Sri Lanka's match-winner against UAE in the World Cup Qualifier, Wanindu Hasaranga, revealed his game plan for the opposition batters as the Lions registered a thumping 175-run victory on Monday.
Hasaranga's magic was quite evident in the way he bowled and batted against UAE. He ended up with an exceptional figure of 6/24. While with the bat in the first innings, he struck three boundaries in his short yet influential unbeaten cameo of 23(12).
After the match in the post-match presentation, Hasaranga reflected on the approach he took that worked for him against the UAE batters.
"I'm really happy. Took my 50th wicket today and this five-for makes me really happy. When we were batting, the wicket was really good. After that, the ball was gripping and that's the benefit we had. I always try to bowl wicket-to-wicket. In these wickets, if you do that, you have 50-50 chance of taking wickets," Hasaranga said.
He further went on to put emphasis on the Sri Lankan batters' stellar performances in the first innings that allowed them to post a massive total of 355/6.
"Our batters batted really well. 355 was a brilliant score. Kusal played very well and so did Sadeera. Dimuth and Pathum started really well. End of the innings, myself and Charith, we ended up with a good score," Hasaranga signed off.
As UAE approached to chase a massive target of 356, UAE got off to a steady start until Lahiru Kumara pulled off a smart caught and bowled to dismiss UAE opener Rohan Mustafa for a score of 12.
Hasaranga came into the attack displaying his prowess as a spinner, he picked up three wickets in the span of two overs, removing Muhammad Waseem (39), Basil Hameed (0) and Asif Khan (8) to hand Sri Lanka a firm grip on victory.
Contributions from Vriitya Aravind who matches his captain's top score of 39 ensured it was a respectable effort with the bat for UAE.
A decent partnership between Rameez Shahzad (26) and Naseer (34) made Sri Lanka wait for the inevitable win.
Maheesh Theekshana was brought into the action to clean up Naseer, and Hasaranga with his magic finished the game by picking up two wickets in two balls bowling out UAE for a score of 180 in 39 overs.
Hasaranga finished the game with exceptional figures of 6/24 in eight overs.
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