Youth Asia Cup gets underway

The Youth Asia Cup 2016, the first international tournament being held in Sri Lanka since the establishment of the Asian Cricket Council Headquarters in Colombo earlier this year, gets underway today with the group stage matches set to take place in Colombo, Galle, Matara and Maggona over the next four days.

Hosts Sri Lanka are in Group A alongside Nepal, Malaysia and defending champions India. Group B sees 2014 runners-up Pakistan placed with Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Singapore.

All the group stage matches will begin at 9.45 a.m., with the first day seeing Sri Lanka take on Nepal at the Nondescripts Cricket Club in Colombo. India meanwhile will face Malaysia at the Colombo Cricket Club. Elsewhere, Pakistan will take on Singapore in Galle, while Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in Matara.

Group stage matches will be played on the 15, 16 and 18 December. The semifinals and final, which will be day/night affairs, will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium on 20, 21 and 23 December.

The only previous Under-19 Asia Cup tournaments have seen both the finals contested between Pakistan and India, with a tie seeing the trophy shared between the sides in 2012, while India won outright in 2014.