Sri Lanka beat England, set up semis clash with India

U-19 World Cup

Mirpur, Feb 7 : Opener Avishka Ferndo struck a fluent 95 after Wanidu Hasanranga grabbed three wickets as Sri Lanka defeated England by six wickets in the quarter-fil match here on Sunday and thus set up a semi-fil clash against India in the Under-19 cricket World Cup.

Ferndo hit 11 boundaries and one six as Sri Lanka dismissed England for 184 in 49.2 overs and then surpassed the modest target scoring 186 in 35.4 overs. Leg-spinner Hasanranga grabbed three wickets for the island tion.

Sri Lanka will take on India in the first semi-fil in Mirpur on Tuesday. The second semi-fil on Thursday will feature hosts Bangladesh against the winner of Monday’s Pakistan-West Indies match.

This is only the third time Lanka have reached the semi-fil of this tourment since its inception in 1988.

In the home event in 2000, they reached the fil where they lost to Mohammad Kaif-captained India, while in 2010 in New Zealand, Sri Lanka reached the last four and finished in fourth position.

Callum Taylor top-scored with 42 after England won the toss and elected to bat, but the rest of the batting fell apart against the sustained pressure applied by the Lankan bowlers.

Leg-spinner Hasaranga finished with three wickets for 34 runs after seamer Asitha Ferndo had wrecked the start with two dismissals.

In reply, Sri Lanka made a breezy start racing to 51 for no loss in eight overs before the lunch break, with Ferndo contributing 35 of those runs.

Kaveen Bandara helped Ferndo put on 76 for the first wicket by the 14th over when he was run out for 22.

Ferndo was about to steer his team towards an emphatic win before he was caught behind off Saqib Mahmood when just 14 runs were needed for victory in 17 overs.

Skipper Charith Asalanka, who put on 69 for the third wicket with Ferndo, fell for 34 soon after, but Sri Lanka cruised home easily.

Asalanka was delighted to see his team bounce back after losing to Pakistan in the last league match. Asalanka said Lanka will test India with spin in the semi-fil.

Brief Scores: England 184 in 49.2 overs (Callum Taylor 42; Wanidu Hasaranga 3-34, Asitha Ferndo 2-16) vs Sri Lanka 186-4 in 35.4 overs (Avishka Ferndo 95). IANS