Shattered dreams for Lankan teens
Sri Lanka’s dream of reaching the semi-finals of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup came to an abrupt end when Pakistan inflicted a heavy 121-defeat on them in the second quarter-final at Sharjah yesterday.
Chasing 279 for victory Sri Lanka was restricted to 158 halfway of the 43rd over despite fighting knocks from the St. Joseph’s College pair Sadeera Samarawickrama and Priyamal Perera. Sri Lanka lost opener Hashan Dumindu in the very first ball of their innings for a duck and were three men down for 44 until Samarawickrama and Perera got together to form 59 runs for the fourth wicket, the best for the Islanders.
For Pakistan Kamran Ghulam, Zia-ul-Haq, Zafar Gohar and Karamat Ali shared eight wickets among them.
Earlier a captain’s knock from Sami Aslam who hit one of the three half centuries for his team put Pakistan in a strong position. Pakistan piled up 279 for the loss of nine wickets as Aslam spearheaded the onslaught with his opening partner Imam-ul-Haq to put on 177 runs for the first wicket. With the intention to book a berth in the semi-finals, Aslam top scored for his team with a well composed knock of 95 after facing 121 balls and guiding the ball for eight fours and two sixes. Haq who played second fiddle to his skipper contributed with a useful knock of 82 which came off 107 balls inclusive of seven fours and a six, as the pair frustrated the Sri Lankan bowlers severely for 37 overs.
Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis used six bowlers but paceman Binura Fernando proved to be the most successful. He accounted for four wickets and crafted a run out while his bowling partner, the left-arm paceman Anuk Fernando took two wickets. Pakistan will meet England in the first semi-final at Dubai tomorrow. England beat India by 3 wickets to become the first team to qualify for the semi-final. Sri Lanka will take on India in the 5th place playoff at Dubai tomorrow.
Pakistan U19s 279 for 9 wickets in 50 overs (Sami Aslam 95, Imam-ul-Haq 82, Kamran Ghulam 52, Zafar Gohar 17, Binura Fernando 4 for 56, Anuk Fernando 2 for 45)
Sri Lanka U19s 158 all out in 42.3 overs (Priyamal Perera 68, Sadeera Samarawickrama 51, Hashen Ramanayake 12, Kamran Ghulam 2 for 19, Zia-ul-Haq 2 for 36, Zafar Gohar 2 for 39, Karamat Ali 2 for 41)