Record-setting Sri Lanka end World T20 on high note

ri Lanka were unable to advance to the Super 8 round, but the hopes of The Netherlands were also dashed after the two met on Sunday evening at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia.

The 38th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ended with Sri Lanka winning by 83 runs, jumping the Netherlands to finish third in Group D and finishing their tournament campaign on a high.

To move on from the group stages, in addition to beating Sri Lanka – and by a significant margin at that –, The Netherlands would also have needed Nepal to beat Bangladesh in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Meantime, Sri Lanka, ICC T20 champions exactly a decade ago, had come into this tournament brim full of anticipation. But they went into Sunday’s game winless from their three previous fixtures, albeit with their game against Nepal having been rained out.

It looked like more of the same early on, with Pathum Nissanka caught in the deep in the first over with the game scoreless.

But five partnerships of at least 35 each yielded a total of 201-6, tied for the highest score of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

It was also the first time a team has scored at least 200 at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, and tied for the 12th highest score ever in the T20 World Cup.

On a true wicket, Kusal Mendis went for 46 off 29 balls, with five boundaries. Charith Asalanka was even more destructive, his 46 including just one four, but five towering sixes. Dhananjaya de Silva made 34, and the veteran Angelo Mathews added 30 from just 15 deliveries.

Only twice in the history of the Men’s T20 World Cup has a team chased in excess of 200 to win. The Netherlands would not be the third.

They managed to avoid the ignominy of setting the lowest total ever at the venue, 105, but not by much. Their final 118 all out in 16.4 overs owed much to a fast start from Michael Levitt, who made 31 off 23 balls, and a matching 31 off 24 balls from captain Scott Edwards.

Right arm medium pacer Nuwan Thushara took three wickets for just 24 runs from his 3.4 overs, however, to end the game as a contest, and maintain Sri Lanka’s 100 per cent record against associate nations.

With Sri Lanka set to co-host the 2026 T20 World Cup, they will be pleased to have ended this year’s competition with a win, but there is much to reflect on.

By Terry Finisterre