T20 World Cup 2022: Former winner Sri Lanka are alive in the T20 World Cup 2022 after registering a thumping win in their second match against UAE on Tuesday. The Lankan side hammered UAE by 79 runs in the Simonds Stadium, Geelong in the second match of the day. Starring with the bat, Pathum Nissanka has won the Player of the match for his 74-run knock, which helped the Dasun Shanaka men post 152 runs on board. In the second innings, Chundangapoyil Rizwan UAE were reduced to just 73.
The match was a must-win affair for the Lankan team as they had earlier suffered a defeat against Namibia on the first day of the World Cup. Dasun Shanka's side was invited to bat first as the two openers made their way out in the middle. They got off to a decent start but lost Kusal Mendis in the powerplay. Runs kept flowing SL's way as Nissanka held one end up strongly. UAE made a comeback with Karthik Meiyappan picking the first hat trick of the T20 World Cup 2022. He sent back Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka. But the damage was done. The island nation scored 152 in their 20 overs, with Nissanka scoring 74 runs.
In the chase, it was all but nothing else than Sri Lanka's dominance. They kept picking wickets and never let the batters' eye in well. None of the batters could score in the 20s and only three ended up in double digits. In the end, UAE were folded for 73. The defeat marks the second straight defeat for the Chundangapoyil Rizwan side and they are almost out of the tournament and only a lot of permutation & combination can save them.
For Dasun Shanaka and co., they can breathe a slight relief as they have won their first match in two games. They have a run rate of +0.600 and are currently in the third spot in Group A. Sri Lanka will next face group toppers the Netherlands in their final game of round 1 and a win will take them through.
Sri Lanka Playing XI:
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan, Maheesh Theekshana
UAE Playing XI:
Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Aryan Lakra, Chundangapoyil Rizwan (c), Basil Hameed, Vriitya Aravind (wk), Kashif Daud, Aayan Afzal Khan, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan
