Pallekele (Sri Lanka), February 12 Fiery fifties by Pavan Rathnayake and captain Dasun Shanaka, along with Kusal Mendis' assured half-century, helped Sri Lanka register a dominant 105-run victory over Oman in their T20 World Cup Group B match here on Thursday.
Rathnayake (60 from 28 balls) and captain Dasun Shanaka (50; 20b) returned to form, while Kusal (61; 45b) anchored the innings with successive World Cup half-centuries, as Sri Lanka amassed 225/5 – their second highest score in the T20 World Cup and the highest score of the tournament so far – after Oman chose to bowl.
Oman's chase never recovered from early setbacks as they struggled under pressure to be restricted to 120/9.
Captain Jatinder Singh was dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera in the first over, and Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza soon followed with low scores as Oman slipped to 36/3 inside the powerplay.
Chameera (2/19) struck twice with the new ball, while spinner Maheesh Theekshana bowled tightly and effectively, returning figures of 2/11 from his four overs.
There was brief excitement when Wasim Ali countered Dushan Hemantha, hitting the leg-spinner for two consecutive sixes – one deep midwicket and another forward square leg – lifting Oman to 75/3 in 11 overs.
However, the recovery was short-lived as they crashed to 91/6, losing three wickets in six balls.
Theekshana triggered the collapse by dismissing the fluent Wasim for 27 (20 balls; 3x6), caught by Kusal.
A direct hit from Kamil Mishara at deep point ran Vinayak Shukla out the very next ball, and Jiten Ramanandi was brilliantly stumped by Kusal for a duck.
Mohammad Nadeem, back after missing the opening, waged a valiant battle with a fifty, as the 43-year-old hit his third T20I fifty in 71 appearances.
The 2014 champions now have two wins from as many matches, topping Group B, ahead of Australia and Zimbabwe, who have one win each.
After a poor World Cup debut against Ireland where he fell for a sloppy upper cut for 5, Rathnayake made amends in style, smashing eight fours and one six en route to his maiden fifty that came off just 24 balls.
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 of over 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 and struck seven fours in his 61 off 45 balls, his second successive fifty 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.
He took on Nadeem Khan with a boundary and back-to-back sixes, and then smashed Sufyan Mehmood for successive sixes to reach the landmark.
Shanaka and Mendis fell off consecutive deliveries in the 19th over, briefly slowing the charge.
However, Kamindu Mendis (19 not out; 7 balls) ended with a flourish, hitting Shah Faisal for two sixes in a row as the hosts scored 65 runs in the last four overs to post the highest total of this edition so far.
