Blazing half-centuries by Pavan Rathnayake and captain Dasun Shanaka, along with Kusal Mendis’ assured fifty, helped Sri Lanka bag a commanding 105-run victory over Oman in their T20 World Cup Group B clash on Thursday.
Rathnayake (60 from 28 balls) and skipper Dasun Shanaka (50 from 20 balls) returned to form, while Kusal Mendis (61 from 45 balls) anchored the innings with his consecutive World Cup fifty as Sri Lanka piled up 225/5, their second-highest score in T20 World Cup history and the highest score of this tournament till now, after Oman opted to bowl.
Oman’s chase never recovered from early setbacks as they succumbed to scoreboard pressure, eventually being restricted to 120/9.
Skipper Jatinder Singh was bowled by Dushmantha Chameera in the first over, and Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza soon followed with single-digit scores as Oman slipped to 36/3 inside the power play.
Chameera (2/19) struck twice with the new ball, while spinner Maheesh Theekshana was tidy and incisive, returning figures of 2/11 from his full quota of four overs.
There was a brief spark when Wasim Ali counter-attacked Dushan Hemantha, hitting the leg-spinner for two consecutive sixes — one over deep midwicket and another forward square leg, lifting Oman to 75/3 in 11 overs.
However, the recovery was short-lived as they collapsed to 91/6, losing three wickets in six balls.
Theekshana triggered the collapse by dismissing the fluent Wasim for 27 (20 balls; 3×6), caught by Kusal.
A direct hit from Kamil Mishara at the deep point ran out Vinayak Shukla the very next ball, and Jiten Ramanandi was brilliantly stumped by Kusal for a golden duck.
Mohammad Nadeem, back after missing the opener, fought valiantly with a fifty, hitting his third T20I half-century in 71 appearances.
The 2014 champions now have two wins from as many matches, leading Group B ahead of Australia and Zimbabwe, who have one win each.
After a poor World Cup debut against Ireland, where he was dismissed for 5 with a sloppy upper cut, Rathnayake made amends in style, smashing eight fours and one six en route to his maiden half-century off just 24 deliveries.
In the process, he surpassed his previous best of 40 at this venue earlier this month.
The 23-year-old charged pacer Ramanandi for the innings’ first six in the 12th over and hammered Sufyan Mehmood for three consecutive fours to reach the milestone.
Rathnayake and the experienced Kusal added 94 runs off just 52 balls, maintaining a run-rate in excess of nine through the middle overs.
They rotated strike smartly, with 40 of Sri Lanka’s 96 runs at the halfway mark coming in singles and twos.
Kusal, playing the senior partner’s role to perfection, capitalised on the width from the Oman spinners, striking seven fours in his 61 off 45 balls, his second successive half-century and 19th overall.
He was run out in the penultimate over.
Shanaka, who had endured a lean build-up to the tournament with scores of 1, 4 and 0, exploded at the death with a 19-ball fifty — the fastest by a Sri Lankan in the T20 World Cup.
