Sri Lanka under 19 skipper Kusal Mendis willowed a superb century to take his team into the semi-finals of the Under-19s Asia Cup 2013/14 beating the formidable Bangladesh U19 team by 2 wickets in a thrilling game played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium Nursery 2, Abu Dhabi.
Kusal’s knock was ably supported by a sensible and unbeaten 62 runs from Priyamal ‘Bullet’ Perera who took the responsibility of finishing the game into his own hands in pioneering a great victory.
Bangladesh batting 1st worked hard for their runs as Sri Lankan spinners tightened the screws in a flat pitch. Ramesh Mendis and AK Tyron took 2 scalps each but their economical spells paved the way for Sri Lanka to restrict Bangladesh total to 203/6 in 50 overs. Nazmul Hossain Shanto scored a chanceless 62 runs to guide the Bangladesh inning. Mosaddek Hossain (32) and Yasir Ali (33) played vital cameos to take their team total over 200.
Chasing a target of 204, Sri Lanka U19 lost their openers early before Minod Bhanuka and Kusal Mendis put on 47 runs for the 3rd wicket and the match winning partnership was between Kusal and Priyamal as the pair put on 108 runs for the 4th wicket. Sri Lankans were sitting pretty at 180/3 before a minor middle order collapse hinted a Bangladesh come back as Sri Lanka U19 lost 5 wickets for 13 runs putting their semi final chances in danger but unsung hero Priyamal Perera kept his nerves calm and finished off the game to knock out Bangladesh U19 from the tournament.
Chief Scores :
Bangladesh U19 – 203/6 in 50 overs : Nazmul Hossain Shanto 62, Yasir Ali 33, Mossadek Hossain 32, Ramesh Mendis 2/22, AK Tyron 2/49.
Sri Lanka U19 – 206/8 in 48.1 overs : Kusal Mendis 100, Priyamal Perera 62*, Mehedy Hasan 2/38, Nihaduzzaman 2/27.
