CWC Qualifier Day 8 Report: Sri Lanka crush Irish dreams, Oman qualify

Sri Lanka rode on Dimuth Karunaratne's maiden ODI ton to hand Ireland a crushing defeat and first-round exit from the World Cup qualifiers. In another game, Scotland won against Oman

It was a great day of cricket in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on the eighth day of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Sri Lanka ended the hopes of an Irish comeback late in the group stages while Scotland continued its winning run by defeating Oman and registering its third consecutive win of the tournament.

Ireland shown the door courtesy Karunaratne's century

It was yet another defeat for the Irish team, their third in a row as they exited the Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 and their dreams of making it to ICC ODI World Cup 2023 were also crushed by Sri Lanka. Winning the toss and opting to bowl first, Ireland did get the first two wickets early. However, Dimuth Karunaratne partnered with Sadeera Samarawickrama for a mammoth 187-run stand. 

Karunaratne went on to register his maiden ODI ton while Sadeera was out for 82. Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka were the other two Lankan batters to score quick runs and get their team total to 325 in 49.5 overs. 

Hasaranga picks his third fifth wicket haul

Wanindu Hasaranga was the pick of the bowlers once again for Sri Lanka as they defended 325 in style, bowling out Ireland for a meagre 192. Hasaranga picked 5/79 in his 10 overs while Curtis Campher top scored for the men in green with 39 off 31. 

McMullen and Greaves give Scotland a third win on the trot 

Brandon McMullen scored his maiden ODI century, hitting 136 off 121 balls to guide Scotland to 320/10 in 50 overs against Oman in a group B fixture at the Cricket World Cup Qualifier. McMullen arrived at a moment when the Scots were struggling at 0/1. He added 82 for the second wicket with Matthew Cross and then 138 for the third wicket with Richie Berrington. Scottish skipper Berrington scored 60 as well. For Oman, Bilal Khan picked a five-for, ending his spell with figures of 5/55. 

Chasing 321 was never going to be easy for the Omani team at the Bulawayo Athletic Club. Oman scored 244/9 in their 20 overs and lost the game by 76 runs. For Scotland, Chris Greaves was the pick of the bowlers as the leggie finished with a five-wicket haul. He ended up with figures of 5/53 in his 10 overs. Naseem Khushi, the wicket-keeper batter of Oman was the top scorer with 69 from 53 balls. 

Even after this loss, Oman went on to qualify for the super six stage as the third team from the group having two wins in its kitty from four games.