Sri Lanka U19s booked their place in the semi-finals of the U19 Youth Asia Cup 2016 when they comfortably defeated Malaysia U19s by 8 wickets in their group A match at Tyronne Fernando Stadium in Moratuwa.
Cambrian opening batsman Vishva Chathuranga slammed a quick-fire 55-ball 68 to lead the Sri Lankan chase as the hosts reached the winning target with 32 overs to spare. Chasing 105 runs to win, the left-handed power-hitter, Chathuranga put aside his golden duck against Nepal U19s as he treated his home-town crowd, smashing 7 fours and 3 sixes against a hapless Malaysian bowling attack.
Earlier, Sri Lanka U19s won the toss and had no hesitation to field first. The hosts made two changes to their team with two Aloysians, Ravindu Sanjana and Hareen Buddhila coming into the XI in place of Revan Kelly and Praveen Jayawickrama. Sanjana made an early impact when he held onto a diving catch off left-arm seamer, Thisaru Rashmika to dismiss Fadil Harris for just 5 runs.
Photos: Sri Lanka U19s v Malaysia U19s – U19 Youth Asia Cup 2016
Photos of the Sri Lanka U19s v Malaysia U19s – U19 Youth Asia Cup 2016
Naim Nazley was involved in an unfortunate run-out while the Malaysian captain, Virandeep Singh was caught behind by Vishva Chathuranga as right-arm seamer Nipun Ranshika struck for the hosts. Opening batsman Ainool Haqqiem was the only batsman to take the fight to Sri Lanka, top scoring with 41 off 94 deliveries.
The visitors lost wickets at regular intervals as Captain Kamindu Mendis brought himself into the attack to trigger a middle order collapse. The ambidextrous spinner claimed the three crucial wickets of Syed Aziz, Arjoon Thilanathan and Muhammed Amir while giving away 10 runs off his 5 overs. Vice-Captain Ashen Bandara joined the party claiming three late wickets with his right-arm leg-spinners to dismantle the Malaysian innings to only 104.
The two unbeaten teams, Sri Lanka and India in group A will clash at the same venue on Sunday in a crunch battle.
Malaysia U19 – 104 all out in 38.2 overs: Ainool Haqqiem 41, Virandeep Singh 18, Kamindu Mendis 3/10, Ashen Bandara 3/11.
Sri Lanka U19 – 108/2 in 18 overs: Vishva Chathuranga 68*
India U19s vs Nepal U19s
Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar took five wickets as India U19s crushed Nepal U19s by 6 wickets in their Group A match which was played at CCC grounds.
Nepal U19 – 172/9 in 50 overs: Rohit Kumar Paudel 68*, Dipendra Singh Airee 34, Rahul Chahar 5/27.
India U19 – 174/4 in 33.3 overs: Himanshu Rana 51, Shubman Gill 57, Priyam Garg 36, Pawan Sarraf 3/43.
Bangladesh U19s vs Singapore U19s
Bangladesh U19s registered their second victory in the tournament as they bulldozed over Singapore U19s by 7 wickets at Galle International Stadium.
Singapore U19 – 70 all out in 23.5 overs: Rohan Rangarajan 23, Abdul Halim 3/21, Shakhawat Hossain 2/18, Nayeem Hasan 3/16.
Bangladesh U19 – 71/3 in 5 overs: Saif Hassan 33, B Ansh 2/34.
Pakistan U19s vs Afghanistan U19s
Afghanistan U19s stunned the cricketing world when they registered a shocking 21-run victory over Pakistan U19s in their Group B at Uyanwatta Stadium in Matara.
Afghanistan U19 – 273/3 in 50 overs: Naveen Obaid 31, Ibrahim Zadran 51, Tariq 59, Darwish Rasooli 92*, Muhammed Hasnain 2/52.
Pakistan U19 – 252 all out in 49.1 overs: Abdullah Shafique 60, Saad Khan 48, Shaheen Shah Afradi 48, Mujeeb 2/57, Zahir Khan 3/21.
