Pavan Rathnayake, captain Dasun Shanaka, and Kusal Mendis all scored fifties to lead Sri Lanka to a 105-run victory over Oman in their T20 World Cup Group B match on Thursday.
Rathnayake scored 60 runs off 28 balls, and Shanaka contributed 50 runs off 20 balls. Kusal Mendis anchored the innings with 61 runs off 45 balls. Sri Lanka set a total of 225/5, their second-highest score in T20 World Cups, and the highest of the tournament so far, after Oman chose to bowl first. Oman struggled throughout their innings and ended up with 120/9.
Oman’s captain Jatinder Singh was dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera in the first over, followed quickly by Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza, leaving Oman at 36/3 early on. Chameera took 2 wickets for 19 runs, while spinner Maheesh Theekshana was effective as well, with 2 for 11 from four overs.
Wasim Ali briefly entertained the crowd with two sixes off Dushan Hemantha but Oman’s recovery stalled as they fell from 75/3 to 91/6, losing three wickets in just six balls.
Theekshana sparked the collapse by dismissing Wasim for 27 runs off 20 balls. A direct hit from Kamil Mishara run out Vinayak Shukla next ball, and Jiten Ramanandi was stumped by Kusal without scoring. Mohammad Nadeem, returning from injury, fought hard and reached fifty, marking his third T20I fifty in 71 matches.
Sri Lanka now leads Group B with two victories in two matches, ahead of Australia and Zimbabwe, both with one win each.
After a disappointing first game against Ireland where he scored just five runs, Rathnayake bounced back with a strong performance, hitting eight fours and one six to achieve his maiden fifty off 24 balls. He surpassed his previous best of 40 runs at this venue earlier this month. Rathnayake hit the first six of the innings off pacer Ramanandi and followed it up with three fours from Sufyan Mehmood.
He and Kusal shared 94 runs in just 52 balls, maintaining a run rate over nine during the middle overs, with 40 of their 96 runs at the halfway mark coming from singles and twos.
Kusal played his role as the senior partner well, scoring 61 runs with seven fours, marking his second consecutive fifty and the 19th of his career. He was run out in the second to last over. Shanaka, who struggled in the lead-up to the tournament, had a breakthrough moment, scoring a rapid 50 off 19 balls, the fastest by a Sri Lankan in T20 World Cup history.
