Royal College defeated St. Thomas’ College convincingly by 7 wickets to retain the Mustangs Trophy at the Sinhalese Sports Club Grounds.
Both teams made one change from the 144th Battle of the Blues – with Anush Polonowita replacing Royal vice-captain Sineth Jayawardena who is on Sri Lanka U19 duty, while Ashen Perera replaced Abheeth Paranawidana for St. Thomas’.
After winning the toss Thomian skipper Romesh Mendis decided to bat first but their batting never really got going and were 26 for 3 in no time. Polonowita got the first wicket of Thisen Eheliyagoda caught at slip and Bulan Weerathunga’s direct hit found Dineth Goonewardena well short of the crease. Mendis chopped off the bowling of Weerathunga.
Mahith Perera and Senadhi Bulankulame put on 41 runs for the 4th wicket while Akash Fernando and Bulankulame added 38 for the 5th wicket. Bulankulame scored a laborious 66 off 133 balls before he was brilliantly caught by Sanvidu Senaratharachchi diving to his right.
Royal had an excellent day in the field and with Weerathunga, Sandesh Ramanayake and Dasis Manchanayake picking up two wickets each managed to bowl out the Thomians for 165 in the 49th over.
- Royal College regain Rt. Hon D.S Senanayake Memorial Shield
- Dasis – Ramiru show produces a Royal party on day 1
- Royal bowlers thrive as party intensifies with victory looming
- REPLAY – Royal College vs S. Thomas’ College – 144th Battle of the Blues
Chasing 166 for the win Royal lost two quick wickets. Ovina Ambanpola was run-out by Akash Fernando and the very next ball Fernando bowled the new batter Polonowita with an exquisite delivery.
However, Rehan Peiris and Uvindu Weerasekara put on a 107-run partnership for the 3rd wicket that set up the win for the Reid Avenue boys. Weerasekara scored a half-century which included 4 fours and two monster sixes.
The 14-year-old Peiris was not out on 69*, 7 fours and 1 six, while captain Manchanayake (26*) scored the winning run in the 37th over. The tally now stands at 23 for Royal and 21 for S. Thomas’ with 1 tied and 1 shared.
Awards
- Best Batsman (Royal) – Uvindu Weerasekara
- Best Batsman (S. Thomas’) – Senadhi Bulankulame
- Best Bowler (Royal) – Bulan Weerathunga
- Best Bowler (S. Thomas’) – Ashen Perera
- Best Fresher – Rehan Peiris
- Man of the Match – Rehan Peiris
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senadhi Bulankulama | c Sanvidu Senartharachchi b Sandesh Ramanayaka | 66 | 133 | 6 | 0 | 49.62 |
| Thishen Ehaliyagoda | c Ovina Ambanpola b Anush Polonnowita | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 71.43 |
| Dineth Gunawardena | run out (Bulan Weerathunga) | 9 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 47.37 |
| Romesh Mendis | b Bulan Weerathunga | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Mahith Perera | c Ramiru Perera b Ranuka Malaviarachchi | 28 | 37 | 2 | 0 | 75.68 |
| Akash Fernando | c Nethwin Dharmarathne b Ramiru Perera | 12 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 52.17 |
| Senesh Hettiarachchi | c Sanvidu Senartharachchi b Sandesh Ramanayaka | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Nathan Caldera | c Anush Polonnowita b Bulan Weerathunga | 12 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 46.15 |
| Charuka Peiris | c & b Dasis Manchanayake | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 42.86 |
| Kavindu Dais | b Dasis Manchanayake | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Ashen Perera | not out | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 13 (b 3 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 10, pen 0) |
| Total | 165/10 (48.2 Overs, RR: 3.41) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulan Weerathunga | 8 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 3.00 | |
| Anush Polonnowita | 10 | 2 | 23 | 1 | 2.30 | |
| Sandesh Ramanayaka | 8 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 4.25 | |
| Dasis Manchanayake | 9.2 | 1 | 25 | 2 | 2.72 | |
| Ranuka Malaviarachchi | 4 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 3.75 | |
| Ramiru Perera | 9 | 0 | 41 | 1 | 4.56 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ovina Ambanpola | run out (Akash Fernando) | 6 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 31.58 |
| Rehan Peris | not out | 69 | 107 | 7 | 1 | 64.49 |
| Anush Polonnowita | b Akash Fernando | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Uvindu Weerasekara | c Nathan Caldera b Ashen Perera | 50 | 68 | 4 | 2 | 73.53 |
| Dasis Manchanayake | not out | 26 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 92.86 |
| Extras | 15 (b 1 , lb 0 , nb 1, w 13, pen 0) |
| Total | 166/3 (37 Overs, RR: 4.49) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akash Fernando | 5 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 5.40 | |
| Ashen Perera | 10 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 3.00 | |
| Nathan Caldera | 7 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 3.86 | |
| Kavindu Dais | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 6.00 | |
| Charuka Peiris | 3 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7.00 | |
| Dineth Gunawardena | 9 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 3.78 | |
| Senadhi Bulankulama | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14.00 | |
