The 12-year win-less drought for S. Thomas’ College finally saw an end as they convincingly won the 140th encounter by 7 wickets today at SSC grounds.
The third and final day of the 140th chapter of Sri Lanka’s oldest cricketing encounter, the Battle of the Blues, began with S. Thomas’ College favourites to walk away winners.
S. Thomas’ on course to reclaim shield; Can Royal stop?
Royal College managed to gain a slender 10-run lead over S. Thomas’ College at close on the 2 nd day of the 140 th Battle of the Blues
Resuming the 2nd innings on 148/4 with a lead of 10 runs, Royal College scored just 14 more runs before they lost their 5th wicket. Destroyer-in-chief Kalana Perera once again provided the much needed breakthrough for the Thomians.
Last year Captain Dellon Peiris, who had been very quiet throughout the match, dented the Royalists further with two wickets in the same over. This double blow left Pasindu Sooriyabandara alone with number 10 Lahiru Madushanka.
Sooriyabandara coming in to bat lower in the order due to an injury he sustained during the 1st day’s play was the hero for Royal just as he was in 2016. He battled valiantly with a strapped shoulder to save his team from defeat.
The classy right-handed Sri Lanka U19 cap, batted elegantly for 160 deliveries accumulating 67 valuable runs keeping Royal in contention. He was well supported by Madushanka as the duo added 88 runs for the 9th wicket. The daunting stand for the Thomians eventually was broken by part-time seamer Yohan Perera. It was Sooriyabandara who played at a very wide delivery and was dismissed. Gishan Balasuriya was removed by Yohan in his very first ball to wrap up the Royal 2nd innings for 259.
Photos: Royal College vs S. Thomas’ College – 140th Battle of the Blues | Day 3
ThePapare.com | Dinushki Ranasinghe| 09/03/2019 | Editing and re-using images without permission of ThePapare.com
Thomas’ chasing a target of 122 in 37 overs cruised to victory in 20. Sithara Hapuhinna and Shalin de Mel came out all guns blazing determined to be aggressive. The Thomians felt some jitters when Captain Hapuhinna was dismissed for 34 runs in 30 balls, but Shalin De Mel took on the mantle majestically and led the remainder of the Thomian run-chase. He took his team over the line with a boundary over mid-wicket remaining unbeaten on 67.
The awards were a clean sweep by the Thomians.
Man of the Match – Kalana Perera
Best Batsman – Umayanga Suwaris
Best Bowler – Kalana Perera
Best Fielder – Shalin De Mel
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isiwara Dissanayake | b Kalana Perera | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kamil Mishara | c Shalin De Mel b Shannon Fernando | 36 | 87 | 6 | 0 | 41.38 |
| Ahan Sanchitha | lbw b Kalana Perera | 15 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 55.56 |
| Pasindu Sooriyabandara | c Shalin De Mel b Kalana Perera | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Kavindu Madarasinghe | c Shalin De Mel b Shannon Fernando | 11 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 40.74 |
| Bagya Dissanayake | c Dellon Peiris b Kalana Perera | 12 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Tithira Weerasinghe | lbw b Kalana Perera | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kavindu Pathirathne | lbw b Kalana Perera | 35 | 61 | 7 | 0 | 57.38 |
| Kaushan Kulasooriya | c Shalin De Mel b Shannon Fernando | 28 | 47 | 5 | 0 | 59.57 |
| Lahiru Madushanka | not out | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 85.71 |
| Gishan Balasuriya | c Shalin De Mel b Shannon Fernando | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 13 (b 4 , lb 4 , nb 4, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 158/10 (48.3 Overs, RR: 3.26) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalana Perera | 14 | 4 | 54 | 6 | 3.86 | |
| Shalin De Mel | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Kishan Munasinghe | 6 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 3.50 | |
| Yohan Perera | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | |
| Shannon Fernando | 15.3 | 8 | 27 | 4 | 1.76 | |
| Dellon Peiris | 5 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 3.60 | |
| Dilmin Rathnayake | 4 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sithara Hapuinna | c Kaushan Kulasooriya b Kamil Mishara | 14 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 107.69 |
