Sri Lanka snatch victory from the jaws of defeat
Chris DHAMBARAGE
Elegant left hander Kithruwan Withanage struck an unbeaten half
century to help Sri Lanka under 19 beat Pakistan under 19 by one wicket
in the last ball of the innings in a thrilling Tri Nation limited overs
cricket tournament final worked off at the P. Saravanamuttu Oval in
Colombo yesterday.
The schoolboy of Royal College remained unbeaten on 75 from 82
deliveries inclusive of three sixes and five boundaries as the home side
overtook their opponents total of 209 runs in the last ball of the
innings.
Withanage batting at number five held the middle order together and
steadied the innings through some sensible batting. Sri Lanka under 19
lost half of their side for 98 runs and were under tremendous pressure
with Pakistan under 19 taking a firm grip on the game.
However Withanage kept one end occupied with a stubborn batting
performance and rallied around through the tail enders to pull off a
memorable victory at the end.
Together with Charith Jayampathy they put on 27 valuable runs for the
eighth wicket before adding the finishing touches with the support of
Maduka Liyanapathiranage and last man Nadeera Rajaguru.
Sri Lanka under 19 of course got off to a flying start through their
openers Andy Berenger and Bhanuka Rajapaksa. But with the introduction
of spinners the Sri Lankan innings fell apart before they slumped to 114
for 6 at the half way stage of the innings.
Earlier Pakistan under 19 managed to post a competitive total of 209
runs after they had been put into bat. Opener Azeem Ghumman hit a top
score of 65 from 101 deliveries with the help of six boundaries.
Pakistan under 19 were well placed to pile up a much bigger total as
they reached 134 for 3 by the 30th over of the innings. However some
accurate bowling from Madhuka Liyanapathiranage put the brakes on the
scoring rate and was able to contain the batsmen to a great extent.
PAKISTAN UNDER-19
Babar Azam c Berenger b Peiris 25
Azeem Ghumman run out 65
Shahzaib Ahmed b Liyanapathiranage 19
Muzammil Nizam c Berenger b Jayampathi 23
Hammad Azam lbw b Jayasundera 21
Mehran Ibrahim c Berenger b Liyanapathiranage 22
Mohammad Awais run out 2
Usman Qadir run out 3
Sarmad Bhatti c Vithanage b Liyanapathiranage 13
Raza Hasan b Peiris 7
Junaid Ilyas not out 0
Extras (W9) 9
Total all out in 49.2 overs) 209
Fall of wickets: 1-59, 2-103, 3-134, 4-151, 5-171, 6-179, 7-187,
8-188, 9-207
Bowling: C. Peiris 8-0-31-2,
D. Gunathilleke 3-0-17-0,
C. Jayampathi 9-1-39-1,
B. Rajapaksa 10-0-32-0,
M. Liyanapathiranage 9.2-0-34-3,
N. Rajaguru 5-0-31-0,
U. Jayasundera 5-0-25-1
SRI LANKA UNDER-19
Andy Berenger c Junaid Ilyas b U. Qadir 34
Bhanuka Rajapaksa b Sarmad Bhatti 22
Udara Jayasundera run out 15
Rumesh Buddika run out 18
Kithruwan Vithanage not out 75
Angelo Jayasinghe b Shahzaib Ahmed 0
Chatura Peiris lbw b Nizam 3
Dhanushka Gunatilleke run out 6
Charith Jayampathi c Ahemed b Usman Qadir 13
Maduka Liyanapathiranage c Ghumman b Hasan 5
Nadeera Rajaguru not out 1
Extras (lb1, w16, nb1) 18
Total for 9 wickets in 50 overs 210
Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-58, 3-88, 4-97, 5-98, 6-114, 7-146, 8-173, 9-208
Bowling: Sarmad Bhatti 8-0-39-1,
Hammad Azam 1-0-17-0,
Raza Hasan 10-0-41-1,
Junaid Ilyas 9-0-21-0,
Usman Qadir 10-1-43-2,
Shahzaib Ahmed 8-0-30-1,
Muzammil Nizam 4-1-18-1. |
