U-19 World Cup: Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan, win Plate Championship

Brisbane, Aug 24 - Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan by seven wickets to win the Plate Championship final of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup at the Allan Border Field here Friday.

Chasing 194, Sri Lanka cruised to victory in 39 overs with player of the match Niroshan Dickwella hitting an elegant 76 and Pabasara Waduge contributing 33.

Batting first after winning the toss, Afghanistan scored 194 for nine in 50 overs with Mohibullah Paak top scoring with a fine 44 which included five fours and a six. For Sri Lanka, Lahiru Madushanka continued his fine form with the ball and finished with three for 34 while Amila Aponso took two for 19.

It was Sri Lanka’s first Plate Championship title while for Afghanistan, it was an excellent achievement after they had finished 16th and last in their debut appearance two years ago in New Zealand.

Afghanistan captain Javed Ahmadi finished as his side’s most successful batsman with 285 runs at 47.50 while Sri Lanka’s leading run-getter was Sandun Weerakkody with 189 runs.

On the bowlers’ front, Sri Lanka’s Madushanka finished with 15 wickets in the tournament while Sayed Shirzad was the pick of the Afghanistan bowlers with 11 wickets.

In the fifth-sixth position play-off match, Sam Wood produced a fine all-round performance to help England defeat the West Indies by 13 runs.

Wood first hit a quick fire 104 off 111 balls with four fours and seven sixes to help England post 241 for nine and then picked up two wickets for 52 runs as the West Indies was dismissed for 228 in 48.3 overs.

John Campbell led the West Indies run-chase with a gutsy 105 off 133 balls with eight fours and two sixes. But when he departed at the score of 206 with 36 needed off the final 32 balls, the West Indies lost their way and fell 13 runs short.

England left-arm fast bowler Reece Topley finished as the pick of the bowlers with three for 39 to finish the tournament with 19 wickets.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh defeated Pakistan by five wickets to finish seventh. Bangladesh captain Amanul Haque stroked an electrifying 128 off 112 balls with five fours and eight sixes as Bangladesh reached the 236-run target with 22 balls and five wickets to spare.

It was Amanul’s second century of the tournament after he had scored 101 in the tournament opener against Sri Lanka. He finished the event with 365 runs from six matches at an impressive average of 60.83.

While eighth position was Pakistan’s worst finish in nine events, it was Bangladesh’s second best finish after they ended fifth in Sri Lanka in 2006. Bangladesh have also won two Plate Championship titles.

Scotland defeated Ireland by five wickets to finish 11th.

Scores in brief:

Super League:

5th-6th position play-off – England beat West Indies by 13 runs at Endeavour Park 1

England 241 for nine, 50 overs (Sam Wood 104; Justin Greaves 3-38, Kyle Mayers 2-17, Derone Davis 2-56), West Indies 228 all out, 48.3 overs (John Campbell 105, Kraigg Brathwaite 30; Reece Topley 3-39, Brett Hutton 2-34, Sam Wood 2-52).

7th-8th position play-off – Bangladesh beat Pakistan by five wickets at Endeavour Park 2

Pakistan 235 for eight, 50 overs (Mohammad Nawaz 82, Shahid Ilyas 44, Faraz Ali 43; Taskin Ahmed 3-80, Al-Amin 2-28, Dewan Sabbir 2-38), Bangladesh 239 for five, 46.2 overs (Anamul Haque 128, Litton Das 53; Ehsan Adil 2-32, Mohammad Nawaz 2-48).

Plate Championship

Final (9th-10th play-off) – Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by seven wickets at Allan Border Field, Brisbane

Afghanistan 194 for nine, 50 overs (Mohibullah Paak 44; Lahiru Madushanka 3-34, Amila Aponso 2-19), Sri Lanka 196 for three, 39 overs (Niroshan Dickwella 76 not out, Pabasara Waduge 33).

11th-12th position play-off – Scotland beat Ireland by five wickets at WEP Oval Harris, Brisbane

Ireland 182 all out, 49.4 overs (Tyrone Kane 78; Aman Bailwal 3-38, Ruaidhri Smith 3-48, Patrick Sadler 2-35), Scotland 185 for five, 41.4 overs (Ross McLean 47, Nicholas Farrar 38 not out, Mathew Cross 30; Ben Wylie 2-24).