Defending champions India U19 will face off against hosts Sri Lanka U19 in their semi-final of the Under-19 Asia Cup at the P. Sara Oval today while Bangladesh U19 and Afghanistan U19 tussle in the other semi-final at Moratuwa’s De Soysa Stadium.
India U19 dominated Group A and qualified by winning all three fixtures, while Sri Lanka suffered one defeat out of three matches and finished second in Group B.
Sri Lanka have blown hot and cold in the competition and lack consistency and against a strong Indian outfit who seem to have covered all bases, it will be a tall order for them.
Top-order batsman Arjun Azad has been a treat to watch. The highest run-scorer in the competition, he picked up Man of the Match awards in his first two games.
Sri Lanka’s batting revolves around Ahan Wickramasinghe, Navod Paranavithana, Kamil Mishara, and Nipun Dananjaya and two of them need to get big scores if Sri Lanka are to stop India from entering yet another final.
A sigh of relief among Bangladesh cricketers is that they have managed to top group ‘B’ and avoid India in the semi-finals. For Afghanistan a collective won’t be the easy approach in the field for them. The proper execution on the field has to be addressed carefully. The Afghans sent Pakistan home early bundling them out for 78 runs inside 20 overs in the opening contest of the competition.
Noor Ahmad and leg-spinner Shafiqullah Ghafari have produced the highlight of the tournament having bowled well and captured eight wickets each to be joint highest wicket-takers in the competition.
Opening batsman Mahmudul Joy will be the key for Bangladesh.
The elegant right-handed batsman will play the anchor role and with his ability to clear the boundary as well in the death overs he will be the player to watch.
Much will be expected of left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan, who is Bangladesh’s main bowler. - (SW)
Add new comment