Eng ’A’ vs SL ’A’: SL ‘A’ win easily; win series 2-1

Sri Lanka ‘A’ bowlers set the tone for their crushing six-wicket win over England Lions in the deciding third unofficial ODI on Tuesday, at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

Chasing the modest target of 167, though the hosts lost a few early wickets, Nipun Dananjaya’s unbeaten 66 saw them through without any more hiccups.

The series, which saw some notable national names including Angelo Mathews et al playing for an important tour of New Zealand coming up next, was interestingly poised to see who will wrap the series.

And the home team did deliver in thumping fashion, especially after the bowlers laid the foundation for the win.

The englishmen, winning the toss electing to bat first, couldn’t escape the web weaved by their opponents.

Except for opening batter Jacob Bethell hitting an exact fifty, none of the others displayed much resistance.

Consequently, Isitha Wijesundera and Dushan Hemantha picked up three-wickets each and Dunith Wellalage also claim one for him.

Eventually, they managed to muster only a modest 166

Chief scores:

Eng Lions: 166 all out (45) (Jacob Bethell 50, Jordon Cox 31, Isitha Wijesundera 3/14, Dushan Hemantha 3/27, Suminda Lakshan 2/20) beaten by

SL ‘A’: 167 for four (32.1) (Nipun Dananjaya 65 not out, Sadeera Samarawickrama 23, Sahan Arahchchige 22 not out)

*Updated at 6 p.m. on Tuesday changing the opening para and fixing a typo