In the other match, Sakuna Liyanage’s 85 and Dunith Wellalage’s five-for helped Sri Lanka beat Scotland
Sreshth Shah15-Jan-2022Australia began their U-19 World Cup campaign with a comprehensive six-wicket win over hosts West Indies in the opening game of the competition, chasing 170 with more than five overs to spare in Group D.The win was set up by their bowlers, with Tom Whitney, Nivethan Radhakrishnan and captain Cooper Connolly picking up a three-wicket haul each. Opener Teague Wyllie then struck an unbeaten 86 to finish things off.Right-arm seamer Whitney did the damage with the new ball, striking in the first over of the match to dismiss Matthew Nandu for a first-ball duck. He then found No. 3 Teddy Bishop’s top edge. That soon became 12 for 3 after the other new-ball bowler, William Salzmann, trapped the other opener Shaqkere Parris lbw.However, a partnership of 95 for the fourth wicket brought West Indies back, albeit briefly. Wicketkeeper Rivaldo Clarke hit a 42-ball 37 with four fours in a busy innings, but it was the captain Ackeem Auguste who was more adventurous with his eight fours to score 57. Their stand took West Indies past 100 in the 21st over, but both soon succumbed to spin.It was ambidextrous spinner Radhakrishnan, only bowling right-arm offspin on the day, who got the breakthrough when Clarke hit him to mid-off. Giovonte Depeiza then fell for a duck to Connolly’s left-arm spin when he was lbw looking to play across the line. Auguste then chose aggression instead of looking to rebuild with his new partner and Connolly had him caught at deep midwicket when he mistimed a slog sweep.At 112 for 6, West Indies were once again in trouble with the end in sight. Radhakrishnan rattled the stumps twice, No. 10 batter Shiva Sankar scooped a catch back to Connolly, and Whitney finished the innings at 169 by forcing No. 9 McKenny Clarke (29) to mistime an aggressive shot to mid-off.Like West Indies, Australia too lost their opener for a duck. Corey Miller chopped a fast Johann Layne delivery onto his stumps, and Sankar had No. 3 Isaac Higgins caught behind off a bottom edge.But Connolly, playing his second U-19 World Cup, together with Wyllie put on a 53-run stand for the third wicket, which eased the pressure off Australia. After Connolly’s dismissal for 23 to the tall right-arm offspinner Onaje Amory, Wyllie put on another 75-run stand with the No. 5 Radhakrishan (31) even though the progress was slow due to a sluggish outfield caused by overnight rain.Wyllie stood out in his Player-of-the-Match performance hitting eight fours in his 129-ball innings to see the game off. After Radhakrishnan’s dismissal, he took the charge in the company of Campbell Kellaway (10*) to seal the win by clipping a shot to the leg side. However, before the run could be completed, the umpire put his arm out for a front-foot no-ball from Nandu, forcing an anti-climactic end to the game.Sakuna Liyanage bailed out Sri Lanka with his run-a-ball 85•ICC/Getty Images
In the other Group D match, a run-a-ball 85 from Sakuna Liyanage and a five-wicket haul from their captain Dunith Wellalage helped Sri Lanka seal a 40-run win over Scotland.Despite reeling at 99 for 6, Sri Lanka were bailed out by their wicketkeeper-batter Liyanage who took the side to 218 even though they were bowled out in the 46th over.Much of the damage to Sri Lanka was caused by Scotland’s right-arm seamer Jack Jarvis (2 for 27) inside the first ten overs and by left-arm spinner Oliver Davidson (2 for 50).But Liyanage’s innings of three fours and four sixes kept the runs flowing despite wickets falling all around him. Right-arm seamer Sean Fischer-Keogh’s three-for at the back end of the innings meant Scotland needed 219 to win.However, Scotland were rattled by left-arm spinner Wellalage in the chase with wickets across different spells. With the Sri Lankan bowlers keeping things tight, along with no substantial partnership, Scotland could not keep up with the required run rate.Jarvis shined with a 55 from the middle order but with no other batter crossing 20, they were far off the chase despite lasting 48.4 overs.
