Kavindu Kulasekara’s fighting effort of an unbeaten 76 helped Sri Lanka U-19 reach 235/5 in 104 overs at the end of the third day of their four-day match against India U-19 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Thursday.
Kulasekara, who was not out on five overnight, showed a lot of patience at the crease guiding his team past 200-mark.
Kulasekara faced 264 balls for his 76. Lankans still trail by 268 runs.
Only 211 runs were scored on the day off 88 overs. Kuldeep Yadav took 4/86.
No other Indian bowler could make a breakthrough on the day, and with Kulasekara finding good support from Minod Bhanuka (56 off 100), Sri Lanka moved a step closer towards avoiding outright defeat.
While the possibility of Sri Lanka overtaking India’s first-innings score of 503/7 declared is remote, the staunch resistance shown will give them heart.
Scores
India U-19 (1st Innings) 503/7 decl. in 127 overs (Vijay Zol 173, Sanju Samson 89, Akhil Herwadkar 71, Shreyash Iyer 65, Shubham Khajuria 52, Karunaratne 4/94) vs Sri Lanka U-19 (Ist Innings) 235/5 in 104 overs (Hashan Dumindu 42, Kavindu Kulasekara 76 n.o., Minod Bhanuka 56, Kuldeep Yadav 4/86)