ODI World Cup 2023 Qualifiers: SL vs NED Final Preview, Playing XI, Live Streaming Details & Updates

The unbeaten Sri Lankan team takes on a buoyant Dutch side in the finals of the ODI World Cup 2023 Qualifiers on July 9, Sunday.

Published - 08 Jul 2023, 13:59 IST | Updated - 08 Jul 2023, 14:42 IST

3 Min Read

On expected lines, Sri Lanka have been the most dominant side in the ODI World Cup 2023 Qualifiers, winning all seven matches they have played so far in the competition. They were the first team to ensure qualification for the upcoming ODI World Cup that is scheduled to be held in India in October-November. Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka, Sri Lanka's openers have been in excellent form in the tournament.

Interestingly, Sri Lanka won all of their matches convincingly except the one they played against the Netherlands. Dasun Shanaka's men were rolled over for 213 before they restricted their opponents to 192, therefore, winning by just 21 runs. When the two teams face each other in the final on July 9, Sunday, in Harare, another thriller could be on the cards.

Scott Edwards has led the Netherlands side from the front. He has managed to instill a lot of self-belief in his players and the results have followed. They began their campaign with a six-wicket loss against hosts Zimbabwe, but they haven't looked back from that point onwards.

The Netherlands had a crucial encounter against the West Indies and they looked down and out after conceding 374 runs. However, they managed to take the game into a Super Over thanks to a fine hundred from Teja Nidamanuru and praiseworthy knocks from Scott Edwards and Logan van Beek.

In the Super Over, van Beek breathed fire as he hit Jason Holder for 30 runs. West Indies could only manage 8/2 in reply as van Beek did the job with the ball in hand as well. After playing five games in the Super Six stage, the Netherlands have three wins under their belt.

The last time these two sides met, spinners, Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga caused a lot of problems picking up five wickets between them. The result of the match might as well depend on how the Dutch batters counter the dangerous spin-bowling duo of Theekshana and Hasaranga.

While there was no doubt regarding Sri Lanka's qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup, the Netherlands had to wait till their last game to book their tickets to India. Scott Edwards and Co. had to chase down 278 runs in 44 overs in their last match.

They managed to get to 278 in 42.5 overs as Bas de Leede was at his absolute best. After bagging a five-fer, the 23-year-old came back to score a fluent hundred, rounding up a phenomenal all-round performance.

Pitch and conditions

Conditions have been conducive to fast bowling in Zimbabwe with the new ball in the first innings. Captains have invariably opted to bowl first after winning the toss. The moisture early on in the day aids the pacers and a lot of wickets have been taken with the new ball.

In the most recent encounter at the Harare Sports Club, West Indies lost by eight wickets as they failed to defend 244 runs against the Dasun Shanaka-led side, who reached the target with 34 balls to spare. The toss will be a crucial factor.

Probable Playing XI For SL vs NED

Sri Lanka

Wanindu Hasaranga and Dhananjaya de Silva were rested for Sri Lanka's previous game against the West Indies. However, they are surely going to return to the side in place of Dushan Hemantha and Sahan Arachchige.

Sri Lanka Probable Playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana

Netherlands

The Netherlands are likely to retain the same side that helped them beat Scotland for a historic win unless any last-minute injury pops up.

Netherlands Probable Playing XI: Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd, Wesley Barresi, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards (c/wk), Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Ryan Klein, Aryan Dutt, Clayton Floyd