As Sri Lanka defeated Ireland by 133 runs, Hasaranga’s brilliant five-wicket haul equaled Waqar Younis’ incredible achievement.
In the fifteenth game of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023 on Sunday at the Queens Sports Club, star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga produced game-winning stats to destroy Ireland.
With Hasaranga planning a significant victory for Dasun Shanaka and company. Sri Lanka has already punched its ICC World Cup tickets in Bulawayo for the 2023 tournament in India.
The former world champions defeated Ireland by 133 runs thanks to a stellar five-wicket haul from Hasaranga.
At the Queens Sports Club, Sri Lanka posted an enormous target for Ireland after electing to bat first in the crucial World Cup 2023 qualifying match.
In order to help Sri Lanka reach the difficult total, veteran Dimuth Karunaratne played a brilliant knock of 103 off 103 balls and wicketkeeper-batter Sadeera Samarawickrama smashed 82 off 86 balls.
After Karunaratne and Samarawickrama added 168 runs for the third wicket, Dhananjaya de Silva made a pivotal cameo with 42 off 35 balls, enabling Sri Lanka to amass an impressive total of 325 in 49.5 overs.
The 1996 world champions’ bowling attack was led by spin wizard Hasaranga, who in the 50-over match took crucial wickets of Ireland’s Andrew Balbirnie (12), Harry Tector (33), Gareth Delany (19), Mark Adair (4), and Joshua Little (20).
Hasaranga’s final bowling total of 5-79 ensured that Sri Lanka eliminated Ireland from the World Cup qualifiers, overshadowing Mark Adair’s (4-46) and Barry McCarthy’s (3-56) impressive bowling figures in the game.
In three World Cup qualifying matches in Zimbabwe, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star has taken 16 wickets.
The Men in Green needed a victory in Zimbabwe to maintain their chances of qualifying for the World Cup, but Hasaranga’s third consecutive five-wicket haul put an end to their hopes.
After legendary pacer Waqar Younis, who accomplished the same feat in 1990, Hasaranga became the second bowler in ODI history to take three consecutive 5-wicket hauls, rewriting history by sending Sri Lanka to the Super Six stage of the 2023 World Cup.
The spinner’s 5-wicket haul cost him $79, trailing only Adil Rashid of England in terms of cost per wicket. Scotland and Oman have now joined the Asia Cup winners in qualifying from Group B for the World Cup 2023 as a result of Sri Lanka’s convincing victory.
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