Wednesday, 5 February 2014 00:18
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Sri Lanka Under-19s took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with a comprehensive 111-run win over Australia Under-19s at Colts Cricket Club ground. Like in the first one-dayer at the same ground on Saturday, the Australians failed to pass 200 and on Monday they were bowled out for a paltry 137 in response to 248.
Sri Lanka opted to bat and they got off to a poor start, losing Sadeera Samarawickrama in the first over to the left-arm seamer Matthew Fotia. Hashan Dumindu and Minod Bhanuka added 50 for the third wicket before Bhanuka fell for 27.
Priyamal Perera and Harsha Rajapaksha then added 81 for the sixth wicket to take Sri Lanka to a competitive score. Perera’s 58 came off 90 balls while Rajapaksha’s 43 came off 39. Both fell to Fotia who finished with 6 for 39, his best figures in U-19 one-dayers.
Australia got off to a brisk start but lost their openers before the seventh over. They moved to 88 for 3 before the halfway mark but a steady fall of wickets hurt them in their chase. They lost three wickets for 11 runs, with Rajapaksha claiming Damien Mortimer and Jake Doran. He later dismissed James Bazley to finish with 3 for 33 and round-off a good all-round performance.
Australia will look to sign-off their short tour with a consolation win in the final match on Thursday at the R Premadasa Stadium, before the teams head to UAE for the U-19 World Cup.
Chief Scores: Sri Lanka Under-19s 248 (Perera 58, Rajapaksha 43, Fotia 6-39) beat Australia Under-19s 137 (Mortimer 41, Rajapaksha 3-33) by 111 runs
