Sports
Wellalage grabs four for none as Sri Lanka cruise to crushing win
ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup Warm-up matches
Sri Lanka Under 19s completed their ICC Under 19 World Cup preparations with a crushing 231-run win as the bowlers led by Dunith Wellalage produced a remarkable display to bowl out Uganda for just 46 runs in Guyana on Wednesday.
The St. Joseph’s College, Darley Road spinner Wellalalge was the pick of the bowlers. He finished with figures of four for none from his three overs as he raced through the Ugandan middle and lower order in the final preparation match ahead of Friday’s match of the tournament proper.
Just one batsman (Brian Asaba) reached double figures for Uganda as they were bowled out in the 22nd over.
Opening bowlers Yasiru Rodrigo and Chamindu Wickramasinghe took two wickets each to rattle the top order cheaply. Uganda were four wickets down for ten runs in the eighth over before Wellalalge came up with his four wicket haul.
Electing to bat first opener Chamindu Wickramasinghe was bowled second ball by Pascal Murungi for a duck. A 96-run partnership between Shevon Daniel (46) and Sadisha Rajapaksa (75 retired not out) got the innings back on track, while Yasiru Rodrigo’s unbeaten 32 (in 34 balls, 2x4s) helped Sri Lanka to 277 for eight from their 50 overs. Sakuna Liyanage hammered a quick fire 23 runs in 16 balls (3x4s, 1x6s).
For his run-a-ball 46 runs Daniel scored three fours and a six, while Rajapaksa’s 75 runs (90 balls) included nine fours.
Sri Lanka Under 19s will meet their Scotland counterparts in the first match of the ICC Under 19 World Cup today. Then they will meet Australia U19s in the second match on January 17. The final group match for Sri Lanka is against the hosts.
Scores:
Sri Lanka U19s
277 for 8 in 50 overs (Shevon Daniel 46, Sadisha Rajapaksa 75rtd. n.o., Dunith Wellalage 16, Pawan Pathiraja 21, Sakuna Liyanage 23, Yasiru Rodrigo 32n.o., Wanuja Kumara 15n.o.; Pascal Murungi 2/63, Yunusu Sowobi 2/52, Joseph Baguma 2/25)
Uganda U19s
46 all out in 21.2 overs (Brian Asaba 13; Yasiru Rodrigo 2/06, Chamindu Wickramasinghe 2/05, Dunith Wellalage 4/00)
In the other matches, the Proteas earned a three-wicket win in Guyana, England beat Papua New Guinea by 281 runs and Ireland registered a seven wicket win over Scotland.
Captain’s knock from Van Heerden sees South Africa past the hosts
In a low-scoring affair in Georgetown, it was South Africa captain and wicket-keeper George Van Heerden who set up a three-wicket win over the West Indies.
Matthew Boast (3-9) and Michael Copeland (2-14) had made early inroads for the South Africans after putting in the West Indies, reducing them to 61 for six.
Home skipper Ackeem Auguste then mounted some resistance, making 52 as he and Carlon Bowen-Tuckett (45) added 63 for the seventh wicket.
After Auguste was caught off the bowling of Andile Simelane, Bowen-Tuckett marshalled the tail before going hit wicket with the Windies being bowled out for 189.
Dewald Brevis hit 50 in reply for South Africa, including a 68-run partnership for the fourth wicket with his captain before falling to Onaje Amory.
McKenny Clarke (3-34) took three quick wickets, but Van Heerden’s unbeaten 61 ensured there were no late nerves for South Africa, who open their campaign against India on Saturday in Group B.
Top order fires England to big win
A 161-run opening partnership set England on their way to a mammoth 281-run win over Papua New Guinea in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis.
Ahead of an opening clash with defending champions Bangladesh, England made the most of being put into bat as George Thomas (90) and Jacob Bethell (78) built the perfect platform.
Neither man could make it to three figures, but once they had departed, skipper Tom Prest took up the charge on his way to a 77-ball 91.
Like Thomas and Bethell, he fell short of a century but a quickfire 46 not out from James Sales carried England all the way to 359 for seven in their 50 overs.
That was always going to be out of reach for PNG, with Sales building on his batting with three early wickets on his way to three for 14.
Fateh Singh then picked up two for two including top-scorer Christopher Kilapat for 19 and PNG were eventually bowled out for 78 in 27.4 overs.
McGuire has Scotland in a spin
Five wickets from Nathan McGuire fired Ireland to a seven-wicket victory over Scotland in Georgetown.
The off-spinner helped reduce Scotland to 138 all out with his 5-33, removing top-scoring duo Tomas Mackintosh (26) and Muhaymen Majeed (24) in the space of three balls.
Muzamil Sherzad chipped in with two for 17 as Scotland struggled after electing to bat.
In reply, an unbeaten half-century from opener David Vincent (51 not out) made it a comfortable chase, despite Oliver Davidson’s three for 27.
Lasith Malinga has once more been retained as consultant bowling coach for Sri Lanka’s men’s team, as they prepare for the T20 World Cup they are due to co-host from early February.
Although this is only a 40-day appointment, running from December 15 to January 25, it is essentially a continuation of Malinga’s work with key bowlers in the national set-up. Malinga has worked officially as a fast-bowling consultant at least twice before, but has also worked unofficially with top bowlers over the years, and has been advising the coaching team led by Sanath Jayasuriya, over the past two years.
With round-arm bowlers Matheesha Pathirana and Nuwan Thushara both in Sri Lanka’s preliminary squad for the T20 World Cup, and likely to make the final 15, Malinga will be especially well-placed to assist.
