Sri Lanka U-19s victorious in Asia Cup opener

Sri Lanka Under 19s kick-started the Junior Asia Cup Cricket tourney with a crushing 274 run win against Kuwait today (23). Lankan skipper Dunith Wellalage won the toss and opted to bat first in Sharjah and the lion cubs posted an impressive 323 for the loss of 5 wickets in their allotted 50 overs. Pawan Pathiraja and Ranuda Somaratne scored 86 and 60 runs. Shevon Daniel and Chamindu Wickramasinghe notched 54 each. Sadisha Rajapaksa scored 35 and skipper Wellalage 19. Lankan opening pair Shevon Daniel and Chamindu Wickramasinghe put up a strong 104 runs in 91 balls, a superb foundation for the opening wicket. Pathiraja and Somaratne notched up the highest partnership of 114 runs for the 4th wicket. In reply, the Kuwaitis were bowled out for a paltry 49 runs with skipper Dunith Wellalage leading from the front taking 4 wickets by giving away just 2 runs. Sadisha Rajapaksa too excelled with the ball taking 3 wickets for 4 runs. Matheesha Pathirana took 2 for 7. Pawan Pathiraja bagged the man of the match award for his brilliant knock of 86*. Sri Lanka will play Nepal in their next encounter on Boxing Day.