Women’s U19 T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka victorious after pushed close by USA

Sri Lanka recovered from a sluggish start with the bat to beat USA in their opening match of the tournament, in it's inaugural edition, by seven-wickets on Saturday, at Benoni, South Africa.

Dewmi Vihanga Wijerathne was the star with the ball, taking 3/11 from her four overs as the American side struggled to get going.

Disha Dhingra (18 from 26) and Ritu Priya Singh (22 from 23) ensured that a reasonable target was reached, but 96/9 was never likely to seriously trouble a talented Sri Lankan batting line-up.

A cautious Sri Lankan reply saw both openers fall relatively cheaply, with the score just 32/2 after 8.1 overs. But Vishmi Gunarathne (34* from 40) and Manudi Nanayakkara (32* from 31) led the recovery to see the Lankans home with an over to spare.

Chief scores:

USA U-19: 96 for 9 (20) (Ritu Priya Singh 22, Dewmi Wijeratne 3/11, Vidushika Perera 2/15) beate

Sri Lanka U-19: 100 for 3 (19) (Vishmi Gunaratne 34 n.o., Manudi Nanayakkara 32 n.o., Bhumika Bhadriraji 2/17)