Sri Lanka's top 3 bowling performances in 2023 ODI World Cup ft. Dilshan Madushanka
Sri Lanka finished their ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 campaign in ninth spot after their humbling defeat to New Zealand in Match 41 in Bengaluru.
After being put to bat first, Sri Lanka could only get to 171 in the first innings. The Blackcaps hunted down the total with ease, reaching the target with five wickets and 160 balls remaining.
With this, Sri Lanka not only ended their tournament with four consecutive defeats but also put their place in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in jeopardy. As the ICC mentioned last month, only the top eight teams, including the host nation, Pakistan, will play in the marquee event in 2025.
Having said that, the Lankan unit had to endure quite a few injury scares before and during the tournament. They missed their talisman in Wanindu Hasaranga, while the likes of Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara were not available for the majority of the tournament as well.
Despite this, there were certainly some moments of brilliance throughout their start-stop campaign. On that note, here are Sri Lanka's three best bowling performances in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
#3 Lahiru Kumara - 3/35 vs England in Bengaluru
While Lahiru Kumara played only two games in the tournament, he made his presence felt in the clash against England.
With his extra pace and 'X-factor' bowling, he bowled a match-winning spell of 3/35 and helped Sri Lanka register their second victory of the campaign.
Batting first, England made a great start by adding 45 for no loss in six overs. However, a couple of soft dismissals reduced them to 68/3 before Kusal Mendis introduced Lahiru Kumara in the attack.
With Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler on the crease, something was bound to happen. After getting a four on the first ball of the 15th over, Buttler poked one outside off to the keeper.
Kumara followed his over with another wicket-taking over. This time it was a vicious in-swinger that trapped Liam Livingstone in front of the stumps. The right-arm speedster continued to trouble the English batters with his hit-the-deck bowling.
In his second spell, Kumara gave England a body blow by sending back Ben Stokes, who scored a well-made 43. After their talisman Stokes was gone, England were bundled out for 156. Kumara ended his spell of seven overs with three wickets for 35 runs.
After Sri Lanka eased past the total with 144 balls in hand, Kumara was adjudged the Player of the Match for his efforts.
#2 Kasun Rajitha - 4/50 vs Netherlands in Lucknow
![Kasun Rajitha for Sri Lanka [Getty Image]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/11/1452f-16996961282484-1920.jpg)
Kasun Rajitha proved to be Sri Lanka's second-best bowler after Dilshan Madushanka. The right-arm pacer took eight wickets in six innings, with his best performance coming during Sri Lanka's maiden win of the tournament.
Sri Lanka faced the Netherlands after the Dutch side bamboozled the South African outfit in a historic game earlier in the tournament. However, Kasun Rajitha starred with the ball and took his career-best figures of 4/50 and gave his side an upper hand in the contest.
It was a day game and Rajitha moved the ball quite a bit in the powerplay. He started with a perfect in-swinger to Vikramjit Singh, who was given LBW for four runs. He continued to swing the ball at will and cleaned up Max O'Dowd on the last ball of the powerplay.
In his very next over, Rajitha reduced the Netherlands to 54/3 by dismissing Colin Ackermann. It was a wide delivery, which found the edge of Ackermann to the keeper. Rajitha bowled seven overs straight with the new ball and conceded only 27 runs for his three wickets.
He bowled his next two overs in the death and sent back a well-set Logan van Beek (59) after Charith Asalanka took a brilliant catch in the deep mid-wicket region.
Rajitha ended the spell with 4/50, which helped Sri Lanka restrict the Dutch side for 262. The Lankans eventually won the match by five wickets.
#1 Dilshan Madushanka - 5/80 vs India in Mumbai (Match 33)
![Dilshan Madushanka pumped up after taking Rohit Sharma's wicket. [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/11/eb728-16996986003401-1920.jpg)
Without a shadow of a doubt, Dilshan Madushanka proved to be the shining light for Sri Lanka in their dull campaign. The left-arm pacer made the ball talk and spearheaded the Lankan attack with utmost might and vigor.
Madushanka, who had a string of injuries coming into the tournament, sparked the tournament and picked up 21 wickets at an average of 25.00 across nine innings. His best bowling performance came against India in Mumbai, where he bagged his maiden fifer.
Bowling first, Sri Lanka drew the first blood as Madushanka rattled the off-stump of Rohit Sharma with a remarkable off-cutter, which went away with the angle. The left-armer also induced some nervy moments against the likes of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill, who then dealt with the storm.
The two Indian batters added 189 runs for the second wicket before Madushanka came back to restrict Gill from scoring a century. He bowled a slower bouncer, which took an edge off Gill's bat.
In his very next over, Madushanka bowled another slower one, this time deceiving Kohli on 88. While the Wankhede pitch aided batters, Madushanka utilized his change of pace to great effect.
In the death overs, the 23-year-old also sent back Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer to complete his five-wicket haul. While he got Suryakumar on a bouncer, Iyer got dismissed while slogging one over covers.
Despite his side enduring another humiliating defeat, Madushanka's resounding spell of 5/80, which included some of the world's best, was one of the most heartening bowling performances of the tournament.