T20 World Cup: Mendis onslaught helps SL post 162/6 against Netherlands

Kusal Mendis onslaught took Sri Lanka to 1626 after early hiccups against the Netherlands in the ongoing T20 World Cup at Simonds Stadium Geelong on ThursdayA late flourish from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka coupled with Mendis brilliant knock saw Sri Lanka post a challenging total against the Dutch team who have underperformed with the bat in the tournamentPaul van Meekeren was exceptional with the ball and picked two wickets giving away just 25 runs from his four oversOpting to bat first in a pressure game openers Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka started watchfully scoring just 22 runs off the first five overs as both the batters struggled to time the ball However Nissanka showed some aggression to secure 14runs from the last over of the powerplayNetherland pacer Paul van Meekeren wreaked havoc in his second over to get rid of Nissanka 1421 and Dhananjaya de Silva 01 in the innings seventh overCharith Asalanka scored runaball 31 to stitch a crucial 60run partnership with Mendis who looked in great touch The duo took the Sri Lankan innings to 602 at the end of the 10 oversMendis started to play aggressive shots after the halfway mark in an attempt to increase the scoring rateAlso readT20 World Cup 2022 Sri Lanka opt to bat against Netherlands in mustwin gameThe righthander smashed a six on the first ball of the 11th over while sending the ball over the rope again in the 14th over to bring up his skillfully crafted halfcenturyAsalanka was dismissed for 3130 in the 14th over by the Dutch teams consistent performer Bas de LeedeLefthander Bhanuka Rajapaksa who played an important role in the teams Asia Cup victory waled out at number five to smash quick runs at the fag end of the innings but could score only 19 off 13 balls before being dismissed in the 18th overThe wicket of Rajapaksa brought in Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka to the crease Shanaka launched a massive six on the third delivery but fell in the next over for eight runsShanakas dismissal did not stop Mendis from continuing his onslaught as the batter took a liking to Fred Klaassen smashing two sixes in his overHe began the 19th over with a boundary but was dismissed on the next ball to end his fabulous inning of 79 runs from 44 balls helping Sri Lanka reach 1626 at the end of the 20 oversBrief Score Sri Lanka 1626 Kusal Mendis 79 Charith Asalanka 31 Paul van Meekeren 225This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever