India, Sri Lanka assured of semi-final berths
View(s):Under 19 Asia Cup
By M. Shamil Amit
The Under 19 Asia Cup featuring eight teams which is in progress now in Sri Lanka has seen the teams having played two matches each from the three scheduled to be played. Defending champions India along with host Sri Lanka from Group ‘A’ are assured of a berth to the semi-finals after the completion of the first two matches that the eight teams have played so far.
Vishwa Chathuranga
The eight teams will battle each other in the last round robin matches and the fight is for the top slot in the two groups. However according to the position now India leads in Group ‘A due to a better run rate and they have accumulated ten points while Sri Lanka is in second place with nine points. India and Sri Lanka will meet in their final match today and the team that wins will come out on top while in Group ‘B’ even though Bangladesh has won both their matches the contest wide open yet.
Looking back at the performances of the top teams so far in Group ‘A’ Sri Lanka was given a fright by minnows Nepal in their first match before they scraped through to a thrilling one run win, but in the second match against Malaysia they had little difficulty when they coasted to an easy eight wicket win. On the other hand India chalked up convincing wins and in the first match against Malaysia they romped home with a massive 235 runs victory and then followed with a comfortable six wicket win over Nepal.
Bangladesh remains the unbeaten team in Group ‘B’ having won both their matches against Afghanistan by four wickets and Singapore by seven wickets. Afghanistan recorded the first shock of the tournament when they recorded a 21 runs win against last year’s runner up Pakistan who earlier recorded a convincing nine wicket win against Singapore. So in this group the last two matches are going to be crucial for table leaders Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who are assured of a win against Singapore while the match between Bangladesh and Pakistan is no doubt an interesting one.
Of course Pakistan after their defeat to Afghanistan is in a must win situation and on the hand Bangladesh are not going to be easy nuts to crack as they will looking forward to end the round robin stage with an unbeaten record. Likewise joint champions of the inaugural tournament and defending champions India and Sri Lanka too will be coming into the game with the same aim to end with an unbeaten record, so it’s left to be seen who will achieve that. Sri Lanka put in a lackluster performance in the first game against Nepal and if not for skipper Kamindu Mendis bowling effort they would have been in the losing side and they for sure would know India’s strength now and a repeat of the first game would spell doom for them.
The Sri Lanka batting has been shaky but deputy skipper Ashen Bandara has done his part with two fairly good batting performances. Sri Lanka will be hoping that Hasitha Boyagoda who made a 83 against Nepal along with Vishwa Chathuranga, skipper Mendis, Krishan Sanjula and Lasith Croospulle make useful contributions for them. India on the other hand has a well balanced side composed of good hitters and bowlers who could rattle their opponents in the likes of Prithvi Shaw, skipper Abishek Sharma, Himanshu Rana, Shubman Gill and Het Patel, Kamledh Nagarkoti to name to deliver the goods for them.
However for teams like Malaysia and Singapore the tournament would no doubt been a lesson to learn as they would have gain immense experience on how to approach the game in the future. The two semi-finals are scheduled to be played on December 20 and 21 at R. Premadasa Stadium and the final is slotted to be played on December 23 under floodlights.
Today’s Match Schedule: Group A – Sri Lanka 19 vs India 19 at De Zoysa Stadium Moratuwa and Malaysia 19 vs Nepal U19 at NCC. Group B – Pakistan U19 vs Bangladesh U19 at Galle International Stadium and Afghanistan U19 vs Singapore U19 at Surrey Village Ground Maggona.