Harare [Zimbabwe], July 7 : Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka focused on the positive side even after his side dropped a number of catches in their 8-wicket victory against West Indies in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier on Friday.
Sri Lanka ended up dropping three catches which allowed West Indies to put up a comfortable score of 243 on the board. Shanaka reflected on this fact and admitted that they could have restricted West Indies to a score of around 190 to 180.
"It's the first time we are playing in Harare. Compared to the Bulawayo wicket this is more flat. He (Theekshana) has been consistent in the tournament, I hope he continues this form in the upcoming series as well. We could have taken those catches, but I tell my players to stay calm and cool whatever happens. If we had taken those catches we would have chased 60-70 runs short. We are very positive and have been consistent with our performances and really looking forward to the final," Shanaka said in the post-match presentation.
Even after dropping a handful amount of catches Sri Lanka still managed to gain the upper hand with the help of their spinners. West Indies top order had no answer in reply to the spin of Maheesh Theekshana, with Brandon King, Shamarh Brooks and skipper Shai Hope all perishing by his hands of him.
Matheesha Pathirana and Dushmantha Hemantha entered the game, by picking up the wickets of dangerous batters Johnson Charles and Nicholas Pooran.
West Indies further received blows against spin as Sahan Arachchige cleaned up Kyle Mayers, which was followed by Hemantha scalping his second by trapping Roston Chase in front of the stumps for a score of 1.
This left a massive task on the upcoming batters Keacy Carty and Romario Shepherd. West Indies were stuck at 127/7 in the 30th over. Carty first paired with Shepherd to take West Indies past the 150-run mark and then brought up his half-century. Even as wickets continued to fall at the other end, Carty pressed on to take his team towards a respectable total.
He was eventually the last wicket to fall on a score of 87 with West Indies getting bowled out for a total of 243. Theekshana was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka with impressive figures of 4/34.
Sri Lanka chased down the target comfortably with Pathum Nissanka scoring a ton. Sri Lanka will face Netherlands in the final game of the CWC Qualifier on Sunday.
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