BASSETERRE: Sri Lankan batter – Sadisha Rajapaksa scored 76 as Sri Lanka defeated West Indies by three wickets; topping the Group D and qualifying for the ICC Under 19 World Cup.
In the 19th match of the ongoing U19 World Cup, Sri Lankan batters showed combined batting effort to chase down the total in the 49th over with three wickets in hand.
The Lions, despite a poor start, held on their nerves to seal the victory. Anjala Bandara scored 40, followed by Rajapaksa, who top-scored with 76; facing 115 deliveries and smashing five boundaries.
The rest of the Sri Lankan batters also chipped in with the valuable contributions to drive the side to the victory.
For West Indies, McKenny Clarke and Isai Thorne bagged two wickets each, while Giovonte Depeiza, Shiva Sankar, and Nathan Edwards struck out a batter each.
Batting first, the hosts struggled to post a defendable total following a flop batting display and despite their middle-order batters’ contribution, the side managed to post 250/9 in the 50 overs. Kevin Wickham top-scored with 56, while Jordan Johnson scored 47.
For Sri Lanka, Dunith Wellalage bagged three wickets, while Matheesha Pathirana claimed two. Treveen Mathew, on the other hand, made one scalp.
In another match of the U19 World Cup, South Africa sealed a thumping victory over Ireland, defeating the latter by a massive margin of 153 runs.
Batting first, South African batters Dewald Brevis and George Van Heerden batted brilliantly to guide the Proteas to 315/7 in the allotted 50 overs. Brevis fell unlucky missing his well-deserved century by just four runs; scoring 96, while Heerden went on to smash a magnificent century. Heerden top-scored with 111 on just 93 balls, laced with three boundaries and eight sixes.
Michael Copeland’s late onslaught, in the end, boosted the side to 315/7; setting a 316-runs target for Ireland.
Set to chase 316, the Irish batting line-up failed completely and could only score 158, in response to South Africa’s 315. Nathan McGuire fought hard with his 42, but, could not manage to steer his side to victory.
For South Africa, Matthew Boast and Liam Alder bagged three wickets each, while Andile Simelane and Ashake Tsaka picked two wickets each.
READ: South Africa crush India by seven wickets to clinch the series
