Sadeera uses lessons from Mahela Jayawardene to steer Sri Lanka home on a tricky Lucknow surface | Cricket-world-cup News

Sadeera Samarawickrama’s father doesn’t speak to him for a day if he gets out playing cross-batted shots. For Rashen Samarawickrama the ramps, scoops, and reverse sweeps are kaetayi (ugly in Sinhalese). But after watching his son’s unbeaten 91 not out, the Samarawickrama must be the happiest person as it was a lassanai (beautiful) knock.
Sadeera’s patient knock helped Sri Lanka open their account in the World Cup as they regered a five-wicket win over the Netherlands in Lucknow.
“My father doesn’t like me to play any unorthodox shots and if I get out playing those, he will not talk to me for one day. And a day later, he would tell me don’t ever go for that shot again, when you have all the good cricketing shots, why are you trying playing a ramp,” Sri Lanka’s player of the match had told The Indian Express ahead of the tie.
In Sri Lanka’s dugout, the happiest person was former Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene, who for the past one week has worked tirelessly with Sadeera in Lucknow.
During his unbeaten knock, Sadeera’s flicks, sweeps, crisp footwork, and playing late with soft hands reflected the impact of the Sri Lankan legend in his batting. The most productive shot for Sadeera was the cut shot; 23 runs flowed from that. He scored 67 runs against the spinners and despite the surface assing them, he never let the spinners dominate.
“I have always followed Mahela Jayawardene. I really liked his technique and the way he used to handle the pressure situation. In this World Cup he wants me to play sweep shots, especially when the wicket is turning. I have got a few runs with that shot, and he was telling me you can hit this shot easily; just keep working on it,” he said.
Another facet of his game that was eye-catching was his ability to forge partnerships. When he walked out to bat, Sri Lanka were in slight trouble. Sadeera put on three fifty-plus partnerships in the chase. He added 52 runs with Pathum Nissanka (54) for the third wicket and a 77-run stand for the fourth wicket with Charit Aslanka (44) kept the Lankans ahead in the game. However, it was the 76-run fifth wicket stand with Dhananjaya de Silva (30), that assured Sri Lanka two points.
“It was tough in the middle when I walked out to bat. The ball was spinning, and the fast bowlers were bowling on a good length and wanted to take deep and because it was not an easy track to bat on,” he told reporters after the match.
For the Netherlands, off-spinner Aryan Dutt (3/44) was the pick of the bowlers.
Proteas and Kiwi rescue the Dutch
Sybrand Englebrecht (70 off 82 balls) and Logan van Beek (59 off 75 balls) stitched together 130 runs for the seventh wicket to rescue Netherlands from 91 for 6 and helped them to reach 262. It was the highest partnership for the seventh wicket or below in the ODI World Cup. The duo broke the 40-year-old record set Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup.
The Netherlands lost five wickets for 43 runs and at that point, it looked like the match would get over pretty quickly. But Englebrecht, who has played U-19 for South Africa and Van Beek, who last year was in India with the New Zealand A side, showed why their coach Ryan Cook has spoken so much about the resilience and fighting spirit of this side.Most Read
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Sybrand Englebrecht retired from all forms of cricket in 2016. He completed his MBA, and moved to the Netherlands from South Africa for work. During the Covid, someone in his office whatsapp group shared the video of his acrobatic catch he took against PNG during the 2008 U-19 World Cup. He started playing cricket again, this time because of peer pressure, and led his club Voorburg CC’s to a Championship victory in 2023. In July this year, he was eligible to play cricket for the Netherlands. And at 35, he has made his international debut in the World Cup, and on Saturday, he scored his maiden ODI fifty.
On the other hand, Van Beek is also a journeyman. His grandfather SC Guillen is one of the few cricketers who has played Test cricket for West Indies and New Zealand. Van Beek has been part of the Dutch side since 2014, but he plays first-class cricket for Canterbury. Van Beek’s goal was to play the 2015 ODI World Cup for New Zealand but it didn’t pan out. In the meantime, he has seen his best mates Tom Latham and Matt Henry, getting picked for the Blackcaps.
Rajitha-Madhushanka show
Sri Lanka pacers Kasun Rajitha (4/50) and Dilshan Madushanka (4/49) shared eight wickets between them. It was Rajitha who triggered the Dutch collapse removing their top three. And Madhushanka, who has a knack of picking up wickets with the new ball, returned to remove Bas de Leede (6) and Teja Nidamanuru (9). The left-arm seamer also broke Engelbrecht and Van Beek’s partnership to restrict Netherlands to a par total.