The 7th wicket partnership between Raveen de Silva and Vinuja Ranpul (76 Runs off 164 Balls), helped the Sri Lanka U19s put on a strong reply with the bat, but the England U19s managed to take a commanding lead of 179 runs with 7 wickets in hand in the first Youth Test between the sides at County Ground, Chelmsford.
Sri Lanka resumed their innings on day three at 301/4, with overnight batters Asitha Wanninayake (132*) and Raveen de Silva (19*) remaining unbeaten at the crease.
However, the left-hander Wanninayake was unable to add any runs to his overnight score as he departed early on day three, having been bowled by the England seamer Thomas Aspinwall. Wanninayake’s 132-run knock came off 315 balls with 19 fours.
Sri Lanka lost two early wickets on day three, including the dismissal of Wanninayake, but Skipper De Silva and Vinuja Ranpul managed to steady the visitors’ innings, putting on a 76-run partnership for the 7th wicket.
De Silva contributed with 62 runs off 135 balls, while Ranpul chipped in with a useful 42 runs off 85 balls as the Sri Lanka U19s posted 407 runs for their first innings. The 18-year old off-spinner Bertie Foreman picked up 4 wickets for 94 runs for the hosts.
The England U19s began their second innings 20 runs behind and posted 199 runs for 3 wickets at the close of play on day three. The hosts’ No. 3 batter Ross Whitfield stroked a fabulous century (110) putting England U19s ahead in the contest.
, helped the Sri Lanka U19s put on a strong reply with the bat, but the England U19s managed to take a commanding lead of 179 runs with 7 wickets in hand in the first Youth Test between the sides at County Ground, Chelmsford.){kind=link}