India U19 defeat Sri Lanka U19 to clinch their third series win

The India U19 team continued good runs as they beat hosts Sri Lanka by 5 wickets to register yet another series win. This was India’s second consecutive tri-series win in two months, after their victory in Kolkata, last month.

Hosts Sri Lanka had earlier won the toss in the morning at Colombo and chose to bat first. But their batting never really took off as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Vishad Randika was the only respite for them. The middle order batsman scored 58 which also turned out to be the highest score of their innings.

Emerging Indian pacer Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan bowled really well. Khaleel Ahmed, who has had a good tournament, picked up 3 crucial wickets while Avesh Khan, provided him with good support and scalped 2 wickets to puncture the Lankan innings.

The Lankans were eventually bowled out for a paltry 158, in 47.2 overs. In reply, the Indian colts got off to a good start, before they lost a couple of wickets in the middle. Opener Washington Sundar was resistant against the Lankan bowlers and top scored with 56 for India.

Sundar has been in great form and performed similarly in the last tri-series triumph. He finished the tournament, also involving Sri Lanka and England’s junior teams, as the highest scorer with 208 runs, 50 runs ahead of the rest of the pack.

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India were reduced to 155/5 from 136/2, at one stage. Lankan bowler Damitha Mendis, with 3 quick wickets, threatened to take the game away from the visitors, but Ricky Bhui safely guided the team home, with more than 16 overs to spare. Coach Rahul Dravid definitely is playing a big role in India’s victory.

The Under-19 team has been in great form lately, beating South Africa in the final of the Quadrangular series in Visakhapatnam, in October. It was followed by their tri-series win against Bangladesh and Afghanistan last month, in Kolkata. And now, they have managed to beat Sri Lanka and England, to lift another tri-nation cup.