Kusal Mendis stood tall with a gritty 79 as Asian champions Sri Lanka bounced back from their early debacle to seal their Super 12 berth with a 16-run win over the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup here on Thursday.

Facing an early elimination after being shocked by Namibia in the T20 World Cup opener at the same venue on Sunday, Sri Lanka rode on the wicketkeeper-batter’s 44- ball knock to post a stiff 162 for 6 after Dasun Shanaka opted to bat.

In reply, the Dutch, who led group A with wins over Namibia and UAE, managed 146 for 9 as the Lankan spin twins Wanindu Hasaranga (4- 0-28-3) and Maheesh Theekshana (4-0-32-2) stymied their chase with perfect death over execution.

For the Dutch, opener Max O’Dowd came up with a valiant 71 not out from 53 balls (6x4, 3x6) but he lacked the final flourish with hardly any support from the middle and lower order batters.

The Lankans topped Group A to confirm their Super 12 berth. The Dutch also sneaked in after the UAE defeated Namibia later in the day.

The 2014 T20 world champions, who were fresh from winning the Asia Cup in UAE, faced a difficult road here after being stumbled by Namibia in the opening match here on Sunday.

Since then, the Lankans came back strongly to crush the UAE to lift their NRR but only to face injury woes to star seamer Dushmantha Chameera (torn calf ), Pramod Madushan (hamstring) and Danushka Gunathilaka (hamstring). But the Shanaka-led side showed amazing resilience in the match that mattered most with opener Mendis leading the way.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 162/6 in 20 overs (Kusal Mendis 79, Charith Asalanka 31; Paul van Meekeren 2/25, Bas de Leede 2/31). The Netherlands 146/ in 20 overs (Max O’Dowd 71; Wanindu Hasaranga 3/28, Maheesh Theekshana 2/32). Sri Lanka won by 16 runs.