Match Details
DG: And there it is, a comprehensive performance from the Lankan Lions who have won this game by 7 wickets in hand. A win to start the World Cup and this will surely boost their confidence for the remaining qualifying matches. Namibia put up a brave fight, but never really challenged Sri Lanka. They played well in bits and pieces and will surely learn from their mistakes.
A target of 97 was never going to trouble the Sri Lankan batters. But for a brief period, it looked like Namibia had something in store for their opposition. The top-order batting woes of the Sri Lankan batters continued as they failed to get going against an inexperienced Namibian bowling attack. At one stage, Sri Lanka were tottering at 3 for 26 and Namibia saw a small ray of hope.
But all the hopes were dashed by the dynamic duo of Rajapaksa and Avishka Fernando who consolidated the sinking ship of their side and played a mature knock under pressure as the duo added 74 runs for the 4th wicket. In the end, skipper Gerhard Erasmus tried all the permutation combinations with his bowling lineup, but Sri Lanka eventually eased through the target with 39 balls to spare.