Sri Lanka rode on Kusal Mendis' outstanding 79 off 44 to reach 162 for 6 on a sluggish surface, before their spinners cut Netherlands down - Wanindu Hasaranga getting into fine wicket-taking form ahead of the main draw of the tournament.
Although Netherlands were never really ahead of the game, opener Max O'Dowd kept them in the hunt for the duration, getting the requirement for the last over down to 23, following Maheesh Theekshana's wayward 19th, which cost 16 runs.
But seamer Lahiru Kumara held his nerve in the final burst, and Sri Lanka secured a 16-run win, and a place in the next round. Which group they end up in will depend on the results of the evening match between Namibia and UAE.
Netherlands will watch that match with particular interest. They need UAE to beat Namibia to get into the next round. The net run rates do not matter - only the result.
Mendis feasts on Netherlands' leg-side offerings
On a pitch that did not allow batters to hit cleanly through the line, and on a ground where the square boundaries are significantly shorter than the straight ones, you probably shouldn't bowl at leg stump. You especially shouldn't stray down leg if the batter is Kusal Mendis - an excellent hitter to that side.
Mendis got his first boundary via a miscued heave over midwicket in the third over, and he kept finding the ropes in that arc between cow corner and fine leg. He hit each of his five sixes over this region, pulling, slog sweeping, and in the 12th over, wristily flicking Timm van der Gugten into the stands beyond fine leg. He hit five fours too, only two of them on the off side. Sixty-four of his 79 came on the leg side.
Through the course of this knock, which went right into the 20th over, Mendis forged several good partnerships, the most fruitful of which was the 60 off 45 alongside Charith Asalanka, whose contribution was 31 off 30. Mendis' innings meant Sri Lanka made an above-par score on a difficult track.
