Wellalage stars again as Sri Lanka cruise to victory over Australia | Daily News

Wellalage stars again as Sri Lanka cruise to victory over Australia

Sri Lanka under-19 skipper Dunith Wellalage acknowledging the cheers of the crowd after reaching his half century.
Sri Lanka under-19 skipper Dunith Wellalage acknowledging the cheers of the crowd after reaching his half century.

Skipper Dunith Wellalage was again the star for Sri Lanka as he took 5 for 28 and scored 52 to guide his side to a four-wicket victory over Australia in the ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup fixture played at Basseterre, St Kitts on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka came out on top in the tussle between the two unbeaten teams in Group D, with no Australian player were able to match Wellalage. The victory was significant for Sri Lanka U19s as it is the first time they have beaten the Aussie side in Youth World Cups since 2008.

Australia struggled to build partnerships having been put in to bat by Sri Lanka, their highest stand coming between Campbell Kellaway and Nivethan Radhakrishnan as they put on 46 for the fourth wicket.

The opener Kellaway was Australia’s top scorer with 54 runs from 77 balls as the three-time champions slumped to 175 all out off the final ball of their innings. The leg spinner Wellalalge who took 5 for 27 in the first game against Scotland once again produced superb figures of 5 for 28 to strangle the opponents and his back to back five wicket haul helped him to top the wicket standings in this tournament. Matheesha Pathirana and Treveen Mathew took two wickets each to give good support for Wellalage.

Chasing 176 to win, Sri Lanka got off to a shaky start losing the top three batters inside the first 8 overs for 41 runs. When Sri Lanka were reeling at 4 for 49, Wellalage and wicket-keeper batter Anjala Bandara built a match-winning partnership for the fifth wicket adding 70 runs off 86 balls, helping Sri Lanka to get over the line without any further hiccups. Wellalage top scored with 52 in 71 balls striking 4 fours and a six while Bandara who was recalled for this match scored 33 in 47 balls with 2 fours.

Wellalage also added a further 52 runs for the sixth wicket with Ranuda Somaratne who scored an unbeaten 32 in 25 balls with two fours.

The pacemen Tom Whitney 2 for 39 and Joshua Garner 2 for 21 took bowling honours for Australians. Dunith Wellalage was named Man of the Match for his fine all round performance.

Sri Lanka who recorded back to back wins are already on top of the Group ‘D’ with four points while the door is still open for all top three teams in Group D, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Australia to finish in the top two and secure a place in the Quarter-finals. Sri Lanka’s next game will be against West Indies on January 21st at the same venue, St Kitts.

The winner of the Sri Lanka-West Indies clash in the last match definitely progresses to the Super League stage. But the loser of that game can also go through if Australia don't win by a big margin against Scotland in their last match.

Chief scores

Australia under 19’s 175 all out in 50 overs (Campbell Kellaway 54, Issac Higgins 15, Nivethan Radhakrishnan 21,Tobias Snell 19, William Saizmann 22, Joshua Garner 12, Treveen Mathew 2/32, Matheesha Pathirana 2/34, Dunith Wellalage 5/28)

Sri Lanka under 19’s 177 for 6 wickets in 37 overs (Chamindu Wickramasinghe 19, Dunith Wellalage 52, Anjala Bandara33, Ranuda Somaratne 32n.o, Tom Whitney 2/39, Joshua Garner 2/21). (D.R)


Add new comment