• Sri Lanka beat the Netherlands by 16 runs to reach the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.
• Kusal Mendis hit a crucial half-century and Wanindu Hasaranga grabbed three wickets for Sri Lanka.
• The United Arab Emirates were eliminated from the tournament after losing their opening game against Namibia by seven runs.

Kusal Mendis hit a crucial half-century and Wanindu Hasaranga grabbed three wickets as Sri Lanka cruised into the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup with a 16-run victory against the Netherlands on Thursday in Geelong.

On a beautiful afternoon at Kardinia Park, the wicketkeeper-swashbuckling batsman’s 79 from 44 guided Sri Lanka reach 162 for six before the talismanic Hasaranga helped restrict Netherlands to 146 for nine, despite opener Max O’Dowd’s unbeaten 71.

The victory moved Sri Lanka to the top of Group A, ahead of the second-placed Netherlands, and eliminated the winless United Arab Emirates from the tournament.

Sri Lanka were startled by Namibia in their first qualifier, but bounced back with a hammering of the UAE.

Meanwhile The United Arab Emirates defeated Namibia by seven runs in their first-ever Twenty20 World Cup game on Thursday, sending the Netherlands into the tournament’s Super 12.

If the Africans had won, they would have joined Sri Lanka in the next round instead of the Dutch, but the UAE held them to 141-8 as they chased 149 for victory.

The UAE reduced Namibia to 69-7 in the 13th over, thanks to two wickets each from Zahoor Khan and Basil Hameed, before late fireworks from David Weise (55 off 36 balls) set up a tight last-over finish.

T20 World Cup 2022 Points table

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