‘Ye log Asia Cup champions hain’ – Sri Lanka fail to get direct qualification for 50-over World Cup for the first time in 44 years

New Zealand sealed a series over Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series with a scoreline of 2-0 on Saturday. Dasun Shanaka, the captain of Sri Lanka, decided to bat first in the crucial match after winning the toss. However, the Sri Lankan batters struggled once more against the speed and movement of the New Zealand bowlers and were unable to score runs. 

As Sri Lanka struggled to score runs, Matt Henry, Henry Shipley and Daryl Mitchell all displayed excellent ball control. They had plans to execute against each and every batter and made life difficult for them at the crease. The three of them took three wickets each and were able to limit the push from Sri Lanka. 

The only batters for Sri Lanka to exhibit any resilience were Pathum Nissanka, who scored a decent 57 in 64 balls along with some support and small cameos from Dasun Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne. The tourists were dismissed for 157 runs in 41.3 overs, leaving it to their bowlers to guide their team to victory. 

New Zealand’s pursuit in response started off to a shaky start, losing three wickets in the initial seven overs. Chad Bowes, Tom Blundell, Daryl Mitchell, and Tom Latham were their four batters who failed to go past the double-digit mark. 

However, Will Young and Henry Nicholls made crucial plays to help the visitors win. Young scored 86* and Nicholls added 44* to form a combination of 100 runs that gave New Zealand a six-wicket victory. New Zealand clinched the three-match ODI series 2-0 with this triumph in Hamilton. 

Sri Lanka’s loss in today’s game prevented them from catching West Indies (88 points) for the last automatic qualification place. Sri Lanka finishes its season with 81 points. In order to participate in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier and try to earn a spot in the competition, later, this year. Sri Lanka will now travel to Zimbabwe in June and hope to qualify for the World Cup in October in India. 

With 175 points for the season, New Zealand finishes first in the Super League standings. West Indies may still lose out to South Africa (78 points) and Ireland in the battle for eighth place. (68 points). Ireland will face Bangladesh in an ODI series consisting of three matches in May, while South Africa will play the Netherlands in a two-match ODI series beginning today. 

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