India – Sri Lanka second Youth Test begins tomorrow
After salvaging a draw against India in their first Test at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium, the Sri Lanka Under 19 team will once again be in action in another four-day encounter, set to commence tomorrow at the Welagedara Stadium in Kurunegala.
This will be the first time in four years that Kurunegala will be hosting a foreign team, with the last match played there, an ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka ‘A’, occurring in 2009 at the Welagedara Stadium.
The Lankan team is led by wicketkeeper batsman Kusal Mendis, and is a well-balanced unit which holds several players with club experience.
Among its many future stars, local boy Minod Bhanuka is sure to receive plenty of attention when he takes the field tomorrow. Bhanuka is a product of Maliyadeva College Kurunegala and toured Bangladesh with the Sri Lanka Under 19s in April this year. He scored a superb 114 against Bangladesh in the first Test at Mirpur. He continued his good form at the Dambulla by scoring a useful 56 in the first Test on Thursday. This is a unique opportunity for him to show off his abilities in front of his home crowd.
Josephian Sadeer Samarawickrama, Tarinda Kulasekara, Hashan Duminda and Skipper Kusal Mendis will further bolster the Sri Lankan batting lineup.
Royal College fast bowler Chamika Karunaratne took four wickets in the first Test and will spearhead the bowling attack along with pacie Binura Fernando and spinners Lakshan Jayasinghe and A.K. Tyronne.
India declared after amassing a formidable 503 for 7 against Sri Lanka in the first innings of the first Test at Dambulla thanks mainly to their shipper Vijay Zol, who scored a career best 173. Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer also cashed in with half tons.
Although the visitors have a very strong batting lineup, spinner Kuldeep Yadav could be a big threat to our batsmen on the Kurunegela wicket.
If rain does not interrupt proceedings, the spectators in Kurunegala could be in for an exciting show with the involvement of so many talented youngsters capable of lighting things up.
However, Sri Lanka’s record goes against it as it has played seven Youth Tests against India without a single victory to its name.
This match is organized jointly by Sri Lanka Cricket and the Kurunegala District Cricket Association.
The second One Day match of the tour, which will be played on August 6, is also slated to be held at the Welegedara Stadium.
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