Wanindu Hasaranga rips through UAE with a rampant 6-wicket haul in ICC World Cup Qualifier

Talk of a match-winning performance and Wanindu Hasaranga has been making a habit of putting on a show for a while now. In another glistening addition to his career triumphs, Hasaranga added a rampant match-winning performance against UAE, an encounter in which he shined both with the bat and the ball.

Sri Lanka opened their ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier campaign against UAE in Bulawayo, and the former was put into bat by UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem. The Sri Lankan batters took on the UAE bowlers to make merry, with all of the top four batsmen registering half-centuries, led by Kusal Mendis, who top-scored with a 63-ball 78. 

The last five overs itself produced 64 runs, with Charith Asalanka (48*) joining forces with Hasaranga, who produced a handy cameo (12-ball 23*) with three boundaries to propel Sri Lanka to 355/6 on the board. 

Hasaranga’s actual magic was still to unfold though as UAE found themselves caught in a twirl against the mixed bag of tricks produced by the talented spinner. It all started with the prized scalp of the UAE skipper, Waseem, who looked good for his 39 before he lost his wicket. Trying to sweep a low full-toss from Hasaranga, he ended up picking Charith Asalanka at deep square leg region, heralding an imminent cataclysm.

The next man removed was Basil Hameed, who was bamboozled by Hasaranga’s googly as the ball crashed onto his front pad. A little under two overs later, Asif Khan had no answer to the Sri Lankan’s spin as he was caught plumb in front for 8. 

After his first spell that read 5-0-20-3, the RCB leg-spinner returned in the 35th over and pegged back Rameez Shahzad’s stumps, with the UAE batter getting nowhere close to the ball in his hunt for a wild slog. 

It was only a matter of time before Hasaranga was rewarded with a well-deserved 5-wicket haul, a ripper going through the gap between Aayan Khan’s bat and pad to hit timbre while on the next ball, Mohammad Jawadullah had no answer to the Sri Lankan’s guile, falling prey to another googly that brought about his best ODI figures ever (8-1-24-6).