| ICC Men's T20 World Cup, GMHBA Stadium, Geelong |
| Sri Lanka (162-6) beat Netherlands (146-9) by 16 runs |
| United Arab Emirates (148-3) beat Namibia (141-8) by seven runs |
| Sri Lanka v Netherlands scorecard; Namibia v UAE scorecard; Table |
The Netherlands and Sri Lanka advanced to the Super 12 stage of the Men's T20 World Cup after a thrilling finish to the group stage.
They finished first and second in the group and qualified for the next stage.
The Netherlands lost to Sri Lanka earlier in the day, but got back into the tournament with a seven-run win for the United Arab Emirates.
It was the first win in the T20 World Cup for the United Arab Emirates.
Muhammad Waseem was the top scorer with 50 from 41 balls, as the U.S. scored a competitive 148 3.
The Netherlands players who stayed in the ground watched in anticipation as Namibia fell to 69-7, before David Wiese's heroic 55 from 36 balls saved them.
But needing 14 from the final over, Wiese holed out to long-on to give the United States an unexpected win.
The right-handed Kusal Mendis smashed five sixes in his match-winning 81 in the earlier game.
The Netherlands were left nervously waiting for the second game to be completed because they fell 16 runs short of their target in the first game.
They join England, Afghanistan, Australia and New Zealand in the Super 12 Group A, while the Netherlands will play India, Pakistan, South Africa and Bangladesh in the Super 12 Group B.
Both groups will see one more team join them, on completion of the first-round's Group B, with Scotland and Ireland both hoping to qualify.
The Super 12 stage was a foregone conclusion for Namibia. They stunned Sri Lanka in the first game of the tournament, but were yet to register a victory.
From the six-over powerplay, their bowlers restricted the U.S. to just 30 runs.
Waseem's half-century was the highlight of the game as the captain and captain capitalized on some loose bowling.
It was a competitive score that was more than Namibia were expecting and they were able to get it done.
The bowling team did a great job of backing up the batting effort.
Zahoor Khan took two-20 from his four overs, as well as Hameed, who added two to his tally with his batting.
The Netherlands' players were pictured smiling in the stands from 45-5 and 67-9.
The two guys who finished with 25 not out smashed 70 runs in seven overs to change the complexion of the game.
It was all going Namibia's way as the inexperienced bowlers from the United Arab Emirates produced wides and errors.
Waseem was the eventual player of the match as he took the match-winning wickets in the final over as Wiese tried to hit one too many.
The World Cup campaign got off to a bad start with a loss to Namibia.
They responded to the pressure well in the must-win game.
From the opening six-over powerplay, the Netherlands' bowlers were able to restrict Sri Sri to just 36 runs.
After bowling opener Pathum Nissanka for 14 and trapping Dhananjaya de Silva for a golden duck, it was 36-2.
They were stopped in their tracks by Mendis. The partnership of 60 with Asalanka allowed him to accelerate and he added 102 from the final 10 overs.
The total for the Netherlands to chase was set up by his final over, in which he scored 78.
Max O' Dowling had other ideas.
A disastrous 19th over from Theekshana left the Netherlands needing 23 from the final six balls to win.
At the other end, van der Merwe was unable to swing the bat due to a back injury.
Kumara held his nerve, giving seven runs from the over and leaving O'Dowd deflated as he made 71.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
