Sri Lanka qualify for ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 in India

Sri Lanka are unbeaten in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023, while West Indies are out of the tournament.

Sri Lanka have qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 after a big win over Zimbabwe in the World Cup qualifier's Super Six round. Sri Lanka thrashed Zimbabwe by 9 wickets to seal a spot in the World Cup. They will be playing in the final of Qualifiers with one team still to be decided. This is for the first time since the 1979 World Cup qualifier that Sri Lanka played in qualifier. Sri Lanka remained unbeaten in the tournament and decimated every single opposition they played against. Along with Sri Lanka, Hosts Zimbabwe are the other favourites to book their place in the big event in India. 

Batting first, Zimbabwe could only post 165 runs on the board. Sri Lankan off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana rattled Zimbabwe batters with his 4-wicket spell. Theekshana bowled 8.2 overs to pick up 4 crucial wickets including in-form Sean Williams (56) and Ryan Burl. Dilshan Madhushanka also picked up 3 wickets to give Zimbabwe early blows. Chasing the target, Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka smashed a century to chase down 166 runs in just 33 overs. Nissanka smashed 101 runs in 102 balls with 14 boundaries. Dimuth Karunaratne (30) and Kusal Mendis (25) also played crucial roles in building partnerships along with Pathum Nissanka. 

On Saturday, two-time World Champion West Indies were knocked down from the race after Scotland thrashed them by 7 wickets. This will be the time ever in a World Cup that West Indies will not be taking part. West Indies lost against Zimbabwe, Netherlands, and Scotland in the tournament which quashed their chances of qualifying for the main event in India. Bangladesh and Afghanistan made a direct entry into the World Cup after their decent show in the World Cup super league table.