Surprised by Namibia in their tournament opener, Sri Lanka made a strong comeback, thrashing UAE by a massive 79 runs to better their net run rate, which got a beating in the first match.
Opener Pathum Nissanka hit a 60-ball 74 with the help of six boundaries and two hits over the fence to take Sri Lanka to 152 for 8.
It was a yet again an unimpressive batting display from Sri Lanka, as besides Nissanka, Dhananjaya de Silva (33) and Kusal Mendis (18) were the only two batters to register double digit scores.
Asked to bat, Sri Lanka were cruising at one stage at 92 for 2 before leg-spinner Karthik Meiyappan (3/19) claimed a hat-trick in the 15th over, dismissing Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka as the Islanders slumped to 117 for 5.
Despite wickets falling at the other end, Nissanka kept Sri Lanka’s scoreboard ticking and was the last to be dismissed in the penultimate ball of the innings, but not before helping his team cross the 15-run mark.
UAE never looked in the chase as right-arm fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera (3/15) inflicted the early damage with the wickets of Muhammad Waseem, Aryan Lakra and captain Chundangapoyil Rizwan to break the opponent’s backbone.
From there on it was always an uphill task for UAE as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out for 73 in 17.1 overs.
Aayan Afzal Khan (19) was the top-scorer for UAE.
Besides Chameera, leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva (3/8) and Maheesh Theekshana (2/15) also chipped in with a few wickets.
Sri Lanka will take on Netherlands in a must-win last group match on Thursday, while Namibia will be up against UAE.
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