Superb Sri Lanka outshine South Africa in battle of best of the rest

Scorecard

The Sri Lankans picked themselves up well from the disappointment of their heart-breaking four-run defeat to Afghanistan in the World Cup quarter-finals, putting on 232/6 in their 50 overs, thanks in large part to the brilliance of captain Dunith Wellalage.

Wellalage’s outstanding 113 came from 130 balls, with the Sri Lanka skipper coming in with his side in trouble on 25/3, and only falling in the penultimate over as he looked to add some fast runs late on.

The 19-year-old all-rounder has been one of the tournament’s star acts, and he followed up his match-defining century with a tidy spell of left-arm spin to return figures of 1/29 from his six overs.

For South Africa, Matthew Boast, Kwena Maphaka and Dewald Brevis were among the wickets in a mixed afternoon for the bowling attack. And it was a sub-par effort with the bat from the Proteas too, with the rest of the batting line-up unable to step up when tournament top-scorer Dewald Brevis failed to pass 50 for the first time in his five matches at the World Cup.

Sri Lanka had won the toss and skipper Wellalage chose to bat, but openers Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Sadisha Rajapaksa could put on only 14 for the first wicket as Kwena Maphaka bowled Rajapaksa.

Wickramsinghe fell to the left-arm seamer three balls later before Sakuna Liyanage went for an eight-ball duck to bring Wellalage out to the middle with Sri Lanka precarious on 25 for three.

The captain added 62 runs alongside Shevon Daniel before forming an even bigger partnership with Ranuda Somarathne, putting on 130 runs for the fifth wicket.

Wellalage was eventually dismissed by Maphaka, but only after hitting his first century of the tournament, 113 off 130. And Somarathne ended on 57* as Sri Lanka set South Africa a chase of 232.

Opener Jade Smith was run out for one as Sri Lanka took regular wickets to stint South Africa’s progress, with the required total ultimately falling out of reach.

The tournament’s top-scorer Dewald Brevis was next to go for his first score under 50 at the World Cup, before Ronan Hermann and Gerhardus Maree added 34 and 44 respectively to move South Africa to 112 for six.

The Proteas were scoring above the required run rate, but frequent dismissals hampered their progress as the Sri Lankan bowlers split the wickets between them.

And wicketkeeper Anjala Bandara took his second stumping of the innings to dismiss Maphaka and finish the game off as South Africa fell 67 runs short.

Uganda down Scotland in Diego Martin

Scorecard

Uganda and Scotland got off to a delayed start in their final game of the tournament, as rain prevented the two sides taking the field for over an hour and the game was initially reduced to 45 overs per side.

Uganda won the toss and chose to bat first, and that looked a good decision when four of the top five made scores over 30.

Ronald Lutaaya top-scored with 64, helping build a 75-run stand for the third wicket alongside captain Pascal Murungi.

Both were eventually dismissed by Jamie Cairns, two of the left-arm spinner’s four caught and bowled dismissals, part of his best figures of the tournament with 6/24.

Cairns took the final wicket of Edwin Nuwagaba to bowl Uganda out for 226 with 14.2 overs of their innings remaining, but Scotland’s response never really got going.

Charlie Tear was out for a first-ball duck, with Muhaymen Majeed following him back to the dugout not soon after having both been dismissed by Juma Miyaji.

Oliver Davidson and Tomas Mackintosh steadied the Scottish ship with a partnership of 46 runs, and Jack Jarvis scored quickly after Mackintosh fell, adding 37 off 33 balls.

But rain intervened again with Scotland on 122/7 and two new batters at the crease.

Captain Charlie Peet played a cautious innings once the weather brightened, but he could not find a partner as Rafay Khan fell for 10 and Cairns a duck before Sean Fischer-Keogh's dismissal left him stranded on 29 not out.

Scotland ended their World Cup 51 runs short (DLS method) of Uganda, meaning the Baby Cranes claim 13th spot at the ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022 and Scotland end the tournament in 14th having not won a match.