Sri Lanka U19 cricketers create history

Sri Lanka U19 Captain Vimath Dinsara receives the Youth ODI series trophy from Match Referee Chandana Mahesh after Sri Lanka had beaten India 2-1

Player of the Match (1st ODI) Kushagra Ohja

Player of the Match (2nd ODI) Dimantha Mahavitharana

Player of the Match (3rd ODI) Chamika Heenatigala

•  Beat India in a bilateral U19 ODI series after 29 years
• Continuity is important for the players’ progress – Coach Chamara Silva

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka’s Under19 cricketers led by Royalist Vimath Dinsara created history when for the first time in 29 years they beat India Under19 in a bilateral Youth ODI series.

Sri Lanka’s gripping one-wicket win off the last ball of the third ODI played at Mahinda Rajapaksa Cricket Stadium, Hambantota on Thursday saw them clinch the three-match series 2-1. They last beat India in 1997 by the same margin (2-1) under the captaincy of Nimesh Perera Snr.

Sri Lanka had players in the calibre of Kumar Sangakkara, Rangana Herath, Chinthaka Jayasinghe and Hemantha Boteju all of whom went onto win national colours. Similarly, India had Shiv Sunder Das, Aakash Chopra, Ajit Agarkar and Balaji Rao. They were led by all-rounder Jyoti Yadav.

“Full credit should go to the players because what we have been doing over the past year or so has improved overall, that is why they were able to play so well and perform as a team,” said Sri Lanka’s Under19 head coach Chamara Silva. “These boys have been together for about one and half years and their confidence level was good. They had this goal of wanting to win and that made a big difference.”

“When this tour was confirmed everyone was committed to winning the ODI series. More than winning we had challenges of our own and targets to achieve. These boys perfected them, that’s how we managed to win the series. Today in world cricket, India is the country that is ranked no. 1 in virtually all kinds of formats in both men’s and women’s. To beat them is a great achievement.”

Silva praised the wickets that were prepared for the three ODIs and said, “They were really good batting tracks. We spoke that under any kind of situation on these types of wickets, the chances of a batsman getting out is only if he makes a mistake. What we spoke of is that even the last man can win a match for us. They really proved it in the final game.”

In fact it was Sri Lanka’s last pair Chamara Heenatigala and Lathendra Akash who carried them to a nerve-tingling one-wicket last ball victory.

Commenting on Heenatigala’s match-winning knock of 84* off 68 balls, Silva said, “Chami has played several innings like this before for us. The position he bats he is capable of finishing the game. The role we have given him is that. He has grasped it very well. He is not overawed by the situation. He has learnt when to hit and when to defend. He has matured very well in this position. He is a great game changer for us.”

Silva said that the batting tracks posed a good challenge to the bowlers. “They had to think hard, how to survive on these types of wickets, how they can concede only around 4 runs an over, their lengths and lines. The bowlers got a good experience on how to bowl on flat batting tracks. They were forced to think out of the box and improve their skills.”

Remarking on the opposition, Silva said, “India were a strong batting side. They concentrated a lot on trying to win matches with their batting.”

According to the head coach the next phase these Under19 cricketers take is the most important. Apart from one or two players the majority of this squad won’t be there for the next Under19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2028.

“These outgoing players have to be carefully monitored and looked after. When these boys get out of school at under 19 level they must get a place to play in club matches, otherwise they will forget and lose all that they have learnt at Under 19 level,” said Silva.

“There are at least 7-8 players in this squad who can become our future national cricketers, if they are managed properly from here onwards. They must be given plenty of opportunities to move forward so that they will improve their cricketing skills. This lot of cricketers are right now capable of playing at club level, and should be given the chance.”

Since taking over as head coach of the Under19 national side last year, Silva, a former Sri Lanka cricketer has had little success result wise losing bilateral series to Bangladesh 3-2 at home and 4-3 in the West Indies, semi-final loss to India in the ACC Under19 Asia Cup semi-finals in UAE and failing on net run rate to qualify for the 2026 Men’s Under19 World Cup semi-finals in Zimbabwe. This win against India U19 is his first success as coach.