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Sri Lanka picked up five crucial Super League points when their ODI against New Zealand was abandoned but their hopes of direct qualification to the Cricket World Cup 2023 remain hanging by a thread.
The second ODI between Sri Lanka and New Zealand was called off before a ball was bowled, costing Sri Lanka once more due to the unpredictable weather in New Zealand. With one game remaining, Sri Lanka's prospects of securing direct qualification for the 2018 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup are hanging by a thread due to the disappointing result of the second ODI of the series. Earlier this month the rain in Christchurch robbed Sri Lanka of valuable time on the fifth and final day of a thrilling Test match against the Kiwis, and the skies above New Zealand's third largest city again played spoilsport as persistent rain meant there was no play at all at Hagley Oval on Tuesday. Sri Lanka now faces the possibility of having to qualify via the Qualification competition, which is scheduled to be contested in Zimbabwe over the months of June and July. This means Sri Lanka missed the opportunity to enhance their claims of qualifying directly for this year's Cricket World Cup. There is only one game left in the Super League, and Sri Lanka's encounter against New Zealand in Hamilton on Friday will be their last opportunity to pass the West Indies and move into a crucial top-eight position to guarantee automatic qualification for this year's championship. But even if Sri Lanka do win that final ODI against New Zealand to earn an extra 10 Super League points and rise into the eighth spot on the standings, they could still be forced into the Qualifier in Zimbabwe as 10th-placed South Africa have enough matches in hand to overtake them. South Africa still have two games left in their postponed ODI series against the Netherlands, and victories in both would move them ahead of both Sri Lanka and the West Indies and into crucial position eight. Eleventh-placed Ireland could also still qualify automatically, given they have three matches remaining against Bangladesh in May. New Zealand currently sit at the top of the Super League standings with 165 points and also have one match left to play in the series. (ANI)
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