Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne put on 190 for the first wicket.
Sri Lanka geared up for their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 final against the Netherlands with a comfortable eight-wicket victory over West Indies.
Opening batters Pathum Nissanka (104) and Dimuth Karunaratne (83) did the bulk of the damage to chase down 243 after Keacy Carty (87) had dragged Windies to a respectable target.
Victory means Sri Lanka remain unbeaten in Zimbabwe, and now face one final hurdle in Netherlands to be crowned Qualifier champions.
Openers fire Sri Lanka to victory
Pathum Nissanka hit the third ODI century of his career as Sri Lanka cruised to an eight-wicket victory over West Indies.
Nissanka hit 104 runs off 113 balls as part of a 190-run opening stand with Dimuth Karunaratne that took the game away from West Indies.
Kusal Mendis (34) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (17) did the rest to easily reach their target of 244, for which Windies had Keacy Carty (87) to thank after Maheesh Theekshana (4/34) had ripped through much of their top order.
West Indies had started strongly, racing to 31 from their first four overs before Theekshana conceded just two from his first over and cleaned up Brandon King (10) in his second.
The spinner struck again in his third, Shamarh Brooks (2) nicking behind before captain Shai Hope (2) became his third victim from his fourth over, pinned leg before.
Opener Johnson Charles (39) was next back to the hutch an over later, trapped leg before by Matheesha Pathirana to leave Windies floundering on 62 for four.
But Carty and Nicholas Pooran (14) led the fightback, as the pair stopped the flurry of wickets until Dushan Hemantha accounted for Pooran to further drag West Indies into the mire at 81 for five.
Carty, having survived a dropped catch on nine, kept the scoreboard ticking over and dragged his side to 123 for seven by the time Sahan Arachchige bowled Kyle Mayers (18) and Hemantha trapped Roston Chase (1) leg before.
Late contributions from Romario Shepherd (26) and Kevin Sinclair (25) then pulled Windies towards 250 before Carty fell 12 balls from the end to leave his side 243 all out.
Having perhaps been disappointed to let West Indies reach almost 250, Sri Lanka began their chase quickly, bringing up 50 inside nine overs before Nissanka reached his 10th ODI half century in as many balls in the 16th over.
Opening partner Karunaratne soon followed, bringing up his 50 with four as Sri Lanka cantered towards their total.
Windies tried mightily to break the partnership, rotating through six bowlers in search of a way through, but the pair proved impenetrable as they brought up the 150 stand in the 28th over.
Nissanka then brought up his century with just under 20 overs remaining before eventually holing out to mid-wicket off the bowling of Kevin Sinclair.
But the fall of the first wicket failed to stem the flow of runs, as Mendis picked up the scoring baton, bringing up the 200 with a four before Karunaratne was trapped leg before by Akeal Hosein.
It left Mendis and Samarawickrama to bring the chase home, doing so in style with 34 balls remaining to send Sri Lanka into Sunday's final with their unbeaten record intact.
Sri Lanka and Netherlands face off in final
After almost a month of absorbing action, the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 comes to a close on Sunday, as Sri Lanka and the Netherlands fight it out for the right to be crowned champions.
Both sides have already claimed their main prize, a place in India next October for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 but neither will want to end their time in Zimbabwe with defeat.
Sri Lanka were comfortable victors when the two sides met in the Super Six just over a week ago, but Netherlands are fresh from their thrilling victory over Scotland and will hope their momentum can help them to victory.
Scores in brief
Sri Lanka beat West Indies by eight wickets at Harare Sports Club, Harare
West Indies 243 all out in 48.1 overs (Keacy Carty 87, Johnson Charles 39; Maheesh Theekshana 4/34, Dushan Hemantha 2/49)
Sri Lanka 244/2 in 44.2 overs (Pathum Nissanka 104, Dimuth Karunaratne 83; Kevin Sinclair 1/52, Akeal Hosein 1/54)
Sunday 9 July – Fixtures
Final
Sri Lanka v Netherlands at Harare Sports Club
Pooran's blistering 61 not enough as Shai Hope's Capitals edge LSG by 19 runs to keep slim play-off hopes alive
Delhi Capitals defeated Lucknow Super Giants to boost their hopes of making the Indian Premier League play-offs.
