By Srian Obeyesekere

Sri Lanka crushed Oman yesterday by a massive 105 runs keeping their T20 World Cup campaign going for their second successive win with 4 points in the bag on a 225 mayhem off 20 overs after being put into bat driven by Pavan Rathnayake’s 28 ball player of the Match 60 with Kusal Mendis 61 off 45 and Skipper Dasun Shanaka a 20 ball cameo 50 in promoting himself to an assertive No 5 from a hitherto laid down late order 8 in ripping Oman to 120 for 9 at Kandy’s Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium.

The largely one sided game was brought alive by the macho 23 year old Pavan Rathnayake who joined anchor man Kusal Mendis with Sri Lanka on 42 for 2 into 5.1 overs in an assault on a hapless Oman attack as he struck 8 bpundariea and a six in adding 94 for the third wicket off 50 balls before Dasun Shanaka entered the fray in a taring down Oman by 5 scorching sixes and 2 across as the Lankan Captain came out of an usually laid back back seat role in promoting himself to the assertive No 5 cast in adding 63 off 28 with Kusal Mendis.

PAVAN MUST GET HIS IMPROVISATIONS RIGHT

However, Rathnayake brought about his own downfall when a century was on the cards as in the game against Ireland by improvising and getting bowled moving further to the off and attempting to clear and missing a middle stump ball that hit timber. The difference of then and now was moving to leg attempting to cut and bowled and yesterday moving away to the off and attempting to clear the leg side with the same result seeing his middle stump knocked. Lets hope he would be wiser by the mistake to getting his improvisations right and not wrong.

The Lankan captain could consider himself unlucky not to have been considered by the match adjudicators for the Player of the Match purely for his 5 sixer massacre of Oman’s attack.

Kusal Mendis as in the game against Ireland played Sri Lanka’s Mr Reliable cornerstone part to the hitting 7 boundaries and fell the way he shouldn’t have when in full control responding to a call from Kamindu Mendis, (unbeaten on 19 off 5), who then sent him back.

Oman came apart collapsing to 2 for 12, 5 for 79 after 12 in that mess with only Mohammad Nadeem remaining unbeaten on 53 off 56 with 3 boundaries and a six with Dushan Hemantha cleared over as the injury replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga went expensive for 45 runs for one wicket off 4 overs with Maheesh Theekshana 2 for 11 and Dushmantha Chameera 2 for 19 doing the spade work complemented by a wicket each by Dunith Wellalage and Kamindu Mendis.
Slinger action like Malinga Matheesha Pathirana was not among the wickets, but it was indeed quite a jolting sight watching him send down some bewitching deliveries with his side arm quick action of the 3 overs he sent down for 11 runs.

Sri Lanka 225 for 5 (Mendis 61, Rathnayake 60, Shanaka 50, Ramanandi 2-41) beat Oman 120 for 9 (Mohammad Nadeem 53*, Theekshana 2-11, Chameera 2-19) by 105.