Hasitha, Praveen guide Sri Lanka to second win
Opener and right hand batsman Hasitha Boyagoda (53) and left arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama ( 5 for 17), shone for Sri Lanka U19 as the duo guided their side to a comfortable 61 runs win over Afghanistan U19 in a match reduced to 42 overs due to rain at the Bayuemas Oval ground in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
This was their second win in the series.
Hasitha cracked a sedate but patience knock of 53 in 84 balls that comprised three boundaries and a six as he along with Dhananjaya Lakshan who chipped in with a 24 gave the side a start of 55 runs after being invited to bat by Afghanistan U19 skipper Naveen-ul-Haq.
However, the batsmen lost their momentum and with ten overs left the Sri Lankans were 125 for 4.
Some sensible batting by deputy skipper Jehan Daniel who made a quick fire knock of 36 and support coming from Nuwanidu Fernando saw Sri Lanka teens accumulating 71 runs in the last ten overs to end their innings at 196.
Then Jayawickrema bagged two quick wickets to have the opponents struggling on 61 for 4 in the 19th over.
Then Jayawickrema cleaned off the tail with two more wickets in his seventh over to bowl them out for 135 runs.
In another rain affected match played at the Kinrara Academy Oval between Bangladesh U19 (Bhim Sharki 44, Rohit Kumara 40, Aasif Sheikh 30, Anil Sah 19: Nayeem Hasan 3 for 33)
(Naim Sheikh 52, Afif Hassan 33, Pinak Ghosh 24, Mahidul Islam Ankon 23, Towhid Hridoy 15: Sandeep Lamichhane 2 for 35, Kamat Singhe 2 for 37) and Nepal U19 saw Bangladesh U19 recording a thrilling two wicket win one ball to spare.
Bangladesh U19 after restricting the Nepal U19 for 167 was set a Duckworth/Lewis target of 181 runs in 40 due to the rain. Early in the run chase the Bangladesh U19 innings was highlighted by a knock of 52 by Naim Sheikh.
Later Bangladesh U19’s needing ten runs in the last over with three wickets in hand lost their eighth wicket in the first ball but boundaries and two singles scored by Nayeen Hasan and Robul Haque saw them through with one ball to spare.
Two more matches are down for decision. India U19 vs Nepal U19 at Bayuemas Oval and Pakistan U19 vs United Arab Emirates U19 at Royal Selangor Club.