DUBAI, Dec 13: Sethmika Seneviratne’s five-wicket haul set up Sri Lanka’s emphatic eight-wicket win over Nepal in their Group B clash of the Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup at The Sevens Stadium on Saturday.
Asked to bat first by Sri Lanka captain Vimath Dinsara, Nepal were steady at 30 without loss before a run out of Niraj Kumar Yadav for 10 in the eighth over resulted in the innings unravelling quickly.
Seneviratne struck in successive spells, removing Sahil Patel (12), Vansh Chhetri (0), and Dilsad Ali (0) to leave Nepal reeling at 37/4, with the side losing their four wickets for just seven runs within six overs.
Captain Ashok Dhami and Cibrin Shrestha (18) briefly resisted with a 24-run stand.
But Rasith Nimsara struck to dismiss the former for nine at the start of the 21st over.
From there, Nepal folded to 82 all out, with Shrestha being the top run-scorer.
Seneviratne completed incredible figures of 5-25, and was ably supported by Rasith Nimsara, Vigneshwaran Akash, Dulnith Sigera, and Chamika Heenatigala, taking a scalp each.
Sri Lanka’s chase of 83 was briefly dented when Nepal reduced them to 25/2, Dayanand Mandal getting a scalp.
But Dimantha Mahavithana (39) and Kavija Gamage (24) ensured there were no further alarms in Sri Lanka’s chase.
Their unbroken 59-run stand for the third wicket sealed victory for Sri Lanka with 35.1 overs to spare.
Sri Lanka will next face Afghanistan at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai on Monday.
While Nepal is slated to take on Bangladesh on the same day. (IANS)
Brief Scores
NEPAL U19: 82 all out in 28.5 overs (Shrestha 18, Seneviratne 5-25, Sigera 1-3) lost to
SRI LANKA U19: 84/2 in 14.5 overs (Mahavithana 39*, Kavija Gamage 24 *, Dayanand Mandal 1-16) by eight wickets
