St Peter’s College in their second match for the season, secured first innings points against Joseph Vaz College by bundling them out for a mere 86.
Singer U19 Division 1 tournament is under away with its Third term matches. Even though it’s too early to point out favorites for the league title,all teams are giving their best to make an impression out their in the field. St Peter’s College took on St Joseph Vaz College in their second match for the season at their home grounds. Having stunned by Dharmapala in their first match thanks to some magic by Himasha Liyanage with the bat, Peterites were yet to make their presence felt. Spin duo for the Peterites skipper Vinu Mohotti and Tanisha Weerakoon carried on from where they stopped last season, bagging 12 wickets among them in their first match. St Joseph Vaz on the other hand Having won against Anuradhapura central with an innings to spare in their first match for the season was feeling more confident comparing to the home side.
The home side won the toss and elected to bat first. Their batsman were under a quite a bit of pressure after their performance in the last match. Missing their second highest run scorer in the last season Lakshina Rodrigo due to national duties, the seniors had the responsibility to stand up and fill up his shoes. Peterites looked much better this time around, Hashan Wanasekara who missed out on the first match played a valubale innings of 43 up the order. Skipper Vinu Mohotti chipped in with an unbeaten 37 down the order making up for the duck in his first match. The home side somehow managed to accumulate a decent total of 226 from 36.4 overs before they were bundled out. With the ball for Joseph Vaz Dhananjaya Perera took his first fifer for this season and he was helped by Praveen Dilanka who finished with figures of 3 for 52.
The visitors came on to the bat in the latter part of day one and they were torn into pieces by the Peterite bowling attack. At Stumps St Joseph Vaz were 37 for the loss of 4 wickets in 12 overs. The home side carried on from where they stopped on day one, ripping through the batting order in a rush. The visitors were bundled out before lunch on day two for a mere 81 runs in 38.3 overs. Vinu mohotti grabbing 4 wickets for just 21 runs while last year’s captain Chandula Jayamanna took 3 scalps for 28 runs. Vinu’s bowling partner Taneesha Weerakoon chipped in with 2 wickets giving his team real hope of reaching an outright win.
The visitors were asked to follow on just before lunch. Joseph Vaz were up to the task this time around, showing good resilience against this good bowling attack. Praveen Dilanka carrying on his fine form from the previous matches scored a brilliant unbeaten 73 while he was well supported by Dhananjaya Perera’s 26 showing his skills with the bat. Vinu and his team couldn’t repeat their performance in the first innings in due time. At the close of play due to bad weather, St Joseph Vaz were 130 for 4 in 67 overs. The home side had to settle down for first innings and a bag full of confidence leading up to the next game.
St. Peters College 226 (63.4) Hashan Wanasekara 43, Vinu Mohotty 37*, Dananjaya Perera 5/67, Praveen Dilanka 3/52
Vs
St. Joseph Vaz College 81 (38.3) Gihan Abeyrathna 19, Vinu Mohotti 4/21, Chandula Jayamanne 3/28, Thaneesha Weerakoon 2/08
&
F/O – 130/4 (67) Praveen Dilanka 73*, Dhananjaya Perera 26, Thaneesha Weerakoon 2/42
