Afghanistan and Sri Lanka Open the Under-19 Asia Cup With Big Wins in Oman
Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 113 runs and Sri Lanka beat Malaysia by nine wickets on 5 November, the opening day of the Under-19 Asia Cup in Al Amerat.
By John · 6 Nov 2026 · 3 min read
Afghanistan and Sri Lanka began the 2026 Under-19 Asia Cup with heavy wins on 5 November at the Oman Cricket Academy grounds in Al Amerat. Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 113 runs, and Sri Lanka needed only 13.5 overs to complete a nine-wicket win over Malaysia on the opening day of the 50-over tournament.
Afghanistan won the toss and batted first on Turf 1. Shah Faisal Rahimi top-scored with 83 off 97 balls and was named player of the match as Afghanistan were bowled out for 231 in 49 overs. Tafiul Alam Tamim was the pick of Bangladesh’s bowlers with 4 for 41 from his 10 overs.
Bangladesh never settled in pursuit of 232. SK Jarif Siyam made 41 off 58 balls, but they were all out for 118 in 25.5 overs, with Sami Mubarez taking 3 for 11 in 2.5 overs.
Kumarasinghe five-for sets up a quick chase
On the neighbouring Turf 2, Sri Lanka chose to bowl and dismissed Malaysia for 88 in 28.1 overs. Kaushika Kumarasinghe took 5 for 30 in six overs and was named player of the match, and Vigneshwaran Akash returned 3 for 7. Of those 88 runs, 51 came from Syamil Aqil, who faced 50 balls.
Sri Lanka needed 89 and reached 91 for the loss of one wicket, with 217 balls to spare: opener Rehan Peiris was 54 not out from 45 balls and Senuja Wekunagoda 30 not out. Viran Chamuditha captains the Sri Lanka side.
Format and next fixtures
Eight teams are taking part. Group A contains India, Pakistan, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates, and Group B is made up of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the full-member sides, while Malaysia, Nepal and the UAE qualified through the 2025 ACC Men’s Under-19 Premier Cup. Each team plays the other three in its group once, with two points for a win, and the top two in each group reach the semi-finals.
The opening results leave Afghanistan and Sri Lanka on two points each in Group B. Afghanistan play Malaysia and Bangladesh meet Sri Lanka on 7 November, before Afghanistan face Sri Lanka and Bangladesh play Malaysia on 9 November.