miscommunication between Ayaan and Naseem Khushi led to the latter being run out for 1 after brilliant work in the deep from Rajitha. Later on, Ayaan’s gritty knock of 41 came to an end with Hasaranga scalping his fourth wicket courtesy of a brilliant catch in the slips by Dhananjaya de Silva.
Hasaranga clinched his second consecutive five-wicket haul of the tournament, trapping Bilal Khan for zero, as Oman were bowled out for 98.
In the chase, Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka barely broke a sweat, remaining unbeaten on 61 and 37 respectively as Sri Lanka not only sealed a win in their first-ever meeting over Oman, but also bolstered their net run rate.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 100/0 in 15 overs (Dimuth Karunaratne 61 not out) beat Oman 98 all out in 30.2 overs (Ayaan Khan 41, Wanindu Hasaranga 5/13, Lahiru Kumara 3/22) by ten wickets
–IANS