Sri Lanka under 19's led by Dunith Wellalage will meet Australia in their second under 19 world cup fixture today (17) in St Kitts, commencing from 7.30 pm (Sri Lanka time). Both Sri Lanka and Australia won their first games last Saturday to gain good confidence to go forward. Sri Lanka defeated Scotland by 40 runs while Australia the three times champions had a comprehensive six wicket victory over host West Indies on their first game. The win was set up by their bowlers, with Tom Whitney, Nivethan Radhakrishnan and captain Cooper Connolly picking up a three-wicket haul each while Opener Teague Wyllie then struck an unbeaten 86 to finish things off in grand style.
Meanwhile Sri Lankans were struggling at 78 for 5 wickets at one stage against Scotland but number six batter Sakuna Liyanage made a fighting knock of 85 in 85 balls while skipper Dunith Wellalage had his best figures so far with 5 for 27 guided them to victory over Scottish team.
However Sri Lankan side has to be more concerned about their top order batting against Aussies today. The top order batters Chamindu Wickramasinghe , Shevon Daniel the openers and Sadisha Rajapaksa, Pawan Pathiraja have a big responsibility to build up the innings. The Sri Lankan team made a brave decision to include Sakuna Liyanage the wicket keeper batter ahead of Anjala Bandara who was not in good touch with the bat.
Liyanage showed his full potential as a batter in their opening game. His presence also strengthened the middle order.
The battle between Sri Lankan spinners and Australian batters will decide the outcome of the game today. Skipper Dunith Wellalage has always led from the front for the spinners while off spinners Sadisha Rajapaksa, Shevon Daniel and leggie Wanuja Sahan have to play good supporting roles to gain success.
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