Veteran Upul Tharanga & In-form Avishka Fernando’s 206-run partnership for the first wicket sealed the 5-0 whitewash for Sri Lanka as Ireland ‘A’ were handed a 101-run defeat in the final unofficial ODI at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
After deciding to bat first on an excellent batting track at Khettarama, Sri Lankan openers started cautiously to see off the first few overs from the Ireland fast bowlers, then slowly upped the ante as they started to find boundaries in all angles of the ground. Avishka Fernando was the chief contributor in the partnership while experienced Tharanaga made sure Avishka was on strike for as much deliveries to let him do what he does best – attack.
Read More: Avishka’s second ton extends Ireland Wolves’ misery 4-0
It was just too easy for the 20-year-old from St. Sebastian College as he went on to score his 3rd century in the series to top the ‘most runs’ column with 523 runs at an average of a mind boggling 104.6 overs. Before today’s 112 knock, Fernando’s last four scores were recorded at 139, 89, 55, 125.
Avishka fernanado is on fire #SLAvIREA
More Info: https://t.co/wy3yMt4Su8 pic.twitter.com/aMbBgSpTJl
— ThePapare.com (@ThePapareSports) January 29, 2019
National Asela Gunaratne was promoted in the batting order as he came after Avishka’s fall but couldn’t capitalized on the opportunities handed to him. Dasun Shanaka used his brute force to notch up a rapid 39 off 26 balls before he was caught by Neil Rock off Peter Chase’s bowling.
At the other end, calm and composed Tharanga who knew when to duck and when to accelerate, went ballistic at the end of his inning as he found fifth gear to score his second ton in the series before departing for a well-compiled 120. Chaturanga De Silva provided the finishing touches with a brisk 50 off 23 balls to guide Sri Lanka ‘A’ to a gigantic 403, their highest total ever.
Read More: Tharanga ton hands Sri Lanka A thumping win
Unsurprisingly, Ireland openers came hard at Sri Lanka at the start of their innings. Senior National cap, experienced Stuart Thompson tried to use the fielding restrictions to the fullest effect as he hurled 6 boundaries in his short stay while opener James McCollum made 43 off 47 balls.
Photo Album : Ireland A Team Tour to Sri Lanka 2018/19 – 5th ODI
Captain Henry Tector couldn’t replicate his performances in the previous matches as Kamindu “the-man-you-can’t-keep-off-from-the-action” Mendis spun his way to dismiss Tector for 27 runs. Two half-centuries of the innings came from the wicket keeper – batsman Lorcan Tucker and Neil Rock’s bat but that wasn’t enough to avoid the inevitable defeat for the visitors.
Kamindu Mendis was expensive as 82 runs were stolen from his spell but took 2 scalps. Dasun shanaka did a great job with the ball in hand to pick 2 wickets while Chaturanga De Silva and Isuru Udana claimed one wicket a piece. The pick of the bolwers was Asela Gunaratne who picked 4 late wickets at the end of the Wolves’ innings as Ireland ‘A’ could only manage 302 runs in the full quota of 50 overs to hand Sri Lanka ‘A’ a 101 run win to finish off their winless tour.
Full Scorecard
Sri Lanka A
403/7
(50 overs)
Result
Ireland A
302/10
(50 overs)
SL A won by 101 runs
Sri Lanka A’s Innings
| Batting | R | B | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avishka Fernando | c Cameron-Dow b Young | 112 | 94 | |||
| Upul Tharanga | c Little b Delany | 120 | 108 | |||
| Asela Gunarathne | b Delany | 25 | 23 | |||
| Dasun Shanaka | c Rock b Chase | 39 | 26 | |||
| Milinda Siriwardane | st Tucker b Delany | 7 | 13 | |||
| Chathuranga de Silva | c McCollum b Little | 50 | 23 | |||
| Isuru Udana | c Cameron-Dow b Chase | 22 | 10 | |||
| Angelo Perera | not out | 6 | 3 | |||
| Kamindu Mendis | not out | 2 | 2 | |||
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simi Singh | 6 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 7.00 |
| Joshua Little | 9 | 0 | 89 | 1 | 9.89 |
| Craig Young | 8 | 0 | 62 | 1 | 7.75 |
| Peter Chase | 7 | 0 | 57 | 2 | 8.14 |
| James Cameron-Dow | 8 | 0 | 54 | 0 | 6.75 |
| Stuart Thompson | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 7.33 |
| Harry Tector | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14.00 |
| Gareth Delany | 8 | 0 | 58 | 3 | 7.25 |
Ireland A’s Innings
| Batting | R | B | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stuart Thompson | c M Bhanuka b K Mendis | 30 | 27 | |||
| James McCollum | c J Mendis b D Shanaka | 43 | 47 | |||
| Simi Singh | c I Udana b C de Silva | 41 | 43 | |||
| Lorcan Tucker | c K Mendis b A Gunarathne | 53 | 64 | |||
| Harry Tector | c U Tharanga b K Mendis | 27 | 37 | |||
| Neil Rock | c A Perera b A Gunarathne | 78 | 56 | |||
| Gareth Delany | c A Gunarathne b D Shanaka | 11 | 16 | |||
| Joshua Little | b I Udana | 0 | 1 | |||
| J Cameron-Dow | c I Udana b A Gunarathne | 8 | 7 | |||
| Craig Young | not out | 1 | 1 | |||
| Peter Chase | lbw by A Gunarathne | 0 | 1 | |||
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isuru Udana | 6 | 0 | 37 | 1 | 6.17 |
| Ishan Jayarathne | 5 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 4.60 |
| Kamindu Mendis | 10 | 0 | 82 | 2 | 8.20 |
| Chathuranga de Silva | 10 | 1 | 43 | 1 | 4.30 |
| Dasun Shanaka | 7 | 0 | 41 | 2 | 5.86 |
| Milinda Siriwardane | 3 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 7.67 |
| Asela Gunarathne | 9 | 0 | 51 | 4 | 5.67 |