Australia U19s drew first blood in the three-match youth ODI series beating Sri Lanka U19s by 7 wickets in the first match at P. Sara Oval Grounds on Thursday.
Two left-handers from both teams notched up centuries. But, it was Australia’s Sam Fenning’s quick-fire 94-ball 108 which helped the visitors to chase down 263 with 13 balls to spare. Earlier, Sri Lanka on the back of Kamil Mishara’s century put up a decent score.
After opting to bat first, the home team got off to a solid start. The left-handed opening duo of Navod Paranavithana and Mishara added 126 runs for the first wicket before the former was stumped for 45.
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After one-drop batsman Mohammed Shamaz fell cheaply, Mishara found an able batting partner in skipper Nipun Dananjaya as they went onto add a vital 98-run stand to put Sri Lanka in a strong position to launch in the final overs.
Mishara fell in the 46th over, while Dananjaya departed in the penultimate over of the innings. Mishara struck 12 fours and 3 sixes during his fine 123 which came off 157 balls.
Dananjaya played rapidly to score at a strike rate of 106.81 and managed seven fours during his 44-ball 47.
None of the lower middle order batsmen made hefty contributions as the visitors’ bowlers made a late comeback to restrict the hosts’ final surge.
Fenning, playing his maiden youth ODI along with Corey Hunter raced to 114 before the 20-over mark to lay a perfect platform in their run-chase.
Fenning, was aggressive against the Lankan spin-attack and gave no chance for them to settle on a belter of a surface. He slammed 14 boundaries and 2 sixes as Australia coasted to victory in the 48th over to take a 1-0 lead.
After Fenning’s dismissal, Oliver Davies made sure Australia do not run into any major hiccups scoring an unbeaten half-century.
The second youth ODI between the two teams will be played on 5th January at the same venue.
