MIRPUR: India will face Sri Lanka in the semifinals of the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup after the island nation reached the last-four stage with a six-wicket win over England, here today.
In an impressive all-round performance, Sri Lanka dismissed England for just 184 and then overhauled the modest target in the 36th over.
Avishka Fernando hit 95 off 96 balls after Wanidu Hasanranga grabbed three wickets to set up the semifinal against India on Tuesday.
This is only the third time Sri Lanka has reached the semi-final of this tournament since its inception in 1988. In the home event in 2000, it reached the final where it lost to Mohammad Kaif’s India, while in 2010 in New Zealand, Sri Lanka reached the last four and finished in fourth position.
England failed to match its earlier run-feast in Group C where it raked up totals of 371 for three against Fiji, 282 for seven against the West Indies and 288 for four against Zimbabwe.
Callum Taylor top-scored with 42 after England won the toss and elected to bat, but the rest of the batting fell apart against the sustained pressure applied by the Sri Lanka bowlers.
Leg-spinner Hasaranga finished with three wickets for 34 runs after seamer Asitha Fernando had wrecked the start with two dismissals.
Sri Lanka made a breezy start to its reply, racing to 51 for no loss in eight overs before the lunch break, with Fernando contributing 35 of those runs.
Kaveen Bandara helped Fernando put on 76 for the first wicket by the 14th over when he was run out for 22.(agencies)
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