[UPDATED] Regional youths beat Sri Lanka in Super Sixes - West Indies U19s sniff World Cup semis

KIMBERLEY: West Indies took a giant stride towards a semi-final berth in the ICC Under-19 World Cup here Tuesday when they once again held their nerves to beat a determined Sri Lanka by three wickets in their first game of the Super Six stage.

Chasing 232 at Diamond Oval, the Caribbean side made the chase perhaps more complicated than it should have been, before getting over the line with three balls left in the group-two contest.

Opener Steve Wedderburn finally found his touch with a Man-of-the-Match 61 off 71 balls while Jordan Johnson chipped in with 39 off 46 deliveries and captain Stephan Pascal, 31 off 26 balls.

However, West Indies needed the level head of Nathan Sealy in the late stages, the right-hander entering at number eight to see off Sri Lanka’s challenge with an unbeaten 27 off 28 deliveries.

He received crucial support from Tarrique Edward (11 not out) in an invaluable 26-run, unbroken eighth wicket partnership, the pair taking the contest into the final over with the scores level.

“I feel very good about the win we had today, and this is all leading from the victory over Australia in the second Test,” Wedderburn said in reference to the senior West Indies side’s stunning win in Brisbane on Sunday.

“It was always to remain positive and adapt. We played a series against (Sri Lanka) last year August so we knew quite a bit about them and we just played to what we knew.

“We adapted very well, especially on today’s wicket which was up and down. We played very well.”

Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka were dismissed for 231 off the final delivery of the 50 overs, with Dinura Kalupahana top-scoring with 53 off 83 deliveries, Malsha Tharupathi getting 42 off 38 balls and Supun Waduge chiming in with 31 from 40 balls.

Opener Pulindu Perera struck 24 off 31 balls but Sri Lanka still slumped to 46 for three in the tenth over as left-arm seamer Nathan Edward (2-47) struck twice with the new ball.

Kalupahana then led his side’s recovery by anchoring key partnerships. First, he posted 39 for the fourth wicket with Waduge, then added a further 36 for the fifth wicket with Sharujan Shanmuganathan (14) before adding 51 in a critical sixth-wicket partnership with Tharupathi, who blasted seven fours in a breezy knock.

The right-handed Kalupahana was seventh out in the 39th over after striking five fours, and fast bowler Raneico Smith (4-47) quickly mopped up the tail thereafter.

West Indies were handed a flying start by Wedderburn and Pascal, the pair putting on 48 off 49 deliveries for the first wicket, to force the Sri Lankans on the defensive.

Wedderburn thumped five fours and three sixes while Pascal belted five fours and a six before becoming the first casualty of the innings, loosely driving new-ball pacer Dinura Kalupahana (2-39) to backward point.

When Joshua Dorne followed for seven, edging a drive at left-arm spinner Vishwa Lahiru (2-32) to first slip, West Indies were 61 for two in the 12th, but Wedderburn combined with fellow left-hander Johnson to add a precious 86 for the third wicket.

Wedderburn reached his fifty off 59 balls with a sweep to the square leg boundary off off-spinner Sineth Jayawardena (2-39) in the 22nd over but West Indies suffered a setback when both batsmen perished in successive overs with two runs added.

Wedderburn holed out to long off in the 27th off Jayawardena while Johnson drove off-spinner Vihas Thewmika low to short cover in the 28th, leaving the chase poised at 149 for four.

Mavendra Dindyal (17) and Nathan Edward (13) led the fightback in a 31-run, fifth-wicket stand, and when two wickets fell for four runs in the space of 21 balls, Sealy added 22 with Jewel Andrew (11) for the seventh before completing the job in partnership with Tarrique Edward.

West Indies take on group two leaders Australia in their last Super Six game on Friday.

SCOREBOARD : Windies vs Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka U19s
P Perera lbw b Smith 24
V Halambage c T Edward b N Edward 0
S Jayawardena c Smith b N Edward 11
S Waduge run out 31
D Kalupahana c Dorne b Sealy 53
S Shanmuganathan c Dorne b T Edward 14
R de Silva c & b Smith 5
M Tharupathi b Smith 42
V Thewmika c Wedderburn b Smith 15
V Lahiru run out 4
R Perera not out 9
Extras: (lb2, w21) 23
TOTAL: (all out, 50 overs) 231
Fall of wickets: 5, 34, 46, 85, 121, 134, 185, 211, 220, 231
Bowling: N Edward 9-0-47-2 (w6), Thorne 10-0-41-0 (w7), Smith 10-0-47-4 (w4), Sealy 10-1-34-1, T Edward 10-1-49-1 (w1), Dorne 1-0-11-0 (w1).

Windies U19s
S Pascal c Waduge b Kalupahana 33
S Wedderburn c Tharupathi b S Jayawardena 61
J Dorne c Waduge b Lahiru 7
J Johnson c Kalupahana b Thewmika 39
N Edward lbw b Lahiru 13
M Dindyal c Lahiru b S Jayawardena 17
J Andrew lbw b Kalupahana 11
N Sealy not out 27
T Edward not out 11
Extras: (b4, lb2, w7) 13
TOTAL: (7 wkts, 49.3 overs) 232
Did not bat: R Smith, I Thorne.
Fall of wickets: 48, 61, 147, 149, 180, 184, 206
Bowling: Kalupahana 7.3-1-39-2, Thewmika 10-0-38-1, Halambage 1-0-9-0, Lahiru 10-2-32-2 (w1), Jayawardena 10-0-39-2, Perera 3-0-27-0 (w5), Tharupathi 5-0-30-0 (w1), Waduge 3-0-12-0

Result: West Indies Under-19s won by three wickets.

This story was originally published with the title West Indies U-19s beat Sri Lanka in Super Sixes, eye World Cup semis. See original post below.

WEST Indies stayed in contention for a spot in the semi-finals of the International Cricket Council Under-19 World Cup with a three-wicket win over Sri Lanka, in group two of the Super Sixes stage in Kimberley, South Africa on Tuesday.

Batting first, Sri Lanka were 46/3 in the tenth over but middle- and lower-order resistance helped the Sri Lankans post 231 all out in 50 overs. Dinura Kalupahana led the recovery with 53 off 83 balls (five fours) and Malsha Tharupathi chipped in with a blistering 42 off 38 deliveries (seven fours).

Fast bowler Reneico Smith was the best bowler for West Indies with 4/47 in ten overs and Nathan Edward was also among the wickets with 2/47 in nine overs.

In reply, West Indies were cruising on 147/2 and seemed poised for an easy win with Steve Wedderburn and Jordan Johnson at the crease.

Sri Lanka fought back with the wickets of Wedderburn (61 off 75 balls) and Johnson (39 off 46 balls) in quick succession. West Indies continued to lose wickets, but an unbeaten 27 from Nathan Sealy ensured the win for the men in maroon.

West Indies closed on 232/7 in 49.3 overs and will now prepare to play Australia in their final Super Sixes match on Friday at 4 am, TT time. A win will help the West Indies chances of securing a place in the semi-finals.

West Indies are now second in group two behind Australia. The top two teams in each of the two groups will advance to the semi-finals.

Summarised Scores:

SRI LANKA 231 (50 overs) (Dinura Kalupahana 53, Malsha Tharupathi 42; Renieco Smith 4/47, Nathan Edward 2/47) vs WEST INDIES 232/7 (49.3 overs) (Steve Wedderburn 61, Jordan Johnson 39, Stephan Pascal 33, Nathan Sealy 27 not out; Vishnu Lahiru 2/32, D Kalupahana 2/39, Sineth Jayawardena 2/39).