Dunith Wellalage led from the front with an all-round show at the ICC U-19 World Cup here on Monday as Sri Lanka defeated Australia by four wickets to register its second consecutive win in Group D.
Wellalage (5 for 28) spun the web around Australia batters to bundle it out for 175 runs after opting to bowl at the Conaree Sports Club. Opener Campbell Kellaway was the top-scorer for Australia with a 77-ball 54-run knock as the Sri Lankan bowlers picked up wickets at regular intervals to make life difficult for their opponents.
Treveen Mathew (2 for 32) and Matheesha Pathirana (2 for 34) were the two other chief contributors with the ball for Sri Lanka.
Chasing a modest target, Sri Lanka suffered early jolts and was reduced to 49 for four at one stage before Wellalage steadied the ship with a 71-ball 52 and stitched two crucial partnerships with wicketkeeper Anjala Bandara (33) and Ranuda Somarathne (32 n.o.) to take Islanders home in 37 overs.
Sri Lanka is leading Group D with four points from two games, while Australia is placed third with a win.
West Indies beats Scotland
In another Group D encounter in Basseterre, West Indies thrashed minnow Scotland by seven wickets to register its first win of the tournament. Electing to field, West Indies bowled Scotland out for 95 in 35.4 overs and chased down the target in 19.4 overs.
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Right-arm fast bowler Shiva Sankar (3 for 17) was the star performer for West Indies with the ball, while off-spinner Onaje Amory (2 for 26) and left-arm spinner Anderson Mahase (2 for 16) also chipped in. By virtue of a better net run-rate, West Indies now occupies the second spot in Group D, ahead of Australia.
Pakistan beats Zimbabwe in Group C
Opener Haseebullah Khan smashed a brilliant century as Pakistan showed its batting prowess to start its campaign on a positive note, beating Zimbabwe by 115 runs in Group C at the Diego Martin ground. Wicketkeeper Haseebullah scored 135 off 155 balls, the highest score of the tournament so far, while Irfan Khan made 75 off 73 deliveries to propel Pakistan to 315 for nine after being sent into bat.
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Haseebullah and Irfan shared 192 runs for the third wicket to set the platform for the total.
Fast bowler Alex Felao (5 for 58) was the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe.
Brian Bennett (83) played a lone hand for Zimbabwe but the team was never really in the hunt after early dismissals and was all out for 200 in 42.4 overs. Zimbabwe fell 116 runs short in the chase despite an 83-run eighth-wicket partnership between Brian Bennett and Tendekai Mataranyika.
Pakistan’s opener Haseebullah put on the highest score of the tournament so far, scoring 135 from 155 balls. Haseebullah and Irfan Khan combined for a 192-run third-wicket partnership.
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