Highlights
- Dushmantha Chameera sustained a calf issue against UAE
- Sri Lanka beat UAE by 79 runs on Tuesday in their second match
- Sri Lanka will face Netherlands on Thursday in their final group match
Sri Lank have been dealt a huge blow in their T20 World Cup Super 12 qualification bid as star man Dushmantha Chameera is ruled out of the Netherlands clash. Chameera who scalped three wickets against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday was influential in keeping Sri Lanka’s hopes for a place in the Super 12 alive. Sri Lanka edged out UAE by 79 runs and will play the Netherlands on Thursday.
The extent of the injury is still unknown, but it is initially hoped that Chameera will only miss the Netherlands clash with the calf problem. Chameera is yet to be ruled out of the T20 World Cup as the management now has heart in the mount concerning his fitness with a do-or-die contest in hands on Thursday.
There are also concerns over Danushka Gunathilaka, who missed the UAE game, and Pramod Madushan, with both due to go for scans on hamstring injuries, although Sri Lanka's medical team are hopeful the latter's is not too serious.
Sri Lanka secure emphatic win against UAE
After facing heartbreaking defeat in their respective first encounters against Namibia and Netherlands, both Sri Lanka and the UAE had plenty to play for. UAE won the toss and opted to bowl first. Pathum Nissanka opened the proceedings with Kusal Mendis. Nissankaended up scoring a gritty 74 off 60 deliveries whereas Kusal Mendis fell prey to Aryan Lakra.
Dhananjaya de Silva scored 33 off 21 deliveries but apart from him, no Lankan batsman could score even 10 runs. Sri Lanka assigned a score of 153 for UAE to chase. Things went haywire for UAE who came out to chase the score. The United Arab Emirates batsmen crumbled under pressure as they bundled out for 73 in their quota of 20 overs.
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What are the permutations?
As things stand, Sri Lanka are third in the standings with two pints and a poor net run rate and will play the Netherlands on Thursday in Geelong. A win for them will see them go on four points and will therefore better either Netherlands or Namibia, either on a run rate of points.
A win therefore will see them seal qualification to the Super 12 stage, while a defeat will see them all but end their journey in the T20 World Cup.
In extraordinary circumstances, if the rain gods aren’t kind and Sri Lanka’s match gets washed out, they could face elimination if Namibia beat UAE in the other clash. If both the matches end in wash out, Sri Lanka will miss out on World Cup qualification as they have poor net run rate than Namibia and will have few points than the Dutch.
