Ranuda Somarathne stroked a brilliant century, helping Sri Lanka U19s register a 3-wicket win over England U19s in the first Youth Test between the sides at County Ground, Chelmsford.
England U19s resumed their 2nd innings on day four at 199/3 with a 179-run lead but the hosts were not able to capitalize on the good start given by their top order batters as they were bowled out for 292 runs, losing 7 wickets for just 93 runs in the morning session.
Left arm spinner Wanuja Sahan bowled exceptionally well for the visitors, claiming 4 wickets for 89 runs while speedster Duvindu Ranatunga gave him good support at the other end, picking up 3 wickets for 34 runs.
Chasing 273 runs to win in 59 overs, Sri Lanka lost 4 top order wickets for just 48 runs including the in-form batter Asitha Wanninayake, pushing the visitors onto the back foot. Number 5 batter Ranuda Somarathne and skipper Raveen de Silva then steadied the Sri Lankan innings, putting on a 50-run stand for the 5th wicket.
The wicket-keeper batter Lahiru Dawatage then joined Somarathne with de Silva dismissed and built a match defining partnership of 89 runs off 80 balls for the 6th wicket, keeping the visitors’ hopes alive in the run-chase. Dawatage’s busy knock of 49 runs off 49 balls with 8 fours kept the required run-rate under a manageable level for the Sri Lankans.
With all the top guns with the bat, back in the hut, Somarathne held his nerve to put Sri Lanka U19s over the line, building vital 40+ run partnerships with tail-enders Vinuja Ranpul and Wanuja Sahan for the 7th and 8th wicket respectively.
Somarathne produced a masterclass with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 120 runs off 115 balls with 12 fours and a six. With this win, Sri Lanka U19s now lead the 2-match Youth Test series 1-0, with the 2nd game scheduled to be played from 28th to 31st August at Derby.