The Capitals claimed a 19-run victory on Tuesday, with Abishek Porel (58) and Tristan Stubbs (57 not out) starring.
Their efforts propelled Delhi to 208-4 from their 20 overs, with Shai Hope (38) and Rishabh Pant (33) chipping in with useful contributions as LSG's bowling attack struggled badly. Hope faced 27 balls and had three fours and two sixes in his knock.
Nicholas Pooran top-scored with a 27-ball 61 in Lucknow's chase, while Arshad Khan plundered an unbeaten 58, yet it was not enough, with the Super Giants only able to reach 189-9 in response. Pooran's knock included six fours and four maximums, while Khan had three fours and five sixes in his 33-ball knock.
Shai Hope found his range after a quiet start.
Ishant Sharma, with 3-34, was the pick of the Capitals' bowlers, as they must now wait and see if Chennai Super Kings or Sunrisers Hyderabad slip up enough to send Delhi into the top four.
LSG are down in seventh, and they must beat Mumbai Indians heavily in their last match to stand any chance of making the play-offs.
Data Debrief: Ishant hits double figures... again
Introduced as the impact player, Ishant fulfilled his duty with three swift wickets inside his first three overs, with Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul and Deepak Hood all taken out.
Ishant has now taken 10 wickets this season, and is onto 93 across his entire IPL career. It is the sixth season Ishant has reached double figures for wickets, and his second in a row.
Afridi lauds 'world class' Babar and Rizwan as Pakistan win Ireland series
Shaheen Afridi lauded Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as "world class" after the pair guided Pakistan to a T20I series victory over Ireland on Tuesday.
Babar's side were defeated in the first meeting with Ireland last week but responded with two convincing chases to secure a 2-1 triumph.
Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker's 73 helped his side to set a target of 179 in the winner-takes-all-decider, but Pakistan had little trouble in easing to a six-wicket victory with 18 balls to spare.
Rizwan, who managed an unbeaten 75 in the second meeting, crafted a well-made 56, while Babar carried Pakistan to within touching distance after his 42-ball 75.
Big-hitter Azam Khan blasted 18 off just six deliveries to see the visitors over the line, though Afridi was quick to credit the work of the two experienced Pakistan campaigners.
"For us, before the World Cup, it's important to have these games to ready ourselves and there are a few areas to improve," said Afridi, who impressed with 3-14 in the first innings.
"They're both world-class players [Babar and Rizwan]; they know how to play their role and they have done really well on this pitch."
Babar bludgeoned four of his five sixes off Ben White's bowling in the 14th over, while sharing 139 runs with the in-form Rizwan for the second wicket.
"We had good communication in the middle because we have played a lot of cricket together; we were trying to play on our strengths and the aim was to match with the run rate," Babar added.
"Lots of positives for us to take and we were able to execute our plans.
"We have a big tournament coming up and this is good practice; we are now looking forward to the England series."
Mark Adair was the only Ireland bowler to impress with his economical 3-28, though Tucker was still satisfied with his side's efforts.
"It was brilliant and a great privilege to captain," Tucker said at the post-match presentation. "It would have been nice to start with a win.
"We set up a platform nicely but unfortunately, we couldn't finish well. We gave everyone a go with the ball. Credit to the lads, they bowled well in tough conditions.
"Maybe it was a bit disappointing with the result but we had positives from the series."
IPL: KKR ensured top-two spot after washout
The first abandoned game of the Indian Premier League ensures Kolkata Knight Riders will finish in the top two and Gujarat Titans’ elimination from playoff contention.
A combination of lightning and rain meant there was not even a toss, with the intense storm ripping banners from the stands, which later wrapped around the floodlights.
KKR had all but ensured a place in the top two due to their dominating net run-rate, but a 19th point of the season confirmed it, leaving them with one game to try and clinch top spot for the first time.
The Titans needed to win their final two games to give themselves any hope of reaching the playoffs, though it would have proven tough for the side with the lowest net run-rate in the league.
It is the first time GT have failed to make the playoffs since they joined the competition before the 2022 season.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