“Sri Lanka Cricket aims to leverage Malinga’s vast international experience and renowned expertise in death bowling, particularly in the shortest format of the game to strengthen Sri Lanka’s preparations for the upcoming World Cup,” the board release said.
Sri Lanka are set to co-host their first men’s global tournament since 2012, from February 7. Three Sri Lankan venues will be used – Khettarama and SSC in Colombo, and Pallekele.
The T20 World Cup will run from February 7 to March 8. Sri Lanka are in Group B along with Australia, Ireland, Oman and Zimbabwe.
[Cricinfo]
India’s untested lower order played a key role in turning a modest total into a competitive one. Amanjot Kaur added stability, scoring 21 off 18 balls and putting on a 61-run partnership with Harmanpreet for the fifth wicket, helping the innings regain momentum after regular wickets fell.
After her dismissal, Arundhati Reddy – promoted ahead of Sneh Rana – launched a late assault, hitting four fours and a six off 11 balls for an unbeaten 27, guiding India to 175 for 7. The team scored 32 runs in the final two overs.
With Chamari Athapaththu gone in the second over, Perera and Dulhani faced a daunting task. Dulhani, coming in at No. 3 again ahead of Harshitha Samarawickrama, played a confident innings, coming down the track and sweeping as needed, hitting five boundaries inside the powerplay. Perera rotated the strike well, keeping the scoreboard ticking. Aided by the dew, their 79-run second-wicket stand was broken in the 12th over when Amanjot dismissed Dulhani for 50, with her first ball.
Perera carried on, moving from 32 off 23 balls to register her maiden 38-ball fifty in her 89th T20I. Having debuted in 2014 and shuffled around the order, she opened this series for the first time in three years. When the equation came down to 55 off 24 balls, Perera struck a four and a six off Shree Charani before being yorked. Her 42-ball 65 included eight fours and a six.
When Sri Lanka needed 44 off 20 balls, India fought back hard. The visitors lost their key batters at the death, collapsing from 132 for 4 to 140 for 7, eventually falling short and remaining winless in India.
Brief scores:
India Women 175 for 7 in 20 overs (Gunalan Kamalini 12, Harleen Deol 13, Harmanpreet Kaur 68, Amanjot Kaur 21, Arundhati Reddy 27*; Nimasha Meepage 1-25, Kavisha Dilhari 2-11, Rashmika Sewwandi 2-42, Chamari Athapaththu 2-21) beat Sri Lanka Women 160 for 7 in 20 overs (Hasini Perera 65, Imesha Dulani 50, Rashmika Sewwamdi 14*; Deepti Sharma 1-28, Arundhati Reddy 1-16, Sneh Rana 1-31, Vaishnavi Sharma 1-33, Shree Charani 1-31, Amanjot Kaur 1-17 ) by 15 runs
[Cricinfo]
Under 19 Cricket
Manitha Rajapaksha collected a match bag of 11 wickets as Mahinda romped to an innings and 25 runs victory over Lumbini in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ cricket encounter at Galle.
Forced to follow on after being bowled out for 173 runs, the visitors managed to last only 33 overs as bowlers used the home advantage to good effect.
In a similar performance, Sri Sumangala reduced Isipatana to just 69 runs in the second innings to record an innings and 96 runs win in the Tier ‘B’ match at Panadura. While Mevindu Kumarasiri excelled once again to claim a match bag of 11 wickets, overnight batsmen Sandeep Wijerathna and Neksha Iddamalgoda went on to score centuries for Sri Sumangala to boost the score to 301 for eight wickets declared.
Meanwhile at DSS ground the home team scored a first innings win over Nalanda.
Match Results
Mahinda in innings win at Galle
Scores
Mahinda 284 all out in 72.2 overs
(Dulsith Darshana 63, Randula Mabarana 28, Manitha Rajapaksha 23, Kaveesha Githmal 43, Kavindu Nimsara 66; Yashod Kavindu 5/100, Dinal Sewmina 2/32)
Lumbini 76 for 4 overnight 173 all out in 53.4 overs
(Kisandu Dulneth 33, Yashod Kavindu 26, Jayanitha Mendis 41, Pasindu Mahisha 38; Manitha Rajapaksha 6/64, Sadev Nethmina 2/27) and 86 all out in 32.4 overs (Nikil Abilash 33; Manitha Rajapaksha 5/25, Gesandu Bisas 2/12, Arosha Udayanga 2/15)
Sri Sumangala in innings win at Panadura
Scores
Isipatana 136 all out in 47.2 overs (Yuveen Keshan 21, Dasith Senal 31; Mevindu Kumarasiri 6/54) and 69 all out in 25.2 overs (Janith Selaka 25; Mevindu Kumarasiri 5/32, Methum Fernando 4/23)
Sri Sumangala 158 for 2 overnight 301 for 8 decl. in 79.4 overs (Sandeep Wijerathna 100, Neksha Iddamalgoda 110, Mevindu Kumarasiri 34; Dasith Senal 2/86, Dimuthu Tharuka 2/34)
First innings win for DSS at DSS ground
Scores
DSS 365 all out in 79 overs (Savain Kalansooriya 54, Bihan Gamage 102, Janindu Ranasinghe 50, Shevan Welgama 73; Osanda Pamuditha 2/69, Dunitha Anusara 4/66, Sahas Godage 3/76) and 144 for 3 in 35.2 overs (Miyuru Bandara 41, Savain Kalansooriya 57, Shanaal Binuksha 34)
Nalanda 28 for 1 overnight 197 all out in 66.1 overs (Nemindu Akmeemana 40, Ranmith Dinuwara 42; Shanaal Binuksha 6/61, Randisha Bandaranayake 2/40)
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