The warm-up matches ahead of the T20 World Cup are in progress. While the match between Bangladesh and USA was cancelled due to rain and damaged facilities at the venue, Australia breezed past Namibia to chase down 120 in just 10 overs. However, the third game of the day left everyone shocked as the Netherlands defeated Sri Lanka by 20 runs in a high-scoring encounter.
The match was played at the Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida. Netherlands, batting first, posted a formidable score of 181/5 in their 20 overs with Michael Levitt smashing 55 runs off just 28 balls. Skipper Scott Edwards provided the perfect finishing touch smashing 27 runs off 12 deliveries. Dilshan Madhushanka was the best bowler for Sri Lanka returning with figures of 2/39 in his four overs.
In reponse, Sri Lanka collapsed with the bat and it took a decent effort from the lower-order batters to even reach 161 before getting bundled out in the 19th over. In fact, captain Wanindu Hasaranga smashed 43 runs off 15 balls to give a glimmer of a hope for them at one stage. Apart from him, Dasun Shanaka and Dhananjaya de Silva batted well scoring 35 and 31 runs respectively. Aryan Dutt was the best bowler for the Dutch as he picked up three wickets for just 20 runs in 1.5 overs while Kyle Klein picked two wickets for 13 runs in his couple of overs.
This win will be a huge confidence booster for the Netherlands as they are in the same group as of Sri Lanka's in the tournament proper. Both teams are scheduled to face each other on June 17 at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia. Other teams in their group are South Africa, Bangladesh and Nepal and the Dutch would now be really gunning for a spot in the Super 8 but for that to happen, they will have to be consistent right through. Netherlands are next scheduled to face Canada at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on May 31 (1 AM IST).
