The second-longest uninterrupted schoolboy cricket encounter got underway for the 146th time today (6th February) at the iconic Singhalese Sports Club grounds in Colombo. Royal College took major honors at the end of day one after Rehan Peiris scored his maiden big match century.
With all the buzz around Maitland Place, the 146th Battle of the Blues coin toss was won by Thomian skipper Kavindu Dias. Dias did not hesitate to bowl first, as the groundsman had left a small covering of fresh grass on the wicket. Leading from the front, skipper Dias made early inroads, picking up a couple of wickets in the first hour.
With the fall of Royal’s wicketkeeper-batter Isula Geeganage and opener Hirun Liyanarachchi, vice-captain Rehan Peiris, along with Sri Lanka youth cap Vimath Dinsara, rescued the innings. They put together a fifty-plus partnership, ensuring Royal’s innings did not go from bad to worse.
While the experienced Sri Lanka youth caps Dinsara and Ramiru Perera fell at the other end, it was Rehan Peiris who stood strong, anchoring the innings and keeping the scoreboard ticking. Peiris was gifted a couple of chances by the Thomian fielders, Peiris made full use of the opportunities and went on to score a magnificent 158, becoming only the 5th Royalist to do so.
Fresher Thevindu Wewalwala provided invaluable support playing second fiddle to Peiris. Wewalwala was unfortunate to miss out on a well-deserved half-century, falling for 48 after a hard-fought inning.
From a bowling point of view for S. Thomas’, skipper Kavindu Dias bowled his heart out for his College. However, a lack of support from the Thomian fielders meant his figures did not reflect his efforts. Darien Diego, introduced late into the attack, proved to be a handful, picking up a couple of wickets, including the crucial dismissal of Rehan Peiris.
Royal College eventually declared their innings, hoping to put the Thomians under pressure with only a handful of overs left in the day’s play.
S. Thomas’, in their brief stay at the crease, ensured they ended the first day unscathed, with their openers remaining unbeaten while scoring at a decent rate of just over three runs per over. The Thomian openers looked solid, capitalizing on anything loose from the Royal bowlers.
With plenty of cricket left to be played over the next couple of days, the battle between bat and ball promises to be an exciting one. Catch the live action on Sri Lanka’s No.1 Sports Channel, ThePapare
Stumps
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rehan Peris | c Reshon Solomons b Darien Marlon Diego | 158 | 220 | 21 | 3 | 71.82 |
| Hirun Liyanarachchi | b Kavindu Dias | 9 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 64.29 |
| Isula Geeganage | lbw b Kavindu Dias | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Vimath Dinsara | c Jaden Amaraweera b Aaron de Sivla | 25 | 71 | 3 | 0 | 35.21 |
| Ramiru Perera | c & b | 15 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 51.72 |
| Thevindu Senarathna | c & b Dineth Gunawardena | 48 | 83 | 6 | 0 | 57.83 |
| Yasindu Dissanayake | not out | 25 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 108.70 |
| Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi | b Aaron de Sivla | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 8.33 |
| Ranuka Malaviarachchi | not out | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Extras | 30 (b 19 , lb 0 , nb 5, w 6, pen 0) |
| Total | 319/7 (78 Overs, RR: 4.09) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kavindu Dias | 20 | 3 | 71 | 2 | 3.55 | |
| Jaden Amaraweera | 9 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 3.33 | |
| Ayman Anzary | 8 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 3.88 | |
| Aaron de Sivla | 12 | 1 | 65 | 1 | 5.42 | |
| Dineth Gunawardena | 15 | 0 | 60 | 1 | 4.00 | |
| Darien Marlon Diego | 14 | 1 | 43 | 2 | 3.07 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avinash Fernando | not out | 18 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 62.07 |
| Jaden Amaraweera | not out | 14 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 45.16 |
| Extras | 0 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 32/0 (10 Overs, RR: 3.2) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranuka Malaviarachchi | 4 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 4.50 | |
| Kuchila Ranmandala | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1.50 | |
| Sandul Abeywardene | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9.00 | |
| Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.50 | |
| Ramiru Perera | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | |
 at the iconic Singhalese Sports Club grounds in Colombo. Royal College took major honors at the end of day one after Rehan Peiris scored his maiden big match century.){kind=link}