India beat Sri Lanka to win Quadrangular Under-19 Series

Fast bowlers Sandeep Sharma (4/23) and Rush Kalaria (3/34) came to the fore on Sunday as India defeated Sri Lanka by five runs in a tense final at the YS Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium in Visakhapatnam to clinch the Quadrangular Under-19 Series. West Indies defeated Australia by 16 runs in a high-scoring encounter at the Port Trust Diamond Jubilee Stadium in the same city.

Unmukt Chand & Co ended the tournament with a spotless record by registering seven victories in as many matches. What’s more, the skipper ended the tournament with 336 runs from seven outings, just one behind Australia’s Cameron Bancroft. In the bowling charts, Baba Aparajith finished with 22 wickets, eight more than teammate Sharma.

Chasing 169 for an upset victory, Sri Lanka never got going. In fact, they were reduced to 27/5 in the ninth over. That’s when Dueeka Thissakuttige (29) and Lahiru Madhushanka (63) rescued them with a 75-run partnership for the sixth wicket. When Madhushanka fell in the 44th over, Sri Lanka were only 19 runs away from victory. Pulina Tharanga (15) and Amila Aponso (21) threatened did try to spoil India’s party, but Sharma came back to pick up two in an over to seal the visitors’ fate. The visitors were bowled out for 163 in 46.5 overs.

Earlier, the Indian top-order failed miserably. Middle-order bat Akshdeep Nath scored a sensible half-century to guide India to a competitive total. The hosts, who were reduced to 37/5 in the 14th over, had Nath and Smit Patel (31) to thank. It was the duo’s 67-run stand that steadied the ship. A gritty 23 from left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh helped India cross the 150-run mark.

India were bowled out for 168 after Vikas Mishra was run-out off the last ball.

Brief scores
India U-19 168 in 50 overs
(A Nath 55, S Patel 31, H Singh 23, L Madhushanka 4/17) bt Sri Lanka U-19
(L Madhushanka 63, S Sharma 4/23, R Kalaria 3/34) by five runs; West Indies
U-19 365 in 50 overs
(K Brathwaite 102, A Alleyne 90; A Pyecroft 4/66, S Cassell 4/62) bt Australia U-19 349/9 in 50 overs (W Bosisto 107, C Bancroft 63;
D Davis 3/30) by 16 runs