| Shalin De Mel | lbw b Kavindu Pathirathna | 21 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 116.67 |
| Ryan Fernando | c & b Kamil Mishara | 60 | 66 | 9 | 1 | 90.91 |
| Yohan Perera | c Kavindu Madarasinghe b Gishan Balasuriya | 49 | 90 | 8 | 0 | 54.44 |
| Kishan Munasinghe | b Kamil Mishara | 8 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 44.44 |
| Dellon Peiris | b Gishan Balasuriya | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Ravindu De Silva | b Lahiru Madushanka | 2 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 8.70 |
| Dilmin Rathnayake | c Kavindu Madarasinghe b Kavindu Pathirathne | 3 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 10.34 |
| Umayanga Suwaris | run out (Kavindu Madarasinghe) | 62 | 109 | 9 | 0 | 56.88 |
| Kalana Perera | c Kaushan Kulasooriya b Kavindu Pathirathne | 62 | 59 | 9 | 1 | 105.08 |
| Shannon Fernando | not out | 5 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 15.62 |
| Extras | 6 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 2, w 4, pen 0) |
| Total | 296/10 (78.5 Overs, RR: 3.75) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kavindu Pathirathne | 16 | 1 | 83 | 3 | 5.19 | |
| Lahiru Madushanka | 9 | 1 | 37 | 1 | 4.11 | |
| Kamil Mishara | 19 | 5 | 70 | 3 | 3.68 | |
| Gishan Balasuriya | 23 | 9 | 65 | 2 | 2.83 | |
| Kaushan Kulasooriya | 10.5 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 2.48 | |
| Tithira Weerasinghe | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isiwara Dissanayake | b Shalin De Mel | 20 | 77 | 2 | 0 | 25.97 |
| Kamil Mishara | c Shalin De Mel b Kalana Perera | 34 | 58 | 6 | 0 | 58.62 |
| Kavindu Madarasinghe | c Shalin De Mel b Shannon Fernando | 25 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Ahan Sanchitha | c Sithara Hapuhinna b Kalana Perera | 26 | 50 | 3 | 0 | 52.00 |
| Bagya Dissanayake | c & b Dellon Peiris | 21 | 96 | 2 | 0 | 21.88 |
| Kavindu Pathirathne | c Dellon Peiris b Kalana Perera | 24 | 54 | 3 | 0 | 44.44 |
| Pasindu Sooriyabandara | c Dellon Peiris b Yohan Perera | 67 | 160 | 9 | 0 | 41.88 |
| Tithira Weerasinghe | c & b Dellon Peiris | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kaushan Kulasooriya | c Ryan Fernando b Kishan Munasinghe | 14 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 37.84 |
| Lahiru Madushanka | not out | 11 | 64 | 1 | 0 | 17.19 |
| Gishan Balasuriya | b Yohan Perera | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 17 (b 6 , lb 4 , nb 6, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 259/10 (108.2 Overs, RR: 2.39) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalana Perera | 30 | 6 | 102 | 3 | 3.40 | |
| Shannon Fernando | 23 | 11 | 35 | 1 | 1.52 | |
| Dellon Peiris | 23 | 6 | 53 | 2 | 2.30 | |
| Kishan Munasinghe | 9 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 1.56 | |
| Dilmin Rathnayake | 5 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 3.20 | |
| Shalin De Mel | 11 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 1.09 | |
| Yohan Perera | 5.2 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 2.88 | |
| Umayanga Suwaris | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sithara Hapuhinna | c Bagya Dissanayake b Kamil Mishara | 34 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 113.33 |
| Shalin De Mel | not out | 67 | 55 | 10 | 1 | 121.82 |
| Ryan Fernando | st Kavindu Madarasinghe b Gishan Balasuriya | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Yohan Perera | b Lahiru Madushanka | 2 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 11.76 |
| Ravindu De Silva | not out | 13 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 144.44 |
| Extras | 5 (b 4 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 124/3 (20 Overs, RR: 6.2) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kavindu Pathirathne | 4 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 9.75 | |
| Kamil Mishara | 4 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 5.50 | |
| Kaushan Kulasooriya | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 8.00 | |
| Lahiru Madushanka | 5 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 3.80 | |
| Gishan Balasuriya | 5 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 4.60 | |
