Joe Root helped England U19 draw against Sri Lanka U19 in T20 Series
England U19 won the second T20 of the two-match series, overpowering Sri Lanka U19 by 46 runs at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, 3rd August. Chasing a competitive total of 164 for 4, Sri Lanka U19 was rolled over by the English U19 attack for 118 runs in just 18 overs. A three-wicket haul from both Joe Root and James Thorpe earned the hosts a share of the two match T20 series.
An outstanding all-round performance from Joe Root with an unbeaten 59-run innings off 57 balls along with 3 for 17, bagged England a comfortable 46-run victory. In the batting department, Joe Root was well complimented by Lewis Gregory’s pugnacious half century of just 36 balls while on the bowling side, Joe had James Thorpe to aid his assault with his three wickets for 21.
Sri Lanka U19, after winning the toss, offered the opposition to bat first. England U19’s explosive opening combination of Jack Manuel and Joe Root got off to an aggressive start. Both the openers provided their side with a strong foundation of 41 runs from the initial four overs. On the fourth ball of the fifth over, Lahiru Jayaratne broke the opening partnership having Jack Manuel caught by the Sri Lankan captain Chathura Peiris. Bludgeoning Manuel scored 31 runs from just 18 balls. His 21 minutes stay at the crease earned him six muscular boundaries.
Manuel’s departure brought http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lewis-Gregory-c72822 to the crease and in partnership with the fluent opener Joe Root; the duo played a flurry of beautifully timed shots to drag England U19 towards an imposing score. They added more than 100 runs to the scorecard for the second wicket stand. The partnership was worth 103 when captain Chathura Peiris broke the combination after Gregory was bowled off a fine delivery, leaving England U19 at 144 for 2 on the board. He played a cameo of 55 runs from 36 balls, plundering six burly strokes through the boundary line and a huge six. Wicket-keeper batsman Adam Rossington, playing at the No. 4 position, could add only 1 run to the team’s total before mistiming the ball into the hands of Nadeera Rajaguru off Dinuk Jayasinghe.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ateeq-Javid-c1104 and opener Joe Root added 17 runs to the scorecard for the fourth-wicket stand before Javid squandered his wicket needlessly in the final over as he was run out on Jayampathi’s throw. At the end of allotted 20 overs, Adam Ball was 1 for 1 while opener Joe Root was not out at 59. Root’s unbeaten innings along with Gregory’s aggressive 55 helped England U19 set up a competitive total of 164 for 4. Chathura Peiris, Lahiru Jayaratne and Dinuk Jayasinghe all shared one wicket each.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 U19’s 165 run chase got off to a bad start losing opener Ramith Rambukwella on the second ball of the opening over without opening the account. Rambukwella was bowled by Matt Dunn. Bhanuka Rajapakse followed Rambukwella in the next over after slashing Joe Root to Lewis Gregory. He scored 4 runs from six balls off a boundary. Yasoda Lanka and Kithuruwan Vithanage eased the nerves in the Sri Lankan dressing room after playing a half-century partnership for the third wicket stand with the bulk coming from the later.
The partnership was worth 59 when Thorpe bowled Kithuruwan Vithanage. A 26-ball innings earned him 18 runs including a boundary. Vithanage’s dismissal brought Dhanushka Gunathilleke to the crease to join Lanka in their assault. Sri Lanka was sniffing victory as long as Yasoda Lanka was bludgeoning the ball to all corners of the ground. However, in the 11th over, Lanka was caught behind off a beautiful delivery by Paul Best. He scored 48 runs off just 20 balls, plundering six boundaries and three massive sixes.
After Lanka’s departure, Gunathilleke tried to continue his assault, but with wickets clattering at the other end, Gunathilleke failed to overpass the 46-run defeat. Eight of the Lankan U19 batsmen could not enter the double figures. Both Joe Root and James Thorpe took 3 wickets each from their 4 overs spells.
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