Friday Sep 18, 2026
Friday Sep 18, 2026
Friday, 10 July 2026 00:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka U19 team celebrate their ODI series win
The hero Chamika Heenatigala is carried shoulder-high by teammates after the winning hit
Chamika Heenatigala rejoices Sri Lanka’s
victory after making the winning hit
Chamika Heenatigala was the hero as he single-handedly guided Sri Lanka Under-19 to a series-clinching last-ball win by one wicket against India Under-19 in the third and final Youth ODI series played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Cricket Stadium, Hambantota yesterday.
The win saw Sri Lanka U19 seal the Youth ODI series 2-1 with back to back wins after they had lost the first match to India U19 by four wickets. Sri Lanka U19 won the second match by eight wickets.
Chasing a target of 291 for victory Sri Lanka slumped to 215-8 in 40 overs, but Heenatigala who has proved time and again to be the team’s crisis man once more came up with another of his heroic performances to guide Sri Lanka to victory.
The left-hander from Mahanama College, Colombo was on 35 when the eighth wicket fell and he had only the two tailenders to partner him. Sri Lanka at this stage required 76 off the final 10 overs and the game was very much in favour of India.
However, Heenatigala farmed the strike magnificently so that Gimhan Mendis (23 off 22 balls, 1 four, 2 sixes) helped him add 61 valuable runs off 47 balls for the ninth wicket. When Mendis was out at 276, Sri Lanka were still 15 short with 13 balls remaining. With 11 needed off the final over and last man Lathendra Akash at the wicket, Heenatigala kept a cool head to hit the second ball for four, the fifth for a six and stole a single off the final ball to clinch victory for his team. Heenatigala finished unbeaten on a magnificent 84 scored off 68 balls with the aid of 7 fours and 2 sixes.
Before Heenatigala made his appearance, Senuka Wekunagoda kept the run chase alive with a 59-ball 67 (10 fours, 1 six). Sri Lanka’s innings was disrupted to some extent in the 34th over by off-spinner Anmoljeet Singh who struck twice off successive balls when the innings was moving smoothly at 190-5. He finished as India’s most successful bowler with 4/42.
Earlier India invited to bat first, put up a challenging score of 290-8. Left-hander VK Vineeth played a durable knock of 131 off 136 balls (13 fours, 3 sixes) and with Lakshya Raichandani (61 off 63 balls, 7 fours), the pair added 108 off 117 balls for the third wicket. Sri Lanka however managed to contain the rest of the batting to keep India under 300. Sethmika Seneviratne, the right-arm seamer from Trinity College, Kandy bowled tidily to take 4/41 off 10 overs.
The two teams will play a two-match 4-day youth test series commencing 13 July at Galle.
– [ST]
Scores:
India (U19) 290-8 (50) (VK Vineeth 131, Lakshya Raichandani 61, Shavin Vinodh 26, Sethmika Seneviratne 4/41, Gimhan Mendis 2/63)
Sri Lanka (U19) 291-9 (50) (Dimantha Mahavithana 22, Senuja Wekunagoda 67, Kavija Gamage 29, Kithma Withanapathirana 31, Chamika Heenatigala 84*, Gimhan Mendis 23, Shavin Vinodh 3/41, Mohit Ulva 2/66, Anmoljeet Singh 4/42)
