New Delhi: Opener Kusal Mendis slammed a 44-ball 79 as Asia Cup winners Sri Lanka beat the Netherlands by 16 runs to get into the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup on Thursday.

The world’s eighth-ranked team scored 162/6, scoring 102 of them off the final 10 overs, to set a big target that the Dutch were unable to reach, finishing on 146/9.

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Sri Lanka set to play in this Super 12 Group

The Super 12 group will be determined after the game between Namibia and the United Arab Emirates in Geelong. A win for the African side will knock out the Dutch and send them through because they already have a superior net run rate. If Namibia loses, the Dutch will progress. It is the third successive time Sri Lanka have reached the Super 12 and they will be hoping to repeat their heroics from 2014 when Dinesh Chandimal skippered them to the title.

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Dasun Shanaka said ‘we knew it…’

Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka said, “We knew that we could be the number one in this group, but we missed out in the first match. The boys have done well though, especially the bowling group. I knew the wicket was two-paced, so we wanted to bowl well in the first 10 overs and then control the game.”

While, the Dutch captain Scott Edwards said, “A little unlucky that the chances didn’t go to hand, we let it slip a bit towards the middle and back-end.”

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