All-round Sri Lanka thump Netherlands

Dilhara Fernando picked up four wickets as Sri Lanka bowled Netherlands out for 195 © AFP Enlarge

It was a perfect day for Sri Lanka at the SSC in Colombo, as none of their senior players had to strain while the younger batsmen and back-up bowlers got some handy runs and wickets under their belts. After winning the toss, Sri Lanka amassed 351 without requiring either captain Kumar Sangakkara or vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene to have a bat.

The opening combination of Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan showed what they are capable of with a 117-run stand. The two have five century partnerships in ODIs and average 51.20 as an opening pair. The brisk start allowed Sri Lanka to experiment with their batting line-up. Thilan Samaraweera was pushed up to No. 3 with Angleo Mathews, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera and even Nuwan Kulasekara batting ahead of Sangakkara and Jayawardene.

Dilshan led the way, his 78 coming at a run a ball, with 12 boundaries, including some typically unorthodox shots. Samaraweera, who is often accused of batting too slowly to be successful in ODIs, got his 60 in just 59 balls, a fair clip faster than his career strike-rate of 68.67. Silva and Kapugedera both got quick half-centuries; something that will please Sri Lanka as the inexperience in their middle order has been a bit of a worry.

The Sri Lankan innings was paced perfectly, with the batsmen making maximum use of the batting Powerplay, smashing 61 runs between the 44th and 48th over.

From Netherlands' point of view, only a couple of their bowlers managed to come out of the onslaught with respectable figures. Seamer Mudassar Bukhari took 2 for 52 in his 10 overs, while left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar was the most economical of the bowlers, going at 4.40 in his 10 overs.

Sri Lanka's back-up bowlers had recently done the job for them in the third ODI of the home series against West Indies and continued their form in the warm-up match. Dilhara Fernando took 4 for 43, while Rangana Herath picked up a couple of wickets.

The one positive Netherlands will take out of the game was the form of Tom de Grooth, who scored 76. Their top order didn't contribute much, with their star player Ryan ten Doeschate falling to Thisara Perera for one.

De Grooth's knock ensured Sri Lanka were at least given a full-day's work-out, as Netherlands lasted till the 48th over in their chase.