UAE Under 19s shocked Sri Lanka Under 19s with a stunning two wickets victory in a group match of the Under 19 Asia Cup in Dubai on Monday.
Duvindu Ranatunga and Malsha Tharupathi struck in successive overs to leave UAE eight wickets down for 213 runs in the 48th over but tail enders stayed calm to reach a target of 221 runs with ten balls to spare.
With the defeat Sri Lanka Under 19s are now placed second behind Bangladesh in group ‘B’ points table.
While Bangladesh have remained unbeaten to lead the group, both Sri Lanka and UAE have one victory each against their names after two matches. Japan are the last placed team in their group.
The UAE’s victory has made the last two matches of the group crucial for the top three teams. Tomorrow’s matches between UAE and Japan and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be vital for all teams.
When Sri Lanka came to defend their score, speedster Garuka Sanketh took three wickets including the crucial wicket of Tanish Suri who was building a threatening fifth wicket stand but middle order rallied around skipper Aayan Afzal Khan for UAE to stay in contention.
Batting first, skipper Sineth Jayawardena made 49 and Dinura Kalupahana scored an unbeaten half century to anchor the innings but could post only 220 runs.
Sri Lanka Under 19s commenced their Asia Cup Under 19 campaign with an easy seven wickets win over minnows Japan in their first group ‘B’ match in Dubai on Saturday. Lyceum International bowler Garuka Sanketh and spinner Malsha Tharupathi were the leading wicket takers of that match.
Scores:
Sri Lanka U19s
220 for 9 in 50 overs (Pulindu Perera 24, Sineth Jayawardena 49, Rusanda Gamage 26, Dinura Kalupahana 56n.o., Vishwa Lahiru 26; Omid Rehman 2/48, Aayan Afzal Khan 2/38)
UAE U19s
224 for 8 in 48.2 overs (Aryansh Sharma 19, Tanish Suri 75, Maroof Merchant 20, Aayan Afzal Khan 33; Garuka Sanketh 3/35)