Charith Asalanka made 70 and picked up two wickets with the ball to guide Sri Lanka U19s to a massive 108 run victory in the first Youth ODI against England U19 at Wormsley.
After a convincing victory in the Youth Test series, the Lankans youngsters continued to prosper in tough English conditions. Asalanka won the toss and elected to bat first. Dilan Jayalath’s disappointing tour continued as he was dismissed in the very first over for a duck. It was the ideal start for the home side but Avishka Fernando and Skipper Asalanka put up a half century stand for the 2nd wicket which helped Sri Lanka regain control of the match.
Fernando was dismissed for a well-made 30, another start which he should have capitalized on. Asalanka was then joined by his schoolmate Wanidu Hasaranga. The pair put up another 81 runs for the third wicket which put the Sri Lankans into a commanding position at 144 for 2 in 31 overs. But both Asalanka and Hasaranga lost their wickets in quick succession which gave England a chance to come back into the game.
The visitors had to rebuild and it was Sammu Ashan who led from the front. His knock of 60 runs came in just 63 balls and he was supported well by the lower middle order batsmen who chipped in with quick runs. Sammu steered his team till the very end and remained unbeaten which helped Sri Lanka post 257 runs in their 50 overs. The English bowlers shared the wickets evenly but the stand out fact was that, except for Dominic Bess, all the other bowlers went for plenty.
The target wasn’t far off but the English batsmen have been under the pump since the Test series and the lack of form clearly affected them in the run chase. Skipper Max Holden was the only batsman who looked in control. He was consistent right throughout the Test series and carried on that form to the limited overs game. After Max was dismissed by Charith Asalanka the game shifted more towards the Lankans. The only other batsman who got a start was Zen Malik.
The Lankans dominated the second half of the game with some tight bowling. Except for Jehan Daniel, who went for a few runs, all the other bowlers were very economical. They were not only economical, they managed to take wickets at regular intervals. England lost their last 8 wickets for 53 runs. Seven of them were shared by Damitha Silva (3/28), Wanidu Hasaranga (2/28) and skipper Asalanka (2/27).
This convincing 108 run victory will boost Sri Lanka U19s confidence going into the remaining two matches in the series.
Sri Lanka U-19 257 for 7 (50) Charith Asalanka 70, Sammu Ashan 60*
England U-19 149 in (40.3) Max Holden 40, Damitha Silva 3-28
