The dream of directly playing in the next ODI World Cup is broken for the Lankans. Sri Lanka lost to New Zealand by 6 wickets in the third and final ODI of the three-match series. With this loss, Sri Lanka finished the World Cup Super League at ninth place in the table with 81 points in 24 matches. Earlier on Friday, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 157 runs in 41.3 overs. Opener Pathum Nisanka scored maximum 57 runs for the team. He hit 8 fours and a six in an innings of 64 balls. Among the rest, Dasun Shanaka scored 31 runs, Chamika Karunaratne scored 24 runs and Dhananjaya de Silva scored 13 runs. Matt Henry, Henry Shipley and Darrell Mitchell took 3 wickets each for New Zealand.
In reply to 158 runs, New Zealand lost 3 wickets for 21 runs. The fourth wicket fell on the team’s 59 runs. Will Young and Henry Nicholls gave New Zealand a taste of match and series victory by scoring 100 runs in 108 balls for the fifth wicket. Young scored an unbeaten 86 off 113 balls with 11 fours. Nicholls scored 44 runs off 52 balls. Young was man of the match. New Zealand won the three-match ODI series by 2-0.
The first 8 teams of the Super League will get a chance to play directly in the ODI World Cup to be held in India. The next teams will have to play qualifying matches. Sri Lanka dropped to ninth place in the Super League points table after the loss to New Zealand. West Indies came in eighth place. Their points are 88. Sri Lanka collected 81 points. It is no longer possible for Sri Lanka to stay in the top eight. Because they have no more series before the World Cup.
South Africa is at number ten. Their points are 78. The Proteas still have an opportunity to play the ODI World Cup directly. If they win the series against the Netherlands, they can reach the top eight. In that case West Indies will also have to play qualifiers. The Caribbean also failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup.