An example to seniors
The Sri Lanka Under-19 XI staged a tremendous fight back to earn an honourable draw in the second unofficial Test match against the Bangladesh Under-19 XI at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khuluna on Tuesday.
The fourth and final day belonged to the Sri Lanka captain Nipun Dananjaya who struck a fluent 81 off 318 balls consuming 483 minutes inclusive of 4 boundaries. It was literally a captain marvel knock by Dananjaya who faced a daunting task when he resumed his innings from an overnight 29 with just 5 wickets intact and his side just 17 runs ahead with Bangladesh having the edge.
But Dananjaya willed his stroke play to the need of the hour putting his head down and defying whatever was hurled at him by the opposition bowling attack as Sri Lanka made 346 for 9 declared.
The high point of the Lankan fight back was the commitment of the lower order with Kavishka Lakshan Gamage and Dinuth Wellalage striking 45 apiece. Gamage struck 7 boundaries in his 96-ball knock consuming 133 minutes while Wellalage stroked a similar number of boundaries in his 92-ball knock off 116 minutes. Full credit to overnight batsmen Sonal Dinusha and Ravindu Rasantha who did the spade work on the third day with knocks of 55 and 33. The commitment of the Sri Lanka Under-19 team showcasing tremendous patience and endurance was exemplary by which must serve as an example to the mainstream Sri Lanka batsmen.
Bangladesh, needing 177 for victory off an improbable 14 plus overs, finished on 37 for 3 with the Sri Lankan bowlers on fire with Amshi de Silva claiming 2 for 10 and Raveen de Silva 1 for 5.
CHIEF SCORES:
Sri Lanka (U19) 184 and 187/5 overnight, 346/9 decl. (149 Overs)
(Nipun Dananjaya 81, Sonal Dinusha 55, Kavishka Lakshan Gamage 45, Dinuth Wellalage 45, Ravindu Rasantha 33, Avishka Perera 18, Mehedi Hasan 3/52, Ashraful Islam 3/76)
Bangladesh (U19) 354 (120.4 Overs) and 37/3 (14 Overs)
(Sajid Hossain n.o. 18, Amshi de Silva 2/10, Raveen de Silva 1/5)
By Srian Obeyesekere
-The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Sri Lanka Cricket-
