Sri Lanka win U-19 World Cup Plate final

Sri Lanka vs West Indies ()

Lincoln (New Zealand), Jan 28 - Sri Lanka rode on brilliant batting from openers Hasitha Boyagoda (116) and Dhananjaya Lakshan (98) to clinch the Under-19 Cricket World Cup Plate final against the West Indies by three wickets here on Sunday.

Chasing a target of 255 runs set by the Caribbean outfit, the Sri Lanka openers forged a 218-run stand to set-up the win at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval. 

However, after the dismissal of the openers, the top and middle order collapsed in quick succession. 

The islanders, who lost seven wickets for 31 runs, somehow kept their nerve to cross the line with two balls to spare, thanks to lower order batsmen Hareen Buddhila (5 not out) and Thisaru Rashmika (4 not out). 

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, middle-order batsman Alick Athanaze (110 not out) helped West Indies carve out a challenging total of 254/5. 

Openers Keagan Simmons (24), Bhaskar Yadram (31) and batsmen Kirstan Kallicharan (24), Brad Barnes (37 not out) also played important cameo knocks for West Indies to help the side maintain a healthy run-rate. 

For Sri Lanka, spinner Praveen Jayawickrama (2/33) and medium-pacer Nipun Malinga (2/63) bagged two wickets each. 

Brief scores: West Indies 254/5 (Alick Athanaze 110 not out, Bhaskar Yadram 31; Praveen Jayawickrama 2/33) against Sri Lanka 255/7 (Dhananjaya Lakshan 98, Hasitha Boyagoda 116; Bhaskar Yadram 2/42).

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IANS