Sri Lanka stumbles at the last post – India wins U-19 Asia Cup

Sri Lanka’s Raveen de Silva is run out for 15 in the final of the U-19 Asia Cup against India at Dubai yesterday

India’s second wicket pair of Angkrish Raghuvanshi (right) and Shaik Rasheed sealed the match for their team with an unbroken stand of 96

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka’s dream run in the ninth edition of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-19 Asia Cup ended rather tamely at the Dubai International Stadium yesterday when India beat them quite convincingly by nine wickets to win the title for the third consecutive time and eighth overall.

Sri Lanka’s meagre total of 106-9 off 38 overs in a rain-reduced game didn’t represent any challenge to the strong Indian batting line-up as they won with 63 balls to spare scoring 104-1 off 23.1 overs chasing a revised target under the Duckworth/Lewis method of 102 off 32 overs. 

The icing on the cake was provided by India’s second wicket pair Angkrish Raghuvanshi (56* off 67 balls, 7 fours) and Shaik Rasheed (31* off 49 balls, 2 fours) who shared an unbroken stand of 96 off 114 balls to see India home quite comfortably in what could be described as a clinical performance.

Sri Lanka were left to pay a heavy price for choosing to bat first on a damp surface that offered seam movement for the fast bowlers and turn and bounce for the spinners as their batsmen struggled to come to terms with it. By the time India began their reply the wicket had settled down nicely and there was nothing on it for the fast or slow bowlers.

Losing the toss proved to be a blessing in disguise for India as Sri Lanka had to call all the shots which on this occasion proved fatal.

Once again Sri Lanka’s top order failed to deliver and when rain interrupted play at the end of the 33rd over they had lost seven wickets for 74. When play resumed they had a further five overs to bat and added a further 32 runs before their innings ended at 106-9 off 38 overs.

Once more it was the tailenders who came to the rescue to give them a somewhat decent total with the last three batsmen contributing 45 runs.

Sri Lanka’s batsmen tried to grapple with the left-arm spin of Player of the Match Vicky Ostwal who finished with the economic figures of 3 for 11 off 8 overs and the off-breaks of Kaushal Tambe (2/23) on a surface that offered them help. Top scorer for Sri Lanka was their opening bowler Yasiru Rodrigo with 19. He also took the only Indian wicket to fall during their run chase.

Sri Lanka have not won the U-19 Asia Cup title even once and this side led by Dunith Wellalage looked quite capable of doing so after they beat the tournament favourites Pakistan in the semi-finals on Thursday. However by misreading the conditions they ended up on the losing side and had to be satisfied with the runner-up slot for the fifth time.

Scores

Sri Lanka (U19) 106-9 (38) (Sadisha Rajapaksa 14, Raveen de Silva 15, Yasiru Rodrigo 19*, Matheesha Pathirana 14, Kaushal Tambe 2/23, Vicky Ostwal 3/11)

India (U19) 104-1 (21.3) (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 56*, Shaik Rasheed 31*)