Bangladesh U-19 and Sri Lanka U-19 clashed against each other in a warm-up fixture ahead of the ICC U-19 World Cup. The tournament will be in South Africa later this month. On Sunday, these two subcontinental sides met at the Tshwane University of Technology Oval in Pretoria.
Sri Lanka, who won the toss, opted to bat first. They set up 238 runs on the board and could defend the total quite comfortably when they bowled Bangladesh out for a mere 119. Sri Lanka set up such a par total on the board thanks to opener Pulindu Perera, who scored an even 50.
His opening partner, Vishen Halambage, scored 30 and got the Lankans off to a good start. Although skipper Sineth Jayawardene got out without reaching double figures, Ravishan Nethsara and Dinura Kalupahana played cameos to prop up the total of the Lions.
They were also generously helped by the 21 extras that Bangladesh conceded. When they walked out to bat, their batters did not serve Bangladesh well. Although their top-order batters did get off to good starts, they could not quite carry it on and build the innings.
In all fairness, they were not chasing an improbable total and should have been able to do so quite comfortably. However, their middle-order failed to rise to the occasion, and the other batters did not take the responsibility to chase down the runs either.
Halambage, who had batted well earlier in the day, came back to pick up three wickets for Sri Lanka with the ball in hand. Ultimately, the margin of victory was huge for the Lankans, who will be incredibly proud of this performance.
They will want to carry this form into the World Cup, where they will face many tough challenges from Australia, India, England and New Zealand.
