Sri Lanka take U19 4-day Youth test series with win in second test

Sri Lankan players celebrate their 1-0 series win over West Indies in the two-match U19 4-day youth test series

Player of the Series Jordan Johnson (West Indies)

Player of the Match (1st U19 4-day youth test) – Dinura Kalupahana (Sri Lanka)

Player of the Match (2nd U19 4-day youth test) – Vihas Thewmika (Sri Lanka) 

• West Indian Jordan Johnson named Player of the Series   

Sri Lanka completed a comprehensive seven-wicket win over West Indies with more than a day to spare in the second test to clinch the two-match U19 4-day Youth test series 1-0 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

West Indies were dismissed for 277 in their second innings leaving Sri Lanka the formal task of scoring 79 runs for victory. They lost three wickets in getting to that target, scoring 81-3.

West Indies began the day on 251-8 with a lead of 52 and managed to add 26 runs to that total before they were bowled out. The remaining two wickets, numbers 10 and 11 both fell to run outs, leaving Jordan Johnson unconquered on 157, scored off 163 balls with 20 fours and one six. Johnson was the only West Indies batsman who was successful in tackling the Lankan spinners batting with positive intent in both the U19 ODI and U19 4-day Youth test series.

Johnson ended the test series with an aggregate of 358 runs (avg. 179.00) and was named Player of the Series. He scored a century in the first test as well and he became the first West Indies batsman to score two centuries in a U19 Youth test series.

Sri Lanka off-spinner Vihas Thewmika who took three wickets in the second innings and a match bag of eight was named Player of the Match. He finished as the leading wicket-taker in the series with 14 wickets (avg 13.14).

The first test of the series affected by bad weather ended in a draw. With this match West Indies ended their U19 tour of Sri Lanka losing both the ODI series 2-1 and the 4-day Youth test series 1-0. Sri Lanka was led by Royalist Sineth Jayawardene. The awards at the end of the series were presented by Match Referee Ranjith Priyantha. – (ST)

Scores: West Indies (U19) 127 and 277 (o/n 251-8) (Stephan Pascal 25, Steve Wedderburn 37, Jordan Johnson 157*, Kaveesha Piyumal 2/57, Vihas Thewmika 3/63, Malsha Tharupathi 2/51)

Sri Lanka (U19) 326 and 81-3 (Sineth Jayawardene 30, Rusanda Gamage 21*)